Category Archives: Dan’s Blog

Fulfilling Our Purpose

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God’s presence within our spiritual being is the basis not only for communion with Him, but is also the foundation for ultimately fulfilling the purpose for which we were created in at least three significant ways:

First, only those who are alive in their spirit are capable of worshiping God in the way He desires.(1 Corinthians 2:10 & 12)   

Second, only those spiritually alive can receive the impartation of God’s truth. For only through our spirit can we gain knowledge of the truth that He otherwise leaves shrouded in mystery.(Romans 12:4-8, 1 Corinthians12:7-11, Ephesians 4:11)

Third, God reaches through His children to draw a hurting and dying world to Himself. We actually become His hands and feet as He manifests Himself to the lost around us. And our job here on earth encompasses not only reaching the lost, but also being used to build up Christ’s body, the Church. But in no way are we capable of handling this job in our own strength. We can do it only by the gifts and ministries He gives to each one of us individually.(Romans 5:12) Our spirit is the port of entry, the staging area, and the jumping-off place of these gifts.

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

           

Glorified Bodies

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Here’s what Paul tells us about the destiny for the physical body for those who are in Christ: “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.”(1 Corinthians 15:42-44)

Thus the destiny of our threefold being is to be transformed into some sort of spiritual being—don’t ask me just what, but no doubt something much like Jesus became upon His resurrection.(1 John 3:2) My point is this: our ultimate destiny is not simply to throw off the baggage of our physical body when going to be with the Lord, but a melding of the elements of our nature into a glorified being who retains the original stamp of humanity.

Our body is to be transformed into that which is capable of enjoying a full and eternal union with our Creator.(Philippians 3:21) Our spirit is the starting place of that union here and now.(Revelation 3:20: “Behold I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him, and will dine with him, and he with Me”.)

Man’s Spirit: God’s Gift

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Without question our spiritual nature is the supreme gift of God to man. Why do I say the supreme gift? Because through our spirit, and only through our spirit, has God given us the opportunity to commune with Him. We need to realize that the opportunity for His indwelling presence is the primary purpose for the existence of our spirit. God actually takes up residence in our spirit as we allow Him to do so.

It may sound a bit presumptuous to say that He indwells us only as we allow it, but that is exactly the case. Because He has given us the capacity of free will, God lives within us only as an invited guest. Our spirit has been formed by God in such a way as to provide His Holy Spirit a dwelling place within our nature.(1 Corinthians 3:16: Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?)

I’m sure you’ve heard it said that within each person there is a God-shaped vacuum which only He can fill. That place is our spirit. Without the inhabiting presence of God, our spirit is simply dead—and therefore purposeless. So in one very large sense, our spirit is the essence of our being.

Our “Flesh”

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          While Scripture often uses the term  flesh to describe the physical body, it is also used to portray that part of our nature which encompasses body, mind and soul. This definition of flesh is epitomized in Jesus’ warning to His disciples, “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”(Matthew 26:41). Here flesh is used to describe that part of our nature which stands in contrast to our spiritual nature. It is the carnal nature of man, the seat of sinful passions and affections.

            Our flesh, then, is that part of our nature which is able to live and function freely without any submission to God—although it’s obvious that it can exist only as His sustaining power allows it. And it’s very important to understand that the flesh follows us into our new life in God. It continues to have a life of its own even as our spirit is reborn and brought alive. As a result, we find ourselves constantly embroiled in a battle with the desires of our flesh as we seek to fulfill the desire of the Spirit.(Galatians 5:17 “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another…”)

            The Bible also uses another term for the flesh: the natural man. The term natural man is synonymous with the flesh—but only the flesh as it pertains to the unregenerate man. Once we have received Christ and become a child of God, though still saddled with the flesh, we are no longer a natural man but a spiritual one.(1 Corinthians 2:14-16 “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.15But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.16For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.”)

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

Heirs of God

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What does it mean to be God’s son or daughter? It’s vitally important to understand the dynamic status we’ve freely been given in Christ, because without an appreciation for what this relationship encompasses, we are unlikely to move beyond a certain level of spiritual growth. “I realize what it means to be a child of God,” you might again be thinking. But have you really come to grips with the magnitude of this promise?

How often do we stop and think about what Paul meant by saying, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ…”(Romans 8:16-17). Do you notice the principle of inheritance here? Just as God promised that Abraham would be an heir, we also are heirs of God. Paul makes it very clear in Romans 4:16 that “those who are of the faith of Abraham” are his descendants and therefore heirs of the promise. But in our case the promise is even greater, because what we are to inherit is the fulfillment of that which God planned for His children from the very beginning of time—the promise of “a new covenant”; that of an “eternal inheritance,” as the writer of Hebrews so succinctly states.(Hebrews 9:15) What an incredible opportunity we’ve been handed!

