Body, soul and spirit.
I just want to share about what makes us who we are, as I see it, hopefully without making it too difficult to understand.
This first part is from the time of Adam and Eve till Jesus Christ came.
When God created man He created him from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (the Spirit of life) and man became a living soul. He is body, soul and spirit. Man then is linked to the earth through his body and linked to God through his spirit, his life is in the blood and his choice concerning what he should do or shouldn’t do is in his soul. He could follow his senses and please himself or he could listen to his spirit and please God.
Now the Bible says that whoever you choose to obey his slave you are. We know the story how Adam chose to obey the devil in the garden of Eden and therefore brought all mankind into slavery to the devil. Now man is slave to the evil one and dominated by sin in the flesh.
When I say sin, I am not talking about the sins we commit but the power within that causes us to commit sins. Now some call it the sinful nature which helps us to understand it, but the Bible just calls it ‘sin’.
The link between the sinful nature (sin) and our soul is the self life, that is the part of us that says, “me, me, me”, “I must have what I want”. The soul has a choice it can either please self or deny self and please God.
However, when man chose to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the tree that God had commanded him not to eat from, his spirit died to God. His link with God was now cut off. He is now a slave of the devil.
Now that he has become a slave of the devil, he is dominated by sin and made to please self rather than God, so that he will have to commit sins. If we manage to quench a sin in one area it will only spring up in another area. The more we try not to sin the more we will fail.
Now God gave the Israelites the commandments, we talk about the ten commandments but actually there are 613, plus a lot more that the Jews added. Some believe they can keep all the commandments but sin will still have its way and they become self righteous and very proud.
Jesus taught us that breaking the law is not just something we can do in our actions but also what we can do in our thoughts and in our attitude.
Now God still loves us and can still make Himself known to us but it depends on the condition of our heart. If we are hard hearted God cannot reach us but if our heart is open to God and seeking after God then God can reveal Himself to us.
Wow it seems impossible for us to have a relationship with God. But it is not, God has made a way for us to have fellowship with Him, hopefully I will share more on this later.
I want to try to explain something in scripture that can be hard to understand.
I am basing it on scriptures from Genesis chapter 3, Genesis chapter 14, Romans chapter 5 and Hebrews chapter 7 and others which I will mention later.
When we put our trust in Christ and are born again, that is, born of the Spirit from above, something happens to us.
The Bible shows that we are all the children of Adam and when Adam disobeyed God (see Genesis 3) he open the door for death to come in and not only was Adam judged and condemned but judgment came upon everyone to condemnation, and death reigned over everyone because of one man’s offence (see Romans 5).
Hebrews chapter 7 explains how this can be. Just as all Israel were in the loins of Abraham when he met Melchizedek and just as the Levites gave a tithe to Melchizedek because they were in the loins of Abraham, we too were all in Adam when he sinned and therefore we are identified with Adams sin.
Now let me explain about Abraham and Melchizedek. Abraham met Melchizedek after Abraham had rescued Lot from the four powerful kings who had taken him captive, and Abraham gave to Melchizedek a tithe of all he had taken from the four kings. Now at this time Abraham had no children, eventually Isaac was born, Isaac had Esau and Jacob and from Jacob came Levi and his brethren. So Abraham was the great grandfather to Levi.
Levi wasn’t physically around when Abraham met Melchizedek but he was seen as being in Abraham at the time, so Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek.
We are seen as being in Adam, that is, we are identified with Adam until we are born again.
Now when Adam sinned his spirit died to God, so too, when we are born we are dead to God.
When we are born again, the Spirit of life, sent from God, quickens our spirit making it alive to God, and becomes one with our spirit therefore we now have a new spirit that is able to fellowship with God.
But it is more than that, the Holy Spirit places us into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12: 13), God has put us “in Christ”, 1 Corinthians 1: 30 says, “But of Him (God) you are in Christ Jesus – -“, so that, where we were originally “in Adam” and identified with Adam, when we are born again we are created “in Christ” and identified with Christ (see also Ephesians 2: 10).
2 Corinthians 5: 17 says, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
So when you are born again, you are “in Christ”, a new creation.
What about the condemnation that was on us when we were in Adam?
Romans 8: 1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus – -“.
If we are in Christ Jesus there is no longer any condemnation, Christ has set us free.
Now how relevant is it to know all this?
It is very relevant to know we were once in Adam but since we are born again we are no longer in Adam but now in Christ.
The Bible talks about the “old man”, that is who we were before we were saved. The old man relates to our link with Adam. Also it talks about the “new man”. The new man is who we are after we are born again, when our spirit has been quickened (made alive). Our body, of course, is not yet changed, the redemption of our body is when Christ returns for us
So, just to recap. Before we were saved we were dead to God but once we were saved we were dead to sin, dead to the law, and dead to the world, but alive to God. This all happened automatically once we were saved, we didn’t have to do it, or feel it, just believe it and accept it.
When we put our trust in Jesus to save us we are “born again”, “in Christ”. Whereabouts in Christ?
When He died on the cross is when we were placed in Christ so we are identified with Him in His death, or, as some Bible versions say united with Him in His death.
When we get baptized we are acknowledging that we are already dead, you don’t bury a live person (baptism represents our being buried).
So we have died in Him, we are buried with Him and, praise God, we are risen with Him.
Now I want to explain, the person that died and was buried was the “old man”, that link with Adam. When Christ was raised from the dead, we were raised from the dead, a “new man”, quickened in spirit by the Holy Spirit.
When Christ ascended to heaven we ascended together and are seated together in Christ in Heavenly places. All because we are now “in Christ” (see Ephesians chapter 1 & 2).
