Old Sin Nature vs. Holy Spirit

SETTING THE STAGE

God the Father is the Author of a plan of grace for mankind. The plan has three phases. Phase one is salvation, which was accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ. The historical execution of phase one began with the virgin birth of Christ, continued through His incarnation, and culminated with His death, resurrection, ascension, and session at the Father’s right hand (Heb. 1:3). Because Christ was accepted in heaven as a man, believers are also “accepted in the Beloved” (Eph. 1:6).

For the individual, phase one is the moment of salvation, the first instant he believes in Christ as his Savior. In that moment of faith, he receives many permanent grace benefits, which accompany his new position in Christ. Prior to the historical advent of Christ, God presented the saving work of Christ in various ways: direct revelation, the teachings of prophets and priests, dreams, visions, and rituals. In every era of history, however, man enters God’s plan only through faith in Christ.

For what saith the scripture [Old Testament]? Abraham believed God [the promise of the Messiah], and it was counted unto him [credited to his account] for righteousness [a description of salvation] (Rom. 4:3).

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved (Acts 16:31).

Phase two of God’s plan is the period between salvation and the believer’s departure from this life. The post-salvation way of life differs in various dispensations. We live in the Church Age, which began on Pentecost, A.D. 30, and will end at the Rapture or resurrection of the Church (1 Thess. 4:14-17). During the Church Age, the Christian way of life is executed by God the Holy Spirit in and through the believer (John 14:26; 16:13; Gal. 5:16).

In phase two God has made perfect provision for the Christian to live a supernatural life, to advance to spiritual maturity and to possess happiness and blessing in prosperity or adversity (John 17:13). The techniques of the Christian life — including rebound, the filling of the Spirit, faith-rest, and living in the Word — are introduced in other books. The doctrine of dispensations, which enables us to orient to God’s plan for our post-salvation lives on earth, is also presented in a separate book. Phase three is God’s plan for the believer in eternity. This phase commences at physical death or the Rapture. Every believer will receive a resurrection body and will live forever face to face with the Lord. Believers who advance to spiritual maturity in time will receive rewards in eternity.

At the point of salvation, the Holy Spirit places each Church Age believer in union with Christ. I like to diagram this by the “top circle,” which represents eternal life. We can never get out of that top circle. At salvation we are also placed in the “bottom circle,” which represents temporal fellowship with God. However, as soon as we sin we move outside the bottom circle into carnality. There are no spiritual dynamics in carnality. The only way back into that circle of fellowship with God, that state of spirituality, is by means of rebound:

If we confess our sins [acknowledge our known sins, maybe we will and maybe we won’t], he [God the Father] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown sins] (1 John 1:9).

When we acknowledge to God all our known sins, the Holy Spirit is free to fill or control us.

The filling ministry of God the Holy Spirit provides the divine power that works invisibly in the life of the growing believer to produce the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22, 23), The Holy Spirit utilizes the inventory of Bible doctrine that the believer accumulates in his soul. As the believer’s inventory of doctrine grows, so does the extent of the Spirit’s production in his life.

ELIJAH. THE SPIRITUAL GIANT

While believers in the Old Testament were never said to be in union with Christ nor indwelt and filled by God the Holy Spirit, certain believers were endued or empowered by the Spirit for special functions Spirituality was applied through the faith-rest technique rather than the filling of the Spirit (Rom. 4:17-21; Jas. 5:17, 18 — ask in faith; stand on the promises!). However, the principle of fellowship versus carnality holds true for all believers, then and now (Psa. 32:5; 51:3). In 1 Kings 19, Elijah, who was endued with the Spirit of God (2 Kings 2:9), was taught that great lesson of spirituality. He had just concluded the spiritual leadership of a spectacular revival in Israel (1 Kings 18). As the servant of the Lord, he had been instrumental in reversing the tide of apostasy and turning the Jews back to their Messiah. At that particular point, the devil began a subtle counterattack through a willing dupe — the heathen queen, Jezebel.

Jezebel was the leader of the apostate ecumenical religious system of Palestine, the worship of Baal, and she had been supporting her 450 false prophets with public funds. After their infamous failure to provoke Baal to action on their behalf, Elijah had ordered the prophets slain (1 Kings 18:40).

And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword (1 Kings 19:1).

King Ahab returned to Jezreel from Mount Carmel where the revival was conducted. Like the mouse he was, Ahab’s First mistake was to tell his wife everything! Jezebel, in turn, immediately took steps to eliminate Elijah. Since she was too clever to risk making a martyr out of one who was now a great spiritual hero and thus further spread the revival, Jezebel conceived of a more devious scheme to dispose of him.

Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying. So let the gods to do me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them [prophets of Baal] by tomorrow about this time (1 Kings 19:2).

Under normal conditions, Elijah would not have been disturbed by this threat upon his life. Until this time, he had kept his eyes on the Lord. As a result, he had been fantastically used as an instrument to demonstrate who and what the Lord is. Now, weary and overwrought, the prophet began to think about himself and to worry about his situation. A believer is most vulnerable to failure after a great spiritual victory! Elijah was no exception, and he was completely disarmed by Jezebel’s plan. Having run all the way from Mount Carmel to Jezreel, he was exhausted. Consequently, when he received the message, his perception was dulled. Had he thought out the situation, he would have realized that if Jezebel had truly intended to kill him, she would have sent an assassin with a dagger instead of a servant with a message. Jezebel’s objective was simply to frighten Elijah into running out on the revival, which was threatening her pagan religion.

ELIJAH, THE CARNAL GIANT

And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there (1 Kings 19:3).

In order for us to understand that the distance from the palace at Jezreel to Beer-sheba was over one hundred miles, the Bible clearly specifies that this Beer-sheba belonged to Judah. The instinct of self- preservation is strong in every human being. So dear had Elijah’s life become to him, that he drove himself beyond normal endurance until he considered himself to be safe from his enemies. An entire day had passed before he stopped to reflect on his situation.

But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he re- quested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now 0 LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers (1 Kings 19:4).

Instead of realizing that no one was pursuing him and that as long as he was alive, the Lord still had a purpose for him, the great spiritual giant of Mount Carmel became a carnal weakling moping under the juniper tree, totally discouraged. He was the victim of the old psychological cliché, “I wish I were dead!” Of course, people seldom mean that literally; it is merely an expression of their self-pity. The inevitable outcome of focusing our eyes on things or people is that we eventually get our eyes on self!

Elijah had completely ignored the principle of grace. No one ever implied that he was better than his fathers. Elijah had been used of the Lord because of grace, not because he was anyone special. You can always count on it, when you are out of fellowship, you will feel sorry for yourself and have the wrong perspective of life.

At the time of 1 Kings 19:2, Elijah had eternal life; he was in the top circle, and he could never get out. But when he sinned against the Lord by running away, he moved outside the circle of fellowship. He had his eyes on himself and had fallen into the trap of self-pity; he believed he had failed in every possible way. It is a soul kink to feel sorry for self, and it is one of the worst expressions of carnality. Sooner or later it happens to all members of the human race — “sitting under the juniper tree.” We can understand and even sympathize with Elijah because we have all been in a place where everything looked hopeless, everything had gone wrong, and we felt that no one loved us!

And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him. Arise and eat (1 Kings 19:5).

Elijah was out of fellowship. He had neither earned nor deserved the right to have food or any other blessing; but because of His perfect character, God in His grace always provides.

And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee (1 Kings 19:6,7).

We now discover that the angel of verse 5 was the Lord Jesus Christ, the Angel of Jehovah. The Lord Jesus Christ always comes to us in our hour of difficulty and trial. Even though we are totally unworthy. He is always there. It was the Lord Jesus who said, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” (Isa. 41:10).

And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God (1 Kings 19:8).

I would like to have a meal like that! Apparently it contained all the vitamins and minerals that were necessary, because after this one meal, Elijah traveled forty days — all the way down to Mount Horeb in the Sinai Peninsula. Point of doctrine: God’s provision is always the best — in fact, it is perfect!

HOW DO YOU “DWELL”?

And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah (1 Kings 19:9)?

The Hebrew language is a very descriptive language, and the Jews had at least six different words for “lodging.” It is worthwhile to see exactly what these words look like and what they actually mean. I will give the English spelling phonetically as nearly as possible to the sound of the Hebrew verbs. (1) GUR — to lodge somewhere as a guest. This word means “to come with the idea of making a short visit and to stay the specified short period.” This is what we would call a good guest. (2) DUM — to dwell or lodge in a state of depression. (3) DUR — to dwell in restlessness. This word was used in connection with any kind of a caged animal. (4) CHANAH — to dwell in a tent. (5) JASHAB — to dwell in peace, happiness, blessing and prosperity. (This is the one that should apply to every married couple.) (6) LUN — to go, to move into some spot with the idea of spending the night and then staying a long time. LUN is the word used in this passage.

Elijah had moved into the cave just to rest for one night; but even though it was dark, cold and clammy, he stayed for a long time. He was still feeling sorry for himself, so he remained in the cave and sulked. What a contrast! The great spiritual giant had allowed himself to be reduced to a heap of gloom and depression!

Again, the Lord (Jehovah) appeared to teach him the lesson of spirituality — a lesson that each of us must learn. “Elijah, what are you doing here?” was a proper question. What was Elijah doing there? He was the spiritual leader of the revival of Northern Israel. God never meant for Elijah to be a cross-country runner; yet that was what he had been doing — running and sulking. The key point in his answer is the personal pronoun, “I.”

And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away (1 Kings 19:10).

Because the Lord is omniscient. He knew billions of years ago that Elijah was “jealous,” or literally, “zealous for the Lord.” He also knew that the children of Israel had been out of line. Notice the emphasis: it is “I, I, I and my.” Poor, carnal Elijah, with his eyes on himself!

Yet because the Lord is very gracious. He was not willing to put one of his well-trained servants on the shelf. Elijah had been trained both by the brook Cherith and in the house of the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings, Chapter 17). He did a marvelous job on Mount Carmel in taking a stand for the Lord (Chapter 18). But now he was falling apart; he was in the place of carnality, out of the bottom circle.

UNDERSTANDING JEHOVAH

First Kings 19:10 in the Authorized (King James) Version uses the word LORD in capital letters. This is the translators’ method of rendering the Hebrew word JEHOVAH. Notice that JEHOVAH contains three vowels. When you remove the vowels, you have JHVH. This approximates the Hebrew word JHWH, which is called the Tetragrammaton because it has four letters. Originally, written Hebrew contained no vowels. The vowels were all pronounced and understood, but the written language was just a series of consonants read from right to left. Later, vowels points were placed below the letters. This particular word, JHWH, is derived from the verb HAJAH, “to be,” with the connotation of absolute existence. This concept is taken from Exodus 3:14, where the translation “I am that I am” is the doubling of the verb. Therefore, JHWH appears to be a crasis formed from the doubling of the verb HAJAH, “to be.”

When the Old Testament refers to all three Members of the Trinity collectively, the Hebrew word is ELOHIM. This word is rendered “God” in the Authorized Version, capital G with lower case od. The IM in ELOHIM is the plural suffix, indicating that identical divine essence belongs to all three Members of the Trinity. When the Old Testament refers to one of the individual Persons of the Godhead, the word used is JEHOVAH or JEHOVAH ELOHIM.

THE LORD PASSED BY — A STILL SMALL VOICE

And he said. Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake (1 Kings 19:11).

Elijah stood at the entrance to the cave and watched this tremendous wind tear up the mountainside and destroy the rocks. The wind and the earthquake were a great manifestation of nature: they represented the power of human ability and naturalistic phenomena. Please notice, ‘The LORD was not in the wind … the LORD was not in the earthquake.” God does not operate through the energy of the flesh, through human power; God operates through divine power!

And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice (1 Kings 19:12).

Again, the fire was a terrifying representation of natural, human power, but “the LORD was not in the fire.” The English phrase, “a still, small voice,” is a weak translation. The Hebrew says, “a voice of silence, atomic!” This was a voice that said nothing; yet it was the most powerful voice in the universe. Here is a title of God the Holy Spirit. Zechariah 4:6 summarizes the lesson: “ … Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”

THE USELESS BELIEVER

Elijah did not learn his lesson, and he had to be set aside for several years until he woke up to the importance of the power of the Spirit-the control of the “still small voice.” When God the Holy Spirit controls our lives, we are said to be spiritual. When the Old Sin Nature controls, we are said to be carnal. At every point, we are either carnal or spiritual; but we are never both at the same time. There is a continual struggle between the Old Sin Nature and the Holy Spirit; the soulish mind versus the spiritual mind; the human viewpoint versus the divine viewpoint.

When the Holy Spirit controls the life. He can use any useless or broken stick; when the Holy Spirit does not control, the greatest talent, ability, personality and eloquence in the world are absolutely worthless. Elijah had run away; he had sat under the juniper tree; he had been sulking in a cave. Elijah was in a carnal state; he was out of fellowship. In spite of his tremendous human abilities, he was powerless at the moment. To serve God, a believer must be in a position to utilize the power of the Spirit! I have a very beautiful gold pen, which has been handed down in the family for several generations. I cherish it very much. But you know, the little gadget that takes in the ink is worn out. I never carry that pen around to use for the simple reason that it just won’t hold ink. Even though it is a beautiful pen on the outside, it is useless because it isn’t filled with ink.

Whatever you may be on the exterior, if God the Holy Spirit does not control your life, you are as useless as my gold pen — as useless as Elijah was in the cave. It is very important to understand this concept, because spirituality is the key to experiential Christianity.

SPIRITUALITY AS RELATED TO THE MOSAIC LAW

For a general concept of the principles of spirituality, we must begin with the Person of Jesus Christ.

Point 1: Christ fulfilled the Law. This may not seem to have much to do with spirituality, but actually, it has everything in the world to do with our subject. In Matthew 5:17, Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” In view of this statement, we need to take a look at the Mosaic Law.

We usually think of the Mosaic Law as the Ten Commandments’ but these mandates were only a small portion of the Law. The entire Law was divided into three parts or codices:

Codex #1 was the moral law, which included the Ten Commandments as well as all other moral and ethical commandments. The purpose of Codex # 1 was to prove to man that he is a sinner and needs a Savior.

Codex # 2 was a complete shadow Christology. It is called “shadow” because Christ was revealed symbolically in many ways (Heb. 10:1). For example, the Tabernacle was a shadow Christology. Every article of furniture in the Tabernacle, every activity inside the Tabernacle, the very materials from which the Tabernacle was constructed — cloth, metal and wood — were significant. Each article specifically taught some facet of the Person and work of the coming Messiah. Remember, not all of the people could read; but they could learn doctrine from seeing the various articles of furniture and the rituals performed in the Tabernacle (Heb. 9:1-28).

The Jews observed the slain animal on the Brazen Altar, and understood that this foreshadowed the Messiah Who would die for their sins. They saw the priest enter the Holy Place to accomplish the service of God. While the congregation could not enter, they knew that within was a Table of Shewbread that spoke of Christ as the Bread of Life (John 6:35). They were aware of the Lampstand which furnished the only light in that part of the Tabernacle; and from this, they under- stood that Christ is the Light of the world (John 8:12). There was a Golden Altar of Incense, which identified Christ as the High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 5:6). The veil separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, the dwelling place of Christ, represented his Incarnation (Heb. 10:20).

In the center of the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant, which portrayed Christ as a sin offering for mankind. This box, constructed of acacia wood and overlaid with gold, symbolized the humanity and deity of Christ, or His Hypostatic Union. The Ark contained three articles as a reminder of Israel’s sin during the wilderness wanderings: the tables of the Law, the pot of manna and Aaron’s rod that budded (Heb. 9:4). Over the top of the Ark of the Covenant was the Mercy Seat. Its very construction, with the cherubim on either side, presented propitiation and depicted how the justice and righteousness (holiness) of God the Father would be satisfied with the spiritual death of Christ (Rom. 3:25). As explained in Hebrews 10:1, all these doctrines were communicated by means of shadow Christology: “For the law having a shadow of good things to come .… .” What are these “good things” ?They refer to the Lord Jesus Christ and the new way of life for the believer in the Church Age.

The Tabernacle revealed the Person and work of the Messiah, but He was further made known through the Levitical offerings. Each of these offerings disclosed some feature of the work of Christ on the Cross. In addition to the offerings, the function of the Levitical priesthood also revealed Christ’s Person and work. Finally, the Jews observed various Holy Days. The Passover, for example, prefigured Christ’s redemptive work (1 Cor. 5:7). The Feast of Unleavened Bread pictured fellowship with Christ. Each of the Holy Days taught some aspect of God’s Plan, and the Jews learned doctrine by observing the prescribed rituals. All ritual worship was specified by Codex #2 of the Mosaic Law and was designed to demonstrate that Christ is the only solution to the problem of sin.

Codex #3 was the social and divine establishment code, which provided a modus vivendi to protect Israel as custodians of the Word of God. Its laws of sanitation, diet, etc., affirmed that God takes care of His own.

In His Incarnation, Christ fulfilled all three codices. The next question is, how did He fulfill them? First, under Codex #1, He observed the Ten Commandments perfectly. For hundreds and hundreds of years, the Decalogue had been begging for someone to keep its every jot and tittle; yet no one ever could! The presence of the Old Sin Nature in every member of the human race precludes even the possibility of living a sinless life. But here is One, born of a virgin, without a sin nature, without imputed or personal sin. Who came into the world as true humanity and undiminished deity in one Person, and lived a perfect life! In so doing. He fulfilled Codex #1.

Second, Christ accomplished Codex #2. He became the Reality of the shadows. He actually achieved in His life all the precepts previously taught about His Person and work.

Third, Christ provided a new way of life for every believer of the Church Age and fulfilled the concept of Codex #3. Prior to the Church Age, the universal indwelling of the Spirit was unknown. We now have a totally new situation: from the Day of Pentecost, A. D. 30, to this very moment, every person who has believed in Jesus Christ as Savior is immediately and permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ said in John 16:7:

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

This was a reference to the Holy Spirit. After Jesus Christ ascended and was seated at the right hand of the Father, He and the Father sent the Holy Spirit (John 15:26), and the new law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus was instituted (Rom. 8). Our next point is extremely important because it is the negative approach to spirituality.

Point 2: Christ is the end of the Law for believers. “ or Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth” (Rom. 10:4). “But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law” (Gal. 5:18). “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law (Gal. 5:22, 23). The Law in these passages refers specifically to the Mosaic Law.

Once fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ, the Mosaic Law was set aside. The Law was given only to Israel during the dispensation of the Jews. It was instituted through Moses and remained in effect until abrogated by Christ. During the Church Age, believers are not under the Law. This truth may shock you. You may be vibrating because of all the Sunday School teachers and ministers who have convinced you that you must live by the Ten Commandments — as if the Ten Commandments could effectively deal with sin. The only trouble is that you have never examined the Word of God to discover God’s grace method of handling sin in the believer’s life. God provides solutions; He is not shockable.

Point 3: We are not lawless. When the Bible states “we are not under the law, but under grace” (Rom. 6:14), it is not a credit card for sinning. If you do not understand this point, you might assume this were true. You would say, “Since I am not under the Law and I have eternal life and eternal security, I am going out and live it up. Goodbye, God, I’ll see you in eternity!” That, of course, is a distortion of doctrine. The Word of God never gives you license to sin.

The whole purpose of the study of the Levitical priesthood in the Book of Hebrews is to demonstrate that the Mosaic Law was abrogated when Christ fulfilled it. The priesthood of the Law was a specialized priesthood. In all Israel, there were only a few priests, all from the family of Aaron in the tribe of Levi. What happened to the specialized priesthood when the Law was removed? It went, too! If you are standing on a rug and someone pulls it out from under you, what happens to you? Down you go with the rug!

We no longer operate under a specialized priesthood because in no sense of the word are we under the Mosaic Law. You should be familiar with 1 Peter 2:5 and 9, Revelation 1:6, 5:10 and 20:6. Every believer is a priest! Any religious organization that tries to put believers under the Law has neutralized those believers in phase two of God’s Plan for their lives. This is dishonoring to the entire principle of grace, to God the Father, the Author of that principle, and to God the Son, who executed the Plan of Grace upon the Cross!

THE NEW LAW

Romans, Chapter 8, beginning at verse 2, states the new law, which is the modus operandi for the Christian life:

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

“Of” is a genitive of source. The source of this law is the Holy Spirit. He is the new law! Notice that the Holy Spirit has several titles. “Holy Spirit” is the name which stresses His personality. “Spirit of” emphasizes His work and is used as a title to indicate various aspects of His ministry. He is designated the “Spirit of truth” in 1 John 4:6 because He reveals truth. He is called the “Spirit of life” in Revelation 11:11 because He gives life.

How does this new law operate? “In Christ Jesus.” This means that it is a function for believers only. “Hath made me free” is in the aorist tense, where the point of time is divorced from time and perpetuated forever. “Once and for all the Holy Spirit hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” This is a reference to the Mosaic Law, called the “law of sin,” because Codex #1 revealed the sinfulness of man. It is called the “law of death” because the Mosaic Law could not produce life, even in one person.

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh (Rom. 8:3).

Here was the deficiency of the Mosaic Law. “It was weak through [literally, because of] the flesh.” “Flesh” is a reference to the Old Sin Nature resident in every individual. The Law could do nothing for us; but God the Father could do something, and He did! God sent His own Son into the world as true humanity. “And for sin” in the Greek, is literally “for a sin offering.”

That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit (Rom. 8:4).

What does “the righteousness of the law fulfilled in us” mean? Since the presence of the Old Sin Nature in every member of the human race precludes any possibility of fulfilling Codex #1 in the energy of the flesh, it is impossible to keep the Mosaic Law by trying to keep the Mosaic Law. Only one Member of the human race ever kept the Law, and that was Jesus Christ. Yet it says right here that the Law can be fulfilled. Is this a contradiction? Definitely not! Then how? “ .. . fulfilled in us, who walk not after [according to] the flesh [the Old Sin Nature] , but after [by means of] the Spirit.”

You see, one cannot keep the Law in the power of the Old Sin Nature. The Law can be fulfilled only by means of the filling of the Holy Spirit. So today, we can measure up to the divine standard in exactly the same way that Christ did — through the filling of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit sustained Christ during the entire period of His Incarnation. We know this from Isaiah 42:1 and from passages throughout the New Testament itself. In Matthew 12:28, Jesus said, “But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God [first-class condition of “if” — and I do] … .”

At the same time that Christ was fulfilling the Law, He was controlled by the Spirit, and He produced the characteristics of love, peace, etc., that are seen in Galatians 5:22, 23. When we are controlled by the Holy Spirit, He produces in us the very character of the humanity of Jesus Christ. This is the only way in which we can fulfill the Law. We are not lawless; but we have a new law which was designed for believers in the Church Age — “the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus “(Rom .8:2).

“BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT”

The new law calls for a new commandment.

Wherefore he saith. Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light (Eph. 5:14).

“Wherefore” is literally “therefore,” and refers to the tremendous divine operating assets listed in the first three chapters of Ephesians. “Sleeping” is a picture of the believer out of fellowship, out of the bottom circle. “Awake,” an aorist active imperative, is a command to the believer to use 1 John 1:9, which is our rebound technique. “Arise from the dead” is also an aorist imperative. Since no believer can literally bring himself up from the dead, what does this really mean?

The Bible teaches seven different types of death.^[1] In Ephesians 5:14 we have temporal death, the believer out of fellowship with God through carnality. Our command once again is: Get back into fellowship! If we do, what happens? “Christ shall give thee light” or animation. A dark house on a dark night is just a blur on the landscape. But if the house has light on the inside, it takes on beauty. Christianity provides inner beauty and inner power through the light, which is turned on when the Holy Spirit controls the life.

See then that ye walk circumspectly. not as fools, but as wise (Eph. 5:15).

How can you walk “circumspectly” ?Galatians 5:16 states the answer: “This I say then, walk in [by means of] the Spirit [in the filling of the Spirit], and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh [Old Sin Nature].” “Not as fools.” How can I avoid being a fool? (1) I must know and understand doctrine; and (2) I must apply it. How do we know this? The word “wise” connotes the concept of the application of doctrine to experience, and this is only possible by means of the filling of the Spirit.

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil (Eph. 5:16).

The word “redeem” means “to purchase.” Remember, this is addressed to believers; only believers can buy time, as the unbeliever has no “capital.” He cannot buy even one minute! Time is purchased by means of the filling of the Spirit, whereby doctrine learned and applied becomes our “coin of the realm.”

Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is (Eph. 5:17).

Our next imperative or command says, “Stop being stupid.” Who is the “stupid” Christian in this context? It is the believer who remains in the state of carnality due to his ignorance of the Doctrine of Pneumatology — the ministry of the Holy Spirit. What can he do about this status? “Understand the will of God.” You cannot learn all of the details of the will of God in one moment; it is not even expected of you. But it is very clear from this context what the will of God is:

And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18).

The first part of this verse is prohibition against drunkenness, because in a drunken state, alcohol becomes the adverse controlling force of the mind. On the other hand, the filling of the Spirit is the controlling power of the spiritual life. This is a command from God: the present passive imperative of PLEROO says, “Keep on being filled with the Spirit.” Notice the passive voice: you receive the filling of the Spirit. You cannot work for it; you cannot earn it; you do not deserve it; it is a grace provision of the Lord.

The state of spirituality is not attained because you ‘’agonized in a closet.” Perhaps you think that because you fasted you are spiritual. Well, you are not! You may look better because you lost weight. You may feel better because your cardiovascular system isn’t under such a strain; but you are not spiritual because of fasting. Perhaps you think that because you hustled in a Christian program and were elected to a church office that you are spiritual. Such activities do not make you spiritual! Spirituality is the filling of the Holy Spirit which we receive when we follow God’s command in 1 John 1:9. So we have been given a new law in Romans, Chapter 8, and now we have a new commandment in Ephesians 5.

YOUR BODY IS A SANCTUARY

The body of the believer contains a soul (the area for capacities in life) composed of self-consciousness, mentality (with two lobes), volition, emotion, and conscience (norms and standards). The body also houses the Old Sin Nature. The human spirit, received at salvation, enables the believer to understand, to store and to transfer doctrine into the right lobe. Finally, God the Holy Spirit indwells the body of the believer. Nowhere is He said to indwell the soul, nor are we ever commanded to be indwelt by the Spirit, for this ministry to the believer is automatic and permanent from the moment of salvation.

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own (1 Cor. 6:19)?

Whenever you find the word “Ghost” in your Bible, it should be translated “Spirit.” The Greek word PNEUMA always means “Spirit.” There is no word in the Greek vocabulary for “ghost.” This apparent discrepancy is simply a matter of preference with one group of translators partial to the use of the English word “Ghost,” and the other, to “Spirit.” In Exodus 25:8, the Tabernacle (later on, the Temple) is referred to as a sanctuary. So, to make our verse a little stronger: “your body is the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit.”

A stranger walked into Berachah Church one day and asked me where the sanctuary was. I said, “Right here.” He said, “I don’t see it.” I repeated, “Right here,” and pointed to myself. He said, “You don’t understand”; whereupon I countered, “You don’t understand!” Then I added, “If you are looking for the auditorium, go down the hall and turn to the right.” He looked terribly shocked and said, “Auditorium?” So I explained, “Yes, the last sanctuary made of brick and mortar was destroyed in A.D. 70 by the legions of Titus when they broke through the walls of Jerusalem and destroyed the city.”

It’s pretty hard to get rid of old ideas, isn’t it? In the true sense of the word, it is impossible for any church to have a sanctuary. God no longer “dwells” in tabernacles made with hands; He indwells the body of every believer. So wherever you go, you take your “sanctuary” right along with you. Whether you are spiritual .or carnal, mature or immature, the Holy Spirit never leaves your body during your life on this earth. The prayer David prayed in Psalm 51:11,"… take not thy holy spirit from me,” is no longer legitimate. When believers in the Old Testament who temporarily possessed the power of the Spirit stepped out of line. He could be removed as the result of divine discipline. But in the Church Age, the Holy Spirit is here to stay — period!

THE MANIFESTATION OF THE NEW LAW

The Holy Spirit indwells the body of the believer permanently, but His ministry of filling depends on whether or not you use 1 John 1:9. The new law of the Spirit of life, or spirituality, is manifested in and through the believer as the Holy Spirit controls his soul. As we have seen, this ministry is accomplished through the filling of the Spirit. However, in the case of a new or immature believer, the filling of the Spirit is rarely apparent. There are two reasons for this. First, the new or immature believer is unable to be filled with the Spirit for a prolonged period. Second, he is minus Bible doctrine. The more doctrine he understands, the more consistently he will apply the rebound technique and be filled with the Spirit. The longer he is able to maintain the filling of the Spirit, the more doctrine he is able to assimilate and apply. The Holy Spirit uses Bible doctrine in the soul.

In order for the believer to mature spiritually, there must be a balance of residency in his soul between the filling of the Spirit and Bible doctrine. The filling of the Spirit, plus the positive volition of the believer toward doctrine and his consequent consistent intake of doctrine establish this balance of residency in his soul. In each of the passages we will examine, the soul of the believer is connected with the function of the Holy Spirit and Bible doctrine.

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man (Eph. 3:16).

“That” introduces a purpose clause, and the literal translation reads: “That he would, once and for all, give you, according to the riches of his glory, to be empowered with divine power by means of his Spirit in the inner man.” You will notice the principle: the Holy Spirit’s control of the inner man or soul is the source of power.

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love (Eph. 3:17).

The second purpose is “that Christ may be at home in your hearts.” Just as we had several Hebrew words for different aspects of “dwelling,” this is the Greek word for “being at home.” This means “to dwell in relaxation and ease.” It is possible to be in a house, even to live there, yet not be at home. Some of you may have had such an experience. This phrase says, in effect, that when the Holy Spirit controls the soul, Christ is at home in your life. Experiential Christianity is what you think (Prov. 23:7) and how you are motivated — not the facade you can produce on the outside. The last part of Ephesians 3:17 delineates manifestations of the filling of the Spirit when the believer has a foundation of doctrine (“grounded”) and is growing spiritually (“rooted”).

According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death (Phil. 1:20).

“With all boldness,” is literally, “with all confidence.” In our last passage, Christ was at home in our hearts. We now have a little different phrase: “Christ magnified in my body.” The means of accomplishing this is the same as before — the filling of the Holy Spirit and maximum doctrine resident in the soul.

My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you (Gal. 4:19).

Paul is using the title, “my little children,” to rebuke the Galatians. Occasionally, when adults start scrapping, you tell them to “stop acting like children” or “stop being childish.” With this phrase, Paul immediately gained the attention of those “fighting Irishmen” from Asia Minor. The Galatians were the three Celtic tribes that turned back, instead of crossing the English Channel with the rest of the Irish, and finally settled in the province of Galatia. They had been conducting themselves in a rather childish way by biting and devouring each other with words. Actually, they had been fighting among themselves because they had been “suckers” for false doctrine. So Paul used the term “my little children” as rebuke, not as affection.

“Of whom I travail in birth again,” might be translated, “I am sweating you out.” The phrase, “until Christ be formed in you,” is simply another manifestation of the application of the new law by which the believer in the Church Age reaches spiritual maturity.

THE GLORIFICATION OF JESUS CHRIST

Who glorifies Jesus Christ on earth? If you said, “believers,” you are wrong! The answer is the Holy Spirit. Jesus had promised the Holy Spirit in John 16:7: “ . . . if I depart, I will send him [the Comforter] unto you.” Then in John 16:14, Jesus said, “He [the Holy Spirit] shall glorify me . . . .” The primary ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Christ! John 7:39 tells us: “ . . . the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.” After Christ ascended and sat down at the right hand of the Father in glorification, the Holy Spirit came to glorify Christ on earth. Christ must be absent from the earth before the Holy Spirit could begin His ministry of glorification.

No member of the human race has within himself any ability to glorify Christ. Human talent, physical assets, mental capacity — none of these apparent advantages can glorify Christ. This is a vital point: it exposes the worthlessness of any human good we can producer Only one Person glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. That Person is God the Holy Spirit, who indwells and controls the believer. The command of 1 Corinthians 6:20 to “glorify God in your body” can be fulfilled only through the balance of residency in the soul between the filling of the Spirit and Bible doctrine.

THE STRUGGLE FOR CONTROL

As long as you live in your present body, the Old Sin Nature will coexist with the indwelling Holy Spirit as a permanent resident of the body. This results in a great struggle for dominance in the life of every believer: the Old Sin Nature versus the Holy Spirit. Paul stated it this way:

For that which I do [sin], I allow not [do not understand]: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I (Rom. 7:15).

He is simply saying that when the Old Sin Nature controls, he is carnal; when the Holy Spirit controls, he is spiritual. Your volition determines which one will control. Any sin in your life allows the Old Sin Nature to dictate to your soul; but it is quickly dethroned by the application of 1 John 1:9. When your sins are confessed, the Holy Spirit is again in control. Some believers are like yo-yo’s .They constantly jump back and forth between the dictatorship of the Holy Spirit and the Old Sin Nature. Only the consistent intake of doctrine can overcome this instability.

What happens to the Holy Spirit when we allow the Old Sin Nature to control the life? The Holy Spirit does not leave us, but He is said to be “quenched” in 1 Thessalonians 5:19 or “grieved” in Ephesians 4:30. Both of these terms describe activities of the Old Sin Nature. Before we examine these in detail, let us note the five sins listed in the Bible as sins against the Holy Spirit. Three of them are committed by believers; two, by unbelievers. The sins committed by unbelievers are actually two sides of the same coin, so we will look at these first.

SINNING AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT

(1) Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. This sin is found in Matthew 12:14-32, and is simply the rejection of Jesus Christ as Savior. The religious crowd was guilty of this during our Lord’s Incarnation, and this sin could only be committed by an unbeliever during the time when Christ was on earth.

(2) Resistance to the Holy Spirit. This is the rejection of Christ during the Church Age, found in Acts 7:51.

(3) Lying to the Holy Spirit. From the analysis of the context in Acts 5:1-10, lying to the Holy Spirit is a sin of false motivation, committed by a believer. This is performing a good deed, but with the wrong motivation. Giving money to the church is generally considered to be good. However, if you do it as a result of pressure, of approbation lust, or of any false motivation, this is lying to the Holy Spirit.

Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, were jealous of a man named Bamabas, who apparently owned a tremendous amount of real estate on the island of Cyprus. He sold his land and gave all the proceeds of the sale to the apostles for distribution to other believers. For this reason, it seems that everyone thought well of him. When Ananias and Sapphira heard about this, they evidently decided they wanted approbation too: they lusted for praise. So, what did they do? They sold a piece of their real estate and gave part of the proceeds to the church. Now, this was perfectly in order: if they had given only Five cents on the dollar, it wouldn’t have made any difference. But they said that their monetary gift was all they had collected from the property sale. In other words, they banked part of it and gave part of it; then they dropped a little word here and there: We gave all of it, so admire us as you do Barnabas. For that sin of lying to the Holy Spirit, they were severely disciplined — they died the sin unto death (1 John 5: 6). Principle: a good deed done with false motivation is wrong.

(4) Quenching the Holy Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19).

(5) Grieving the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30).

We must distinguish between “quenching” and “grieving” the Spirit. Both are committed by the believer only and put him out of fellowship, but they are different categories of failure. This difference is related to the areas of the Old Sin Nature. By definition, the Old Sin Nature is the source of human sin, good, and evil. Formed as a direct result of Adam’s first sin, the sin nature resides in the cell structure of the human body (Rom. 6:6: 7:5, 18) and is transmitted genetically by the male in procreation (Gen. 5:3). At the moment an individual is born physically, his Old Sin Nature becomes the target for the imputation of Adam’s sin (Rom. 5:12), causing spiritual death and the sovereignty of the sin nature over human life (Rom. 6:12). The sin nature is the center of man’s rebellion toward God. Variously designated in Scripture as “sin” (singular noun — Rom. 7:13), “flesh” (Gal. 5:16), and “old man” (Eph. 4:22), the Old Sin Nature also has essence: an area of weakness, which produces personal sins (Rom. 12:1), an area of strength, which generates human good (Isa. 64:6); a trend toward asceticism (2 Cor. 1 1:13) or lasciviousness (Gal. 5:19-21); and a lust pattern (the motivator — Eph. 2:3). “Quenching the Spirit” is human good from the area of strength: “grieving the Spirit” is sin from the area of weakness.

GROWTH AND MATURITY

A basic concept of experiential Christianity is that spirituality and carnality are absolutes (Eph. 4:30; 1 Thess. 5:19; 1 John 1:7; 2:10; 3:4- 9). At any given moment you will be either 100% spiritual or 100% carnal. You cannot be partially spiritual or partially carnal. Nor can you be both spiritual and carnal at the same time. You can, however, rapidly switch from one to the other.

There is a second concept of experiential Christianity: Spiritual growth is relative. A believer gradually matures just as a child gradually becomes an adult. The moment you accept Christ as Savior, you become a son of God (Gal. 4:4-7). The Greek word HUIOS means “an adult son.” This is your position in Christ. However, experientially you are called a BREPHOS (1 Pet. 2:2). This Greek word refers to a “baby at the mother’s breast.” A person may be fifty years old when he believes in Christ as Savior. While physically an adult, spiritually he is a brand new baby. If he grows spiritually by assimilating and metabolizing Bible doctrine, he will soon become a spiritual adolescent (Matt. 4:4). If he continues to grow, he will eventually emerge a mature Christian.

The relative progression of spiritual growth is closely related to the absolute status of spirituality versus carnality. A baby believer is either spiritual or carnal at any moment, depending on who controls his soul: God the Holy Spirit or the Old Sin Nature. An adolescent believer is also either spiritual or carnal at any particular time. Likewise, a mature believer may be spiritual or carnal. A temporary lapse into carnality demands the rebound technique but does not immediately erode the believer’s level of growth. The believer greatly benefits by keeping short accounts with God, by promptly rebounding to restore the filling of the Spirit. The more time the believer is filled with the Spirit, the greater his opportunity to learn and apply Bible doctrine, and the quicker his spiritual growth.

We have a new commandment in place of the Mosaic Law: “Keep on being filled with the Spirit” (Eph 5:18; cf. Matt. 22:36-40; Gal. 5:22-23). Obedience to this new mandate is necessary in order to fulfill our second basic commandment: “Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18; cf. John 16:12-15). When you accurately understand these two imperatives, you are on your way in the Christian life. Until you understand them, your Christian life is frustrated.

Many Christians are eternally saved but do not know it. They feel they have lost their salvation. There are also carnal Christians who do not understand carnality, and Christians who confess their sins but do not understand spirituality. The question is: How do you know you are saved? How do you know you are carnal or spiritual? The answer is: by faith. This is a matter of believing the doctrine of the Word of God. Your awareness of the filling of the Holy Spirit comes by means of faith, as does your awareness of salvation. This is why the basic techniques of faith-rest and rebound are among the first doctrines the believer needs to learn. Rebound provides the filling of the Spirit; the faith-rest technique makes it a reality in your thinking.

In the realm of spiritual phenomena, reality is not what you feel, not what you assume, not what tradition has taught you, but what the Scripture says. “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).

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^[1]Death in the Bible: 1) Physical (2 Cor. 5:7). 2) Spiritual (Rom. 5:12: 6:23; Eph. 2:1). 3) Second (Rev. 20:12-15). 4) Positional (Rom. 6:1-14; Col. 2:12; 3:3). 5) Temporal (Luke 15:24, 32; Rom. 8:6, 13; Eph. 5:14; 1 Tim. 5:6; Jas. 1:15; Rev. 3:1). 6) Operational (Jas. 2:26). 7) Sexual (Rom. 4:17-21; Heb. 11:12).