| The time is fulfilled,
and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. Mark1:15 We are spirits. We have souls. We live in bodies. We are tri-partite beings. The unregenerate man is not aware of these truths and is unable to make such distinctions. He is dead in trespasses and sins and walks according to the prince of the power of the air (Ephes2:1-2). Consequently, he is closed to spirit which is freedom, love, peace, joy, and faith. He walks in fear, pride, hatred, lust, covetousness, and idolatry; all the consequence of the fall, of separation from God, and death, the wages of sin. These sins reside in the soul and not in the spirit. Now when the spirit hears the truth the soul stands condemned. ("For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Rom3:23) The soul by not conforming to God but to the world, the prince of the power of darkness, becomes aware of its habits and conditioning which it took for granted and which it took as the given and the spirit experiences sorrow. When the spirit man becomes an observer of his soul which he may never have done before, the spirit stands in judgment. (For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit...Heb4:12) When he repents he experiences truth and he realizes he had not lived by truth in the past and this produces godly sorrow. If the spirit man accepts the state it's in, he will experience the presence of God in spirit, and this spirit man is now born-again. Spirit has just been awakened by the Holy Spirit and the distinction between spirit and soul becomes real. Thus when Jesus says, "If you continue in my word, then ye are my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31-32), He is speaking of spirit. This freedom is the liberation of the spirit from the soul which is subject to bondage, sin, and fear. This freedom has the potential of growing into authority, dominion, and power as we feed spirit, the inner man, with the word of God and surround ourselves with those of like freedom. When the spirit is set free, we begin the journey to maturity, to the Promised Land, to the rest or Sabbath of God. If we do not get the Word into spirit, the inner man will not grow and faith will not be produced and we will be subject to the all the vicissitudes of the adversary and the world. We therefore need to become steeped in scripture to build the spirit man. Then we need to "not be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewing of our mind (the soul), that we may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." Rom12:1-2 Then we need to "keep our bodies (our flesh) in subjection so lest when we preach to others we ourselves become castaways." 1Corin9:27 The problem of evil harden not your hearts. Heb3:8 "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness." Rom1:18 Repentance occurs when the spirit looks at the soul, compares it to the righteousness of God, condemns it and has a change of heart. The unrepentant heart, however, sees the truth of the soul and esteems itself better than God and will not change. It results in a hardening of the heart and the turning of the "truth into a lie". A person who has come into the presence of God and does not repent is subject to the forces of evil spirits. That person instead of being born-again is wed to Satan. It was Satan, who having seen God, decided in his heart to esteem himself greater than God. In the same way when a spirit sees the state of its soul and does not repent, the results are the same. Spirit is sold in sin and cannot repent. That spirit ends up in hell. Evil is the result of pride which will not repent nor recognize the superiority of God and his verdict on sin. When that occurs evil is born. Until such time as one chooses good over evil, he is a spirit in darkness to the truth and is confirmed in sin. When one refuses to acknowledge what Jesus came to do, that is, to redeem the world from sin through the sacrifice of His blood, he stands condemned. The Spirit is born with a sin nature alienated from God. The only spirit who could restore fellowship with God and spirit with soul and body was Jesus the man-God. Accept Jesus and accept His verdict on sin and you will be born-again and reap life-everlasting in heaven. Reject the gospel and there a waits for that spirit eternal damnation. Life or death lies in the balance. Choose life. Amen |