Now when we first learn this we have to understand that that is our position as far as God is concerned but probably not our experience, it is our standing but not yet our state. Before it can become our experience we have to believe it and confess it.
When we are involved in spiritual warfare it is so important that we understand our position in Christ.
The devil will try to get us focused on our own inadequacy rather than who we are in Christ, if we start to look at our state instead of our position in Christ, then the devil can defeat us. We overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony, our testimony is who we are in Christ.
Now if we sin, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin, that is our legal standing, however for our fellowship with God, if we sin, we need to confess it to Him and He will forgive us and cleanse us so that our fellowship with God is maintained. We are part of God’s family now and God is our Father.
I often feel down because of my failings, but then I realize what is happening, the devil is condemning me in order to defeat me, I plead the blood, and confess “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, and I am in Christ Jesus” (see Romans 8:1). It is not what we are in ourselves but what we are in Him.
Now I am not saying that we don’t recognize who we are in ourselves but that we don’t dwell on it and make ourselves morbid and depressed. To recognize we are weak and prone to sin can keep us humble as well as forearmed. It is often said, we are not sinners but saints, I have said it myself in the past, but, as a minister once pointed out, the apostle Paul, who had such a tremendous ministry, said, “I am the chief of sinners”, not, “I was the chief of sinners”. Yes, it keeps us humble to know we are sinners saved by God’s grace. The apostle Paul also said, “I am crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live but Christ that lives in me”. So although we recognize who we are in the flesh, we know who we are in Christ. One side keeps us humble the other side makes us strong in God.
The background to what I am about to share is Romans chapters 6 & 7.
Chapter 6 is a very practical chapter, however if you understand it and practice it, it would seem that the opposite happens, why is this? Well Romans chapter 6 is solid food by which we can grow, so the enemy moves in to convince us that it doesn’t work. That is Romans chapter 7. Now the devil can only get an advantage over us if we leave a door open for him, and in this case the door is our effort to be righteous, or sanctified by our own works. By the end of chapter 7 after a terrible battle, God gives us the victory and we move into chapter 8.
In chapter 6 Paul gives practical guidance. In verse 11 he tells us to reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Some versions say “consider” yourselves dead to sin. I sometimes ask Christians if they consider themselves dead to sin, the answer is a look of shock horror to be asked such a terrible question.
Now there is still a lot that needs explaining but where do we start?
We got rid of the “old man”, he is dead and buried, so why do we still have all the battles within ourselves. The Bible explains it as a battle between the flesh and the spirit. Of course the word “flesh” can mean different things, even in the Bible, so it is the context we have to go on. I would see the flesh as the old manner of life, all the habits and attitudes that are part of us. It is that within us that feels it is only by its works and effort that it will succeed, every thing with the flesh is it’s achievements by it’s own works.
At the back of all this we still have sin, sometimes called the sinful nature. Sin still works in the flesh in order to produce sins, but the control of sin was through the “old man” so how come it is still controlling us now the “old man” is dead? The answer is, by deception. Romans 6: 6 says, “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be rendered inoperative, that we should no longer be slaves of sin” (NKJV margin).
Because our old man who was a slave to sin is now dead, we are legally free from sin. Sin is still there, in the flesh, but it has lost its power over us.
Now the way sin maintains its hold over us is by convincing us that it is by our own efforts that we will overcome the temptation to commit sins. If we fail then we must try harder. However our efforts to stop sinning is by the flesh and sins are due to the lusts of the flesh. Therefore we cannot overcome the flesh by the flesh.
It seems we have a massive problem. We have always done things according to our own ability. If we want to live a holy life then we try to stop sinning. Even when we recognize we are not under law but under grace, we can still, in practice, try to achieve holiness by our own works.
If we live under grace then we can be accused of saying let us sin that grace may abound! This is what the apostle Paul was accused of saying, his answer was “how can we who are dead to sin live any longer in it”. Are we dead to sin? Yes we are, if we have been crucified with Christ.
I believe the letter to the Romans that Paul wrote is a progression of the Christians life. Chapter 6 shows us that we have been freed from sin, yet chapter 7 shows the Christian overcome and defeated by sin, why is this?
The man in Romans 7 knows he is no longer under law, but he also knows he is called to live a holy life, how can he achieve this? The first thing he does is try by his own works not to sin. However works is part of the law and sin gets its strength from the law so all that works does is feed sin.
The next thing he does is focus on self and his effort to live a good life, that also is a mistake.
Finally he cries out, “O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death”? Then God gives him revelation and he thanks God through Jesus Christ.
He is then in Romans 8 saying, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus”.
What a transition from a defeated Christian to a victorious Christian.
Now Hebrews 12:2a says, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith”. The original Greek actually says, “Looking away to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith”. In other words, looking away from everything else and looking unto Jesus.
I will try to explain with an illustration, Imagine a young woman, romantically in love with her fiancé, she only has eyes for him, no one else. You wouldn’t have to say to her, ‘don’t go looking at someone else and don’t go flirting with anyone else’. You wouldn’t need to, her eyes are firmly fixed on her fiancé, her thoughts are on him alone.
We must not fix our eyes on works, or on self, but look away to Jesus.
Jesus said that if we want to be His disciple we must deny self, take up our cross and follow Him. To follow Him we must keep our eyes fixed on Him, otherwise we will end up going the wrong way.
To live a holy life is not to look at self and self effort but to be focused on Jesus. If we focus on Jesus instead of focusing on our efforts not to sin, a holy life will be the natural fruit that follows.
Finally Jesus said, “Without me you can do nothing.” The works that we do should be the fruit of Christ dwelling in our hearts. The apostle Paul tells us to yield our members (our feet, our hands, our tongue, etc.) as instruments of righteousness to God for Him to use.
Mark Greenwood
5/1/2023