The Two Nature
When Nicodemus made his night visit to Jesus, Jesus said unto him, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit (Holy Spirit), he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God." John 3:5. Jesus gives the reason why in the next verse,John 3:6; " that which is born of Flesh is Flesh; and that which is born of Spirit is Spirit."
Here we see two lines of Heredity. The "Flesh" line, and the "Spirit" line. The Scriptures speak of the first as the "Natural Man," and the second as the "Spiritual Man."
The New Christian
The Scriptures teaches christians have "Two natures" after accepting Christ, mostly because of a lack of this knowledge about the devoloping of these "dual natures. Many New Christians, after rejoicing for a while in there new found hope, are awaken to the Fact, that his old desires, old habits, still draw on them the same way they always did before, they will slowly start to see these feelings are not dead, some may even seem stronger now but many don't know and many are not taught about the process there going to face, so they are soon disheartened and discouraged they without help backslide,and become bitter .
Nobody wants say so, but any one of us can go back to doing old things, but after you became a follower of Christ, you have gave God the ok to do some thing within you.. One thing He does for every christian is, he sets for us all the goal to Shape your Spiritual Mans Character to the same kind of Character that was in Christ; Romans 8:3-5
Here is a important meaning of christian struggle between the two different natures, Diamonds are made by pressure, Gold becomes more vaulable the purer it becomes, but it comes in stages and it's only done thru & by fire, just like the more we seek God the purer in heart we will become, by divine revelation of sin. This is Jesus message to the last church age;
Revelation 3:18 Jesus said" I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see."
God sees the Gold or value in us, you are the focus of Gods love, his effection, you are the Apple God sees in his eyes. Think of how much God already invested into us , just so we could have a relationship with him.
God devolops our Spiritual Nature with the opposing forces from the Natural mans nature, the world, pressing against the New Natural, it's pressure are to make us closer to God & the rest of your life is the walk for the refining.
What are the Struggles going to do.
These struggles produce a Spiritual fidelity & Spritual finesse,and they teach us to lay aside sinful things, but this come to every New Christian to the oldest Christian by Revelation stages. these struggles is up to which Nature you feed and it's all released by us, yielding to the devolopement of your Spiritual nature this will lead you my to your special place within the whole body of Christ.
When we accept Jesus Christ as Savior, you have a face off with that old Nature, by introducing in a New born Nature, this New Nature is just like a New Born Baby. When you accepted Christ, you became a new born babe.
The Old Nature you had doesn't want to die, your Natural desires have had there way ever since your birth, if your 30 and get saved your flesh is 30 yrs old, The New Nature in you is only a New born, your in for a fight and It will fight you to keep it's postion,.first place and it will die trying.
This is the biggest struggle we all face, but it's won by the Nature you feed and how often you feed it, God looks at how honestly you walk before Him 24-7, if you always speak in truth24-7 How often do you talk to him and acknowledge him through out each day, how dedicated to seeking him are you. What if the people that your around could only talk to you, according to the perfect amount of time that you spend talking With God. Would you be lonely, yielding seeking God with the motive of Love. To form this relationship with us we choose two paths to seek God
When we don't yield our self willing to let God shape us, this is a PRIDEFUL act to God.
God see's things like that as bad character traits for you and it is something he needs out of you, but God is not punishing you.The shaping of that Spiritual Nature is the most important thing to get devoloped because the deeper meaning of it is, it is the design he is using in shaping you into the same Character as in Christ.
There are processes God uses on each and every one of his Children, depending on you and the yielding part. For the Christian, God uses our trials and hardships to create the New natures character. Why? I'll give you a short example that describes the way God uses life to shape us by the way of a rock tumblers tumbles rocks.
The Tumbler
When a stone tumbler wants to take a dirty old rock and create something beautiful with it he take the rock as it is, he sees it's full of cracks, chips, and many a scare, so it must go into the tumble process, first he adds some chemicals to it, this gives it special reaction to the tumble process it must go thru to reach his (Like God)own desired level.
( this could be compaired to us starting to read the bible for the first time, getting into fellowship with other christians so on, were adding in the chemicals needed)
Now the tumbler lets it tumble for 7 days, then the tumbler takes it out and looks at it all over, he see's it still has jagged spots, dips chips so it needs more chemicals and tumbling, this is just like God does to us. We mature in our Spiritual Man in Stages and the real depth is according to the amount time effort, seeking and yielding to the Spiritual Man's development.
There is something to keep in your mind, it's a life long process, It keeps on going till Christ Character is formed in you.
The Tumbler keeps looking at Rock every 7 days and he puts it back into the tumbler till it is found to be the best of it's capable qualities, for it cannot be made perfect because the material it's self has a flaw, we have the Flaw of sin in us that is our impurity, something that no of us can change by anything, but by Jesus.
When we don't yield our self willing to let God shape us, this is a PRIDEFUL act to God.God see's things like that as bad character traits for you and it is something he needs out of you, but God is not punishing you.
The shaping of that Spiritual Nature is the most important thing to get devoloped because the deeper meaning of it is, it is the design he is using in shaping you into the same Character as in Christ.
I. The Natural Man
Of the "Natural Man" the scriptures say, "That his understanding is darkened." Eph. 4:18.
That he cannot receive (preceive) the things of the Spirit of God, for they can only be spiritually discerned. 1 cor.2:14.