Fellow heirs with Christ? It’s tough, isn’t it, trying to envision ourselves as the heirs of the splendors of all that belongs to God. Can you even imagine? If we could really grasp this truth, wouldn’t it change everything for us? Wouldn’t we just naturally live out our faith in a whole new way—a life of greater focus, a life so much more motivated to “…walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called?”(6)

Soul vs. Spirit

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The Bible talks about man being dead because of sin (Romans 7:9 – “I was once alive apart from the Law ; but when the commandment came, sin became alive, and I died”). This death obviously does not mean the death of the physical body, since it’s plain to see that there are still plenty of sinners running around out there. Rather, it speaks of spiritual death. My point is this: even when a person’s spirit is dead, his body, mind and soul continue to function normally, though not healthfully.

It’s extremely important to understand the significance of body, mind and soul being able to function devoid of the life of the spirit, because living without the support of the spirit has tremendous implications for both our behavior and our experience of life.

Let’s not forget that body, soul and spirit are inseparable in man—these elements of our nature simply cannot function independently of one another, whether or not our spirit is dead. I think back to what it was like trying to negotiate life with the weight of a dead spirit around my neck. I didn’t have a chance at a fulfilling life!

What Drives Us

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I think we can all agree that our body is a reckless thing, always wanting its desires satisfied quickly and completely. So any choice we make which denies what our body wants speaks loudly about the presence of some other motivating force in our nature. For instance our will—this determination coming from within which sometimes drives us to make decisions either for our own good or the good of others in spite of the instant gratification our physical body may be demanding. Or how about those deeply seated emotions in our being which often prevent us from a reasonable response as we interact with the world around us? And above all, what about our conscience, this inherent sense of right and wrong that so mightily contributes to the control and direction of our behavior?

All people, in varying degrees, share attributes and capabilities that come from a deeper component of our being—the immaterial part of the nature of man.

Now since the mind is accessed both by the physical body and our immaterial nature, it can clearly be seen as the critical link between the two. I think of the mind as a gateway which facilitates change going either direction. Bad behavior in the body sickens the soul, and an unhealthy soul fosters a further deterioration of our behavior. But the opposite is also true: a vigorous soul serves to strengthen the resolve of the mind, which in turn promotes better behavior. And better behavior then further bolsters the health of the soul.

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

 

 

 

The Essence of Our Being

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Created in the image of God? How so? For years I believed that the true essence of man is that he is a spiritual being. This seemed logical since we ultimately will share eternity with God, and the Bible clearly tells us that “God is spirit.”(John 4:24) Only later did I begin to realize that God’s purpose for man demanded that he be fashioned in quite a different way. So God added another aspect to man’s immaterial nature, a soul. And He also gave us a physical element to our being, a body. These three elements of our nature—body, soul and spirit—are clearly laid out in Scripture.(1 Thes. 5:23)

Yet for me the threefold nature of man raises a question. Why would God bother to create a physical universe at all? Since God is spirit, why not merely fulfill His plan strictly within the bounds of some sort of spiritual order? Well, the obvious answer is that God created all that He has in order to fulfill His special purpose for man. And mandkind had to be fashioned in a specific way to achieve that objective. In reality, the more closely we look into our design, the more apparent the brilliance of God’s plan becomes. Here we are; just look at us!

Being human means much more than simply putting up with a physical body for a time before it is cut loose by death to allow our spiritual being to inhabit eternity with God. We need to understand that man is an inextricable mixture of body, soul and spirit, and that anything less simply means being less than human.

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

Man: God’s Jewel

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“What is man that You take thought of him? And the son of man that You care for him?” asks David in Psalm 8:4. He then goes on to say, “Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and You crown him with glory and majesty.” Does this sound like you, or anyone you know? I know some pretty wonderful people—some whose character may even hint at this portrayal—but it would be a stretch to see even them as mirroring this magnificent prophetic description.

God knows better. He knows who we really are. When He said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness,” He meant it (Genesis 1:26). And the fact that God cared enough to create us in His own image speaks volumes about His special purpose for man. We are nothing less than the pinnacle of God’s created order. His entire creation revolves not around angels, nor any other created being, but around human beings—those of us who have received Christ Jesus as Lord in particular (Romans 8:19).

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

Suffering: God’s Tool

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Trials are common to all believers. And they are not the result of any lack of interest or caring on God’s part. Just the opposite, actually: He allows suffering because He deeply cares about us. His glorious purpose for our lives dictates that He press us toward His long-term goal, instead of providing counterproductive short-term solutions. This is no doubt why God’s promise that we are “children of God…heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” is made along with this qualifying statement: “if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”(Romans 8:16-17)

Will I continue to trust God in my circumstances? Or will I cut and run by giving in to my natural inclination to do things my own way—in the process showing God that I really do not trust Him. God allows suffering not that He might discover what we harbor in our heart. He already knows what’s there. Rather, God wants us to recognize what is concealed within, and suffering is His tool for laying it all out on the table.

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself