Christian Spiritual Life

Transcription

1 Christian Spiritual Life The Narrow Pathway to Eternal Life By David Norris

2 ISBN Published June Published by David A. Norris Copyright David A. Norris 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box , Nashville, TN ii

3 This book is a work of love and obedience for my Father in heaven, my Lord Jesus Christ and my Comforter, Helper and Teacher, the blessed Holy Spirit. It is also a work of love for the many people who need to be led to the narrow pathway to eternal life and walk safely upon it. It is dedicated to my loving wife Yvette and beautiful daughters, Olivia and Laura. Thank you Yvette for your help in editing this book, allowing me to have time to write it, and your constant love and encouragement. iii

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5 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION vii CHAPTER 1 GOD AND PEOPLE Spiritual God 1 People 11 Covenants 26 CHAPTER 2 SPIRITUAL LIFE Spiritual Restoration 45 Holy Spirit 67 Eternal Life 87 CHAPTER 3 RENEWAL People Set Apart 105 Spiritual Transformation 124 Inner Renewal 134 CHAPTER 4 CHRISTIAN LIVING Spiritual Disciplines 153 Living For God 184 The Church 198 CHAPTER 5 - PREPARATION Threshing Floor 213 Obedience 222 Endurance 240 APPENDIX APPENDIX SOURCES 267 v

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7 INTRODUCTION The need to know God is in every person and all people will at some point or points in their life decide whether they believe in Him or not. Today there are many religions in the world with approximately 70% of the world s population claiming either a belief in a single God or number of gods. Of those that claim this belief, about 50% are Christians 1. The Bible states that God is Spirit and therefore operates in the spiritual realm. He does not have a fleshly body and no person has ever seen Him in all His glory. The material universe was created out of the spiritual realm and what is seen was created out of what is unseen. We were created to live spiritual lives, taught, led and guided by the spirit within each one of us. Every person is made up of a physical body, a soul and a spirit and we need to know the role that each has and how they relate to each other if we want to know God and draw near to Him. Because He is spirit, we can only communicate with Him in the spiritual realm. Therefore to seek and know God we must do it in the spiritual realm through the spirit in each of us. The body and soul need to be placed under the submission of our spirit if we are going to live the spiritual life that God wants each of us to live. We live in a material world and we expect to be able to know God based on the experience and knowledge we have gained over our years of life. Yet our knowledge and experience without God is of little use when we try to draw near to a spiritual God because the spiritual side to our life cannot be experienced through our five senses and requires us to come to know and develop a new spiritual sixth sense. Even though we live our life in a physical world, God created us to live our life directed by daily spiritual interaction with Him. However, we have been separated from God and have therefore lost the spiritual connection that each of us was created by God to have. Without being reconciled to Him, God sees each of us as being spiritually dead to Him. vii

8 Without a spiritual connection to God, each of us has been left to live our life in a way we were not designed to. The result has been emptiness deep inside each one of us that results in us searching for meaning and purpose in our life. Given our life in a physical world, we turn to the world to fill this void through interactions with other individuals, building up possessions, educating ourselves, chasing careers or pursuing various other things. Of course we find that although these things may provide a level of short-term contentment, the discontentment and emptiness that lies deep inside us cannot ever be satisfactorily filled because the loss we feel is our loss of the spiritual connection with our creator, God. Once we believe in God, recognize that our emptiness comes from a spiritual deadness to God and hunger to have this spiritual relationship restored, we are able to step onto the path that God has provided to reconcile each of us to Him, move towards true contentment and live the life He has for us. God intends for the life of each person to be filled with His continual spiritual presence and His daily spiritual revelation and direction. He desires a strong loving relationship with each of us and He wants us to fully give our life to Him. Our plans, purpose, desires and will, need to be yielded so that His plans, purpose, desires and will are lived out in our daily lives. This requires our submission, commitment, daily effort and perseverance. The creative force that formed the universe is God s Holy Spirit and it is He who comes to live inside us when we reconcile ourselves to God. When the Holy Spirit comes, our own spirit is made alive to God and once spiritually alive to God, the Holy Spirit reveals God to us, teaches us and leads us in the spiritual life that God wants us to live. He also gives us power to live our daily lives in obedience to God s will and ensures that we find and stay on the narrow, less traveled path to eternal life. Jesus Christ said that there are few on this pathway to eternal life. The few that find the pathway and persevere with walking on it are the ones that find that they can draw near to God and live a transformed life. However for many the pull of the world around us, an inability to truly believe, the distractions and worries of daily life, and our own desires, cause us to never truly live a life that is committed to God. By staying viii

