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From Adam To Christ
Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit.
Hebrews 6:1-3
Paul admonished believers to leave behind the basic "principles of the doctrine of Christ" and "go on unto perfection." When he says to "leave" the principles of Christ, he is not asking us to forget them or deny them. He is saying that having been fully established in them, we should then move deeper into the purposes for which God saved us in the first place.
You could view what Paul said in the context of going to school. When we begin school we learn the "first principles" of certain important subjects, like mathematics. The purpose for learning addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc., is so that later these skills can be utilized in the affairs of life. While in school, they are the focus of our attention. However, once we have graduated our focus turns to the concerns of adult life. Though we still use the skills that we have learned, they are no longer the focus of our attention.
Paul is saying that as we grow up in Christ and press toward spiritual maturity, the first principles will be there for God to utilize in our lives. They will be there to keep us grounded in truth. However, they are not to remain the central focus of our lives. If they do we will never grow. This is the problem we have today. God's people are not going on to perfection because their lives remain focused on the basic principles of the faith, on church work and on evangelism. But as bad as this is, we face an even greater crisis: the first principles of Christ are being corrupted. The resulting situation is that many of us are choosing to focus our attention on that which is being perverted. Not only are we not going forward in God's purposes, we are actually going backward.
Perfection is a frightening word to most believers for it conjures up images of legalism, cult-like bondages and unreality. It is a goal that most assume is unreachable until after we die and go to heaven. The tendency has been to attach a less threatening definition to the term. Most have been taught that perfection refers to general spiritual maturity, rather than a state of actual "sinlessness."
Although spiritual maturity is certainly included in the term "perfect," maturity could never constitute the totality of the term, for it involves more than spiritual maturity. The Word of God associates perfection with possessing the "fulness" of God and of Christ, with being free of (spiritual or moral) spots and wrinkles. It is associated with having no blemish or guile and with being faultless. Finally, it is connected with bearing the complete image of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Romans 8:28-30
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
II. Corinthians 3:18
For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.
II. Corinthians 13:9
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God....Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
Ephesians 3:19 & 4:13
Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 1:28
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.
Jude 1:24
That he might sanctify and cleanse it [the Church] with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself [at His appearing] a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Ephesians 5:26-27
These are they [the 144,000 who stood on Mt. Zion with the Lamb] which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
Revelation 14:4-5
When the Scripture talks about presenting us faultless and perfect it is not referring to imputed faultlessness or perfection. When it says God will wash and cleanse the Church, so that it will be free from all guile, blemishes, spots or wrinkles, it is not talking about a legal position. There will be a company of people who will have been purged of all sin and rebellion and fully conformed to the "image" of Christ.
This cleansing is taking place now, but Satan has managed to conceal what God is doing from the majority of believers by flooding the churches with doctrines that say full transformation is not possible (and therefore not really necessary) in this life. But transformation in this life is what Salvation is all about. Through the Cross, Jesus made a way for us not only to escape hell in the future, but to be changed from the image of Adam into His own Divine image today.
Though such a radical change requires a deep work of crucifixion in a person, the Scripture teaches that such a change is possible in this life. Those who come to understanding this truth should also know how the Spirit is accomplishing our perfection, for the Lord needs our full cooperation. Therefore, the better we understand what must happen in order to bring about this change, the better prepared we will be to co-operate with the Holy Spirit as He digs deeper and deeper into our souls to root out those things which are defiling us.
Among today's Christians there is confusion when it comes to this process of transformation. More specifically, people do not seem to understand the difference between the sinful "flesh nature" and the "soul." There is also a great deal of ignorance regarding the interaction between the fallen Adamic nature and demon spirits, as well as the affect these spirits can have on the soul of the believer.
We feel it is imperative that God’s people have a solid understanding of these matters, for He is doing a total work of cleansing and purging in this hour. Of a necessity, such a work must address all three of these areas: (1) the flesh nature, (2) the soul, and (3) the influence demon spirits can have over them. Although they are tightly knit together in experience, the "flesh" (nature) and the "soul" are different entities. They are different in fact and in destiny. The flesh nature is destined for destruction because it is totally hostile towards God. It cannot be reformed or transformed in any way. On the other hand, the soul is not destined for destruction. It is destined for restoration back into God’s image.
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts...And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Ephesians 4:22&24
Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.
Colossians 3:9&10
Every person who is born of the Spirit possesses two natures. One is fallen and corrupt, the other is Divine and incorruptible. The apostle Paul calls these two different natures men. The fallen Adamic nature he calls the "old" man and the new nature, received at our new birth, he calls the "new" man. The old man bears the image of Adam, who took on the image of Satan when he disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. The new man bears the image of Jesus, who bears the image of the Father. Paul repeatedly tells us to "put off" the old man which is corrupt, and "put on" the new man which is incorruptible.
Before we are saved the soul and the flesh are indistinguishable. They move in unison and harmony, functioning as a single organ. After we come to Christ the Spirit of God begins to separate the two. He begins to show us what is of the flesh so we can turn away from it. However, it not so easy to distinguish between the flesh nature itself and the deeds of that nature. When we read that we are to put off the old man, our minds immediately think in terms of deeds. To put off the old man means to stop doing evil works—and this is true—but there is more.
Paul said believers "must put off the old man with his deeds." The object is to not merely to put off the "deeds" of the old man but to put off the man himself. If we only concentrate on the works of the old man we will never progress towards spiritual maturity or perfection. If, on the other hand, we put off the man himself, the evil deeds which he performs (or causes us to do) will cease.
We need to learn how to recognize not only the deeds of the old man but the man himself. This takes the discernment of the Holy Spirit because the old man is tightly woven into the fabric of our very being. He is part of us, entwined in our very heart and soul. We reflect his image. But we are destined to reflect the Messiah’s image.
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
I. Corinthians 15:45-49
When God made man He formed him from the dust of the earth and breathed His own breath of life into him. When He did, Adam became a "living soul." God’s life merged with a body of dust and produced a soul that was alive. Adam's soul was dominated by God's Spirit through his own spirit. When he disobeyed God, sin and death entered his body and his soul. God withdrew His Spirit from Adam’s spirit, which fell into a kind of coma. Sin, combined with an earthly body, a fallen soul and a lifeless spirit, produced "the flesh."
Before the fall, man was animated by God’s Spirit through his own Spirit. The soul bore the image of the Spirit. Since the fall, man has been animated and moved by the power of the soul. The reasonings, motives, desires, wisdom, strength and talent of unregenerate man originates in the soul. But the soul is no longer dominated by man’s spirit or God’s Spirit. It’s now completely dominated by "the flesh." This is why the Scripture refers to the old man as "the flesh." The flesh is totally corrupt because sin’s power (or the base from which it operates) is located there. This is also why it must be destroyed. It is impossible to separate sin from the old man. The Scripture says the flesh uses our will and members to carry out it’s desires, which are contrary to God’s will. Therefore, we should put it off.
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 1:13
For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
Romans 7:5
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Romans 7:18
Our new man is animated and moves by the power of God. He is a quickening spirit. His reasonings and motives and desires, all his wisdom, strength and talent, spring from God and are dominated by His nature. So Paul admonished believers to put off the old man (flesh) and put on the new man. A careful reading of the Scripture reveals there are three entities being referred to here: the new man, the old man, and the individual who is being asked to put the one off and the other on. Paul is not telling our old man to put the new man on; he is telling us (the person) to put off the flesh nature and put on the nature of Christ.
So we find that in each of us there dwells these two men. But there is a third entity that must choose which man we will manifest (put on). This means our flesh and soul are not identical. They are actually separate entities. However, even though they are separate in fact, they are knit together in experience to form the individual personality. The soul is a source of life for the flesh and the flesh uses the soul to perpetuate its existence and carry out its own will. This can be seen in Paul’s list of the works of the flesh.
But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.
Colossians 3:8-9
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19-21
Notice that the above list are works of "the flesh." Paul did not attribute them to "the soul." Why? Because they flow from man’s fallen nature, which has taken control of the soul’s abilities and functions. It would be impossible for our old man to manifest hate, murder and strife if the emotions of the soul were not utilized. It would be impossible for him to practice witchcraft and idolatry if the will was not utilized. It would be impossible to bring in heresies and seditions if the mind were not utilized.
We co-operate with and yield to the old man. Indeed, much of the time we like the old man. Yet we have to choose to put him off. Assuming that "we" and "he" are identical is illogical. The old man would never choose to put himself out of commission. But we can choose to put him out of commission by yielding to the dealings of the Spirit, to the process of transformation which, when finished, will have put him out of commission.
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Romans 13:12
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Galatians 3:27
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Ephesians 6:11
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
Colossians 3:12-14
God desires that we choose to "put on" mercy, kindness, humbleness, charity, etc. These attributes are part of the new man—the character of God. This is sometimes easier said than done, for in Romans Paul talks as if the flesh is some kind of alien force that is occupying parts of his own being. He says that when he goes to do good the sin that dwells within stops him from doing good. When he purposes not to do those things he hates the sin that dwells within forces him to do those very things. Though he never evades responsibility for his own actions, it sounds as if he is saying, the Devil (sin) made him do it.
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Romans 7:22-23
If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Romans 7:16-20
Paul is describing a monumental struggle between the individual who wants to serve and please God and the "flesh" that wars against his desire and choice. The sin that dwells in him seems to be stronger than his ability to serve God and do right. This is a description of the battle that exists between me, the new man and the old man. "I" (the real me) delight in the law of God according to the inner man. In other words, in my heart and mind I desire to follow the leading of the inner man. But there is another law (force) dwelling in me which declares war on my mind and my ability to carry out my choice. This power is stronger than the power of my mind and brings me into captivity to sin.
Where is this power located? It is located in my members, in the old man. In other words, "I" am a prisoner! I myself delight in the Law of God and desire to walk in righteousness, but the "law of sin" which dwells in my members forces me to do the things I hate and stops me from doing those things I know please God. This is the dilemma of the average Christian in our day. They desire to obey God but keep doing those things they know displease Him. They are not being taught that the "law" (power) of sin dwells in the old man. Neither are they being taught how to put him off. Instead, they are told that "grace" will continually and automatically cover their repeated failures.
Unlike Paul, who continues through this struggle until he has reached victory, most believers just give up. When faced with the reality of our own self-will, weaknesses and failures, we except the idea that total deliverance is not even possible, and because this is so, God’s grace will have to pick up the slack in the end. But Paul didn’t give up and neither should we. Yes, he realized the wretchedness of his condition, even as we must come to see our own helplessness and weakness. But he laid hold of Christ Jesus and gained the victory, and the same power that brought him victory can bring us victory.
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Romans 7:24&25
Who shall deliver me from the body of this death, asked Paul? But the answer he gave doesn’t seem to have any connection with the question. He said, "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." What kind of an answer is that? It doesn’t fit. What he’s saying is this: "I thank God that He will deliver me. How? Through Jesus our Lord; that is, through spiritual union with Him." As I cultivate an intimate relationship with the risen Messiah, God will help me put on the new man. He will teach me how to walk and "abide" in the Spirit.
When this truth becomes real to us, we begin to cease from our religious strivings and enter into rest. We realize the flesh will always be the flesh. It will never change. It will always serve the "law of sin" and be contrary to the mind and will of God. It will never obey God. We see that we are not responsible to stop the flesh from being the flesh and that God is not asking us to patch the flesh up or reform it. He is asking us to choose to put it off. He is asking us to choose to put it to death, to crucify it by learning how to walk in the Spirit.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:1&2
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16
There is no condemnation to those who walk not after the flesh. Why is there no condemnation? Because condemnation always follows sin. When we begin to "walk in the Spirit" we begin to overcome sin. The vicious cycle of failure is broken and we begin to live a victorious life in Christ, free of condemnation. This is precisely what Paul was talking about when he said the "law (power) of the Spirit of life" has made us free from the "law (power) of sin and death."
If we would but learn how to yield to that power we would not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. We would not sin. Why? Because we would move in a power that is stronger than the power of sin. The "law" of the Spirit (in the new man) is stronger than the "law" of sin (in the old man). Therefore, the thing that is necessary is for every believer to learn how to continually walk and live in the Spirit, in that new man.
Reckoning Ourselves Dead
What shall we say the? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him, for in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6:1-11
How do I walk and live in the Spirit? Paul makes it sound so simple, talking as if the old and the new man are a set of clothes—put this one off, put that one on. But how? The first step is recognizing there is a gap between our position in Christ and experiencing that position. Jesus accomplished a complete work of Redemption for us at Calvary. However, we do not experience the full outworking of this Redemption when we come to Christ initially. At first we experience the assurance of having our sins forgiven and of being accepted into the family of God, etc. As we grow spiritually we begin to experience more and more of the actual effects of our Redemption.
Our position in Christ must become a reality in this life. In Christ we are perfect and have power over all sin. In Christ we have been fully redeemed and have dominion over every enemy—including death. Yet look around. Many of us are bound in sin. Many are sick, and we die every day. The realities of life force us to confess that we are not yet able to manifest some of the benefits of our Redemption. We are unable to apprehend and utilize some of the authority and power that is legally ours by virtue of being part of Jesus. This is why Paul tells us what we are, then admonishes us to bring our conduct in line with that reality.
Simply put, we have to become what we already are. Don’t you know, he asks, that our old man was crucified with Christ? We were baptized into His death. We have been buried with Him—that is our position in Him. Therefore (because this is so), reckon yourselves dead unto sin. Understand that your life is over. You can no longer live by the dictates of your own will and desires because those desires are the desires of the old man¾and that man was nailed to the Cross with Jesus. He died and was buried with Jesus. He is dead; you’re dead; now start acting like it. Don’t live in the old man any more.
We have to "reckon" ourselves dead because we are not yet dead in experience. Our "position" in Christ is that we have already died and been planted together with Him. But we have yet to walk in the reality of this truth. We must possess that position. This is why Paul speaks of our being dead in past, present and future tenses.
But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world...And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Galatians 6:14 & 5:24
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Romans 6:6
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Romans 8:13
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Colossians 3:5
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.
Philippians 3:10
The same applies to our resurrection in Christ. We must reckon ourselves alive unto God. Paul said we were buried with Jesus so that, just as He was raised from the dead, we too should walk in newness of life. Why must we reckon ourselves alive unto God? Because we are not yet alive unto God in experience. Our position is that we are living and walking in resurrection life—life that cannot die; life that cannot be overpowered by sin; life that always does the will of God. Now we have to experience what is already true of us.
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Colossians 3:1-5
In simple terms, Paul was saying if you are risen with Christ then act like it by seeking those things which are from above. If you are dead with Christ then act like it by mortifying your members that sin. Learn to live in the Spirit. Learn to yield to the life that is within. Let the Lord bring you into the experience of what He has already accomplished for you.
If we want to overcome sin and be fully conformed to the image of Christ we must deal with the root of our problem. We must overcome sin at it’s source—and contrary to what we might assume, the source of man’s problem is not the Devil. In fact, God could bind the Devil and all his demons today and throw them into the bottomless pit, yet nothing would change. Mankind would be just as lost. They would remain in the same chaos and spiritual darkness. They would still refuse to submit to the rulership of God and would continue unabated on their present course of global self-destruction.
The source of man’s problem is not the Devil, but rather, his fallen nature—the nature Adam doomed all mankind to when he disobeyed God in the Garden. We must be set free from that nature because it is contaminated with the same rebellion and self-centeredness of Satan. Here is where people get confused, for the sin of our fallen Adamic nature is not the nature itself, anymore than the fruit of a tree is the tree itself. If you want to rid yourself of a tree in your back yard you don’t do it by tearing off all the fruit and the branches. You lay the axe to the root. Too many believers try to overcome the sin of the old nature, yet they do not know how to break free of the nature itself.
Paul tells us to put the old nature off and the new nature on. The old man (nature), the new man (nature), and the "I" that must choose between them are actually three separate entities. The "I" is going to reflect either the old or the new man. This "I" is the real me. It is the core of the soul. It is not easy to define but it is there. Why are we to put the old man off? Because sin’s power (the law of sin and death) is located in the old man. If we hope to reach perfection we must overcome both sin and the base (source) from which it operates. This is why we were given a new man: the power of God (the law of the Spirit of life) resides in the new man. As we learn to live and walk in the Spirit we begin to overcome both sin and it’s source because we are moving in a power that is stronger than both of them.
Although our old man was crucified and buried with Jesus 2000 years ago, we must still put him off today so we can walk in newness of life. Putting off the old man (in experience) is a process because the old man and the soul are entwined. Although the old man and I are different entities, we are united in experience. Though every believer can be set free from the old man and the power (law) of sin that dwells in him, this can only be accomplished through the discernment and power of the Holy Spirit. We will never be able to do it in our own strength or through our own religious wisdom. Only God can separate us from our old man, for it is a very complex and delicate operation.
It’s like weeding a garden. We all know how hard it is to weed a garden without up-rooting the plants. Those weeds are already in the dirt when we plant. You don’t have to plant weeds to have them grow in your garden. But suppose you intentionally planted weeds along with the flowers. In fact, suppose you planted twice as many weeds as you did flowers. Oh how difficult it would be to weed that garden. The roots of the weeds and the flowers would be so thoroughly entangled and entwined in one another it would be impossible to pull the weeds without destroying the flowers. Separating us from the old man is just like that, but infinitely more difficult. The old man is so entangled in our personalities, in our way of thinking, in our habits and our manners, that to try to uproot him all at once would literally destroy the soul. That God can do such a work at all is a testimony of His power and wisdom.
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Galatians 5:16-17
Paul said the Spirit (in our new man) lusteth against the flesh (in our old man) and the flesh against the Spirit. Inside of us there is a battle raging. The new man and the old man are at war. Exactly what are these two powers contending over? They are striving for mastery over the person, over the soul. The question is, which power will the soul submit to? Which man will have dominion over us?
There are several reasons why we must "reckon" ourselves dead. Firstly, we need to be changed. Even more importantly, we need to realize and believe that we need to be changed. When we become convinced that we must be changed, we then become willing to pay whatever price it costs to in fact be changed. We will not be deceived by today’s false gospel which teaches such change is not absolutely necessary, that all that is necessary to receive the full inheritance is that we be forgiven, that says grace frees us from the demands of God and His Word—demands which are designed to change us into new creatures. The very grace that is being preached all over the world is hindering the work God wants to accomplish in His people.
If we accept this lie or come under its influence in any way we will start coasting spiritually. We will stop giving God the cooperation that is needed to finish the work that must be done. The perception that we must be changed will grow dim and fade. Next, the desire to be transformed—along with the willingness to endure the necessary suffering such a change requires—will be destroyed. Eventually we will begin to compromise with sin, justify our disobedience to God, and take ourselves right out of the high calling.
Secondly, it is important because there are actually three sources of life in the believer. There is the life of God in the new man, the life (actually death) of Satan in the old man, and our own life which resides in the soul. At any time we can draw from any of these three sources. But God only wants us drawing from one source—the new man. This is easier said than done.
The choice between God’s life or Satan’s death is an easy one. All of us would choose God’s life. The problem is, we have to make another choice as well. We must also choose between God’s life and our own life. This is an entirely different matter. The choice between God’s will and Satan’s will is much easier than the choice between God’s will and my will, between God’s wisdom and my wisdom, between God’s view of situations and my view of them. When we "reckon ourselves dead" it helps us to choose God’s life over our own life.
Thirdly, we must reckon ourselves dead because it properly orients us to God’s purging process. As we go through the refiner’s fire we suddenly realize that God not only wants to deliver us from our sin and our old man, but from our own life as well. It helps us adopt an out-look that accepts the fact that our lives are over. We need to possess the attitude toward ourselves that not only the life of our old man was crucified, our life was crucified as well. If we embrace this frame of mind it will help keep us from rebelling when God starts touching desires, relationships and goals that are very difficult for us to relinquish to Him. We will not draw back when He begins to deflate our ego, or faint when He brings us into times of great stress or suffering.
When we reckon ourselves dead, instead of drawing back when we face a trial or a challenge we will say, "I am dead; my life is over. My possessions, my talents, my goals, my relationships, my career, none of these things belong to me because I am dead. They belong to God and no matter what He does with them or me, I will trust that He is doing what is best for me, even if it hurts right now, in order to make me the new creation I was destined to be."
And he said to them, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
Luke 9:23-24
For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
Romans 14:7-8
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Romans 12:1-2
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's...Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.
I. Corinthians 6:20 & 7:23
Self-denial is one of the great hallmarks of the true Christian. We have been bought with a price and our life no longer belongs to us, to do with as we please. Everyday we must choose between our desires and the Lord’s desires, between our will and His will. We cannot serve two masters. Either we are going to call the shots according to our own wisdom and understanding and desires, or we are going to let God call the shots according to His wisdom and understanding and desires. In order to choose His will, His way and His wisdom, we have to deny our will, our way and our wisdom. The path of self denial is the path upon which every true saint walks.
It is precisely in this area of self-denial that all the elements of the soul come into play, for the life of the old nature must be crucified and eventually destroyed. This old life is associated with sinful behavior, such as lying, cheating, stealing, hating one another, backbiting, jealousy, revenge, bitterness, religious factions, etc. But our life—our soul-life—must also be denied. It too must be put on the Cross. Yet this life is not destined to be destroyed. Rather, it is destined to be raised and filled with resurrection life.
The whole problem revolves around our failing to understand the difference between soul life and the flesh nature. What our life is, is not easy to understand or perceive. So we never know whether or not the things God is asking us to deny or forsake will be raised again and made incorruptible or destroyed. We don’t really trust God. We automatically assume that everything God asks us to forsake or turn over to Him will be lost forever. In some cases this is true, but not in all cases. Some things will be made eternal and given back to us.
The Soul And Soul Life
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Matthew 16:24 -26
For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
Luke 9:25
If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:26
Though defining exactly what our life is may not be easy, one thing is certain— our will is part of our soul life. It belongs to us. The power of choice is man’s own possession and this is what the Spirit of God and the spirit of Satan are contending over.
One of the hardest lessons to learn is how to differentiate between our life and God’s life. The life of the new man must manifest itself through our soul. But our soul has it’s own life. The same mind that can receive the thoughts and revelations from God is capable of producing its own thoughts and imaginations. Moreover, that same mind is able to receive the thoughts and imaginations of the old man and/or demon spirits.
The same will that can yield to God’s will is also capable of choosing it’s own desires or the desires of the old man and\or demon spirits. The same emotions that can express God’s love, patience, and joy, can also express their own fun, happiness, antipathies, proclivities, and also the lusts of the old man and\or of demon spirits.
The most popular understanding of the soul is that it is comprised of the will, the mind and the emotions. While this is certainly true, such a simple definition in and of itself can never describe the complexity of the soul. Neither can it convey a true picture of what the saint must endure to have that soul fully purged and made a new creature. The will, mind and emotions are not only the soul’s functions, but its source of life as well. The soul contains its own life. Therefore, it is both the source and the manifestation of that source.
Again, the life of the soul is our life. It is not the life of God or the death of the Devil. It belongs to us. Just as the life of Satan resides in his own being and the life of God dwells within His own being, so too, the life of man dwells in himself. That life is the life of the soul. Therefore, the soul as a source of life must be denied until that particular aspect of it finally dies. At the same time, the soul itself—its functions and expressions—are to be restored to their original glory through union with the Spirit of God in our new man. God wants to restore mankind back into His own image. But before this can be accomplished our life must come to an end.
Two operations are necessary in the restoration of the soul of man: (1) the soul must be brought out from under the dominion and power of sin, which requires that it be freed from the old man. This is why we were given a new man. (2) It must stop drawing on its own resources (ie., wisdom, talent, abilities and strengths) so it can begin to draw on the resources and strength of the new man.
Before we were saved we were only capable of manifesting our own life, which was dominated by the sin and death of the old man and demon spirits. We (our mind, emotions and will) must now learn how to yield completely to and manifest the life of the new man. Again, this is easier said than done. Just as "I" and the "old man" are united but not identical, so our soul and our soul life are united but not identical. We must learn how to stop living by the life (strength, wisdom , abilities) of the soul and learn how to live by the life (strength and wisdom) of the Spirit.
Jesus said any person wishing to follow Him had to "hate" his own life, "deny" it, and eventually "lose" it altogether. What exactly was He saying. What "life" are we to hate, deny and lose? It is the life of the soul. Again, we are not referring to the soul’s functions. If the Lord were asking us to lose our soul’s functions and expressions, He would be demanding that we turn into mindless, emotionless robots. Jesus is referring to our independence, which manifests itself when we live according to our own wisdom and talents, and when we try to utilize them to carry out His will.
We must deny ourselves. But deny ourselves what? Did Jesus have a list of do’s and don’ts He handed out to people? No. The point is not that we must deny ourselves this or that specific thing. The point is that we must deny our self—our self life. We must lose our ability to follow Him in our own strength. Our independence must be put to death. However, our individuality (that which makes us different from each other) must be preserved.
Remember that Jesus was talking to His disciples, not to the unsaved. He was not saying if the unsaved lose their lives they will go to heaven, but if not they will go to hell. He was saying that if believers want to attain the fulness of God we must make a trade. We are going to have to exchange the life of the soul for the life of the Spirit.
To deny our "self" is to deny our soul-life. To deny our soul-life is to lose our soul-life. To not deny our self is to not deny our soul-life. To not deny our soul-life is to try to save it. Jesus said if we try to save our soul-life we will end up losing it anyway. Then He asked this question: "What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" In Luke’s Gospel the parallel passage reads, "if he gain the whole world and lose himself?" The person who saves his life—and even gains the whole world in the process—will lose his own life, his own soul and himself.
Self, soul and life are all synonymous in these passages. So what was Jesus saying? He was saying that we have to lose the soul’s life if we want to find the soul’s restoration. He was telling the disciples that they must forever stop drawing on their own life (resources and wisdom). The life of the soul must die if we ever hope to have it’s functions and expressions come forth in the Messiah’s image or in resurrection life. Only when we stop drawing on our own life can we begin to draw upon (and manifest) the life of God.
Those who truly love God readily turn away from those aspects of our life that are ugly, unpleasant or sinful. But we have a hard time rejecting those aspects of our life that we esteem to be good or noble or worthwhile. After all, we have many talents and much wisdom and posses commendable character traits. Some of us were naturally gracious before conversion. Others were endowed with great patience or are naturally charitable. We possess abilities and skills, many of which were given to us by God Himself. When we come to the Lord we are full of zeal and we want to please Him. We try to employ our talents and wisdom as we serve Him. But that is not what He wants. He wants us to die so He can live through us.
Unfortunately it takes a long time for us to realize this is what God wants. Many will never realize it because the Religious System teaches us to do exactly the opposite. It says we should utilize all our soulish wisdom and talent in the cause of evangelism and ministry. We learn very slowly that, although we possess many valuable resources, we must not utilize them according to our own wisdom. Every talent, every ability and skill, every religious goal and desire, and our entire personality must be brought under the government of God.
All our wisdom and admirable attributes, our talents and strengths, are produced by soul-life. The problem with soul-life is that no matter how religious it becomes it’s main concern centers on itself. Soul-life is continually pre-occupied with it’s own safety, security and desires. While soul-life is not necessarily evil in the sense that the old man is evil, it nevertheless remains self-centered. We are to be God-centered—something soul-life will never be able to produce.
The things of the world and the sins of the flesh are fairly easy to recognize. However, soul-life is much harder to recognize and put to death. Many blood-washed believers who gladly shun the things of this world and (at least) try to overcome the sins of the flesh find it difficult to embrace death to self. What are some of the manifestations of self? The biggest one is self-will, which seeks it’s own way or course of action in every circumstance. Another big one is self-seeking, which seeks it’s own good, often at the expense of others or the will of God. Below is list of manifestations which, while not all-inclusive, can shed some light on the subject.
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Self-importance: causes us to hold
ourselves in high esteem. A disregard, even contempt, for the needs and
feelings of others.
Self-vindication: causes us to demand
our own rights. It makes us announce when we've been wronged and causes us to
defend ourselves.
Self-seeing: causes us to only be able
to see situations from our own perspective or point of view, rather than from
God’s perspective.
Self-affection: causes us to love most
those who love us.
Self-consciousness: causes us to
always be worried about what others think of us. It is an inordinate
preoccupation with image.
Self-confidence: having confidence in
our own abilities and wisdom instead of deferring to God’s wisdom and
abilities.