There are things about God that cannot be made known to the Natural man, those who are lead by the Natural desires do there on thing and think of the things of God as things of foolishness
1 corinthians 1:18.
The Natural man will take offence to anyone telling it how to live, how to change it's Character, mostly the world drowns this nature with pleasures, they like who they are and what they do and there determined to keep it that way.
The natural man, without Christ is the child of wrath, Eph.2:3. the Natural man without Christ is at enmity(at odds) with God, and they cannot please God.(They don't obey) Roman 8: 7-8. The heart of the Natural man is deceitful and desperately wicked.(Jer.17: 9).
Jesus explained the things that come out of the natural mans heart, he says out of it proceedeth "evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride and foolishness."
Mark 7: 21-22.
The Natural man is spiritually dead, Why? Because he chooses to be Romans 1: 21,28-32 , he loves to do those things, these thing will give the unsaved safety , sprinkled with lots of pleasure; finally they get to a point were he will not want to Change. This is what it means that his understanding is darkened Eph 2:1-3; those who are lead by the Flesh or Natrual man walk with there eyes on the things of the world instead of on God, Romans 1:21-32.
The "Natural Man" without supernatural help cannot change his Character.Jer. 13:23.
It should be noted that God does not say in his description of the "Natural Man" that none are refined, or cultured or sweet-tempered or generous, or charitable, or honest, or truthful, or religious, but he says that none are Righteous, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23.
II. The Spiritual Man
While the "Natural Man" has a human parentage,("human mother and human father") the "Spiritual Man" has a Divine parentage. All life must come from a "pre-existing life." There is no such thing as "Spontaneous Generation " of life. No life can come without parentage. There must be a father and a mother.
In the "Spiritual World" right now the Holy Spirit is the Father and the "human heart" is the Womb (mother) into which the "seed" of the "Word of God" is dropped. (1 peter 1:23.) and pop the New Nature is Born.
If seed is no good from the start in the Natural world then no plant will spring from it, and if the "Seed of the Word" is not Vitalized by the "Holy Spirit" when it falls into the human heart there will be no"New Life." There will be no Change in the person, no Spirit to witness with there's Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
This explains how men and women can read and study the Scriptures and not be converted This "New Birth" imparts a "New Nature." This Nature is Spiritual."That which is born of the Spirit (Holy Spirit) is Spirit." John 3:6.It is this new nature that God look to us to take responsibility of devoloping , but it can only be done by surrendering, that you choose to do The surrendering is the life long jorney a New believer will face but because Deals with each it is revealed sin to you, as you grow.
Romans 12: 1-2 " 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 (how?) by the renewing of your mind,(Keeping your mind refreshed about God, keeping focus on your Spiritual Natures devolopment) that ye may prove (understand as you mature) what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God".
In order for the Spiritual to mature as Christ wants, we have to develope that Nature, by laying things aside and to seek after God, this is yielding because your willingly seeking God to grow, this is the right path that will lead you to the peaceful, content life, if he's first life gets easier but the catch is that it's all your choice and That Choice is one we will all answer before the Judgment seat of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The yielding to Holy Spirit to shape you is the only way to reach those deeper things of God, putting him at the highest level of our lifes. There are no fast foods for it; so we need to look how much does it mean to me.
It's after we accept Christ we receive a period that reminds me of the age before the Law was givin by moses. This is a time the New Christian is full of zeal about God and the things of God, this is our witness we are Christs Child. The Natural nature will not receive a Holy hunger for God like that, but after you have had time to seek God and you don't or your still leading your own life the same old way, it's time to be Chastened, corrected, refocused on God, remember when you yield you bypass the Chastening.
Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Now Comes Chastening.
Refusal to obey by voluntarily laying aside every weight and sin does not stop Our Lord from his purpose to make us like himself., Everything he will do, will be to develope your Spiritual Nature in which you will use thru out the ages to come.
God wants us to be like Jesus in the end.Romans 8:29. He must bring into perfection. If necessary he uses the severest methods of Chastening, but it's all for our profit, that we should be made partakers of His Holiness. Perfection is the goal Ephesians 5:27 "That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.".
Before we are fit to reign with him every spot and wrinkle must be removed even if it has to be burned out by the most grievous chastening, or ultimately in the fires of the Judgment Seat of Christ.
What is a spot?
Spots are accidental, the result of carelessness, but it can be removed by washing in water. For these the water of the word is provided Ephesians 5:26. Get in the word of God.
What is a wrinkle
Wrinkles are the result of inactivity. The result from sitting in one position too long. My clothes do not wrinkle when I stand up or walk around. But when I lay down in my clothes or sit with my arms folded and knees crossed, then wrinkles result and these are not removed just by water they need a Hot Iron.
The Chastening of the Lord is designed to produce Cleansing, sweetness, holiness and peace. But where the chastening of the Lord is despised, bitterness will result. If being warned and constantly chastened of the Lord, the believer presists in his unrepentance, and become bitter instead of sweet, he may be left alone at the place were it is "impossible" to renew him to repentance, left to await his terrible loss at the Judgment Seat Of Christ.
Everyday the Christian gets a Clean slate to write on, everyday his mercies are renewed and so yesterday is forgotten everyday. But if you mess up just tell God what you did ask Jesus to forgive you and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you from now on,tell him to help you to mature, It will Change you whole Life around...
If you have messed up all you have to do is ask for forgivness and put it behind you and write your today, God Changed me.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
May God Keep you all, and lead you.
Bro Malone
