Today Derek begins a study confronting us with a decision: Do we want God’s best in our lives or are we willing to settle for second best? In Jesus’ Parable of the Sower, there were four types of soil, only one of which produced lasting results. That was the good soil. We must aim to be good soil, for what we achieve will depend on the response of our heart.
Today Derek looks at two very important words concerning the human condition: is it spiritual or soulish? Man cannot be both at the same time. There is a divine order in each area of personality. As this order is attained, that person will become wholly sanctified, being preserved complete and blameless when Jesus comes.
God’s plan is to rule from above through man’s spirit. That means the soul is in subjection and the body obeys what is passed down. As we get in line with this program, we will begin to see the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven, and rejoice in it.
Our bodies were bought with a tremendous price to become dwelling places of the Holy Spirit. God wants to live in and through us—in and through you. Today Derek looks at God’s purposes for our bodies and to see how He wants us to cooperate with Him in His plans.
The soul of man is self-conscious; it functions in the will, the intellect or mind, and the emotions. The soul says, “I want,” “I think,” and “I feel.” It is in rebellion to God, the true I Am. This is where surrender must take place. The soul must believe in the work of Christ and submit to His Lordship in order for reconciliation to take place.
What happens with our spirit in regeneration? The regenerated spirit is conscious of God and can communicate directly with Him. The spirit can now function in our relationship to the world, in our times of worship and fellowship, and for receiving revelation from God.
The nature of the seed determines the nature of the life within it. The new life is incapable of sinning, and it comes about by living a life of faith. It is born of incorruptible seed, feeds on the incorruptible Word of God, to become a partaker of the divine nature. As this happens, we are delivered from the corruption that is in the world through lust.
What is the remedy for the human spirit to be brought back from death to life? It is only through the miracle of rebirth where a man receives the seed of the Word of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit the seed germinates and produces the life of God within us.
What happened when man turned away in self-will and rebellion? He became spiritually dead, but that was just the beginning. Derek delves into the effects of the rebellious nature on man’s soul and body. Tomorrow Derek reveals the remedy.
God made man of spirit, soul, and body. Today Derek looks at these three parts to define what they are and how they work together. Apart from God, man’s soulish nature tries to run things. The divine connection of man’s spirit to God’s Spirit is necessary for man to become what he was made to be.
In the vastness of the universe there is a speck of a planet with humans on it—and God, our Creator, cares all about us. It’s hard to take in just why He does, but if we realize what He sees in us, we’ll know we’re made in His image. There is a mirror for us to look into—God’s Word—and as we gaze into it we will be transformed into that image.