Self-complacency: an unholy
contentment with our present spiritual state or level of maturity.
Self-glorying: causes us to seek the
praise of men instead of or in addition to the praise of God.
Self-righteousness: deceives us into
believing that we are good, and in fact, better than others.
Selfish cares and fears: keeps us
continually concerned about how situations or events will affect us. Will it
cause me pain and suffering? Will it deflate my ego? Etc.
Selfish giving: doing things for
others, or giving things to others (or to God) in order to get something in
return from them (or Him).
Selfish possessions: makes us clutch
our possessions; makes us unwilling to give of our money or material goods
freely.
Selfish pleasures: partaking of (morally acceptable) pleasures or past times
that please us but not God. Wasting God’s time on spiritually unprofitable
enterprises.
Sensitiveness: causes us to be easily
offended; makes us unable to receive constructive criticism, godly rebuke or
discipline and correction (spiritual or natural).
Selfish sorrows: having wounded pride
or ambitions; causes us to be greatly pained if we do not get what we desired
and leads to depression.
Selfish-sacrifices: denying some
aspect of self in order to satisfy or glorify another aspect of self, rather
than to satisfy and glorify God.
Selfish spirituality: remaining
spiritually in the same place because of a blessed experience or the spiritual
blessing we enjoy there.
Selfish charities and gifts: this is
when we give in order to receive the praise of men; giving to satisfy self.
Selfish Christian works: ministering
to get power, glory, money, or any other motive than to simply please God. This
leads to a worshiping of our ministry and if
we are not careful, we end up destroying the very work God called us to.
Self can flourish in any atmosphere or surrounding, no matter how religious. It can adapt and conform to any religious group. It can assimilate and teach great prophetic truths and spiritual principles. It can assume a most pious position among the brethren. But the one thing self cannot do and will never voluntarily do is die and let another life live through it.
This is why the death to self message is so crucial in this hour. Only this kind of death will produce the full image of Jesus Christ in us. Religious knowledge will never produce the image of Christ. Religious works and ministry will never produce the image of Christ. The only thing that can bring forth the image of Christ in a person is as he denies his own life.
The Third Death
But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
Galatians 6:14
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Romans 6:6
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20
Paul said the world was crucified unto him and he unto the world. He also said that our old man was crucified in order that the body of sin might be destroyed. Finally, he said that he himself was crucified with Christ, so that Christ could live through him. So there are three deaths—but death to self is the hardest death by far to embrace. These three deaths are not only revealed in the New Testament, they are also revealed by various types and shadows throughout the Word of God. Below are a few examples.
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The Bible reveals three deaths we as believers must pass through if we are to be fully transformed into the image of Christ. The first death is death to the world. The second death is death to sin. The third death is death to self. All three deaths are things we must experience. They are not legal positions. If we do not allow the Spirit of God to do this work in us we will never possess the full image of the Lord Jesus.
One of the problems with modern Christianity is that our religious leaders know nothing of "death to self." Since they neither understand it or walk in it, they are incapable of leading anyone else into it. Thus, our churches are filled with people who are willing to do anything for God except die and let Him live His life through them. What Christians need to be taught is that God cannot live His life through us if we are living our lives through us.
The first death (to the world) was foreshadowed in the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt. Their passage through the Red Sea was a type of New Testament water baptism, which is itself a sign of repentance and conversion. This is our entrance into the Feast of Passover, where sin is forgiven and the righteousness of God’s Son is imputed to us. This death was also foreshadowed by the Outer Court of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, where the Levitical priests slew the sacrifices as an atonement for the sins of the people. Passover represents the coming of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who became our sacrifice for sin. In this feast Jesus becomes a reality to us.
The second death (to sin) was foreshadowed in Israel’s coming to Mt. Sinai. Here God gave the people the Torah (Law), which defined sin and showed them how to sanctify themselves and be holy. This is our entrance into the Feast of Pentecost, where we are baptized in the Spirit and receive power from on high. It was foreshadowed by the Holy Place in the Tabernacle, which contained the Table of Shewbread, the Golden Candlestick and the Golden Altar of Incense—all of which represent a Spirit-filled life. Pentecost represents the coming of the Spirit as our Torah, instructing us and guiding us into all truth. In this feast the Holy Spirit becomes a reality to us as He begins to convict us of sin and gives us power to overcome it.
The third death (to self) was foreshadowed in Israel’s crossing over Jordan and taking the Promise Land. This is our entrance into the Feast of Tabernacles, where we are baptized with fire in preparation to enter the rest of God. This is where we find "rest" from our enemies—which are also God’s enemies. John the Baptist said that when the Messiah comes He would baptize His people "with the Holy Ghost and with fire" (Matt. 3:11). What is this baptism of fire? It is the final purging, through tribulation and suffering, of God’s people in preparation of their entering into the fullness of His likeness and Presence.
This baptism of fire was foreshadowed by the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle, where the Shekinah glory and Presence of God resided. In Tabernacles the Father becomes a reality to us as He brings us under His rod of strict discipline and chastening. This is done so we can learn to lean completely on Him, doing only those things which He tells us to do, going only where He directs us to go, and saying only those things He wants said. It will enable us to dwell in the Holy of Holies forever. Death to self is the hardest death we experience because it is we who must die. God is demanding an exchange—His life for ours. He will except nothing less. If we want the fulness of His life we are going to have to lay our lives down.
It was this "death to self" that Paul referred to when he wrote, "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I but Christ liveth in me." What a strange thing to say. He said I am living, yet I am not living. Another life is living in and through me, yet I am still present. I have not been replaced. The life I am now living in this body of flesh is not my (original soul) life, it is another life, the very life of the Son of God. Yet I am living it.
Paul walked in Tabernacles. He had learned how to lean utterly on the Spirit in his inner man. He was no longer drawing on the resources of the soul, but was totally dependent on God for his wisdom, strength and direction. Praise God! If he can make it so can we!
Unfortunately such a concept not only seems unreal and unattainable to the average believer, it also seems very unappealing. The thought of doing only those things God commands and saying only those things God speaks seems like a terrible bondage. This is because, though we say we want to do God’s will (and only God’s will), we really enjoy our lives too much to lay them down. Oh yes, we want to serve God. We want to please Him and love Him and evangelize for Him. But we want to remain alive while we do it. We want to do it our own way and in our own time. In order to do God’s will His way and in His time, we have to experience death to self. It alone brings us over Jordan and causes us to begin to actually possess what is legally ours in Christ.
Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest...But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in [to the Promise Land] because of unbelief.
Hebrews 3:8-11 & 17-19
For years Bible scholars have seen the Promise Land as a type of dying physically and going to heaven. That’s why you hear old hymns and spirituals talking about "crossing Jordan." Crossing Jordan does indeed represent "death" but not physical death. It represents death to self. That the Promise Land is not a type of dying and going to heaven is made clear in the book of Hebrews. Here, entering the Promise Land is clearly equated with entering into God’s rest. Furthermore, New Testament Christians must enter this rest while we are alive in the flesh. So whatever Canaan and the rest of God represent, it certainly is not physical death.
The writer of Hebrews recounts how God was angry with those who did not believe that He could fulfill the promise He made to Abraham—which was to give his seed the Promise Land. The people believed the evil report of the ten spies who said they were no match for the inhabitants of the land because they were giants. So God swore in His wrath that they would not enter His rest (the land). That is, they would not receive what God had promised to give them. For Old Testament Israel, to enter the Promise Land was to enter the rest of God. To enter that rest was to enter into the works which were already finished by the seventh day of creation. The only thing Israel had to do was enter in (by faith) to that which God already prepared and had waiting for them.
For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
Hebrews 4:3-5
All of God's works were finished by the seventh day of creation and then He rested. They were prepared and waiting for all who would believe them and apprehend them through faith. This means that the destiny of Israel was prepared by the seventh day. The destiny of the Church was prepared by the seventh day. Your destiny was laid out by the seventh day. But just because God has prepared something for us, that does not mean we will automatically receive it. The people who came out of Egypt forfeited their part in God's work through unbelief. They did not appropriate what should have been theirs. They did not inherit what God intended for them to have—the Promise Land. The writer of Hebrews goes on to warn us (New Testament believers) not to follow their example and miss the rest of God.
Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
Hebrews 4:1
New Testament believers who are saved by grace are told to fear, lest we too miss the rest of God. For we must enter that rest just as they had to enter it. We are to enter into the works that pertain to our call just as they were to enter the works that pertained to their call—the works that God finished from the foundation of the world. For the Hebrews, entering God’s rest meant taking possession of the Promise Land. For Christians, entering God’s rest means taking possession of that which the Land of Promise signifies.
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
Hebrews 4:9-11
There remaineth therefore a rest for Christians. Indeed, we must enter this rest. If we don’t it is because of unbelief. If we don’t we are following the example of the people who fell in the wilderness. What exactly is the rest of God for us? It is our entering (by faith) into that which God has already prepared and has waiting for us. By entering into the works which He accomplished by the seventh day of creation.
What are those works? What has God prepared for New Testament believers? He has prepared full Salvation, unhindered union with Him, total deliverance from the penalty, power and presence of sin, so we might experience our position in Christ. He has prepared a way for us to become the new creation we are destined to be, so we can bear the full image Jesus, so we can possess and manifest His life. How do we enter this rest? There is only one way: by ceasing to do our own works. We enter God’s rest by ceasing to do our own will, by ceasing to live our own lives.
The issue of entering God’s rest is different from the issue of eternal Salvation and damnation. A person can be saved from damnation, yet miss the rest of God. Entering His rest has to do with our transformation into His image. Our role and destiny in the Kingdom of God will be determined by how much transformation we allowed God to work in our lives today.
Those who are ignorant of this work will not necessarily be cast into hell, but failing to enter God’s rest will certainly affect our place in Christ for all eternity. This is an issue of rewards. The Bible never teaches or implies that we will be rewarded "by grace." Our rewards, our future role and place in the Kingdom of God, will be determined by one thing alone: obedience. The more fully we obey God in this life the greater our rewards will be in the next life. It is that simple.
Entering God’s rest has to do with experiencing what He has prepared for us through the shed blood of His Son. We have to apprehend the rewards laid out for us in the Scripture. Yes, they must be apprehended by faith, but the Bible definition of faith is not mental assent to facts; it is a belief that causes us to act on what we believe. Those who really believe Jesus died to deliver us from sin will be acting according to that faith (belief). Forgiveness, justification and imputed righteousness require no effort on our part, accept to truly repent. But we absolutely must strive and labor to experience actual deliverance from sin.
Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
I. Corinthians 10:1‑5
Consider carefully what Paul is saying here. He is saying that all the Israelites passed through the sea and were baptized unto Moses. They were delivered from Egypt, which represents Salvation. They were all baptized in the sea, which represents water baptism. They did all eat spiritual meat and drank spiritual drink, which represents having some type of relationship with God. They were forgiven and justified just like we are today. They were saved, but they were overthrown in the wilderness. What does being overthrown in the wilderness represent? Does it represent a loss of Salvation? Did all two-million Israelites perish eternally? Will they be thrown into Hell on Judgment Day?
If being overthrown equals loss of Salvation, Paul was trying to stay justified by works, for he is obviously comparing this overthrow of the Israelites with the failure to enter God’s rest. Being overthrown in the wilderness represents missing God’s rest. It represents our failing to obtain and possess what He has prepared for us. It is possible to be overthrown and still end up in the Kingdom of God. However, it is not possible to be overthrown and partake of all the things God had originally prepared for us when we get there.
Possessing The Land
And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel. At that time the Lord said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.
Joshua 5:1-2
When Israel came to the border of Canaan the first time they were not ready to possess it because they were still full of unbelief and rebellion. They had to wander through the wilderness for forty more years before they were ready. When they came to the border the second time they were ready. After crossing the Jordan, God told Joshua the people had to be circumcised again.
Circumcision typifies the removing of that which hinders the life (seed) from coming forth. If we want to possess the land God has promised, we must have two circumcisions. The first one pertains to the cutting away of our flesh and flesh nature. But the second one is a much deeper one. It is the cutting away of our soul-life. Our natural talent, strength and wisdom must be circumcised before the spirit-life can flow freely in and through us.
When we first come out of Egypt (the world) we are not able to have this deeper operation performed. We cannot enter into the land right away. We must first learn the difference between the flesh and the spirit. We must grow in God for a time. We are still full of unbelief, pride, self-will and self-sufficiency. Even though we have turned to the Lord in repentance there are still areas of our life which must be dealt with. The reason we are made to wander in the wilderness is because we must be humbled and proved, just as Israel was.
All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers. And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his command- ments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.
Deuteronomy 8:1 -3
We must learn that man does not live by bread only. Bread speaks of natural provision. It speaks of the strength of our own (soul) life. We must learn to live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. We have to be taught (by the Spirit) how to live by the life that resides in our new man. We have to stop drawing on our own power and learn to draw on the power, strength and wisdom of Christ in us.
One of the greatest needs in this hour is for God’s people to realize that they cannot live the Christian life. God Himself is the only One who is capable of living the Christian life. We must be brought to the place where we are allowing Him to live the Christian life through us. That is, through our new man and a restored and changed soul. We must become a vessel, a channel, for His character to flow through.
Learning to live by every word that proceeds from Christ in us takes time. It doesn’t happen automatically or instantly. It must be learned, as we go through trial after trial, test after test, failure after failure. Line upon line, precept upon precept, God brings us to the place where we are finally ready to cross over Jordan, to the place where we are ready to abandon totally our life, both the good and the bad.
That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour.
I. Thessalonians 4:4
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I. Thessalonians 5:23
The land that we must possess is our own vessel, our own soul. The Salvation (deliverance and restoration) of the entire person—especially the soul—is what the Promise Land typifies. This is the rest that God wants us to enter. This is why Paul prayed that our whole person, spirit, soul and body, would be preserved blameless till the coming of the Lord. Notice that he didn’t pray we would be made blameless at His coming or after His coming. He prayed that we would be made blameless now and be kept blameless until the return of the Lord.
It is tragic that most believers have no idea what Salvation is all about. Man is a tri-partite being, comprised of spirit, soul and body (Heb. 4:12). There are three parts of the person, yet they are united as one whole. Redemption addresses them respectively. It must, for all three parts of man are not fully redeemed at the same point in time. Though our position in Christ is that we have already been given full Salvation, in experience we have not seen that full Redemption. Actually, we are redeemed in stages: first the spirit, then the soul, then the body.
