Chpt 4 – Reality: Carnal or Spiritual?
There’s an entire spiritual world – including realities with us – that exist beyond our natural perception! By faith we can believe things that can’t be physically seen!! Our soul can experience these spiritual realities through God’s Word!
Let Peace Flow!
Romans 8:6 (NKJV) “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
This is a powerful statement. Being carnally minded doesn’t just tend toward death; it is death. Likewise, being spiritually minded doesn’t just tend toward life; it is life and peace. Those who say they are spiritually minded yet are experiencing death are deceived. If they would just dominate themselves with the spiritual truths of God’s Word, they would receive only life and peace.
Look at it this way: Carnal mindedness = death
Spiritual mindedness = life and peace
In this fallen world, being dominated by our natural senses produces death! But spiritual mindedness produces life and peace (John 6:63)!
When our thoughts are dominated by what the Word says, you’re spiritually minded. What we think about reveals our focus, shapes your character, and determines our destiny.
Paul is reminding us that carnal living has consequences. Offer our members to sin, and we’ll become a slave to sin (Romans 6). Put ourselves under law, and we’ll reap misery and condemnation (Romans 7). The paths of licentiousness and legalism both lead to the same dead end.
If we are experiencing failure, death and despair in our lives, it may be that our mind is set on fleshly carnal things. Instead of looking to the Lord or casting our cares upon Him and leaving them there, knowing He cares for us, we’re concerned with the cares and worries of life. Change our mindset! Lay aside the old self, put on the new self, and be renewed in the spirit of our mind (Eph. 4:22-24).
The mind stayed on the Spirit sets God in the center of all things. It desires to know what God thinks. It asks, “What does God say in this situation?”
Walking in step with the Spirit releases the whole shalom life that God intends for us. This leads to life and peace. True happiness is not about saying no to sin, but saying yes to Jesus. When we live out of our union with the Author of Life, the result is a life of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Let’s fill our mind with our Father’s good thoughts towards us and we will be free and at peace. God promises to keep us in perfect peace when we keep our minds stayed on Him (Isa. 26:3)! What a wonderful promise! As our mind stays on Him, our soul automatically agrees with our spirit, and God’s peace is released into our soul and body. This is powerful! Our born-again spirit is always in perfect peace – it’s just a matter of drawing it out!
Peace – an emotion – is linked to the way you think! God’s peace is present in your spirit! It’s part of the fruit of the spirit! Open that closed valve and let peace flow!
Alienated Through Ignorance
Ephesians 4:17 “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,”
To walk as the Gentiles walk is to walk after the old ways of the flesh instead of the new way of the spirit. It’s living in response to the natural world (what we see, hear, and touch) and without regard for the spiritual world.
Ephesians 4:18 “having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart”
In contrast to the way the world lives, the Christian enjoys koinonia-fellowship with the Father and with Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3). Koinonia-fellowship is about living fully out of our connection with Christ and His body. It’s the authentic sense of community that comes from having our hearts knitted together in love (Col. 2:2).
There are two kinds of life described in the Bible; 1) the psuche- or soul life we inherited from Adam and 2) the zoe- or spirit life that comes from God (John 5:26). It’s the second kind of life that is described in this koinonia-fellowship with the Father and with Jesus.
When Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches,” He was giving us the secret for abundant life (John 15:5). Real life is found in living out of our connection with the Author of Life. In union with the Lord we experience the freedom to know and be known, to give and receive, to love and be loved.
Fellowship with the Father and Son brings acceptance, intimacy, righteousness, holiness eternal life, and all the blessings and privileges of heaven. Those who are one with the Lord lack no good thing!
The knowledge of God is critical! Grace and peace can be multiplied through it! But it must be understood to be useful. Without understanding, you can’t release the life that’s in it. “Knowledge” puts food into your mouth and chews while “understanding” actually swallows and digests it so that the beneficial nutrients can be released into your body. Understanding is the application of knowledge.
Understanding this revelation of Spirit, Soul & Body is the 1st step toward walking in life and peace!
The life of God can be alienated while still being in our born again spirits. It’s alienated due to ignorance of spiritual truth. In His Word, God declares that by His stripes, we were healed (1 Pet. 2:24).The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is in us, but we need to believe it (Eph. 1:18-20). We let our mind be controlled by what’s in the physical realm more than the spiritual realm when we say “God says I’m healed, but I’m not. It’s still there, so I must not be healed.” This is allowing our five senses to dominate more than God’s Word.
Engine or Caboose?
There’s a godly type of feeling. You don’t just deny that your senses exist. But you recognize that there’s something more! Don’t let your feelings run your life! Feelings should be the caboose not the engine. They were designed to follow what you think, not lead the way! When you let the caboose act like the engine in your life, you’ll either go nowhere or you’ll end up in a train wreck! For a believer, this should not be!
Lasciviousness = controlled by what you feel.
