by Alan D. Creech

A person who's life essence is made one with the life essence of God by a free will acceptance of the substitutionary, sacrificial death of Jesus - allowing the grace-full power of God to enter in and actively change the inner man... this one can be considered a "Christian." He is made like Christ. His nature is now both human and divine (1 Peter 1:3-4).ÊThis reality, though, is the changing of the deepest inner-being (the spirit), and not immediately the outer-self (the soul) which manifests itself to the viewer through the body. It is because of this that many who are in fact "Christians" do not manifest the behaviour of Christ. The part of the self which learns and reacts is located in the soul. The soul must make contact with the spirit through which God reveals to it His truth; His self, that the man who's deepest inner self is born from above may become manifestly one with his Creator.

We have been re-generated, which is abundantly obvious, I'm sure. The term re-animate could also be used. Essentially, "to make alive again." Again being the key word here, in that his spirit, having been dead, is once again alive.Ê His soul, on the other hand, has been trained by outside forces. Hence, when his spirit is made alive again, the soul is aware of this fact, yet is still "trained" in the school of worldly thought and action. It must, then, be re-trained so as to accord with the spirit within it (Romans 12:2). This man will then outwardly manifest the character of Christ as a matter of course, not struggling.

I said "as a matter of course." I mean by that, that there is a certain course we must travel in order to arrive at a certain destination (Colossians 1:9-10). Our destination is full union with God the Father. Our course is multi-dimensional. If our goal were only initial, spiritual salvation, our path would be much less varied; singular in fact. I hope, though, that your goal is full and complete. If not, I fear your usefulness to the Father will be very limited.ÊFor you are useful only as much as you have been transformed into the image of His Son, Jesus.Ê Our usefulness to Him is most probably what I had in mind when I began this. I feel there are certain truths, though, that need to be made clear before I go on.

I want to discuss "spiritual significance" and "relative effectiveness of action." Here is what I mean:Ê the effectiveness of one's actions in bringing a desired end to pass is measured in different ways depending upon the realm in which you "dwell." He who dwells in the realm of the flesh; meaning, your soul-man, of which we spoke earlier (mind, will, emotions, etc.), is molded by (takes his cues from) the world around him. This man acts and reacts based upon circumstances. His nature is rooted in earth (Romans 8:5). If, rather, you dwell in the realm of the spirit, you are one who's mind is stayed on things of a spiritual nature- on the things of God. Your focus is on that divine nature which dwells within you (Romans 8:11). Your "cues" are taken from, you act and react based upon, the life essence of God; the Holy Spirit, who resides in your spirit and, in every way, lies directly in line with the tangible, spoken/written Word of God. This man is unwaverable, for that upon which his whole being is founded is unchanging.

Now, as to how these differ in their respective views of effectiveness of action. The former, with his mind rooted in the changing things of earth, is a struggler. His burden is never light, for he knows the more and the harder he pulls, the farther he will go; the more he works, the more he will accomplish. He measures effectiveness by outward evidence. If he sees no empirical data, he sees no success. He will assent to the importance of the spiritual, but does not live there. He prays, but by his life we see that he counts its effectiveness as negligible.ÊHis "spoken view" might be one thing, but his "actual view" is quite another (James 1:21-25). "Spoken view" meaning what he assents to believe is true, and that which he may even think he truly believes, yet because he doesn't act on it as if it were true; he does not truly believe it (James 2:17). Since, in that deep part of himself (the soul-man), he does not truly believe what he assents, he is left with only one choice; i.e., he must take another course of action in bringing a desired end to pass. All this leaving out the spiritual, his course then must be limited to the realm of the physical senses.

In other words, he keeps himself to the level of "mere humanity" - only the natural bearing weight on the situation (Philippians 3:17-20). He sees as a mere man and not as God, who looks at the heart. He is limited to petitions, bills, and laws; to legislation and political bombasting. Ultimately, if he sees it necessary, he is lead to physical violence as a means to achieve his goal. He, in a phrase, is in the world and acts as a part of the world.

The spiritual man, however, is one who sees the realm of the spirit as his realm of action. His effectiveness is based on faith. This faith is gauged by the Word of God - his primary source of information. His course is that laid down in scripture; and in himself, he truly believes what he speaks, for he daily acts on it - knowing it to be un-arguably true. This man's prayers are truly efficacious, for he knows that He in whom he believes is able to perform what He has said. He does battle where battles are won and his war is waged on demon princes, not those who wear crowns of earthly gold (Ephesians 6:10-12). The peace he has comes from within him and is unquenchable to those forces from without.

