- Jan 4, 2022
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“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out” (Romans 7:18, ESV).
According to Scripture, spirit is life. In the beginning the first man was lifeless until he received “the breath of life” from the Lord God (Genesis 2:7). In time Adam’s spirit departed and his body was lifeless again. “…the body without the spirit is dead” (James 2:26; see also Ecclesiastes 12:7). All who come after Adam are given breath and spirit (see Isaiah 42:5), and as we shall see, those who are Christ’s are given the Holy Spirit.
“God is a Spirit” (John 4:24, Amplified Bible), and it is the Spirit Who gives us spiritual life (6:63). God’s Spirit lives in those who have believed in Christ, who were formally dead in sin and under wrath (see Romans 5:9; Ephesians 2). It is crucial we fully understand our spiritual position in Christ and recognise the dangers of being dominated and contaminated by self. By His indwelling Spirit God can free us from our natural inclinations allowing us to clearly understand His will for us.
When we place our faith in Christ we are born anew and enter into a spiritual relationship with God. It is a spiritual birth: “…that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6); “…you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him” (Romans 8:9). “…Jesus Christ is in you” (2nd Corinthians 13:5). The Lord Jesus Christ is the Spirit.
Christ in us is life, strength and deliverance from death. He is “our life” (Colossians 3:4). The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from sin and death (Romans 8:2). Because we have been made alive with Him (Ephesians 2:5) our bodies are now the dwelling place of God: “…do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1st Corinthians 6:19). Living sinfully will weaken us (Psalm 31:10), but the Spirit of the Lord within us is our strength: “…strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Ephesians 3:16, 17).
Christ in us is spiritual understanding. The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we are His children (Romans 8:16). “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God” (1st Corinthians 2:12). (Also read John 14:26; Romans 8:26, 27; 1st Corinthians 6:17; Galatians 2:20; 1st John 2:20; 27.) It’s important to remember that when we believe God is leading us and working in us each day, His influence will always tally with the balanced fullness of His written Word. His Word is a light to our path and shines in our spirits, examining our innermost places (Psalm 119:105 and Proverbs 20:27). Each day invite Him to speak to you in your “heart” (consider Ephesians 1:18). Enjoy the fullness of your salvation and have a heart that is willing to hear and respond (Psalm 51:12).
His Holy Spirit is inner Life to us and searches the depths of God comprehending His thoughts. In response to our growing faith He teaches us all things and reinforces His Truth in and through our spirits. “But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ” (1st Corinthians 2:15, 16). We must grasp His will for us so we can work for Him constructively. His Word within us should be living and active, bringing spiritual understanding so that we may be complete and proficient, thoroughly equipped for every good work (see Hebrews 4:12; 2nd Timothy 3:17).
Ongoing failure to hear from God—not having a spirit that is in touch with His wisdom and revelation—is a spiritual deafness that causes us to be governed by self. There are times when we need to spiritually discern God’s will for us (1st Corinthians 2:14). He desires to give us “…a spirit [or Spirit] of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him… that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened…” (Ephesians 1:17, 18); “…be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Colossians 1:9).
Do we truly believe that “nothing good” dwells in us, that in our own strength and wisdom we can accomplish nothing for Him? If so, we know that whatever comes entirely from self will always be unsound and questionable. Scripture reveals that the soul is the seat or source of a person’s personality. The soul is the natural essence of who he or she is, with or without God’s influence. It is our natural identity. It consists of the mind’s thoughts, with all its emotions and intentions, preferences and dislikes, and so on:
“For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart. And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, and revealed to the eyes of Him with whom we have to give account” (Hebrews 4:12, 13, Amplified Bible).
It is the Spirit alone Who brings inner life and spiritual insight. Fallen human nature is contrary to the mind of Christ. We will profit from His Spiritual Life when we are changed by Christ’s Word to us. (Consider John 6:63.) His Word is to live in us richly (Colossians 3:16). If by faith we hear and embrace the balanced fullness of God’s Word, there will be times it will surely divide us and show us where we need to change. We must remain grounded “in the teaching of Christ” (2nd John 9).
We should remember too in passing that we are responsible before God for controlling our bodies. When His Word isn’t active within us, the division of soul from spirit won’t take place and we may be tempted to use our bodies sinfully. In other words, when we are not walking by God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:16-23) the impulses of our old fallen nature will rise up encouraging us to sin. We are commanded to glorify God in our bodies. (Read 1st Corinthians 6:19, 20.) Allowing God’s living Word to actively expose our fleshly nature is essential if we are to keep the whole person pure and centred in His will. To successfully resist all our self-centred inclinations and motivations we must recognise what comes from self, the soul.