The Spiritual Approach
Ephesians 4:20-24 gives us keys to living out of our New Nature — out of the New Man!
“But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
“Put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
KEY: 1) Be renewed in the spirit of our mind and 2) put on the new man every day! It’s almost like brushing our teeth in the morning and then putting on a new garment every day! We need to recognize and acknowledge our true self in God’s mirror! Right now in our spirit we are righteous and holy!
We must worship Him in spirit and truth! For God is a Spirit (John 4:24)! Our spirit is the part of us that completely changed. Old things passed away! All things became new! We cannot approach God unless we come to Him through the righteousness and true holiness of who we are in the spirit.
God communes with us Spirit to spirit! We came a brand-new creature who is now righteous and holy. In our born-again spirit, we’re as pure as Christ is because His righteousness has been given to you!
1 Cor. 1:30 tells us that “By His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.
Jesus Himself literally became our righteousness! Once upon a time, we were apart from the Lord and lacking the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 2:14-15). But the moment we responded in faith to the Gospel of Grace, we were placed in Christ by the Holy Spirit. “God has brought you into union with Christ Jesus” (1 Cor. 1:30).
The new birth doesn’t just produce a changed life but an exchanged life. That is to say, the Lord doesn’t make our flesh wise, righteous, sanctified, or redeemed. Instead, He becomes our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption! Hallelujah!!
When we cease to operate in our carnal selves and let Jesus live through us that we will obtain victory.
The proper way for Christians to act is to humble themselves and ask God for direction. Then the wisdom of Christ within them will come out and He will direct their paths (Prov. 3:6). Instead of depending on our acts of righteousness to earn the blessings of God, we should accept the fact Jesus has given us His righteousness. In Christ (or through Christ) is the only way that we will ever be righteous enough to approach God.
Jesus lives in the spirits of believers, and all His wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption are available to us if we depend on Him instead of on our own abilities. Because we are in Christ Jesus, we are one with the Lord and as righteous and holy as He is.
All of God’s blessings are experienced in union with Christ Jesus. We are alive to God and have eternal life in Christ Jesus (Rom. 6:11, 23). The grace and kindness of God are found in Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 1:4; Eph. 2:7) and His forgiveness is found in Christ Jesus (Eph. 4:32). There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1), we are justified in Christ (Gal. 2:17), and our salvation is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 2:10). Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:39). We have freedom and are sanctified in Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 2:4). We are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6). The peace, faith and love of God are found in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7; 1 Tim. 1:14). In Christ we are brand new creatures (2 Cor. 5:17), and we are complete in Christ (Col. 1:28). All the glory goes to God because it is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 1:30).
Jesus has become wisdom from God for us! Jesus is God’s best idea, His perfect and complete remedy for all that ails us! Do we need righteousness? See Jesus who is our righteousness from God. Do we need sanctification? See Jesus who is our sanctification from God. Do we need redemption? See Jesus who is our redemption from God. Truly God supplies ALL our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:19). Jesus gave His life as a ransom for all (1 Tim. 2:6).
From Rags To Righteousness!
We’ve been made righteous in our spirit with Christ’s righteousness. Since the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, calling Jesus’ righteousness – which we received at salvation – a filthy rag is an affront against God and His Word (Isa. 64:6)! Before we were born again, we didn’t have a new spirit. So calling all our righteousness as filthy rags is valid (Rom. 3:23). BUT now that we’re born again, one-third of our being is completely righteous!
When we come to Jesus and receive His salvation, we are given His righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). Therefore, for us born-again Christians, it would be incorrect to say that all our righteousness is as filthy rags. Jesus has become our righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30), and Jesus is not a filthy rag. We are not old sinners, saved by grace. We were old sinners, but we have been saved by grace and are now the righteousness of God in our spirits (Eph. 4:24). Because of Jesus, we are in Christ Jesus and are now righteous in Him. Thank You, Jesus!
Our physical, emotional, and mental realms will always need improvement, BUT our spirit is complete. And since God is a Spirit, He looks at us Spirit to spirit (John 4:24). We must come before Him in our spirit because it’s the only part of us that’s been created in righteousness and true holiness. That’s why the new birth is so essential! Man’s performance simply cannot accomplish what only the new birth can do – change our spiritual nature!
Fix Your Gaze
When we were born again, our old spirit died, was instantly removed and replaced (Rom. 6)! We became a brand-new creation with a recreated elevated spirit. God literally sent forth the Spirt of His Son into your heart crying “Abba, Father” (Gal 4:6, Rom. 8:9). Our spirit and His Spirit intermarried, merged, and became one to create a totally new person!
That’s why God’s mirror reflects us as righteous, holy and pure. The makeup of our born-again spirit is identical to Jesus Himself!
Fix our gaze on God’s mirror! Let our spirit’s reflected image dominate our thoughts. As who we are in Christ grows stronger in our heart, carnal “reality” must give way to spiritual reality. That’s when we’ll experience life and peace!
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