Tag: Spiritual insight

How we Hear

In my last post I referenced the importance of pairing practical wisdom with spiritual understanding. Here I want to focus more on the specifics of how we apply them when it comes to hearing His voice. First, I draw your attention to scripture then share and analyze an example from my own life. Granted this example is not the normal process for me but it does highlight how we can hear and the importance of how we initially respond to what we hear. Now to scripture. There are two very relevant passages to look at in relation to hearing His voice.

14 For God may speak in one way, or in another, Yet man does not perceive it. Job 33:14 (NKJV)

11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 1 Corinthians 2:11–12 (NKJV)

The passage from Job tells us that just because God is speaking, it doesn’t mean we are listening. For me a clear implication is that we need to train our hearts to hear. The 1 Corinthians 2 passage tells us that we know things in/by our spirit and that the Holy Spirit reveals to us the things of God. Again, it means we need to apply natural wisdom and pay spiritual attention. I am quite convinced that He is regularly saying more than what we are hearing. In my own life I find it important to daily centre my heart on Him and seek to be sensitive to His voice. When I do hear or perceive something He is saying there is always a three-step process, Revelation, Interpretation, Application. In short there is what I hear, then there is a need to interpret what I hear and lastly the need to know how to apply it, again, wisdom and spiritual understanding. It can become quite automatic in our lives if we engage in this process regularly. Below is an example of how I walked through this process and had to be sensitive to His voice, in this case images, to engage in Revelation, Interpretation and Application. I haven’t had an ongoing revelation like this on any other occasion.  

A couple of years ago I was praying for a friend. I have committed to daily prayer for he and his ministry. As I was praying, unbidden I had an image of him sitting on an old farm wagon. He was on the seat with reins in his hand and there was a team of horses hitched to the wagon. I knew the wagon was filled with supplies for people. I could have dismissed this as just my imagination but it wasn’t something I had been seeking so I shared this with my friend and he was blessed as he had grown up on a farm and could relate to the image. It fit into his life story. I saw the supplies as being spiritual food he had to share with those to whom he ministered, which he agreed was accurate. A couple of weeks later while I was praying for my friend, not thinking about this, I again saw him on the wagon. This time he was at the loading dock of an old general store and others were helping him to load the wagon with supplies. This meant that he wasn’t alone in his ministry. He was leading, he was in the driver’s seat, but others were helping. A week or so later the image continued. At this stage I saw my friend driving the wagon to deliver supplies to others but this time Jesus was sitting beside him with His arm around his shoulder. This meant that Jesus could and would direct as to whom to deliver his supplies. It also meant that Jesus was intimately involved in his ministry. The final factor is the setting. It was like an old Western town. Scripture tells us that if we remember and walk in the old paths, we will find rest for our souls (Jeremiah 6:16). My friend’s ministry is about bringing struggling leaders to a place of rest in the Lord. He saw the setting as speaking to functioning in his calling in a steady measured and unhurried way. A horse and wagon can’t keep up to our modern hurried lifestyle, but that was the point. He was called to lead people into rest.

Now, I don’t know how many of us will have an experience like I did. I used it to illustrate ongoing discernment, Revelation, Interpretation and Application. More generally when praying for others I have standard things I pray but at times the Spirit lays something more specific on my heart for a specific individual or ministry. At other times I have an impression to call someone and share something the Spirit is saying. Yet all of this is rooted in learning to sensitize our hearts to His voice. A key part of this is not missing the spiritual looking for the supernatural. It is also a matter of not trying to manufacture something He isn’t saying. We are all called to a walk of simple and faithful obedience.

How is He speaking to you today?

Wisdom and Spiritual Understanding

I would like you to join me in exploring Colossians 1:9.

9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; Colossians 1:9 (NKJV)

Here Paul’s prayer is that the believers in Colosse, and by extension us, would be ‘filled with the knowledge of His will.’ That is, that the priority in our lives would be knowing, and of course walking in, His will. Paul’s prayer comes with a qualifier.  

The qualifier is in the latter part of the verse. The NKJV presents this latter part as ‘wisdom and spiritual understanding.’ In Greek it is literally written as ‘wisdom and understanding spiritual.’ Of our many modern translations some have it as wisdom and spiritual understanding and others as spiritual wisdom and understanding.