This will be a hard pill to swallow for those who have been taught all their lives that we shall experience the fulness of Redemption in the future, in heaven, by grace. It will be hard to get free of the notion that once we have been born again there is no more to be accomplished with regards to our Salvation in this life. The belief that everything is awaiting us in the future (in heaven) has been deeply ingrained in the minds of most Christians. Therefore, knowing that such a major shift in thinking does not come easy for most people, we want to take a moment and show clearly, that according to the Scripture, what we have stated is absolutely true, and that many of our religious traditions are absolutely false.
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Romans 5:10
If there is nothing more to accomplish in our Salvation after conversion, why is PAUL telling those who have already been reconciled that they will be saved in the future? Weren’t the believers in Rome saved when they were reconciled by the blood of Jesus? Salvation entails more than justification and reconciliation. It’s real purpose is transformation, not later in heaven but now. Notice what saves those who are already saved. His life! His life where? His life in the new man. Christ in us the hope of glory! As the soul is brought into union with the new man it is transformed and delivered (saved) from the power of sin.
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
James 1:21
Receiving the end
[goal] of your faith, even the salvation
of your souls.
I. Peter 1:9
If there is nothing more to accomplish in our Salvation after conversion, why is JAMES telling those who are already saved that their souls still need to be saved? Why is he telling them that their souls need to be saved, not by faith, but by the receiving of the engrafted word? Why is PETER telling those who are already saved that the goal of their faith is the Salvation of their souls? Were not their souls saved as a result of believing on God’s Messiah?
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.
Hebrews 5:9
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 7:25
But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
Hebrews 10:39
If we already have it all by grace, why is the WRITER OF HEBREWS telling Jewish believers that they must believe to the saving of the soul? That God is able to save to the uttermost? And that Jesus became the author of eternal Salvation to them that obey (not believe in) Him? Is it possible that our soul, which is our mind and personality, is not fully redeemed when we first believe, that we must believe to its saving? Is it possible for an individual to not be fully redeemed? To not be saved to the uttermost? Is it possible that believing in the Lord is not enough to transform the soul? Could it be that we also have to obey Him in order to have the soul conformed to the image of Christ?
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
Galatians 6:8
If there is nothing more to accomplish in our Salvation, why is Paul telling believers that eternal life is something that will be reaped? Why is he saying we have to "sow" to the spirit if we want to "reap" this eternal life? How can you reap something you have already been given as a free gift by grace? The very term "sowing and reaping" implies labor. It implies that we must do something in order to inherit eternal life, not simply believe something.
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses...Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they [believers] may lay hold on eternal life.
I. Timothy 6:12&19
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own Salvation with fear and trembling.
Philippians 2:12
Why does Paul say it is necessary to "work out" our salvation? Hasn't it already been worked out for us by grace? Why would he say we must "obtain" eternal life? Don't we already possess eternal life? Are the apostles talking out of both sides of their mouths or what? These and other scriptures appear to be saying that eternal life and Salvation are the result of our own labor. Are we to believe that the apostles were teaching Salvation by works? Of course not. They are talking about the transformation of the believers’ personality, which is accomplished neither instantly or automatically. We are responsible to sow and work out and lay hold of full Redemption. We are responsible to receive the engrafted word, to believe and obey the Spirit of God, to interact and co-operate with our Redeemer so He can transform our character.
The transformation of our personality requires a lot of focusing on our part. It takes quite a bit of work to change a person from his own image into the image of someone else. It can never be imputed. It will never be experienced simply by believing correct doctrine or by attending a fellowship or by obeying any number of religious rules or regulations. It will never be attained by dying and going to heaven. Transformation takes personal interaction with God.
This is why the writer of Hebrews warns Christians not to neglect our Salvation (Heb. 2:1-3). How can a person who is already saved neglect his Salvation? Is the writer referring to backsliding or apostasy? Such a statement makes no sense if our superficial view of Salvation is true. We need to understand that even though we have been saved by grace, we can still neglect our Redemption by neglecting this process of transformation. The fact is, many of God’s people are doing precisely this because they have been taught that Jesus only came to forgive our behavior, rather than to forgive and change that behavior.
Though we are redeemed in stages (experientially), the Scripture does not focus on this division. In other words, when the Scripture says "you" or "we," it could be referring to the whole person or to only one part of the person. For instance, when Paul said "we shall be changed" at the last trump he was talking about our physical bodies, not the whole person. We (our bodies) will be changed. The distinction is made clear by the context of the entire chapter (I. Cor. 15). When he said God has "quickened you who were dead" (Eph. 2:1) he was talking about our spirits not the whole person. We were not physically dead but spiritually dead. We (our spirits) were made alive again.
A correct understanding of the different times and stages of our Redemption is vital. We have been saved, yet are being saved and one day we shall be saved. Our spirit was saved in a single moment of time. It has been totally delivered from death. Our body will be saved in a single moment of time. In the twinkling of an eye it will be totally delivered from death.
Destroying God’s Enemies
Though the redemption of the spirit and the body are instantaneous, the redemption of the soul is not instantaneous. The soul is in the process of deliverance which is going on right now. This is not a new concept or doctrine. It runs throughout the entire New Testament. It has always been in the Bible. If it sounds new to us it is because we have not been taught the truth of God’s Word, but rather, the traditions of men.
Not only is the full redemption of the soul not automatic, not only is it a process that requires both time and our full cooperation, it also requires a willingness to fight the evil that remains lodged in the soul. This is precisely why the New Testament speaks so much about warfare, about being a soldier, about putting on armor, about resisting, wrestling against, and overcoming the enemy. This whole concept is revealed clearly in the Old Testament as well. The only difference between then and now is that under the Old Covenant the enemy consisted of real people who dwelt in a literal land. Under the New Covenant the enemy consists of demon spirits that traffic in our soul.
When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them.
Deuteronomy 7:1-2
And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.. And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the Lord hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan. The Lord thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the Lord hath said.
Deuteronomy 31:1-3
Entering the Promise Land speaks of our entering God’s rest. It has to do with entering into that which God has prepared for us. It represents the deliverance of the whole person—particularly the soul—back into the image and glory of God. The inhabitants of the land represent evil powers. They represent the demon spirits that presently inhabit and/or traffic in our land (soul). We have to destroy the enemies that dwell in our land, just as the ancient Hebrews had to destroy the enemies that were dwelling in their land.
It was said of the inhabitants that they were greater and mightier than Israel. They were vile and wicked, sacrificing their own children to demon gods and practicing all kinds of abominations. Concerning these evil inhabitants God said that the people were to smite them, utterly destroy them and show no mercy to them. They were to slay utterly the young and the old, men, women and children, cattle and food. They were to utterly destroy the towns in which they dwelt. Nothing was to be left alive or standing—total annihilation.
This should be the believer’s attitude towards the influence of demon spirits that reside in our land. Unfortunately it is not. The reason we do not possess such a militant attitude towards the evil that occupies our land is because we have been taught that a Christian cannot have a demon. While Bible scholars debate the issue, Satan continues to destroy many weak and unstable souls. Such confusion comes because many of us do not fully understand God’s Word. We still filter the Scripture through the traditions and false concepts taught in churches.
When we are born again God’s Spirit regenerates our human spirit in righteousness and dwells there. He does not dwell in our soul yet. Through our spirit, His Spirit moves upon the soul. The soul is still the home of the old man and all the unclean spirits that move through him.
Unfortunately most Christians today are being taught that Satan cannot hurt them, that being under the blood automatically shields them from any possible spiritual damage—either from the outside or from within. They are assured that being a Christian precludes the possibility of having any demons actually dwelling inside them. While it is true that demons can no longer dwell or have any influence over our spirits, it is not true that they can no longer dwell in or influence the soul.
The soul and the old man remain knit together (in experience), even after conversion. The Holy Spirit comes into our lives to separate us from the old man so the life that dwells in our spirit can come into the soul, cleansing it and making it a fit habitation for God. As we learn to yield to the new man that life begins to permeate the soul, freeing it from its former inhabitants and transforming into Christ’s image.
Through the wisdom and power that is working in us, we must crucify the old man and wrestle to overcome the spirits that have roamed freely through our land. This is exactly why the Scripture defines Christianity as a war, not a religion. Contrary to what is commonly being taught, Christianity is not the means to a happy life in the flesh here on earth. We are in a contest and there is a prize to be won (Phil. 3:14). We are in a battle against a very capable and dangerous enemy who is not only seeking to stop believers from experiencing the transformation that was purchased for them at Calvary by the blood of Jesus, but an enemy who seeks to eternally destroy them once and for all. Again, this is why the Scripture talks so much about watchfulness and warfare.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
I. Peter 5:8
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Ephesians 6:11-12
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
I. Timothy 6:12
Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
II. Timothy 2:3
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
I. Peter 5:8-9
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:7
We have an adversary. Moreover, he is not simply an adversary to us in general. He is our personal adversary. He is stalking you. He is specifically seeking to devour you. Obviously God is not admonishing the unsaved to overcome the Devil—they have no chance of doing that. Only those who have the Spirit can wage a successful warfare against him.
Why would God tell us to watch, wrestle, stand, resist and fight if, after becoming a believer, it was not necessary to do so? How can Christians win a war if they don’t realize they have to fight? Surely many will miss the purpose for which they were saved if they continue to ignore their enemy. Until our bodies have been fully redeemed we will have to wrestle with our adversary, either to gain freedom from the inhabitants of the land, or else to maintain the freedom we have gained.
I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.
Exodus 23:27 -30
Here is a perfect picture of the restoration of the human soul. Little by little God drives out the inhabitants of our land. He does not do it overnight. He does not do it instantly and it does not happen automatically because we have accepted Jesus as our Savior. Rather, the Spirit of God drives them out a little bit at a time. Why little by little? Because if the Lord were to destroy all the inhabitants instantly, the soul would become desolate.
Before conversion, our soul and the old man—as well as the demon spirits that dwelt in and moved through them—were in complete union with each other. Man has no image of his own. He has his own life but not his own image. All men bear either the image of Adam (who took on the image of the serpent), or the image of Christ. There is no third alternative.
Though the unconverted soul is not the old man, though it has it’s own life, it still remains united to the old man. It remains governed by the old man, is under the authority of the old man, and can express only his image. For all practical purposes, we are the old man before we are saved. Our desires, our wisdom, our personalities, all bear his image. If God instantly wiped out both he and the spirits that lodge in the soul, the soul would be left barren. So He drives out the inhabitants of the land little by little and replaces them with His character, wisdom and desires. From glory to glory (step by step, degree by degree) we are changed into His likeness.
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
II. Corinthians 3:18
Facing
Our Enemy
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God...Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
Hebrews 4:9 & 11
As was stated, the writer of Hebrews described a rest which God’s people in every generation must enter into by faith. For the Israelites, entering into that rest meant taking possession of that which God had prepared for them: the geographical Land of Promise. For New Testament believers, entering that rest means appropriating that which God has prepared for us.
Since Hebrews states rather plainly that we must enter this rest, that we must enter it before we die physically and that we must labor to enter it, it is illogical to assume that God’s rest represents passing into the spirit realm by physical death. Israel’s conquest of the Promise Land was used to illustrate how New Testaments Christians are to enter that rest. Though it can only be entered by faith, it still requires effort. We do not enter it automatically anymore than Israel’s conquest of Canaan was automatic.
The labor that is required to enter God’s rest is two-fold in nature. It requires that we deal personally with both God and Satan and is summed up perfectly in a statement made by the apostle James: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). In order to submit to God we must cease from performing our own works and doing our own will. We must lose our lives. In order to resist the Devil we have to engage in spiritual combat. It requires a tangible confrontation with an invisible, but very real enemy. It's not possible to submit to God by resisting the Devil and it's not possible to resist the Devil by submitting to God. We have to submit and resist.
Christianity is a war, not a religion. The Lord Jesus is raising up a company of saints who will utterly destroy Satan and all his kingdom. If we desire to be part of that people we must learn to feel the way God feels about His enemies, and learn how to wage war against them. Moreover, we need to learn to fight the right kind of war, for we have been called to fight an unusual sort of battle.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Ephesians 6:12
Paul said we wrestle against spiritual powers. Notice that he did not say we should wrestle. He said we wrestle. It was a statement of fact. The sober, earnest child of God will be wrestling against the Father’s enemies. Wrestling should be an integral part of our life in Christ. If it is not, we are seriously lacking in spiritual power. When was the last time you wrestled with an evil power? How about a ruler of darkness or a principality? Have you confronted spiritual wickedness in high places lately? Do you know how to wrestle?
Wrestling is a peculiar kind of contest. In our day it is a sport and entertainment, a staged show. However, sport and entertainment are not the lessons Paul had in mind when he used it to illustrate our warfare with the enemy. He used this kind of contest to emphasize the intensity of the struggle, the individuality of the contestants and the close proximity of the conflict.
Wrestling is a one to one contest. One opponent singles out another and enters the arena with him. Each wrestler exerts his whole force and strength against the other. It is much more intense, much more fierce than fighting in a regular army. For though a regular battle may be long and bloody, a soldier can stop to get his breath occasionally. During the battle he may never actually engage in hand to hand combat and in fact, may escape without a scratch. This is because in typical warfare the opposing force is not focused on one individual in particular but on the whole regiment.
Wrestling is much different. In wrestling, each contestant is the sole object of his challenger’s fury. It is continuous hand to hand combat. Armies fight at some distance but wrestlers grapple up close. A soldier may be able to dodge an arrow or hide behind a barricade but wrestlers man-handle each other. And when the opponent actually has a hold of you, when he’s got you in his grip, you only have two choices: surrender or fight back. You can’t run and hide or hope he goes away. You can’t invent a theology that says he can’t hurt you. The confrontation will continue until either you have conquered him or he has conquered you.
Whether you like it or not, you must "go into the ring" with Satan. He is not going to give up any land he still controls without a fight. In fact, he will try to win back any territory he has already lost. He never misses a trick. He never misses an opportunity. The very moment we let down our guard he will start attacking the territory we have already conquered. We must fight! Fight to get free and fight to stay free.