9 away, we have never tasted the true Christian life and the goodness of God that is found by all who are willing to leave their old life behind and live the life God calls us to live. This true Christian life requires a heartheld belief and strong commitment and this is not easily reached by many people. Recognizing this, G.K. Chesterton said: The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried. 2 I grew up in a loving Christian household and my father was a church leader with a major Christian denomination. All through my childhood I can remember saying daily prayers with my mother and father and I felt that I kept a distant God happy by going to church every Sunday with my family. Apart from the memorized daily prayers and the weekly church service, I did not give God any further thought and I certainly did not even think about ever reading any of the many Bibles around the house or praying to God on my own. Overall I felt I lived a life that was pleasing to God and my expectation was to meet Him when I died. When I was 22 our family was severely affected by the premature death of my mother as a result of a heart attack. I had always been very close to her and with her loss the family turned to each other for support and to God. However, I found that at this time of desperate need, I felt distant from God and did not even feel that my prayers were being heard. After all the years of regular church attendance and daily prayers, I realized that I was not close to God and knew little about Him and His will. At this point in my life I felt that if I truly believed in God there was nothing more important than coming to know Him more and living my life for Him. Having always lived in a strongly Christian household I had never really committed my life to God and decided that I had to specifically do this. From that point I became determined to come to know God, understand His will and live a Christian life to the best of my knowledge and ability. I committed myself to do the best I could to live the life God wanted me to live and hold God to the promises He had made in the Bible. I started to read my Bible daily, attended church and prayer meetings a few times each week, said daily prayers, listened to music with a Christian message and also began reading books about the Christian life. ix

10 That commitment to God started a spiritual journey which I have been on for 27 years. What I have discovered is that I had known very little about God and living the Christian life even though I had a strong Christian background. I found that God will draw near to all those who truly hunger for Him, is continually faithful to His promises and will become a loving heavenly Father to all who turn to Him with all their heart. I found that the life that God wants each of us to live is very different to the life I had been living as a young church going adult. God has given all people a choice between spiritual life or remaining in spiritual death and it is in our power to choose the spiritual life He offers. The choices we make during our life in our physical body will determine whether God accepts and rewards us or whether He rejects us. Our spiritual fate is sealed on our physical death and there is nothing we can do to alter it after we die. Our life on earth is short but our choices during this short life determine our eternal existence. The Christian life is one that must be lived from a spiritual foundation and daily directed by the human spirit interacting with God s Holy Spirit. For this reason I have called this life the Christian Spiritual Life. For those who are willing to try to live it, they will find that it will require faith and trust in God, self-sacrifice and daily commitment. When it is diligently pursued, it provides people with the only pathway there is to being fully assured of living an eternal life in God s presence. It also will satisfy their deep needs, provide context for their life and give them purpose for their individual lives. In a world where there is a lot of self-centeredness, hurt, fear of death, superficial religion, uncertainty, loneliness, confusion, greed and dissatisfaction, true Christian spirituality can provide individuals with a new life filled with purpose, value, direction, peace, love, hope, joy and contentment. It is a life that is not based on our wealth or status in this world but one which is based on being acceptable to God, being obedient to His will and walking closely with Him. It is one that is built on a strong foundation that cannot be shaken by anything or anyone in this world, a foundation that is put in place by God and then built daily by His presence within us. x

11 Living the Christian Spiritual Life is the way in which you can come to know God, love Him and live for Him. You were given life by God, have been created for a purpose and God will reveal the purpose He has for your life and enable you to live it. God has promised that those who submit their life to Him will not only have a far more fulfilling life on earth but when they die they will receive eternal life in His presence and receive eternal rewards. This book has been written because God wants to spiritually prepare people before Jesus returns to earth and it has also been written for the many people who are seeking greater meaning for their life and seeking God. This includes unbelievers, new Christians and many other Christians who, as I did, call themselves Christians but really know relatively little about God, His interaction with people over thousands of years and the Christian life He wants each of us to live today. Wherever you may be in your understanding of God and your commitment to yielding your life to Him, I pray that what God has faithfully taught me over many years and which I have written in this book, will help you to walk safely on the narrow pathway that leads to eternal life in His kingdom. I have included many quotes from the Bible to support what has been written but even more importantly because I strongly believe that there is spiritual revelation that comes into our life by reading the actual words of the Bible which is otherwise not available by simply reading my words. xi