I believe wisdom and spiritual understanding is an accurate rendering of the Greek text because there is both natural and spiritual wisdom and natural and spiritual understanding, here Paul seems to be trying communicate the importance of both. This is similar to his language in 1 Corinthians where Paul connects the natural and the spiritual realms.

46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. 1 Corinthians 15:46–49 (NKJV)

We have all likely heard the expression that someone is ‘so heavenly minded they are no earthly good.’ The converse being the danger of being ‘so earthly minded they are no heavenly good.’

Neither of the above positions is correct. We need both natural and spiritual wisdom and understanding. We need to learn to discern what to do by looking around and we need to draw on wisdom from heaven to walk wisely and uprightly before Him. In terms of practical wisdom Proverbs is dedicated to the practical understanding and use of wisdom. Proverbs highlights the importance of developing practical wisdom, understanding and knowledge anchored in the fear of Yahweh (Proverbs 1:7).  

Spiritual understanding, the kind Paul referenced in Colossians 1:9, comes from a different place. It comes from cultivating a sensitivity to the Spirit and learning to follow His leading. We need both, we may for example learn from Proverbs how to behave wisely in business dealings with others. Yet a deal can look good and we have a sense in our spirit that something is simply not right so we choose not to enter into the deal. This is spiritual understanding. The same application could be made in terms of how to navigate relationships in or outside the body of Christ. In light of this let’s seek to marry practical wisdom and spiritual understanding in our walk with Jesus.

The Spirit of Prophecy

I don’t know how many of you are familiar with the idea of prophecy as a spiritual gift. I will provide a brief overview for you as to how it is used and taught in the New Testament. It is something we see practiced in Acts and taught on in 1 Corinthians. In Acts 13 where the Spirit speaks through one or more the those ministering to the Lord and fasting Paul and Barnabas are commissioned into their apostolic ministries (Acts 13:1-3). In Acts 21:9 we are told that Phillip had four daughters who prophesied. Paul lists prophecy as gift of the Spirit, (1 Corinthians 12:10) and in 1 Corinthians 14:1-5 he highlights the importance of the gift then in 14:31 says we can ‘all prophesy.’ In Acts 11:27-30 Agabus via the spirit of prophecy predicts a famine which leads the church to practical action. In Acts 21:10-11 Agabus prophetically warns of what will happen to Paul if he continues his journey to Jerusalem. 

The above examples show you how prophecy is used to release and commission as well as warn and prepare. In these examples prophecy is used to build up the body of Christ. Prophecy has been described as ‘God’s mind for the moment.’ It is a good definition of how He speaks to prepare or direct us as needed in differing circumstances (He also uses dreams and visions). In general, prophetic words from the Spirit are given for the following purposes.

3 But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. 1 Corinthians 14:3 (NKJV)

Prophecy is given to strengthen, guide and encourage the body.

As it relates to popular modern practices you may be familiar with the numerous internet prophets and those who provide a ‘word from the Lord’ at the beginning on each new year. On the surface a good thing. Yet upon examination, the majority of those who release these prophecies, are mostly wrong and much of what they release can be discerned by following the news. This is not what the scriptures focus on in terms of the gift of prophecy. The gifts are to be exercised in the context of the body of Christ and subject to examination by other members of the body, not used as a platform to draw people and resources to the ‘prophet.’

I am not saying this to discount prophecy, I deeply value and appreciate the gift and think we need it in every season of the church. However, I think when exercising the gift you need guidelines. Not surprisingly scripture does provide sound guidelines for the exercise of spiritual gifts. In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul presents love as the motivation for the exercise of any spiritual gift, then in 1 Corinthians 14 he moves from highlighting motivation to looking at the actual exercise of the gifts in general and prophesy in particular.

26 How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. 30 But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. 32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. 33 For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. 1 Corinthians 14:26–33 (NKJV)

In the passage above Paul shows how the exercise of prophesy is for the edification of the body, is to be exercised with restraint, and subject to discernment by the rest of the body. You may be wondering why I am writing about this. First because I believe He placed it on my heart. Secondly the Spirit gives these gifts because we need them. I am aware that sadly many in the church today reject these gifts and focus on scripture alone. I am all for scripture as anyone who knows me can attest. Yet the scriptures don’t tell me what vehicle to buy, where to live, what job to accept or numerous other things. The scriptures don’t say whether a given congregation should go to two services or plant a daughter church.

