The Discipline of Living by the Spirit
I believe it is very important that we understand the
discipline of how to live with God because everything flows out of our
relationship with God. What we think about God is the single most important
thing in the world - it is the revelation that will drive our life and provide
the channel through which our prophetic gift and ministry will flow.
We are probably all aware that man is essentially two parts:
soul/body and spirit - what the Bible calls 'the outer man' and 'the inner
man'. In God's design, He intended the Holy Spirit to dwell and mingle with our
spirit. The soul is made up of mind, emotions and will, and must take its
instruction and authority from the Spirit of God. In scripture, it is spoken of
frequently as being something over which we have to
gain and exercise authority. (Rom. 7:22; Eph. 3:16-17; Rom. 8:9; 2 Cor. 4:16)
Up until the time of salvation, our soul is ruling unopposed
in our life. We live a life unconnected with our spirit until God intervenes in
our life. We make our own decisions, reigning and ruling through our soul. We
do what we want, living to please ourselves most of the time. We become
self-centered and our love is often conditional.
The
At the moment of salvation, our spirit comes to life, but
our whole ability to live that life for other people or for ourselves is still
dominated by the soul. At the moment of our salvation, an internal battle
starts to occur. God breaks in, we're born again and our spirit is revitalized.
Now the battle for supremacy begins.
There is a law that breaks out inside us at the moment of
salvation.
Salvation is not a one-off occurrence - we have been saved,
we are being saved, we will be saved. Salvation is a process, and the process
of that salvation is about sanctification. Sanctification is about bringing
everything within us under the rule of God so that joyfully, in everything that
we are and have, we are becoming His. The spirit begins to exert this pressure
from within, but the soul doesn't want to give up the right to rule.
Our Will is the Vehicle
If our will is not the vehicle for the spirit, then our
emotions will try and run the show. However, our will has an insatiable
appetite to be in the presence of God, so our will is the vehicle for life in
the Spirit, not our mind and emotions. It is as our will comes under the rule
of the spirit that our soul learns how to submit joyfully to the rule of the
Holy Spirit.
When our soul power is broken, that is when we come into the
place of extreme joy. The soul power has to be broken, or we cannot serve God
effectively. The soul, if unconquered, is always affected by external things.
So life in the spirit is about learning how to live from the
inside to the outside, not the other way around. You see, when we live in our
soul, we are always waiting for God to do something.
When we learn how to live in our spirit, we are our own
revival. When we learn how to live in the spirit, we don't need a move of God
coming from outside, we have one on the inside of us. This is what Jesus meant
when He stood up at the feast and said, "If you drink from me, you'll
never have to be thirsty again."
Learn to live in that inner place of the Spirit so you're
governed by your inner man and ruled from the inside to the outside.
Blessings on you as you walk in the Spirit.
by
Graham Cooke