Unfortunately many of today’s believers are very ignorant of Satan’s devices. As if this situation were not bad enough, it is made worse by the reaction which comes when someone suggests that we need to study the Devil’s tactics. The attitude is, why bother? Satan can’t hurt us because Jesus already defeated him at the Calvary. Besides, we don’t want to give too him much glory. Yes, Jesus defeated the Devil at Calvary. He spoiled him and made an open show of him. But that was Jesus. What about you? Have you defeated him yet? Jesus’ victory over the Devil did not relieve us of the necessity of overcoming him ourselves. This is the great heresy of modern Evangelicalism. His victory paved the way for our victory. It provided us with the power and authority to defeat him, just like He did. But we still have to resist, stand and overcome him.
Have we considered how much glory is being given to the Devil by ignoring his tactics and suffering defeat by him as a result of that ignorance? How much glory is God getting from our refusal to take up arms against the Devil? How much honor is He getting when the power to defeat him has been given, yet we do not avail ourselves of that power? The Christian who refuses to learn about the wiles and devises of our enemy is destined to be defeated and ruled by them.
Probably the majority of God’s people do not want to face the reality and power of Satan. Many do not want to admit that he can still work in us and through us, and even overcome us if we play games with God. There is still much debate over whether or not a believer can "have a demon." Unfortunately we are asking the wrong question. The real question is, do we still sin? Are there areas of our lives that are not yet under the control of the Holy Spirit? Do we ever do things we don’t want to do? Do we have habits or flaws that we cannot control? You see, the issue is not theological but practical. Satan can control areas of our behavior. Life’s realities testify to this fact and the Scripture plainly teaches it. Satan can and does influence Christians.
When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them...And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.. And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the Lord hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan. The Lord thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the Lord hath said
Deuteronomy 7:1-2 & 31:1-3
Notice that when God led the children of Israel into the Promise Land He said that He would destroy the inhabitants. Yet He told the people they had to destroy them. He had no intention of delivering the nations into their hands regardless of their participation. The people had to do their part.
What about us? What must we labor to obtain? What do we have to battle in order to possess what God has prepared for us? Certainly not forgiveness and justification and imputed righteousness. God has not said we must fight our way into these provisions or earn them. What then? We must battle our way to total and complete deliverance from the power and effects of sin in the soul.
While we must not try to win initial Salvation, we do have to fight our way to full Salvation. We have to fight the Devil if we want to get free and stay free from his destructive influence. We must labor in order to attain full deliverance from any inhabitants that still occupy or operate in our land (souls). The battle is the Lord’s. He has guaranteed the victory by His power which is working in us. However, we still have to face the enemy and fight.
He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifest, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
I. John 3:8
For this purpose, said John, was the Son of God manifest; to destroy the works of the Devil. What exactly are the works of the Devil? Sin and rebellion. And how does the Devil sin? Through people! Satan is a spirit. He has no physical body. He sins through man. If Jesus came to destroy the works of the Devil, and those works are done through people, then what did Jesus come to accomplish? He came to give man the power to stop Satan from sinning through him! We have been given the power to stop Satan from working in us and through us. However, if we do not call upon that power, if we do not yield to it, the enemy will continue to work. The Scripture contains too many warnings about him for us not to take him seriously.
If it would not be so tragic it would actually be comical to listen to the insane reasoning of God’s people regarding the inability of demon spirits to influence or control the life of a believer. While we practice sin, while many areas of our lives are out of control, while we have habits and desires and lusts that drive us continually, while we have idols in our lives, we maintain that none of this has anything to do with demons! Instead of believing the Word of God and fighting Satan and his evil host, we try to ignore them and say they are harmless. As a result they are having a heyday with us. Satan is not the fool, we are the fools.
Satan And Self
Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
Ezekiel 28:12-17
Many of us have suffered defeat at the hands of Satan because of ignorance. Some are suffering defeat right now. The reason he defeats us is because we do not realize just how frail and vulnerable we humans are. We do not realize who we are dealing with and we are ignorant of his wiles and devices. Notice that Satan is more than an angel. He was created a "cherub." In fact, he was the anointed, covering cherub. He covered the glory and holiness of God. He sealed up the sum of wisdom and beauty. He was the wisest, the most beautiful and the most powerful spirit being ever created by God.
Notice what happened—and even more importantly, what didn't happen—to the wisdom of this cherub as he fell. It was corrupted. It was transformed into an evil genius. He did not lose it, nor was it destroyed or diminished. It just became extremely evil.
That same wisdom has been unleashed against us and is being utilized in his effort to destroy us, or at least do as much spiritual damage as possible to us. What caused Satan’s fall? His heart was lifted up (became proud) because of his beauty. He started to look at himself. As he beheld his own brightness (glory), pride and corruption were brought forth and he became consumed with himself. Isaiah describes what happened next:
For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Isaiah 14:13-14
When he took his eyes off God’s glory and began to look at his own glory he became a self-centered creature. He developed a bad case of "I" trouble. His ego went uncontrollably wild. We need to realize that the fundamental characteristic of Satan is not tempter or adversary but preoccupation with self. He lives only for self. He is the most powerful, the most self-centered ego-maniac in the universe.
Some may wonder why Satan tried to capture God’s throne. Didn’t he realize that God was more powerful? Of course he did. Then why did he attempt it anyway? He had no choice. Self-centeredness drove him to ascend. The very nature of pride demands self-exaltation. He was driven to exalt his throne (position). Where else could he go? He was already the wisest and most powerful being in the entire universe except for God Himself. The only position above him was the Throne he once covered and guarded.
Satan made his move and lost. He was cast out of his place. Where he went and what he did is not recorded in Scripture. But somewhere in God’s creation this powerful creature who was consumed with self was lurking. The next time he appears, he appears as the rebellious tempter, tempting man to disobey God and join his rebellion.
When Adam disobeyed God he became like Satan, taking on the same rebellious, self-centered nature. The nature of Satan and the nature of man are identical. We need to consider this truth carefully, for the person who lives to serve and please himself is doing exactly what Satan is doing. The person who glorifies himself is following in Satan’s footsteps.
Satan hates us with a hatred that the human mind cannot even comprehend. He is obsessed with our destruction. He knows that we have just one life in which to grow and develop into the image of Jesus, and he knows our future role and place in God’s Kingdom will be determined by our faithfulness in this life. So he continually tries to frustrate the transforming work of the Holy Spirit to block our growth and render us useless.
Satan’s task is really not that hard. He doesn’t have to get us to sin, though he always tries to. He doesn’t have to sell us on blatant rebellion, though he will if he can. He doesn’t have to get us to deny the faith. All he has to do is get us to take our eyes off Jesus and put them on ourselves. This is done by intensifying our self-desires and we go out of our way to satisfy them. All he has to do to render us useless is get us to stop focusing our lives on God and start focusing them on ourselves. This was his fatal mistake and he wants it to be our mistake too. Once we begin to live for ourselves, God’s plan for our life begins to be frustrated. No matter how religious we are or how much spiritual knowledge we possess, when we start living for self we become just as useless to God as if we were living for Satan.
We must realize that self-centeredness and selfishness belong to the Devil. They are manifestations of his nature, no less than murder, fornication, alcoholism, drug-addiction and so on. A Christian can live for self just as easily as a pagan can. Self can flourish in any religious environment. Indeed, it is very easy to be a selfish Christian—just look around you. The world is full of them. When a Christian lives for self God’s heart is broken and Satan rejoices.
Have you ever wondered why Christians get deceived so easily? It is because they are not being taught the absolute necessity of a crucified life. Few of us would ever equate self with Satan. In fact, nowadays the world is telling us the exact opposite: self is God. Even some Christian leaders now teach that we should accept self, love self and seek self fulfillment. And churches boast that Satan can’t hurt them!
What we should be told is that even though we received a new nature when we came to Jesus, that nature did not replace the old fallen one. The old man is still in us and he is still self-centered, still proud and rebellious, just like Satan. God is in the process of untangling us from him. He is showing us, step by step, how to put him to death. Any aspect of that nature that has not been crucified in experience remains under the control of Satan. HE WORKS THROUGH SELF. Those who are not putting the self-life to death are providing him with every means to control them.
Control? That is a strong word isn’t it? Most of us would find it hard to believe that a person who is saved could actually be controlled by Satan. Once we see how he does it we will understand and believe.
Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
II. Corinthians 2:11
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Ephesians 6:11
In writing to the Corinthian believers, Paul took for granted that they were not ignorant of Satan’s devices. He assumed that they had acquainted themselves (through experience) with the tricks and tactics of the enemy. He admonished the Christians at Ephesus to put on all the armor that God has provided so they would be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil. It is only as we resist the Devil, stand against him and wrestle against his power that we can overcome him; and it is only as we overcome him ourselves that we obtain total deliverance from his power. But in order to resist and stand and wrestle, we have to see him, we have to learn how to recognize him.
Many of us still view Satan as the enemy who is out there in the world. Though (hopefully) we realize he is a dangerous enemy, we still tend to view him as an external one most of the time. This is a terrible mistake for there are internal areas of our lives that remain under his control. Naturally, if we view him mainly as an external foe we will not view our undesirable behavior as anything other than our own deeds. Add to this the false assumption that a Christian cannot have a demon and you have the prefect recipe for continual defeat at Satan’s hands. We will never even think to take a second look at our failures and see if they might not just be the work of someone else.
Satan and his demons are invisible. We can’t see them with the physical eyes. We can’t touch them. How then are we to recognize them? The Scripture reveals that the majority of his activity centers on the mind. Though this is by no means his only line of attack, it is one of the most used and most successful devices. Most of us are probably not aware that Satan has an incredible amount of access to the whole panorama of our mental experience.
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
II. Corinthians 4:3&4
But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which veil is done away in Christ.
II. Corinthians 3:14
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
II. Corinthians 11:3
Notice that he keeps the un-saved separated from God by blinding their minds and overcomes believers by deceiving their minds. In both cases the avenue of conquest is the mind. Paul said he feared for the believers at Corinth, that they might have their minds corrupted by the Serpent. He was afraid Satan might outwit or gain the mastery over them, just as he gained the mastery over Eve. Incidently, Eve had no fallen nature for Satan to work through, yet he was able to deceive her from the outside just as easily. Where does the enemy do his beguiling work? Where is the battle won or lost? In the mind. The mind is a battlefield. An unguarded thought-life is an open invitation for defeat.
Satan does not come to us in his own name. He comes to us in our name. He injects his thoughts into our minds, in our name. In other words, he makes us think that his thoughts are our thoughts, that his desires are our desires. Think of it. Our enemy is capable of putting his suggestions into our minds. Moreover, he can do it so skillfully and subtly that we have no idea they are not really our thoughts.
Even if we didn’t have our old man, Satan would still be a dangerous enemy—just ask Eve! What makes him even more deadly is that carnal nature that resides in us. The thoughts and desires he plants (in our name) coincide with all those desires and lusts that have not yet been crucified. The very temptations he presents correspond precisely with the weakest areas of our flesh and the deepest longings of the soul.
This is why the Scripture says so much about the believer’s mind. It tells us to renew the mind (Rom. 12:12), gird up the loins of the mind (I. Pet. 1:13), cast down all vain imaginations of the mind, and take every thought of the mind captive (II. Cor. 10:5). We must recognize that thoughts are spirits. This is one of the ways we can recognize when a spirit is talking to us. We judge the thoughts that are coming into our minds.
Judge every thought? Try doing that for a day. Try arresting and scrutinizing every thought, every imagination that comes into your mind. Well, we are to be doing this all the time. It should be second nature to us. Why? Because thoughts can be planted in our brains by the enemy at his will. We cannot stop him. If we assume that the thoughts he is planting are our thoughts, if they come in our name, we are likely to accept them and eventually act on them.
The mind is a powerful force. If Satan can control your mind he controls you, Christian or not makes no difference. In fact, the power of the mind over how an individual behaves and what kind of person he becomes is so overwhelming the Scripture says as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he (Prov. 23:7). Consider this truth very carefully. As a man thinketh, so is he.
We need to guard our minds diligently. Having an evil thought or a wrong desire (fiery darts) shot into our minds does not make us evil. That thought or desire by itself has no power to conform us to it’s character. What matters is what we do with them. If we realize that they are coming from the enemy, we will (hopefully) reject them. If we reject them and do not identify with them at this level they go no further and do us no damage. The whole problem is, we do not usually recognize them as such. We accept them as our own thoughts and desires. We identify with them. Then they begin to go deeper into our being. If we continue to identify with them we will eventually act on them. It is at this point that they enter the heart and become part of us. If they remain lodged in the heart and we continue to act on them they will not only bring forth wicked fruit, they will conform us to their character and nature.
All this can be done simply through the power of suggestion. Satan does not have to indwell us. He does not have to violate our free will. He simply has to plant suggestions, thoughts and desires (in our name) which match exactly those passions, lusts and desires that we have not allowed God to crucify. But this is not the end of his power over the mind. Not only does he have the ability to plant thoughts without us realizing where they are coming from, he can also, under certain circumstances, steal thoughts.
When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
Matthew 13:19
Jesus said that when a person hears the Word of God and does not understand it the enemy comes and snatches that word right out of his heart and mind. That is an awesome power brother! Have you ever considered how much access he must have to the whole mental experience to know whether or not someone understands something? An enemy who is not only capable of knowing what we understand, but has the ability to customize his temptations to match perfectly our weaknesses and passions, who can not only plant thoughts in our minds but steal them as well, is a very dangerous enemy my friend.
Because he has this access to the mind, one of his favorite tactics or devices is to bombard the mind with a desire or a thought. Of course the average Christian has no idea that these thoughts or desires are coming from someone else. They assume that they are originating within their own heart. If they deem them to be evil enough they may refuse to obey them, but they still condemn themselves for having them in the first place. The enemy uses this ignorance to his advantage and quickly jumps on the bandwagon, heaping more condemnation and criticism on the individual. This becomes a vicious cycle that can go on month after month, year after year, until the saint gets worn down and eventually gives in to the wrong thought or desire.
We do not have to submit to such wicked abuse. If we could recognize that those thoughts and desires are coming from our mortal enemy, that we have the power and authority to make him flee if we resist him, we would begin to overcome him every time he starts messing with our minds.
Missing The
Mark
But none of these things [chains and tribulations] move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
NKJV. Acts 20:24
Not that I have already obtained it [his goal], or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
NAS. Philippians 3:12
The majority of God’s people treat Satan as if he were a joke, like he is not capable of doing them any harm. They are ignorant of the fact that God has given us the power to resist and overcome him through the new man if we will fight him. We have to take the enemy seriously. We have to realize that God will not fight for us if we refuse to fight. We are responsible to resist and wrestle and stand, and we are responsible to do so every day.
There are several reasons why people don't take Satan seriously. One reason is because they are being taught that we are automatically shielded from any permanent spiritual damage from Satan, simply because we belong to God. Religious leaders who are blind and arrogant teach them that being born-again precludes the possibility of any indwelling spirits.
In addition to being un-true and spiritually dangerous, such a position is really a useless point to press, seeing that demon spirits do not have to indwell us in order to ruin our lives. They already have a very powerful ally, a kind of fifth-column or Trojan horse, inside of us (our fallen nature) which they can easily manipulate. As we have seen, controlling a believer can easily be done from the outside, through the power of suggestion.
Secondly, we have been taught that being born again automatically shields us from any permanent spiritual loss. We have been taught that if we believe in Jesus, go to church and live a good Christian life, we will all receive the many rewards described in the Scripture by grace. As was already stated, we do not receive our rewards by grace. We will be rewarded according to our works, according to our obedience to Jesus.
The idea that all Christians will share the same rewards and destiny in heaven, whether they obey God in this life or not, is truly a doctrine of demons—and the reason it has saturated the thinking of Christendom is because we want to have the best of both worlds. We want to enjoy all the pleasures of this world, then go to heaven and enjoy the glory of God’s Kingdom. So Satan has provided us with a doctrine that assures us we can have our cake and eat it too.
Throughout his writings, Paul demonstrated that his view of Salvation was a far cry from our current religious delusions. Two examples of this contrast are the statements he made in Acts and Philippians. He said he did not count his life dear to himself so that he could achieve some things. In other words, he viewed his own safety, security and pleasure as unimportant, of no value, so he could accomplish two specific things while he was alive on this earth.
The first thing was to finish the ministry God had entrusted to him, which was to preach the gospel of grace. The second was to finish his personal race (course). His personal race had to do with fulfilling God's plan for his personal transformation into the image of Jesus Christ. Though his ministry and his personal race affected each other somewhat, they were distinct issues. The concept of a pre-ordained ministry is familiar to most of us. But the idea of a pre-ordained personal destiny, which is a race and a war that must be won but can be lost by disobedience, is unknown to most Christians today.
Paul said that he was laboring to lay hold of that (i.e. destiny) for which he was laid hold of by Christ. God had a plan for Paul's life. He had a course which was laid out for him. God laid hold of Paul and showed him what that destiny was. Paul was then responsible to lay hold of that destiny. He was responsible to yield to the chastening of the Holy Spirit as God molded him and brought him into the realization of his goal.
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:10‑14
Here Paul gives the race a name—the "high calling." There is a mark that he must hit. If he hits that mark he will gain the prize of the high calling. He did not claim to have hit the mark yet. But forgetting those things which were behind and reaching forth unto those things which were ahead, he pressed towards that mark. He said he was seeking to apprehend that (ie. destiny) for which he was apprehended of Christ Jesus. Did you know God has set a goal before you?
Now consider the life of Paul for just a moment. When he penned these words he was already saved, he was already gifted, he was already recognized as an apostle and had an international ministry. For years he had planted churches, worked miracles, endured great suffering, and nurtured the body of Christ. He was one of God’s mighty men, a spiritual veteran who was able to defeat Satan’s strong-holds wherever he ministered. He had vast experience in the deep things of God and did more to further the Kingdom of God than any other individual in that era, except for the Lord Jesus Himself.
Yet for all his vast experience, near the end of his life he was still laboring to receive a prize, still seeking to apprehend something, still pressing towards a goal he referred to as the high calling. How is it that so many believers have missed the fact that this man was trying to attain a prize that soul winning and church work could never have won him?
Do you know what prize the greatest evangelist of that day was trying to win? He was trying to win Christ (Phil. 3:8)—not the "forgiveness" of Christ (he already possessed that), not the "justification" of Christ (he already possessed that), not the "imputed righteousness" of Christ (he already possessed that)—but the image of Christ! He was seeking full transformation, which is brought about by the Holy Spirit through our regenerated spirits.
The cry of Paul’s heart and the thing that motivated him in all his work was, that I might know Him. That is the goal of the Christian life; that is the goal God has set before you. Paul’s race, your race, my race, and the race of every believer is to fulfill God's plan for our personal transformation into His image—not later (in heaven) but in this life. Few believers realize that transformation into the image of God is something that has to be apprehended. Being born again and baptized in the Spirit does not win us Christ. Being endowed with wonderful gifts and ministries does not gain us the prize. Acquiring all knowledge and learning all spiritual mysteries will not make us win the race. Being the worlds greatest soul winner will not cause us to hit the mark.
Paul said he had to attain what he was after. He had to labor to reach it. He never taught that he would get it automatically by grace. Never, in any of his writings, did he even hint that he or any other child of God would fulfill their ordained destiny and call regardless of their obedience to God's will for their lives. He never taught that we will finish our personal race even if we choose not to run it. In fact, he taught just the opposite. He said he buffeted his body and brought it into subjection to the Spirit, lest after having fulfilled his ordained ministry he might be disqualified from his ordained destiny.
But I do it all [become all things to all men when preaching the gospel] because of the rewards promised by the Good News, so that I may share in them along with the others who come to trust. Don't you know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one wins the prize? So then, run to win! Now every athlete in training submits himself to strict discipline, and he does it just to win a laurel wreath that will soon wither away. But we do it to win a crown that will last forever. Accordingly, I don't run aimlessly but straight for the finish line; I don't shadow box but try to make every punch count. I treat my body hard and make it my slave so that, after proclaiming the Good News to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
Jewish New Testament
I. Corinthians 9:23-27
Paul was in a race and a battle. He knew it and confessed that this was so. He did not run aimlessly, but knew exactly what he was striving for. He did not fight like a man beating the air, wasting his energy on things that did not bring him closer to his goal. He also said that he beat his body and made it his slave so he would not be overcome by its lusts and carnal desires and end up disqualified for the prize. He labored and ran and fought and buffeted his body in order to win that race. He was striving to gain rewards and a crown and a prize. He did not assume that he would automatically get them because he believed in God's Messiah and neither should we.
Paul knew he had to cooperate fully with the power that was working in him. He knew full well he had to run his race and said so plainly. He knew what his destiny was and he focused all his life's energies on attaining it. Everything that constituted the natural life—security, pleasure, physical safety, natural relationships, his career—all these things Paul did not count dear. They were not important to him. He was consumed with attaining the goal.
If the race represents justification and forgiveness, then the apostle of grace was trying to keep himself justified by doing all these things. No, Paul was not talking about going to heaven or hell. He was talking about the transformation of the believer after he has been born again. That work of transformation is likened unto a race and a battle by Paul. We can lose that race. We can be overthrown in the wilderness just like the Israelites of old. They lost their race. How is it that modern Christendom has totally missed such an important truth? What Bible have our scholars and theologians been analyzing and studying?
Paul is dealing with issues that go far beyond escaping hell. He was not afraid of going to hell. But he did have a healthy fear of missing the mark he was aiming for, of missing the destiny ordained for him by God. All God’s children have been ordained from the foundation of the world to be conformed fully to the image of Christ. But not all will attain or realize that goal.
Does this mean they will be thrown into the Lake of Fire? Of course not. We are talking about becoming what God has purposed to make us. We don’t become a new creation by dying and going to heaven. We become a new creation by allowing God to make us a new creation. What makes God’s people miss their destiny? Failure (either through ignorance or self-will) to cooperate fully with the power (Christ in us) that is seeking to make us a new creature in experience. That cooperation demands both complete submission to God and all-out war against our enemy—and both demand a crucified self-life. This is why Paul possessed a healthy, godly fear of being disqualified. It is so easy to miss that mark. Knowing this full well, he feared for other believers as well and exhorted them to run the race with all their might.
The fact that we are in a war cannot be over-stressed. We have a powerful external enemy (Satan) and a powerful internal enemy (the old man) who team up to keep us from hitting that mark. They conspire together to make our life useless to God’s purposes. Though the mind is the primary line of attack, it is by no means the only one. Our conflict with the enemy is fought on several fronts at the same time. We have to wrestle with him in our bodily appetites, in our relationships, in our emotions, in the area of the ego, and in the habits we have formed throughout our lives.
Overcoming
We have looked at God’s rest. We have seen that the Scripture defines God’s rest as entering fully into what He has provided for us through the blood of Jesus from the foundation of the world. We have seen that this provision involves more than the forgiveness of sins past. It includes total deliverance from the present effects and power of sin in the soul and transformation into His divine image now. The result of entering into His rest will be the obtaining and fulfilling of our pre-ordained personal destiny in Christ.
We also saw that entering this rest requires labor on our part. We do not enter it automatically by grace. This labor is two-fold in nature, demanding both total submission to the will of God and all-out war against Satan. The fact that we must overcome every last vestige of Satan’s influence in our lives is a truth that needs emphasized in our day. Though many of us are seeking to walk in complete obedience to God, it seems that few are allowing the Holy Spirit to work in them a ruthless determination to overcome the enemy. Such an attitude will be absolutely necessary in the days to come, for wickedness is only going to increase. It is going to come to full maturity and the power of temptation will increase more and more until it is impossible to resist it. The spiritual darkness that covers the entire planet right now is nothing compared to what we are about to experience. When that day arrives, only those who have learned to overcome will be able to stand.
We have yet to enter the most wicked period of time in man’s history. But consider for a moment what Satan has already been able to achieve among the people of God. He has succeeded in blinding the minds of the vast majority of believers to the reality that we must personally overcome the world, Satan, sin and self. The fact that Jesus died to empower us to accomplish precisely that is non-existent in the mind of the average Christian. Think about how many of God’s people know nothing of Satan’s devices. Consider how many have no idea how he operates or how few are capable of even recognizing him, let alone knowing how to resist and overcome him.
Consider how many religious leaders have been duped into ignoring the Devil and how they are being used by him to teach others to do the same. One reason so many believers are ignorant of the enemy is because they have been taught to ignore him. First we are taught that Satan can’t really harm us because we are eternally secure, that our destiny in Christ has been secured for us by what Jesus did, regardless of our subsequent behavior. Satan may cause us to be unfaithful to God all our lives and keep us from ever being conformed to the image of Christ, but supposedly none of this matters because Jesus did it all brother. Just believe and accept it.
Next we are assured that no demon spirit can remain in us once we are saved because God cannot dwell in a person who has an evil spirit. This only serves to strengthen our false security and destroys any resolve to fight. It produces a passiveness towards the very spirits we need to overcome. The fact that Satan can control a Christian from the outside, through the power of suggestion, is not even addressed.
Finally, confusion is heaped upon confusion as we are told every Christian is already an overcomer, that accepting Jesus automatically makes us overcomers. We are told that no further effort is required to actually defeat Satan. Jesus did that for us. Just believe—believing is overcoming. In fact, many believers are now being taught that to pursue actual victory over sin and Satan this side of heaven is to diminish the victory of the Cross. In reality, the very opposite is true. Failure to overcome detracts from the victory of the Cross.
When we try to warn fellow believers that they must really overcome the Devil if they want to rule with Christ, the reality of just how well Satan has done his job becomes manifest. We begin to see that the majority of today’s believers have already succumbed to the wisdom of this fallen cherub. Incredibly, First John is often quoted to prove that all Christians are already overcomers, that nothing more is required of us. Then comes the insinuation that we are guilty of adding works to grace. But what did John really say?
For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
I. John 5:5-6
Notice the subject of John’s statement is overcoming "the world." Neither Satan or the flesh are mentioned. Those who want reign with Christ are going to have to overcome more than the world. However, even if we assume that John was including Satan and the flesh in the world, notice that it is our faith that overcomes them all. What is faith? Faith is more than belief. It is more than mentally assenting to doctrinal truths. Genuine, biblical faith is defined in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. It causes us to act upon God's word. It causes us to resist the Devil (James 4:7). It also causes us to wrestle against his power (Eph. 6:12), stand against his wiles (Eph. 6:11) and overcome his evil (Rom. 12:21). It produces in our heart a willingness to fight him and imparts the power to win. Those who are born of God overcome because their faith imparts the authority, power and wisdom to overcome. It enables them to put the enemy under their feet.
And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
Romans 16:20
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Revelation 3:21
If there is any question as to what kind of overcoming is at issue, Jesus settled the question in Revelation. The promise of rulership is not to those who believe only, but to those who believe and overcome even as He overcame. The term "even as" means "in like manner." In other words, the same kind of overcoming Jesus did is the same kind of overcoming we have to do. The idea that Jesus overcame so we would not have to is a monumental delusion!
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Revelation 12:11
There will be a people who overcome. It remains to be seen whether or not this writer, or you, the reader, will be one of those who obtain that victory. But one thing is certain: God will have a people who attain it; and because they have paid the price to overcome they will be accounted worthy to sit in the Father’s throne with Jesus.
Those who have heard that call must realize that hearing the call, and even answering that call, is no guarantee that we will make it into that overcoming remnant. It is merely a guarantee that the God who is calling us will be faithful to complete the work He has begun in us if we allow Him to. We have to yield to that work. We have to obey him. God’s faithfulness will never over-ride our free will.
Unfortunately there will be those who have answered the call, who, though eager to partake of the victory, are not really willing to pay the price to obtain it. There will be those who, though eager to rule and reign with Jesus, are not willing to forsake all. There will be those who will play games with the Spirit of God. There will be those who are fearful, and those who will not allow God to humble them. Therefore, the Spirit of God is sifting and testing us much the same way He sifted and tested Gideon’s army.
Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.
Judges 7:1-3
God called Gideon to conquer the enemies of Israel. When those who answered the call were assembled together the Lord said there were too many of them. He said that they would say their own strength had won them the victory. So He tested them in order to reduce the number of warriors. Some of those who volunteered to fight the Lord’s battle were afraid. So God told Gideon to offer them the chance to leave. Two-thirds of those potential overcomers returned to their homes. Ten-thousand remained but there were still too many; and among them were those who were not ready to go into battle. So God told Gideon He was going to test those who were left.
And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. So he brought down the people unto the water: and the Lord said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.
Judges 7:4-6
The test came in the form of a blessing. God brought them to the water to drink. Those that bowed down upon their knees to drink were disqualified. But those who drew the water with their hands were chosen to go into battle. Out of thirty-two thousand men who answered the call to battle, only three-hundred were actually ready to fight. What was the difference between the two groups? The ones who bowed down on their knees took their eyes off the enemy. They took their minds off the battle. They put down their sword and reveled in the blessing of God. Their focus shifted from the war to their own pleasure. They were not fit to go into battle for their king.
Those who drew the water to their mouths kept their sword ready. They kept their eye on the enemy and their mind on the battle. While they enjoyed the blessing of God, they did not drop their guard. Their focus remained on the battle. Their attention could not be turned from the commitment they had made to destroy the enemy.
If we are afraid of the enemy, or refuse to face him and fight the Lord’s battle, God will offer us a chance to leave the battlefield. If we choose to leave He is not going to try to stop us. He will allow us to disqualify ourselves. For those who do not leave the battlefield, God provides times of refreshing. He brings us down to the waters to drink and be refreshed. The waters are sweet. They bring pleasure to the soul and spirit and God expects us to drink our fill, for He provides them to encourage us and renew our strength so we can continue to fight. But those who are not totally committed to seeing the enemy defeated begin to revel in the Lord’s blessings and gifts. They end up chasing after them continually because they would rather feel good than focus on the battle with all it’s discipline and hardship and death. These too will end up disqualifying themselves from that overcoming remnant.
In addition, we face a host of distractions Gideon’s army did not have. There are many good reasons to take our mind off the battle. Many important issues beg for our attention. The end of the age is upon us and the world is in chaos. The churches are asleep and promoting all manner of false (and even stupid!) doctrines. So many things are happening so fast, just trying to assess all the evil that occurs in the world and in the Church in a single day is brain-numbing.
Closer to home, there are important issues directly affecting us, like paying our bills on time, like problems with our job, our health, our family, our house or our car. So many important issues demand our attention. Can we deal with them without letting down our guard? Can we deal with them without putting down our sword? Can we live twenty-four hours a day as watchman on the wall of our own hearts and minds? Can we be counted upon to be a watchman for the Lord’s camp? Or does our pleasure (even our religious pleasure) take priority?
Learning how to abide in Christ and defeat the enemy, these are the issues that are most important because they have eternal value and consequences. If we don’t get them right, everything else we learn or do will be vanity and less than worthless. Many are called but few are chosen. Those who will be part of Gideon’s 300 will keep their eye on the enemy and their minds focused on the battle, for God is raising up a warrior people in this hour, a people who are dead serious about defeating the power of the enemy. When they have been fully prepared by the Spirit, the Lord of Hosts will roar out of Zion and trample Satan and all his kingdom under their feet (Joel 3:16).
Loving Not Our Lives
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death...And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Revelation 12:11 & 20:4
The Bible reveals a direct relationship between dying and overcoming. John saw that those who overcame Antichrist in the book of Revelation did so because they had been beheaded and loved not their own lives unto the death. There is no doubt that down through the centuries of time, those who have been butchered by the Religious System as a result of their faith will be part of that overcoming remnant. All who desire to come forth in Sonship should read the accounts of the martyrs, particularly those who lived during the Early Church period and those during the Dark Ages. The inhuman torture, abuse and death that they endured in order to remain faithful to God should be required reading for all who aspire to rule and reign with Christ. Any one of those precious saints puts us to shame, for they died more gloriously than we live. Even so, the death that makes one an overcomer is not physical only. There is another kind of death that is just as real and no less painful, though in a different sense.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, accept- able unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:1
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
II. Corinthians 4:10
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.
Philippians 3:10
Paul made some very interesting statements about death. He said our reasonable service was to become a living sacrifice, to become living dead men and women. He also said that he bore about in his body the dying of the Lord, that he was seeking to be made conformable to the Lord’s death. Why the preoccupation with suffering and death? Because it is not possible to overcome without dying. It is impossible to have Christ’s resurrection life fill us while we are still alive. We will never actually become a new creature until the old one has been nailed to the Cross. In fact, a very substantial part of being conformed to the image of Christ involves our being conformed to His death.
Most Christians desire to know Jesus better and experience His power. But few desire to partake of His sufferings—and fewer still desire to be made conformable to His death. What kind of "suffering" was Paul seeking to have fellowship with? Was he merely referring to physical suffering? Was he saying that he desired to be physically tortured and abused? Was he endorsing the future practices of Catholic Monks who spent their lives in privation, abusing their bodies in monasteries?
How about death? What kind of "death" was Paul talking about? Physical? Should we be desiring to die physically? Hardly. He was referring to Adamic suffering and death. We should desire to put the Adamic life, the old life, the natural, carnal, self-centered life to death so the new resurrection life of Jesus will come forth in us. Such a process involves suffering.
Did Jesus partake of this kind of death? You bet! Although His human nature was not Adamic in the sense of being fallen, it was still human. Moreover, it was His life. We probably never think about the fact that Jesus was His own person. He had His own life and will. He had His own desires. He had every human quality we do (except sin) and He had to die to them. Indeed, Jesus died long before the Roman’s nailed His body to that Cross, for He walked in death to self in order that the life of the Father could be manifested through Him.
Did He not testify that He did only the Father’s will, spoke only the Father’s words and did only the Father’s works? Jesus Christ manifested the Father so fully and so completely He could say that when we beheld Him—His life, His character and ministry—we were seeing the Father (John 14:9). What a testimony! If we are to take Him at His word, we must understand that He came to reveal someone else, not Himself. We do not see Jesus alone in the Gospels. We see a God-filled man. We see the character and will of the Father manifested through Him.
All this did not come automatically to the Lord. He had to learn how to live by the power and wisdom of another life so he could manifest that life to man. This is why the Gospels are silent about His life between the age of twelve and the time He began His public ministry. It was during those years that He learned how to abide in the Father. It was during that period of time that He learned how to die to self, how to live and move by the power of another life. It was not necessary—nor would it have profited us—to have a written account of His spiritual training. What is important, what is profitable, is that we have the result of that training recorded.
Each of us is different. Each has a unique relationship with God. Our training will of necessity reflect the uniqueness of that relationship. God is bringing forth a body that will reflect and show forth His character in all its variety and diversity. We are not simply tin soldiers on a production line. Each of us has been ordained to reveal some unique aspect of the Eternal. However, though our training will be diverse, and though our final glory shall be diverse, there is only one way to reach that goal. We must learn how to abide in Christ. We must learn how to die to self. We must learn how to live and move by the power of another life—the life of Christ Jesus.
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
John 6:53-57
Believers are supposed to live by the life of Jesus just as He lived by the life of the Father. Where is that life? It dwells in our new man, in our spirits. We have already received everything that pertains to life and godliness (II. Peter 1:3). The thing we need now is to learn how to recognize that life, submit to it and live by it. This is what Jesus meant when He said we have to eat His flesh and drink His blood.
By the time He began to minister, Jesus had learned how to manifest only the Father. Does this mean that He no longer existed? Of course not. He still had His own desires and will. This we can see in the garden of Gethsemane, where He expressed the desire to have the cup (His coming death) pass from Him. He struggled to bring His own will into perfect union with the will of the Father. Jesus said I am in the Father and the Father in me, and also, I and my Father are one (John 14:10-11 & 10:30). It was not that the Father had replaced Jesus. If this were the case He would have said I AM the Father. It was that the Father was moving and expressing Himself through the character, personality and will of Jesus.
Jesus had to make the same choice each of us have to make. He could have manifested His own life through His mind, emotions and will, or the life of the Father. In fact, the temptation to reveal His own life must have been greater than what we face because His "self" was not sinful. But regardless of which life He chose to yield to, it was still His mind, His heart and His will that were the instruments of God’s revelation. Though He revealed another, it was still He who was doing the revealing. Jesus died to self just as surely as we must—the difference being that His self was not fallen and sinful. This is the death that Paul was seeking to be conformed to. This is the death he carried about in his body. Thus, he could say, "I die daily" (I. Cor. 15:31). He could say:
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20
I am dead, yet I live. I am a living dead man, said Paul. This was one of his most incredible statements for he was speaking of something he was experiencing. He was not simply passing along a new doctrine he had learned in the synagogue.
Notice that he did not say my evil deeds are crucified with Christ—though they certainly were. Neither did he say my sin is crucified with Christ—though it surely was. He said I am crucified with Christ. Paul, the person had died, yet Paul, the person was living. Yet it was not the old Satan-filled Pharisee, Saul who was living. That man had been nailed to the Cross. He had been put to death. It was a new Christ-filled Paul that was living. And how was the new Paul living? By the faith of the Son of God. By the power of His life.
Crucifying Paul involved more than simply crucifying the sin and dead works of Paul. It encompassed the death of the whole person. All that Paul was, all his wisdom, all his talents and strength, all his abilities, all his religious training, his whole way of viewing himself, his family, his nation, the world, and God; all of if had to go to the Cross. But aren’t all these things the very things that made Paul, Paul? Aren’t they the very ingredients that, combined, made him what he was? That made him the unique individual he was? Were they not the total sum of the old Paul? Exactly. And it was God’s intention to make a new Paul, a Christ-filled Paul. In order to do that Paul himself—not just his deeds—had to be put to death. There was no other way.
Unfortunately, most of us don’t want to die. We are afraid to die. It is so difficult to let go of ourselves. We draw back when God asks us to put everything we are on the Cross. We have a hard time accepting that there is nothing good about our life. It is hard to have faith that our uniqueness and our individuality could be preserved if we turn everything we are over to death. It is hard to perceive that until this is done, we continue to be our own worst enemies, for everything that remains alive becomes a tool in the hands of Satan. To give everything we are over to death is extremely painful. Adam does not die gracefully. He goes to the cross screaming and kicking. Neither can it be done all at once. How wonderful if God would nail him up in one fell swoop. But that's not the way it is. The death of Adam is a process—a life-long process. "I die daily," said Paul—and so must we all dear brothers and sisters.
Christ In You
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
II. Corinthians 7:1
Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
II. Peter 3:14
To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Colossians 1:27
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Romans 8:11
While the hope of most believers remains focused on the external coming of Jesus in the clouds, the Scripture states that our hope is an internal hope. While we wait to be changed as the result of external events, the Word teaches that we will be changed by an internal life. Our hope of glory is not Christ in heaven but Christ in you. When Paul said: "Christ in you, the hope of glory," he wasn't just stating a religious cliché. The redemption of our souls and our bodies is brought about, quite literally, from the inside out.
What shall quicken our mortal bodies? Did Paul say it would be Jesus’ external appearing in the clouds that would quicken it? No. He said it will be quickened by the Spirit that dwelleth in you! While it is certainly true that the body will not be quickened until the external event of Jesus’ literal return in glory, it is not true that we shall be quickened from an external power. On that day it will be the internal life that already dwells in our spirits that will quicken our mortal bodies. In preparation for that event, we are supposed to be cleansing ourselves (souls) from all filthiness.
How shall we cleanse ourselves? How can we be diligent to be found without spot or wrinkle? By that same Spirit that dwells in us. The life that is in the new man is the life of God. It has the power to transform both the soul and the body. However, simply having the Spirit dwell in us is no guarantee that it will cleanse the soul or quicken the body. Every aspect of our Redemption is contingent upon our cooperation and our free will. We must allow the Spirit that dwells within us to cleanse and quicken.
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We have attempted to clarify this process of cleansing with a few simple illustrations. This is a picture of you, it is a picture of all of us. We are, as the Scripture teaches, comprised of spirit, soul and body (I. Thess. 5:23 & Hebrews 4:12), represented here by three circles. When we are born again the Spirit of God regenerates our spirit and the two become united. He who is joined unto the Lord is one spirit, said Paul (I. Cor. 6:17).
Now that God has taken up residence in our spirit, He must begin to work on the soul. For it is not His desire to dwell fully in our spirits alone. He desires to dwell fully in the soul, and eventually in the body as well. It is the soul that expresses and defines what kind of person we are. Behavior, desire and a free will are all expressions of the soul, the most important of which is the will. Therefore, the first aspect of the soul the Spirit must deal with is the will, represented here as the wall of the inner circle.
The will of the individual stands sovereign over his spirit. Paul said that the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets (I. Cor. 14:32). In other words, we decide whether or not we are going to let the life of the new man affect our souls. We will either choose to yield to that life or we will choose to express our own (soul) life, leaving the life of the new man locked up in the spirit.
This is why there are so many Christians who never seem to change or grow spiritually. Though they have been born from above and have received a new man, they do not allow the life that dwells in their spirits to flow out and transform the soul. They go through the rest of their lives living and serving God out of the abilities and strength of their own natural life.
As the will begins to yield to the inner man, that life begins to work on the mind, renewing it and transforming it (Eph. 4:23 & Rom.12:2). As we keep allowing the spirit to renew and change our minds, our emotions and desires begin to be transformed. Coming to understand this process is simple. But allowing God to actually do the work is quite another issue. For I have to choose to die to all that I have been used to all my life, in order that I might come forth in a life that I have never experienced.
Before being regenerated, my spirit was a non-functioning entity. Everything that made me a unique person was produced by the soul and that soul was the prisoner of my old man. My mind was the mind of the old man. My emotions and desires were the emotions and desires of the old man. My will was stubborn and un-yielding. Once regenerated, I have a choice as to which life I will live by—the life of my new man or the life of the soul.
Paul said if ye live after the flesh ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body ye shall live (Rom. 8:13). Because the old man has authority over every portion of the soul that has not been crucified, when we try to live by soul-life we end up in the flesh. We can choose to walk after the flesh or we can choose to walk after the Spirit, and by the power of the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body. Through the power of the new man we can stop our bodies from carrying out the desires of the flesh, of demon spirits (which work through that flesh) or their own (physical) desires. Now if ye can choose to not live after the flesh, then "ye" and "the flesh" are not identical.