In my experience many fellow believers allow circumstances to dictate their choices, yet scripture says we are to be led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14). Which means we need to hear His voice. The scriptures provide guidelines for discernment and counsel but those things are meant as aids not replacements for hearing His voice, whether by ourselves or through something He speaks to someone else for you or I.

Importantly, the ultimate purpose of prophecy is to make us like Jesus. After all the closing words of Revelation 19:10 (NKJV) tell us, “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” One way you and I exemplify this is walking like Jesus, listening to and obeying the Spirit, whether individually or corporately.

The Glory of His Inheritance Part 1

What does Jesus get out of all of this? I don’t know how many of us have considered that question but we see something of the importance of this issue in Hebrews. After showcasing the heroes of the faith and their sacrifices the writer of Hebrews encourages us to follow their example and then transitions to why Jesus endured the cross.

1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1–2 (NKJV)

Jesus endured the cross because He saw joy beyond it. In Ephesians we get a glimpse of that joy in something Paul wrote about and prayed that we would each have enough revelation to grasp.

17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Ephesians 1:17–23 (NKJV)

Here in our western Christianity the passage above is frequently turned into a present-day prayer, the general theme being our seeking a spirit of wisdom and revelation. We want to grow in our Christian experience, which is a good thing. Yet there is more here. The passage is really about having a spirit of wisdom and revelation from the Father so we would grasp,

  • the riches of the glory of Jesus inheritance in the saints,
  • the exceeding greatness of His power toward us, the power that resurrected Jesus, and
  • Jesus’ authority over all the spiritual opposition in the heavenly places, now and forever.

The aspect we are going to focus on is “the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” What Jesus receives. To understand this, we need to look at a related scripture passage.

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. Romans 8:28–30 (NKJV)

What Jesus gets out of this, His inheritance, is believers conformed to Himself and ultimately glorified. Next time we will dig a little deeper into what that means and our role and responsibility in the process. For now, please pray for a spirit of wisdom and revelation to understand what Jesus receives.

The King is Coming – Part 3

In scripture Paul references two Adams and the Man Christ Jesus. A man lost dominion over creation and corrupted it, as we saw in the first post in this series. In part 2 we saw the impacts. Here we conclude by looking at what the last Adam accomplished. We begin with two of Paul’s references to Jesus.

45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:45 (NKJV)

5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 1 Timothy 2:5 (NKJV)

            Now we know who Jesus is and what He accomplished in creation for we have it in scripture.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. Colossians 1:15–16 (NKJV)

We also have a brief description of what He accomplished in His incarnation, the full glory of God dwelling in human flesh.

19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. Colossians 1:19–20 (NKJV)

Knowing all of this let’s put it together.

            In The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) Jesus sated that all authority had been given to Him. An odd statement for the One who demonstrated His authority in creating all things that we see and can’t see. Understanding it requires understanding the first and second Adam’s Paul referenced. In Eden, through his sin Adam lost dominion and authority to Satan and brought sin and destruction into all of creation. The only way for everything to be restored was for a perfect man, the last Adam, Jesus, to pay the price and redeem creation and humanity. Jesus shed blood on the cross restored this authority as He did what He did as a man not as God.

            Jesus lived a sinless life as a man. Though always fully God and fully man at His conception in Mary’s womb, this king incarnate, the One who came from heaven to earth did what He did as a man, He set aside His divine abilities. I don’t know how; I only know that it is the testimony of scripture. In doing so He redeemed us and creation, so as we celebrate His birth let us also be thankful for His faithfulness and obedience to the Father throughout His earthly life that purchased our salvation.

            Merry Christmas!

NOTE for some the idea of Jesus carrying out His earthly ministry without His divine abilities is a new or strange idea. I wrote a brief two part series on this in 2015. The link is below.     

http://wisdomfromtheword.ca/the-man-christ-jesus-part-1/

The King is Coming – Part 2

In my last post I concluded saying that we would look at why Jesus needed to redeem us and how it relates to the delegation of authority in the kingdom of God. Thus, we begin with the why part which we find in Genesis 3. This is the famous chapter where the serpent tempted Eve and she, and subsequently Adam, partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This act infected all of creation with sin and also affected Adam and Eve’s dominion. They now had dominion over a broken and fallen creation and gave much of their authority to the serpent, Satan.