If we would believe the Word and concentrate our efforts on things of the Spirit (Colossians 3:1-2); i.e., prayer, preaching, teaching, prophesy, healing, loving people, forgiving, giving, supporting, restoring. If we did these things with our whole lives, there wouldn't be time for anything else. If we, ourselves, were being transformed, then we could see that our duty lies in the transformation and reconciliation of others. If, also, we believed what God says to us, we would know that there is only one way that can happen - through the Word, through worship, through growing inner oneness!

If it could have taken place through the law, or a law, or anything external, then Jesus would not be a factor in God's plan (Hebrews 8:7), for He (Jesus) focused on the inside. He came to bring internal regeneration which manifests itself outwardly. Our attitude should be that of Jesus when He said that nothing from the outside is able to make a man unclean; rather, it is what is on the inside that makes him unclean (Mark 7:14-23). In other words, what you are on the inside is what you'll be on the outside (I speak of this generally, without going into the mechanics of the process). Why is it then that many are so concerned with the outside - where man sees (perhaps that is the reason)? If we would but concern ourselves with the inside, with its cleanliness, its unity with the Spirit; I believe the outside would be taken care of as a matter of the course I spoke of earlier.

Many, though, like the "fleshly man" mentioned before, are hard pressed to leave the process to God (whom alone can achieve it). Rather, they have the view that there must be external conformity to achieve the goal. And, of course, there must be, but not a "must" as they see it, for that "must" of theirs is a primary one and the one of scripture is secondary (it must, of course, happen on the outside because it has, of course, happened on the inside).

We cannot count on outside circumstances for our contentment. And we must know through scripture that no true change can be wrought through outside influence; only by internal transformation. We must be motivated by love of God and of man. If we love and trust Him, we will be like the "spiritual man" and really believe what He says to be true and not in any way misleading. This being true, let us go where He leads us, not where our yet unregenerate minds tell us to go. Let us view change as He does - in the heart, connected with the eternal. Transitory change is not change at all, but man's feeble effort at change. At this point, in this New Covenant that Jesus has brought us, God does not work by external constraint on His children. He makes us like Himself and so, we conduct ourselves as He does. He woos us, we succumb to His wishes, He makes love to us and we joyfully bear His "children".

This is how it is with the kingdom of God - not "thou shalt not..." and "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!" (Colossians 2:20-23), but "...righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17) as it is so written. Let us say within ourselves "amen" (so let it be) to this and allow God to do things as He wishes to do them, "not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit..."Ê If we cannot trust the Spirit of the Almighty God to do those things which are His will to do, then we should give up hope of them ever being done at all, for certainly we cannot accomplish those things which God alone can (John 15:5).Ê This is true whether we are talking about the gifts of the Spirit, the manifestation of anointings, or the accomplishment of our own salvation.Ê Manipulation, whether of ourselves or of others, cannot be done "in the Spirit". I believe it serves our purposes here to note that this word begins with "man-".

I would define manipulation, in a spiritual context, as man attempting to produce in himself or in others results which only God, in the realm of faith, can bring to pass. This is what a "merely human" person has to deal with. Much of the heart of what I am saying is found in Paul's 2nd letter to the Corinthians, chapter 4. Here, he comes against the underhanded practices and trickery performed in the name of God.ÊHe calls for openness in preaching the true Gospel of Christ. In v.7 the point is made clear that God is the one to thank - that the surpassing power shown forth is His and not ours.Ê And finally in v.18 he speaks an ever so important truth which should characterize all of our lives:Ê "We do not fix our gaze on what is seen, but on what is unseen. What is seen is transitory; what is unseen lasts forever."

Unlike the fleshly man who never rests until he sees his desired result come to pass; the spiritual man is perpetually at rest in the heart of his Father. He knows that what is seen does not dictate that which is not, but vice-versa. He lives by the scripture quoted above. He focuses his life on what is "unseen." In other words, he "...lives by faith, not by sight."

We must all, then, implicitly at all times and in all situations, trust that the powerful Word and Spirit of Almighty God is able to accomplish that which He has spoken it to do. We can't afford to depend on ourselves as much as we do. Yes, we must make choices. Yes, we must cooperate with the workings of God in our soul, but we must also understand fully that it is His working, not ours. Our job is to allow Him to do it in us, to make us what He created us to be.

So, let the Life which God has placed in you by His Holy Spirit take it's course. Let Him transform you and make you like Himself so that you can fully experience His presence in you, and so that His presence may be known and experienced by those around you.