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13 ] CHAPTER 1 ] GOD AND PEOPLE SPIRITUAL GOD Finding God The apostle Paul gave the following instruction to some people during his time who obviously believed in a God but did not understand Him or know Him. Acts17vs23 Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: 24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, God, for whom many seek earnestly, is not far from each one of us. Because He is Spirit (John4vs24), He operates under spiritual principles and is not restricted by the limitations of our material world. The verses quoted above tell us that we live in Him and have our being in Him. This is true for all people, Christian and non-christians. However, even though His presence is so near to all of us and we should know and obey Him, so many of us seem to struggle to draw near to Him and come to know Him better. As Paul says, there are many who claim to have a faith in God but yet worship blindly not really knowing Him. When we seek God, we cannot approach Him with preconceived ideas about what we believe He should be like. Trying to know God from an earthly framework can mean that we are inclined to place our expectations and limitations on Him and this will always significantly hinder our spiritual life and restrict our spiritual growth. Some of us claim to worship God but do not really know Him and we create or follow doctrines to worship God without understanding who God is and what He requires. God says that this form of worship is in vain. 1

14 Christian Spiritual Life Matthew15vs8 These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. God is God and we must approach him with all our heart seeking to discover Him while hungering for Him to reveal Himself to us. This must be done from a position of willingness to humbly accept His will, being obedient to Him, and developing and maintaining a close relationship with Him. When we live like this, we open our life up to receiving His spiritual revelation and blessing. The focus on the material world is normal for us because we are born into a secular and material world where we are familiar and comfortable with all that involves our five senses, our intellectual capabilities, emotions and the exercise of our will. As we grow up, we are educated almost entirely in the material, earthly realm. We are familiar and generally comfortable with two thirds of our makeup, body and soul, but the key spiritual part is unknown and ignored by most. However God, who we must come to know, is Spirit and He dwells in a spiritual realm. The spiritual realm sits outside our created world, yet totally saturates it as well. People have compared our world to an empty open bottle immersed in the ocean, the bottle is surrounded by the ocean yet it is filled by it. The bottle is glass and solid yet the liquid water surrounds it and is able to fill it. This is a reasonable description of our material world that is of a different substance (material and not spiritual) but is surrounded by the spiritual realm and filled with it. To live the life that God intends for us, we must start to recognize the spiritual realm in this way, understand it, and be able to operate in it. When we seek God the only way to find Him and know Him is in this spiritual realm and we can only communicate with that realm through the spirit within each one of us. For those of us who accept that we have a spirit, many know little about it and do not know how to operate in the spiritual realm. In fact many fear the spiritual realm and are happy to stay away from it. This creates a situation where people try to come to know and interact with a spiritual God without wanting to enter into and operate in the realm where He is. This clearly makes knowing God and drawing near to Him very difficult and for many, impossible. 2

15 God and People As a spiritual God, He is supreme, transcending time and space. He exists outside it and beyond it. We can only approach Him according to His conditions and in the way that He permits. God is sovereign in that He is the Creator of all in the material and spiritual realms and determines what will happen. He existed before the creation of the world when there was only a spiritual realm and no material creation, before time started, and He will exist after time draws to a close. This eternal nature of God is stated in the Bible (Psalm 90vs1-2, Isaiah 57vs15). In coming to know God, we must understand that He is everywhere (omnipresent). Wherever we go and whatever we do as people in this world, God is there. A person cannot hide from God, it is impossible. God, through the spiritual realm, is present everywhere at once. Psalm139vs7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. Even though this may be difficult for us to comprehend because of our physical limitations and our inability to come to terms with the spiritual realm, God is in all places at once. No matter where we may go, God is there. Proverbs15vs3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. King David understood God in a way that all people must. We cannot run or hide from God s presence. He knows everything about us, all our thoughts, all our words and all our actions. He is fully aware of the sins we commit (Psalm44vs21, Proverbs5vs21). David speaks of God saying: Psalm139vs1 O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. 3 You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it. 3