We see the fruit of this loss of authority in scripture with Satan tempting Jesus. Satan offered to give Jesus his kingdom (Matthew 4:8-10, Luke 4:5-7) and Jesus refused it. Some have attempted to deny Satan’s offer was real as scripture says he is both a liar and the father of lies. The point however is that as the father of lies it is his nature is to deceive and here he sought to deceive Jesus by offering a shortcut to authority and a way to avoid the cross. Scripture shows the authority of Satan and his minions in the following verses.

31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. John 12:31 (NKJV)

30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. John 14:30 (NKJV)

11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. John 16:11 (NKJV)

4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 2 Corinthians 4:4 (NKJV)

2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 2 Corinthians 4:4 (NKJV)

These verses explain Jesus’ statement in The Great Commission that all authority had been given to Him.

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Matthew 28:18 (NKJV)

Jesus redeemed us from both sin and the dominion of the kingdom of darkness (Colossians 1:13) and has delegated to us the responsibility of furthering His kingdom on the earth by bringing people from the kingdom of darkness to light and demonstrating His kingdom by reflecting Jesus’ nature and character in all that we do.

Next week we will go deeper by looking at the significance of Paul’s statement “The Man Christ Jesus” in 1 Timothy and tie it back to The Great Commission and the first and second Adams that Paul references in 1 Corinthians 15.

The King is Coming – Part 1

This month many celebrate Advent, the Sunday’s leading up to the celebration of Jesus arrival as a baby, one wrapped in swaddling cloths of course. I am personally quite convinced that Jesus was born in the fall, however, given that there is a broad practice of celebrating the birth of Jesus on December 25 I am looking at what the arrival of our King means in reference to the broader kingdom of God. We begin with an overview of the kingdom, look at what Jesus’ birth inaugurated and conclude with what He accomplished through His crucifixion and resurrection.

When Jesus was born in the earth as a helpless baby the kingdom of God was presented to earth in a new way because the King had become one of us. Yet to have all authority Jesus had to live, be crucified and then resurrected (this will be addressed later). We begin defining and briefly explaining the kingdom of God.  

The etymology of kingdom is uncertain but at the most basic level, a kingdom is anywhere that falls under the king’s domain or dominion. We see in scripture that ‘The kingdom of God’ and the ‘kingdom of heaven’ are two ways of referring to the same thing. 

17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17 (NKJV)

14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and thekingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:14-15 (NKJV)

The kingdom of God operates through delegated authority with Yahweh the divine king as the ultimate source of all authority, an authority that He can delegate to others. We see this in Genesis.

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26 (NKJV)

Adam and Eve were given dominion over the earth and the creatures on it. Yet they corrupted their delegated dominion through sin (Genesis 3) and their sin affected all of creation (Romans 8:20-21), which brings us back to Advent. Jesus came to save us from sin and restore what was lost. We have this angelic prophetic message given to Joseph regarding Jesus birth.

21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21 (NKJV)

We later have this statement regarding our salvation and restoration in Revelation.  

9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, Revelation 5:9 (NKJV)

In Greek the word redeemed refers to purchasing something, in this case us! Next week we will delve into why Jesus needed to redeem us and how it relates to the delegation of authority in the kingdom of God.

Values, What a Concept Part 3

I close this series looking at the challenges of aligning our values and worldview with scripture. The first thing to note is that this is a real battle, spiritual warfare. As I noted in my last post, “The presentation of our body to His service and the considering of ourselves as dead to our former way of life, sin, are both acts of spiritual warfare that establish and enforce His victory in our lives and make us salt and light in our culture.”

To intentionally engage in this transformational process, we need to draw on His grace to swim against the tide of our culture and the spiritual influence of darkness, which is of course a significant part of our current culture. We draw on His grace in two ways. One, way is by asking for the Spirit’s help, the other is intentionally stepping into this battle by seeking to find and engage in the things He has prepared for us to do. Paul said it this way.

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8–10 (NKJV)

The Lord has already prepared things for us to do, our part is to discern and engage in them. While there may specific things each of us need to discern, some things are clearly laid out for all of us. Jesus presented a number of them in the Sermon on the Mount, here is a brief sample.  

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16 (NKJV)

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:43–48 (NKJV)

If you haven’t thought of these as acts of spiritual warfare and engaging in cultural transformation, they are, and when you engage in them you are modeling the values of the kingdom. This is presenting our members as instruments/weapons of righteousness (Romans 6:12-14, 17-19) and presenting our body as a living sacrifice and aligning our thinking and acting with the values of the kingdom (Romans 12:1-2).            

Let’s daily do that.

Values, What a Concept Part 1

Those of you who are older may remember a popular sitcom from decades ago, one where the broader populace was first exposed to the comedy of Robin Williams. The show was called Mork and Mindy and featured Robin Williams as Mork and Pam Dawber as Mindy. Williams played a bumbling alien from another planet here to study earth and humanity. One of the key ongoing plots was Mork not understanding our values and behaviours. In the midst of his attempts to understand, at one point in an episode he uttered a line, “Reality, what a concept!”

This brings me to our subject, ‘Values, What a Concept!’ In our multicultural society we are often exposed to people from other cultures. Not individuals from other planets like Mork, but from places with different values and customs. Which leads to the idea of the source of our values. I don’t know how often most of us reflect on the idea of where our values come from, yet I am confident that most of us are familiar with some version of the following verses.

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1–2 (NKJV)

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1–2 (ESV)

As an aside, I have addressed the ‘reasonable service’ versus ‘spiritual worship’ in the past. Suffice to say the first is accurate in terms of the meaning of the words and the second is accurate in terms of the spirit of the words. Thus, consecrating our whole being to Jesus is both reasonable and an act of worship. Yet for our purposes we need to consider why Paul penned these verses. From my perspective the answer is simple, Paul recognized that when people came to Christ their values need to be realigned to come into conformity with the values of the kingdom of God.  

What is inherent in Romans 12:1-2 is a values test. I know that may not be your first thought when reading those two verses, yet the test is there. We see it when we recognize that there are two types of values, professed and expressed. That is, there is what we say and what we do. In these verses Paul is calling his readers to align their professed values, what they say, with their expressed values, what they do. Whether or not we recognize there is a values issue in the church there is one. When we recognize it, we are in a position to respond to the issue. The problem is well illustrated in the 2024 worldview survey from Arizona Christian University. Here is a sample statement, “The 2024 national survey shows that 66% of adults consider themselves to be Christians, yet just 4% of all adults – and only 6% of the self-identified Christians – possess a biblical worldview (i.e. Biblical Theism).[1] Canadian statistics are harder to come by but when I have found comparable ones in the past the results are very similar to the US results.

When we reflect on where our values come from, we can think of our family, community, those we associate with in our spare time, the media and the broader culture. We are always either influencing or being influenced by those around us. This survey tells us that our values are not being drawn from scripture or the church. In short, whether by design or default, we have not followed Paul’s injunction and the church has been largely conformed to the world in our day-to-day activities.

My goal here is not to merely highlight the problem, I will come to solutions as we head into one of the seasons that highlights the issue, Christmas. However, if we don’t recognize the need to change we have no impetus to do so, and by default continue to have our values shaped by forces other than scripture and the church.

As we continue this journey, I will present ways to actually live out Romans 12:1-2. For now, I encourage you to reflect on it.

More to come.

[1] https://www.arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CRC-Release-AWVI-2-April-23-2024.pdf

The Tree of Life Part 3

Continuing, we will look a little deeper at the soulish versus the spiritual aspects of our lives after our conversion. Many fail to make any distinction between our spirit and soul, viewing them as interchangeable. Scripture doesn’t view them that way. If we have become converted or born again, then we have partaken of the life of Christ, the tree of life. While I firmly believe that the two trees in the garden were literal trees, I also believe the tree of life represents Jesus. We see this in the imagery in Revelation.

7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” Revelation 2:7 (NKJV)

2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Revelation 22:2 (NKJV)

14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. Revelation 22:14 (NKJV)

Methodius, Bishop of Olympus in the early fourth century saw the tree of life here as representing Christ, as does the present Lexham Bible Dictionary,

TREE OF LIFE (הַחַיִּים עֵץ, hachayyim ets; ξύλον ζωής, xylon zōēs). A tree that represents immortality, divine presence, wisdom, and righteousness as a path of life and an eschatological promise.

If we think this through, Christ is the source of life both now and in eternity. He created all things and He sustains us. The choice we have in this life is whether we learn to daily lean into and draw from Him. This is where spirit and soul take on their importance.

Like many important truths this one is hidden in plain site. It simply requires digging into and understanding scripture. We start with walking by the Spirit, which is of course drawing on Jesus.

16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16 (NKJV)

18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Galatians 5:18 (NKJV)

25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:25 (NKJV)

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Romans 8:14 (NKJV)

When we take these verses seriously, it leads us to learning how to lean into and depend on the Spirit. The scriptures teach that we have both a spirit and soul and that they do not have the same function. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 shows that we have both a spirit and soul and Hebrews 4:12 shows that they have different functions. Even those who have not been born again have a spirit (1 Corinthians 2:11, Proverbs 20:27, James 2:26) though the Lord is not dwelling in it (1 Corinthians 6:17). God has a soul as well (Leviticus 26:11, 30, Jeremiah 6:8, 12:7, Zechariah 11:8) but His essence is spiritual (John 4:24).

Now to functions. With our spirit we can contact the Lord as Isaiah 26:9, Luke 1:46-47 and 1 Corinthians 2:12 teach. Although most translations do not have a difference in tense when referring to the functions of soul and spirit in the Isaiah and Luke passages, the difference is there in Hebrew and Greek. The lack of difference in most translations reflects the theology of the translators, not the teaching of scripture. The difference in Hebrew and Greek is brought out in the KJV, NASB, NKJV, LEB and interlinear translations.

In the Isaiah and Luke passages we see that Isaiah knew that no matter how much he desired God with his soul he was only going to contact Him via his spirit. Similarly, Mary’s soul magnified the Lord only after her spirit had encountered Him and rejoiced in Him. This is not a matter of splitting theological hairs. It is a matter of utmost importance because we in the church so easily follow after the things of the soul believing them to be spiritual. We need to understand what our soul is if we are to not be deceived into believing ourselves to be spiritual when we are merely soulish. 

Most of those who recognize the distinction between soul and spirit view the soul as the mind will and emotions. This seems to fit with scripture with the soul as simply our natural ability to think, feel, choose and interact with others. In short, the natural man (literally soulish in Greek, it is the adjective form of the Greek word for soul) of 1 Corinthians 2:14.

If we think we can lean on the abilities of our soul once we are converted we need to read Matthew 26:38, Mark 14:34 and John 12:27.  Here we find Christ very aware that His soul desired to draw back from the will of His Father. He had to choose to be led by the Spirit.

Practically, the difference between being led by the soul or the Spirit is that if we are responding out of, and first depending on, our mind, will or emotions, (the natural man) to lead we are open to deception and this is where counterfeit spirituality enters in. Many of the mystics down through the centuries had incredible experiences while leaning on their emotions and intellects but their experiences were contrary to scripture. Similarly, many down through the centuries have trusted in the intellect and ended up persecuting God’s people.  Depending on and functioning out of the abilities of the natural man is in fact a major gateway of hell into the church (Matthew 16:18).

We can only follow our mind, will or emotions when they are in agreement with and in submission to our spirit joined to His Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17). In practice the relationship between soul and spirit is a bit like that between a parent and child. The child is free to choose within prescribed limits or rules. However, the child needs to be attentive for the voice of the parent and if the parent speaks the child has to choose whether or not to obey. Just so the soul is free to choose within the guidelines of the written word, but when the spirit moves or leads our soul has to choose whether or not to obey. Spiritual believers obey, while the carnal do not, or they do so with mixed motives.

            A scriptural example of walking in freedom and then responding to the prompting of the Holy Spirit is seen in Acts 16:6-10. Here Paul and the rest of his apostolic team were travelling and fulfilling the call on Paul’s life (Acts 26:16-18). At this point Paul was trying to go where he thought best because he had no clear direction from the Spirit. His soul was free to choose. As He followed his commission the Lord intervened and gave new direction. The result was that a whole new area was opened to the gospel.

            I am not suggesting all or any of us will do something this dramatic by paying attention to the leading of His Spirit in our spirit. I am saying that it is how we are called to walk as believers. We know He has called us to prayer, worship, His word, godly relationships and to be salt and light. As we choose to walk this way, we simply need to be sensitive and attentive to His direction in our day to day lives and depend on His leading instead of our natural wisdom.

            When we do life this way, we are both walking in the Spirit and continuously partaking of the tree of life!