Nevertheless, though I and the old man were never identical, we were inseparable. I was married to the old man. I was joined to him in a spiritual union that could not be broken or changed by my own effort. I was only capable of manifesting his sin and corruption. Even the good that I did came forth from a soul that was self-centered and bound to the old man. But once I am born again I find that I have a new man, and a choice as to which of the two I will have union with.
Therefore, we have placed the elusive "I" in the soul. For this is the life it lives by unless and until it learns to live by and manifest the life of the inner man. The "I" is not an entity unto itself. It must be in union with something to give expression. Either it remains joined to the soul, or it can choose to be joined to the spirit. We have also placed it right near the will because our will is the only part of us that is unquestionably us. We think we know ourselves so well. But as the Lord begins to strip away various bondages that we have lived in all our lives we see that many of the ingredients that formed our personalities were not really us at all.
For example, there are times when God takes us through a severe test or trial and when it is over, we realize that we have changed. Maybe a certain way we view things has changed, or no longer exists at all. Maybe some emotional bent has been transformed completely. Maybe some habit is no longer part of us. So many of the ingredients we assume are necessary to make us a unique individual are in fact, not the real us at all. They are attributes or habits or expressions that were programmed into us by external forces.
However, there is one aspect of our character and our personality that is, without a shadow of a doubt, the real "I". That aspect is the will. I am the chooser. Every choice I have ever made has been made by the real "I". Now it is possible that many of the choices I made were based on desires which I assumed were my own, but in fact, were the desires of someone else. Nevertheless, it was still the real me that made the choices. I could have made choices based on logical reasonings I assumed were my own, but in fact, were the reasonings of another. Yet it was still the real me that made the choices.
No matter how much of me gets stripped away, at the very core of my being stands the chooser that I am. This is one reason we must stop living by our own life. We don’t know exactly how much of us is really us. We cannot discern how much of what we are is the result of living under the influence of this world and the prince of this world.
Another reason is because God cannot move through us unhindered while we are still drawing on our own resources and strength. It is a one or the other situation. This is why Paul said reckon yourselves dead. Stop identifying with all the reasonings, desires, wisdom and abilities of the soul. Start identifying with the wisdom of God in your spirit man. Learn to lean on his strength and identify with his desires not your own. Identify with his mind. Learn how he moves. Learn to recognize his leadings and warnings.
Why? Because every portion of the soul that has not been crucified can still be manipulated by demons. They can still come to us in our own name, convincing us that their desires are our desires. They can still present their wisdom to us in our own name and convince us that their wisdom is our wisdom. If we continually follow our own soulish wisdom we will never be able to move by the wisdom of the new man. When we draw from our own talents and abilities, when we walk according to our own wisdom, we are giving Satan an opportunity to move through us for we cannot discern what is coming from us and what is coming from someone else in our name. It is that simple.
But as we begin to identify with and yield to Christ in you (the new man), the enemy begins to lose his leverage, for his success depends on convincing me that his thoughts and desires are mine. Therefore, if I will reckon myself crucified with Christ, then allow God to bring me into the experience of what I am reckoning, coming to me in my own name will not help the enemy one bit because I have rejected my own life. When I reject my own life I destroy his ability to convince me that his wisdom and logic are my wisdom and logic, or that his desires are my desires, or that his abilities are my own. The more thoroughly I reject my own life, the more effectively I cut off the very avenue he has always used to deceive me and bring me into bondage.
Unfortunately this truth is easier to understand than experience. We find ourselves faced with a complex dilemma. We must reject our life and learn to live by the strength and wisdom of another life. Yet many times we really can’t tell the difference between the two. How then can we possibly make the right choice? No one can instruct us how to follow the Spirit or abide in Christ. The best we can do is help each other to see when we are not doing so. To walk in the spirit is a life-long lesson each must learn on his own. Each of us has his or her own personal relationship with the Lord and learning to tell the difference between the soul and the spirit must be worked out on a one to one basis. However, there are a few principles which apply in general.
One is the principle of waiting upon the Lord. Isaiah said, "they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (Isa. 40:31). Time is one of the hardest things to give the Lord. We are so busy. We have to slow down, physically and mentally. Both the mind and the body are on the go from early morning to late evening. It is impossible to cultivate an intimate relationship with Christ "in you" if we do not give Him more time than we give our jobs, families, hobbies, and ministry. God must be pursued and sought after. He is not waiting with baited breath to engulf us with His Presence at the first sign of the hearts turning. If we want to experience His fulness we are going to have to seek Him—and we are going to have to seek Him with all of our hearts (Jer. 29:13). Go through the Scripture and see how many times God exhorts His people to seek Him.
Another principle, as was already stated, is learning how to identify with Christ in us. For example, if a desire begins to arise within us that we know full well is not coming from our spirit man—like maybe a desire to avenge some wrong done to us—we should refuse to accept it as our desire. We should challenge it, look it square in the face and say: "you do not apply to me because I am a new creation in Christ Jesus. I am risen with Christ. I desire holiness not revenge. I desire to forgive not hold grudges. I have no rights that can be offended or trampled on. I desire to please my Father. You are no longer part of me, for you have been nailed to the Cross."
Another principle is meditating on God’s Word, both the written Word and the Living Word. The Scripture says that the Word is able to divide the spirit and soul (Heb. 4:12). It is impossible for us to look at our characters and personalities and try to untangle and separate what has been meshed together all our lives. We cannot even discern (except by supernatural revelation) how much of us is really us. We do not know, except by the Spirit, how many unclean spirits are operating in us or what areas they are moving in. However, God is capable of piercing through the mess that we are and divide the activities of the soul from the activities of the spirit. He can teach us how to tell the difference if we really want to know. But we have to be willing to die. We have to be willing to let go of many things the average Christian will never lay down.
Another consideration is the principle of being faithful to the light God has already given. God does not expect us to overcome everything at once. We are only responsible to deal with the issues the Holy Spirit brings to our attention. If we are diligent to walk in complete obedience to the things we have already been shown, God is faithful to cover the things we are not aware of yet, and will continue to enlighten and cleanse us. But if we try to save our life we will find ourselves going around the same mountain, year after year, never progressing towards the goal God has set before us. The definition of an overcomer is not one who is perfect now. An overcomer is one who is on top of today’s issues. It is one who is successfully dealing with those things God has pointed out to us, up until now.
A final consideration is loving the truth above all else. Loving God’s truth is a manifestation of our love for Him. Jesus said, ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32). And so it shall, if we love it more than our own selves. If we love it more than our careers and our possessions and our families. If we put God’s truth above all else it will keep us in God’s light and out of the Devil’s deception.
Cleansing The Soul
When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
Luke 11:23-26
It is truly unfortunate that most Christians refuse to accept the possibility of demon activity in the soul. The cold-blooded truth is that all Christians have spirits. We are not referring to demon possession, but rather, to the enemy’s ability to move and operate in the soul of men—all men. Being a child of God does not preclude enemy activity in the soul. In fact, the true child of God can expect heavy attacks in this area. There is only one portion of the soul that a demon spirit is unable to move in. That is the portion that has been nailed to the Cross and filled with God’s resurrection life.
Since much of Jesus’ ministry involved casting evil spirits out of His people, and since much of the uncleanness that lingers in us is caused by unclean spirits, it is extremely foolish to avoid the issue. We should be asking God to illuminate our understanding so we can more fully cooperate with Him as He cleanses and restores our souls. Jesus’ statement reveals several truths. First, spirits that are cast out of people can and will try to return. Second, if there is not an additional work done in the individual’s life, they will succeed in returning.
Why was the unclean spirit able to return and take up residence again so easily? Why couldn’t the same power that drove it out keep it out? Is the enemy’s persistence stronger than God’s power? God forbid! Notice that Jesus said the spirit came back and found his former home swept and garnished. It was clean because the unclean spirit had been forced out. But it was empty. For some reason the Spirit of God was not able to fill the area that once housed the spirit. So when it came back it had no trouble re-entering the same area. Why didn’t God automatically fill that area of the man’s soul with His life after the spirit was cast out? There can be only one reason. Because that area had not been delivered over to death once the spirit was gone. It was not crucified. Therefore, God’s life could not fill it.
You see, demons are foreign entities. They were never intended to be part of us. Because they are intruders they can be over-powered and driven out. But we cannot be driven out. We must die. We must voluntarily surrender every aspect of our life to God. If we choose to hang on to some aspect of our life God will respect our choice, but the price we pay for doing so is that we provide Satan an area to operate in, for he has a legal claim to every part of the old man. He has the right to occupy any area we refuse to relinquish to death.
This is why the message of death to self is so important. We are not fighting Satan alone. We are up against a team. Our soul-life is part of the opposing team. When we save our life we are saving the Devil’s principle ally. Any area we refuse to crucify becomes a weapon in his hand. Once we understand this truth, we begin to see our flesh and our life in a whole new light. We realize it is necessary to adopt the same ruthless attitude toward them that we have adopted towards Satan himself. In order to declare war on Satan, we must also declare war on many aspects of our own selves.
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In this illustration we have added little squares throughout the soul. They represent areas that have not been crucified with Christ. Some of these areas we may be aware of. Others we are probably blind to. Some are there because of choices we have made during our lives. Others we were born with, we had no choice. These areas may be desires that work in us and motivate us, which we cannot lay down. They may be desires that we do not even realize exist yet. They may be attitudes or certain ways we have grown accustomed to viewing things. They can be any number of emotional hang-ups or scars or pockets of bitterness and hatred. They can be patterns of thought. They can be all kinds of lusts: lust for power or dominance, lust for the good things in life, lust for food or sex or any number of physical pleasures. They could be spots of rebellion or disagreement with the Spirit of God in the will.
They can be the attributes of our personalities that we see as noble or wise or beautiful, and therefore have a hard time laying down. They can be various characteristics and traits that have been programmed into us through the environment we were raised in. They can be reactions to what we have experienced as little children. They can be any number of spiritual, mental, emotional or physical problems that have been passed down through the family line. They can be pockets of pride or vanity. They can be different fads that pride makes us susceptible to, such as a preoccupation with physical fitness or with eating health foods or with owning the latest fashion clothes.
Whatever they are (and there are too many to enumerate) they are part of the old man and they serve as snags that spirits can cling to. They are like little nooks and crannies in the soul where demon spirits can lodge and work. Of course, not every snag will have a spirit moving there. But every snag is a potential area of demonic influence and activity. For example, a person who was raised in a home where constant bickering and violent arguments were the norm might be predisposed to violence himself. He may have a short fuse. This is a snag. A demon spirit of violence or rage can latch onto that area and start manifesting its own violent nature, which matches perfectly that particular predisposition, and now the person has a two-fold problem.
Under normal circumstances he may be able to control his anger fairly well. But when the spirit of rage starts manifesting, the anger becomes uncontrollable. In addition, there is now a constant pressure on the person to snap at the slightest provocation or difficulty. Unless that individual understands what is going on he will assume that he is just getting worse and worse, that his temper is getting out of control. But in reality his temper is being brought under the control of another temper, which is even worse than his own.
A two-fold problem demands a two-fold solution. Both the demon and the snag that provides him opportunity to manifest must be dealt with. Demons are intruders and can be forced out. Snags are us; they must be put to death. The only way to ensure that a spirit can no longer operate in an area that has troubled us is to remove the snag that he manifests through, and the only way to do that is to crucify it.
This was the problem in the illustration Jesus gave. The spirit had been cast out but the snag that allowed him to move and work had not been dealt with. If the man would have allowed God to nail that particular snag to the Cross the resurrection life of Christ would have filled that area and when the demon returned he would have not only found it swept and garnished, but also filled with another life—a life that cannot be affected by demon spirits.
There are many people today who want deliverance (though many don’t use that term) from various hindrances and bondages they recognize as interfering with their spiritual walk. But they do not want to face up to the reality of the role spirits play. This is because it is a humbling experience to realize that we can and do have spirits and many of God’s people are filled with religious pride.
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In this last illustration, the life of the new man is coming into the soul. As we yield our will that life begins to affect change on the mind and the emotions, bringing about a transformation of the entire personality.
My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.
Galatians 4:19
Paul said that he was in travail for the believers in Galatia, that Christ would be formed in them. This, in simple picture form, is what he was referring to. Christ must be formed in us. He must be formed in the soul. We must yield our will so the life of God in the new man can flow out and affect the soul. The character and nature of Christ must be formed in our personalities and minds.
We can be saved and go to heaven and never have Christ fully formed in us. We can live our entire Christian lives and do great works for God and never have Christ fully formed in us. We can live by the life of the soul and keep the spirit man locked up. This is what God’s people must be taught, because our future rewards and destiny in the kingdom will not be determined by grace or mercy or forgiveness or love. Our place will be determined by how much of His character and nature we have allowed Him to work in us.
As we lay down our life the life of Christ can fill us. As His life replaces ours, the snags are smoothed out, the nooks and crannies are filled with resurrection life, and the Serpent starts losing his ability to move through us. If we are totally obedient to the Lord, at some point we will be able to say as Jesus did, the prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me (John 14:30).
The thing that hinders deliverance the most is an unwillingness to die. Even when God does drive some spirit out of an area of our soul, we usually do not deal with the snag that gives it a place to operate. That snag must go to the cross. Too many people want to be free from what ails them for the wrong reason. We want God to fix our emotional problems, our physical problems, our mental problems, our financial problems, our marital problems, so we can live our own lives without a lot of hassle. We want to be free to enjoy the nest that we have built and the family we have produced and the stuff that we have acquired. But God says to us, die my son, die my daughter, for your life is over. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. Lay your life down so My life can come forth in you. Lay it down so I can use you for My Kingdom purposes.
God is doing a thorough work of cleansing in those who are willing to give Him everything. He is not doing it primarily for our sakes. He is doing it for His own purpose. So that in the ages to come He can have a corporate body of sons and daughters through whom He will be able to fully express His Person, and through whom, He will be able to have fellowship with multitudes of nations not yet born.
In order to gain our predestined inheritance and be made that unique expression of the God, it is necessary to learn how to lose our life. In order to possess His life and reveal it to others throughout eternity, we must lose our life today. This process is painful, there is no doubt about that! Sometime it seems like it is more than we can bear. But in the ages to come we will look back and realize that 40 or 50 years of testing and pain was nothing compared to the eternal glory it obtained us! When the dust settles and we are in the place ordained for us by God, we will be so thankful that we paid the price.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
II. Corinthians 4:17