16 Christian Spiritual Life We can start to now see that the measures of thought we use on earth limit our ability to comprehend the nature and abilities of God. How can we who only know the steady progression of time and who are limited to experiences in a material realm come to understand God the creator of the universe who is spiritual and exists outside space and time? How can we who must rely on created things and our own discovery and invention understand God who can create a world by the word of His mouth? How can we who live our life in a fleshly body, reliant upon the five senses, even start to understand a spiritual realm that we have little or no understanding of or experience with? How can we who are surrounded by other sinful people and who commit sins daily through our thoughts, words and actions, understand or draw near to a holy God who detests sin and cannot even look upon it? How can we who live in a world of spiritual darkness and sin, comprehend God s world of spiritual light and perfection? Isaiah55vs8 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. No person has or ever will come to know God completely in their lifetime. To those who truly hunger to know Him as He is and enter into a spiritual relationship with Him, God s revelation comes spiritually and through a seeking of the heart. For this reason an understanding of God and His will can come relatively easily to a spiritual Christian but be confusing and difficult for someone who is unwilling to approach God from a spiritual perspective. There is a special understanding that will come to the person who is truly a spiritual Christian which will be unavailable to everyone else. God promises to draw near to us as we draw near to Him but this must be done according to the pathway He has determined. In order to gain this spiritual understanding, people must believe in the way God requires them to. Saint Augustine once said that we should first believe and then after believing obtain an understanding. Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. 3 4

17 God and People Once we believe, God wants us to extend our understanding past the knowledge, wisdom and experiences that we obtain from the world and from a purely intellectual and emotional perspective and commit to a life lived for Him in which He can start to teach us about His spiritual kingdom through a spiritual connection. He desires us to receive spiritual understanding and spiritual wisdom. Because this form of wisdom is completely different to earthly knowledge and understanding, God tells us all to become like little children to learn from Him. We must humbly draw near to God recognizing how much we need to learn and understand. 1Corinthians3vs18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He catches the wise in their own craftiness ; 20 and again, The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile. God has a perfect plan for His created world and people in it. This overall perfect plan will not change to accommodate our wishes or personal preferences. He knows the perfect course to take to achieve the perfect outcome. We must trust God, giving our life to Him to do with as He pleases. As long as we hold back from submitting our life to Him, He is unable to use His wisdom to govern our life. He is unable to instruct and help us by His understanding and plan. We cannot fail if we rely totally on God and yield ourselves to His eternal wisdom, will and purpose. His complete and perfect knowledge of all things means that, when we yield to Him, the perfect spiritual outcome for our lives will eventuate. He knows all that goes before and all that will come after. We are privileged to have today a far greater revelation of God than has ever been possible. We are able to know God through His creation, through the revelation of Himself in Jesus, by the Holy Spirit who is sent to live within believers and through the spiritually inspired word of God (Old and New Testament Scriptures). There are also numerous books containing people s experiences and understandings of God over hundreds of years. However, even with this great revelation of God, our ability to come to know Him and live the spiritual life He desires seems elusive. 5

18 Christian Spiritual Life Although we are widely taught and are knowledgeable on a range of subjects in today s world, for most, our knowledge of God and His will is limited to some head knowledge and is generally poor. Much of the knowledge that is obtained does not find its way to the heart so that it can transform our life. Much is choked out of our lives by the busy and self-filled lives we tend to live. A statement made by God in the Old Testament book of the prophet Hosea in relation to spiritual problems experienced by people accurately describes the state of many today. Hosea4vs6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. It is ironic that at a time when human knowledge has never been greater, the knowledge of the Christian spiritual life that is essential to live a life that is pleasing to God, is only known by a few. A life lived without a knowledge of the spiritual realm, ignoring our own spiritual nature and not living a spirit directed life will mean that we go to our grave spiritually undeveloped and unprepared. When each of us physically dies, the spiritual part of us, our spirit and soul leaves our physical body, entering into the spiritual realm. We only have one chance to choose to know and be obedient to God and it is during our life on this earth in our physical body. Once we physically die and leave our body, there is no more choice, no further opportunity to know and believe and no opportunity to change our spiritual circumstances. After physical death there is nothing we can think, say or do and there is no bridge we can cross to alter our spiritual position or destination. We will consider how we should live a spiritual life for God in later chapters but before going further it is important to first gain some understanding of God, ourselves and the relationship between God and people. This understanding must be based on God s revelation over the thousands of years He has interacted with people and which is now available to us in the Bible. We are created in God s likeness and as we come to know God more we will also understand the spiritual environment we live in, understand His will for us and recognize how we can become what He desires us to be. 6

19 God and People Three Persons But One God God over time has revealed Himself as being one God yet made up of three different Persons (Trinity). The first person is God the Father, the second person God the Son (described by the apostle John as being the Word of God at the creation of the world and who came to earth as Jesus Christ) and the third person is God the Holy Spirit. Though Persons in their own right, they are one God. The Son and the Holy Spirit are sourced from God the Father and continue to be one with Him. The following verses from the Bible clearly distinguish the three Persons. 1John5vs7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. Matthew28vs19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 2Corinthains13vs14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Genesis1vs26 Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; The three always act consistently as one there is only one God even though God is made up of three Persons. The following relationships exist between the three Persons of the Trinity. The Father is greater than the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Father sent the Son and on earth the Son obeyed the Father s will. Jesus said that when we saw Him we saw the Father (John14vs9). The Father sent the Holy Spirit to all believers in the Son. The Holy Spirit obeys the will of the Father as well as that of the Son. The Holy Spirit was the power for creation and He provided the power for the Son when He lived on earth. 7

20 Christian Spiritual Life Jesus Christ said that the Father was greater than He was (John14vs28). He also said that the Father had sent Him and that the Holy Spirit would come after He asked the Father. The Father told Jesus what to say when He was on earth and Jesus said that authority was handed to Him by the Father. Jesus also said that only the Father knew when certain events would occur. Even though the Father is greater, Jesus and the Father in a spiritual sense are yet one. Jesus is in the Father, yet the Father is also in Jesus (John14vs11). The Holy Spirit is a person in His own right, He was sent by the Father yet He is one with the Father and Jesus. The Holy Spirit comes to live in Christians, yet in Him coming, the presence of God the Father and Jesus are also present. We will always see Jesus and the Holy Spirit acting consistently in accordance with the character of God the Father. God the Father is the source of all creation and all creation, including each of us, spiritually exists in Him. As the source of creation, God is the one who breathes life into our lifeless physical body and the one who gives each person a spirit. Isaiah42vs5 Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it. When Jesus was born into this world, we see in Him for the first time a human being who lives a life in the complete knowledge of His Father s will, who is wholly obedient to that will, is free from sin and who is able to call God His Father. In the gospel of John he clearly teaches us that the Word was with God before the creation of this world and that the Word was made flesh (Jesus). John describes Jesus as a light that came to shine in a dark world but the world rejected Him even though it was created through Him. John1vs1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was 8

21 God and People made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. In His prayer to the Father, recorded in the gospel of John, Jesus prays to be glorified with the glory that He had with the Father before the world was created. At the time of creation, Jesus existed as being one with God and as the person who would one day take on human form and provide a means for each of us to be reconciled to God (John17vs4-5). Later Paul confirms in his letter to the Colossians that the Word was with God at creation and that the world was created by Him, through Him and for Him. He existed with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit at creation as God the Word (Colossions1vs15-17). Again in Hebrews we read that God made the world through Jesus (Hebrews1vs2,10). The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity and was also with God the Father at the creation of the world. He was the spiritual power of God at creation. Genesis1vs1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. The Holy Spirit is also the one who has come to God s chosen people over thousands of years to reveal God and to empower particular individuals to serve God. It was He who inspired the writers of the Bible to ensure that God s revelation would be safely carried over time to all people. It was also He who inspired the true prophets who spoke to the nation of Israel. When Jesus was about to die He said that the Holy Spirit would be sent to His disciples and this would be even better than His own physical presence with them. 9

22 Christian Spiritual Life We now start to appreciate that when the visible (material) world was created, God the Father created it by, through and for the Word (Jesus) in the presence and through the power of His Holy Spirit. In this way the entire Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) were involved in creation. God created out of the spiritual realm the material realm that we live in and experience through our physical bodies. What is seen was created by what is unseen and spiritual. Hebrews11vs3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Satan Before God created man and woman, He had created spiritual beings, angels. They were spiritual beings but they were not created in the image of God. Angels were created to serve God and they would later perform tasks such as ministering and guarding believers, as well as, being messengers from God to people. One of the most powerful angels was called Lucifer. The Bible tells us that due to Lucifer s pride he rebelled against God and wanted to be like God. God therefore cast him down to earth. Other less powerful angels who also rebelled with him (one-third of the angels) were also cast away by God. Ezekiel28vs11. Thus says the Lord God: You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God;. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. 16 By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, and you sinned; therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, 17 Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, 19 All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; you have become a horror, and shall be no more forever. Isaiah14vs12 How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the 10

23 God and People morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! 13 For you have said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High. 15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit. Revelation12vs9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Lucifer is also referred to in the Bible as Satan, the Devil, Beelzebub, the adversary, the serpent, the ruler of this world, the evil or wicked one, the red dragon, the tempter, the enemy of God, the prince of the power of the air and the god of this age. Unlike God, Satan and his evil spirits are not omnipresent, omniscient nor omnipotent. Although God s creation of the world and the angelic beings was completely satisfying to Him, when He created people, He created a start of a family for Himself with whom He could share Himself and His creation. People are God s special creation and it is important for us to know and see ourselves as God sees us. We are considered by Him to be special. PEOPLE Creation When people were created by God (Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden), God used inorganic matter (dust) to create a body. God then breathed into man s lifeless body placing a spirit in man. The result was the formation of a living person or living soul. Genesis2vs7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. We are also told in the book of Genesis that we are created in God s image. 11

24 Christian Spiritual Life Genesis1vs27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God is a spiritual being with a soul (will, emotions and mind) and man and woman were also each created as a spiritual being with a soul. We are therefore created in God s image. However, God also created a physical body in which the spirit of a man or woman could live in a physical world. When first created, we were also different to God in another way, we did not have a knowledge of good and evil because of God s protection over us. When initially created, man and woman were also created to be holy like God is holy. Holiness is defined as being separated from sin and there was a time when man and woman were completely separated from sin and wholly devoted and set apart for God. The Holy Spirit was in the first man and woman created and they were therefore able to intuitively know God s will and obey it. There was no battle between their will and God s for they lived in full obedience to God. Their heart was pure in that it only loved God and their mind was in tune with God s mind. Because of all this, their conscience was clean and they lived in a close and loving relationship with God. Their life in the fleshly body was directed by their spirit through their soul which was in God s image. The spirit was in turn directed by the presence of God s own Holy Spirit who was within them. The purity of life that man and woman possessed was not only the foundation for their relationship with God but also was the foundation for their relationship to each other. People, created as spiritual beings, were created to experience continual fellowship with God through our common spiritual nature. Being in God s image, man and woman were able to relate to God in a far closer way than would have been the case if we were not created to be like Him. Man and woman s communication with God was intended to be mainly at the common spiritual level. They would however live in the earthly realm but also know, communicate with and experience the heavenly realm. They would live spiritually in God s kingdom while doing His will in the material earthly realm. As they multiplied, a holy nation of people dedicated to God, would be established. 12

25 God and People One thing that was required of those that would form God s holy nation of people was that they were to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, who would live inside them, and be obedient to His guidance and teaching. This would give all who made up the nation spiritual life in close fellowship with God, loving Him with all their being and living a life dedicated to Him and focused on Him alone. Although in a body of flesh, they would be spiritual people because their life was directed by their spirit in union with the Holy Spirit. In this way each person who would make up the nation would be unique with their own character that would be given by God at birth and then formed and molded during each one s life based on each one s life experience. God also created people to have choice but it was a choice between obeying Him and being acceptable to Him or being disobedient and being rejected by Him. God knew that the loving fatherly relationship He desired with people could only arise where they had a choice and could exercise their own will. A forced relationship would be one that was not formed out of love and trust and could never be true or satisfying to a person or God. Therefore, man and woman were given free will and choice. At creation the choice that was before them was to either obey or disobey the will of God to the extent that it had been revealed to them. Genesis2vs16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. Choosing obedience would mean continuing to live a holy life in God s spiritual kingdom and under His rule and protection. It would mean knowing Him, communing with Him, understanding His will and being obedient to it. It would mean living with God in a relationship that was loving and trusting with God s blessing and protection from evil. The Holy Spirit would continue to be in each person s spirit and He would teach each person God s will and help them to obey it. This would enable the person to live their life for God and live it in a way that pleased Him. It would mean having eternal life with God and living in a world free from the touch of evil. 13

26 Christian Spiritual Life Choosing disobedience would mean separation from a life in God s spiritual kingdom and removal of His rule and protection. It would mean still retaining the likeness of God in having a soul and spirit but the soul would be influenced and shaped not from a continual spiritual contact with a holy God but based on their experiences in the physical world around them without God. They would cease to know God in an intimate way and would be unable to commune with Him due to spiritual separation. Their life would be based on contact with other people who had also lost their spiritual link to God. The Holy Spirit would not continue to live inside them to direct their lives. It would mean that their spirit would die to God and their eternal life in God s kingdom would also be lost, with their physical body aging and eventually dying. Without a spiritual connection, God s blessing and God s guidance, they could not know His will nor have the ability to be obedient to it. It would mean losing the relationship of love, trust, blessing and protection from evil. It would mean living in a world in which they would have knowledge of both good and evil being influenced not only by God but also a powerful evil spiritual outcast, the angel Lucifer (Satan). The tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden was a test of man and woman s trust in God and their desire to live a life in God s kingdom trusting, depending on and loving God alone. It was a test to ensure that people would choose to have God as their ruler and obey His will rather than their own. If either man or woman should choose to disobey God and eat the fruit of the forbidden tree, the protection from evil would be lost and they would gain the knowledge of good and evil, be able to distinguish between the two, choose between the two and be influenced by the two. These first people, Adam and Eve disobeyed God and were therefore separated from Him. Now sinners, they were still like God with a spirit and soul but the trust that God had placed in people was betrayed and God in His holiness was confronted with people who had sinned through their disobedience to His will. As a result of the freedom of choice that God gave them and their subsequent decision, they would now live a life that was very different to the one God had desired for them. They lost the life that God had 14

27 God and People planned for them, a life centered on Himself and a life that was holy and perfect in composition. A life that would have been based on love for God and love for all people with no selfishness. A life where all of creation would be under God s hand and all work in perfect harmony. A life shielded from the influence of Satan with no evil, hatred, killing, sickness, selfishness, sadness, emptiness or death. More specifically, their life was affected in the following ways. 1. They lost the spiritual relationship with God and were separated from Him. 2. The Holy Spirit no longer lived within them thus deadening their spirit to God. They lost His spiritual revelation, teaching, guidance and help. The loss of this spiritual presence of God in their life meant that they were now more inclined to be drawn away from God towards the material world they were made to live in. 3. They lost their access to the tree of life which meant that they no longer had eternal life with God. 4. Their physical body would grow old, wither and eventually die. There was now a limit on the number of years that people would live after which their physical body would perish and return to the dust from which it was made. Genesis 3vs19.. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return. 5. They gained the knowledge of good and evil becoming even more like God, able to determine their own destiny, good or evil, with their minds and spirit now being open to receiving evil thoughts. God s protection from evil was removed which now meant that their life would be open to the temptation and influence from Satan and evil spirits. 6. They were cast out of God s spiritual kingdom and were now under the spiritual control of Satan. 7. Due to sin that had now entered their life, they were ashamed and hid from God. 8. Life on earth would no longer be easy for man and woman and there would be difficulties, pain and sorrow. 15

28 Christian Spiritual Life The sentence passed upon these first two people, when God said that they would surely die if they ate of the forbidden fruit, was passed onto all following generations and consequently all people have been and are under God s condemnation and are totally separated from God. God therefore sees all people who are born into this world as sinners. When our body eventually dies, our spiritual life lives on for eternity. Where and under what conditions we live on makes the message of Christianity so incredibly important for all of us. Spirit, Soul and Body Paul makes it very clear that people are made up of three parts, spirit, soul and body. 1Thessalonians5vs23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Each is defined in the following way. The spirit is God breathed into people and is that part of a person through which we can interact with the spiritual realm and the spirit realm interact and influence our soul. The soul is made up of a person s mind, emotions, and will. The mind enables a person to reason and think and the emotions are a person s feelings. The will determines a person s actions, thoughts and emotions and therefore what a person will say, do, think and feel. The body is the physical outer person which is the house or tent that a person lives in during our life on earth. From the day that we are born our body ages until it fails and there is physical death. We differ from all animals in that, being created in God s image, we have a spirit that was breathed into us by God and animals do not. When animals die their body perishes, and having no spirit, the soul also perishes. We were created above the animals to have a special and unique higher form of life, a spiritual life, that would communicate with God. 16

29 God and People Zechariah12v1 Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him. All people have a spirit and in the Old Testament book of Numbers, God is described as the God of the spirits of all flesh. Numbers16vs22 Then they fell on their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and You be angry with all the congregation? The body has a finite life but the soul and the spirit, are immortal. When we physically die our body returns to the dust from which it was formed and our spirit returns to the spiritual realm from where it was originally sourced. The physical returns to the physical and the spiritual returns to the spiritual. Our soul leaves with our spirit. The spirit leaving at a person s physical death is mentioned in the Bible as is the fact that the soul leaves as well. As the first Christian martyr Stephen was being stoned to death, he called out to God to ask Him to receive his spirit as he knew his body was about to die. Acts7vs59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Also, when Jesus prays for a little girl who had died, she comes back to life and we read: Luke8vs54 But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, Little girl, arise. 55 Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. When Jesus was about to die He asked the Father to receive His spirit. Luke23vs46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit. Having said this, He breathed His last. 17

30 Christian Spiritual Life Other verses in the Bible that support this are: Ecclesiastes12vs7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. James2vs26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. Psalm146vs3 Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. 4 His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish. Due to our separation from God, the spirit within each of us, although active within us, is not able to function in the way that God intended it to and is dead to God. The spirit is active in that it functions as a channel for evil spirits to tempt and influence us and for the working of our conscience and intuition. Also, God communicates with each of us through our spirit to convict us of sin, draw us towards Himself and be reconciled to Him. Even though the spirit s link with God is cut off and the intended level of God s help and guidance is not available, He has not left us in complete spiritual darkness. The Bible tells us that there is a spiritual light from God that comes into every person who comes into this world. This of course is the conscience which has been placed in every person. A small portion of God s light that helps the person to understand moral good. John1vs9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. The soul, as did the spirit, came into people when the spirit was God breathed at creation into our lifeless fleshly body. Each person s soul (mind, emotions and will) uniquely defines the life of each person and it is the source of our unique human nature and individuality. It has been formed by God in a particular way and as we live our life on earth, our soul is further developed, shaped and molded. 18

31 God and People Each of us is created as a special person by God in our mother s womb and God has a unique plan for the life of each of us, if we choose to reconcile ourselves to Him and live the life He wants us to live. We are individually important to God for He fashioned us according to His will for us (Psalm139vs13-16). Even though sinners, He still loves us for we are His creation. Job31vs15 Did not He who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same One fashion us in the womb? Our soul defines who we really are irrespective of our words, actions or bodily mannerisms. Apart from having many emotions, thoughts and actions that are not seen by others, as we live in this world we learn how to act in ways that don t always match what we think and feel. Therefore, the soul of an individual is never really known by other people, and in many cases, quite unknown and unpredictable to the individuals themselves. The body is important for it enables our spiritual soul and spirit to live and act in this physical world, and once people are reconciled to God, accomplish His will on this earth. It also enables us to develop as spiritual people through the type of life we lead, our experiences and what we do with our life. Our experiences and physical interactions with people and the rest of creation help us develop and shape our mind, emotions and will. How we live our life on this earth in our physical body determines how we shall live it spiritually for eternity. When we focus on the body we cannot avoid the fact that there is an end to life. When we cannot accept the spiritual realm then all we can think about is how we can best live our life on this earth before the time comes to die. This is the attitude of those who cannot appreciate the eternal nature of spiritual life. Yet, spiritual life continues for both the believer and nonbeliever after physical death. Without a spirit that is alive to God, the soul becomes the dominant influence in every person s life and we are almost entirely developed, shaped and molded by our experiences in our outer body rather than our inner spirit. This means that our mind, emotions and will are governed 19