Soul-centric believers will rarely, if ever, experience “the division of the soul and spirit”. They are easily controlled by a “carnal” mindset. They may sincerely enjoy the formal trappings of religious experience yet never know a deeper spiritual walk with God that expands their inner understanding. In Scripture this is the hallmark of the spiritually immature: “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?” (1st Corinthians 3:1-3).
In the book of James we read that similar “soulish” behaviour was causing unrest among believers. The works of the flesh were a disruptive force. The scripture here reveals that carnal Christians can be influenced by our spiritual enemy: “This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual [Greek: “soulish”], demonic” (3:15, ESV). (Also consider Judas in John 13:2; 6:70; 13:27.)
Would you agree then that to avoid fleshly, disruptive behaviour your soul needs to be submissive to God’s Holy Spirit through your spirit (where God resides)? You need His inner living, dynamic truths and Presence to divide you and show you the full extent of what is untrustworthy and carnal, even though you may be convinced you do not need help, understanding or correction.
Human nature is thoroughly corrupt (see Genesis 8:21, Jeremiah 17:9 and Matthew 15:19). Self is the full expression of our fallen soul-life. It is by nature contrary to Christ’s influence and control. To enjoy all that God would share with us, self with its many thoughts and intentions must be divided from the spirit, where God lives. With self exposed, judged and brought under control, we will freely hear from God, and His Word will become alive within us.
If by faith we are willing, His Spirit can perfectly reveal the self-serving nature of our innermost motivations and thoughts. If we prayerfully yearn to distrust and deny self, we will experience life according to God’s will. We will live according to the Spirit when we habitually set our minds on the things of the Spirit (see Romans 8:5). In other words, we will be sensitive to the “mindset of the Spirit” (consider 8:6, 7 in the CSB; “spiritually minded”, NASB).
If a division doesn’t regularly take place, we will be more likely to lean on our own perceptions, abilities and intellect while trying to follow Christ. But we dare not lean on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). If the soul dominates our Christian walk we will be vulnerable to other dangers. If we remain “soulish” we will struggle against the works of the flesh, sometimes with dreadful results. Those who are literally full of themselves cannot be led by God’s Spirit in their spirits. Their efforts will revolve around self and will not further the work of God. They will be blind to the fact that their activities may in fact be harmful.
Many of those who are governed by self have a tendency to be wordy and crushingly intellectual, overbearingly eager to share what they know. Their thinking is often shaped by their predilections and hobby-horses. They regularly take delight in discussing irrelevancies, or in being different to the majority. Soulish believers who are very knowledgeable (or think they are) often focus on getting the better of those around them rather than humbly sharing their knowledge in the hope they might enrich others in their walk with God. Some have influential and magnetic personalities that draw many Christians to ideologies and causes that hamper the work of God, cause confusion and result in distracting quarrels and damaging conflicts.
Soul-driven believers are often content with a comfortable religious routine that rarely exposes them to God’s instruction and correction. Others are religiously self-righteous. Many instances of disharmony are caused by the stubborn work of the soul, often through those who, lacking humility, see themselves as being able to teach. Teaching from the soul is precarious. This is why an illiterate person who comes to Christ can have spiritual wisdom, understanding and authority found lacking in those who have been to seminary.
We know that the human spirit has been made alive in Christ through faith in Him and His sacrificial work. By prayerfully and faithfully remaining in Christ and heeding His teaching, we will experience a spiritual awareness that overcomes the potent impulses of the soul (self, with all of its thoughts and intentions). In this standing the human spirit can have a dual awareness: through the Holy Spirit Who dwells within, each spirit can effectively evaluate a person’s thoughts and also be free to know the mind of Christ. (Consider 1st Corinthians 2:9-16.)
We have been crucified with Christ. “…those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:24, 25, ESV). We will keep in step with the Spirit if we heed His Word and allow Him to expose those carnal characteristics that are deeply rooted in our personalities and behaviour.
In claiming our death with Christ, and by actively abiding in Him daily, our souls will gradually be conformed into His image. When we fully acknowledge nothing good dwells in us, we will allow the Holy Spirit to freely work through our spirits. In this way we will effectively be subjected to His will. We will be changed.
“…the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2nd Corinthians 3:17, ESV).
“Jesus answered him, ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him’” (John 14:23, ESV).
Unless noted, Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, 1995.
This essay is taken from Faith and Flesh.
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