Of the World or Of God?

1 Corinthians 2:12-16 ESV

 

“Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

 

“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ‘For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.”

 

The spirit from the World

 

What is the spirit from the world? It is deceptive, manipulative, charming, enticing, attractive to the flesh, forbidden fruit, entrapping, addictive, and it will send you straight to hell while promising you heaven. It feeds on the flesh and it denies the Spirit of God.

 

The spirit from the world teaches you that Jesus died for you merely to forgive your sins but that you can continue living in sin now that you are under grace, and not under the law. It teaches lawlessness, and it rejects Jesus as Lord (master) and his teachings on repentance and obedience.

 

So, the spirit from the world convinces you that you can live just like the world, think like the world, have the same attitudes as the world does, and behave like the world, and that it won’t impact your eternal life with Christ.

 

The spirit from the world is going to lead you into sin while removing the guilt associated with sinning against God. It is going to get the focus on you and off of God and convince you that God’s love for you looks the other way when you sin. It will teach you self-love, but it won’t teach you to love God.

 

The Spirit from God

 

The Spirit from God, on the other hand, will put the focus on God, and not on the flesh of man. He will lead us to submission to Christ as Lord (master), and he will lead us to repentance (forsaking sin) and to obedient faith in Jesus Christ. And he will teach us to honor, respect and obey our Lord.

 

The Spirit from God will not give us free license to continue living in sin, but he will teach us the way of the cross, i.e. the way of dying to sin and to self and to putting on Christ and his righteousness and holiness daily, and to walking by the Spirit and no longer walking by the flesh.

 

The Spirit from God will never lie to us or trick or manipulate us, but he will always tell us the truth. He will always be straight up with us, not conniving in order to lead us astray. He is from God and he is God and therefore he will represent God in all that he does and says to us.

 

The Spirit from God, thus, will lead us on the path of righteousness, to loving and obeying our Lord above all else, to loving others as we love ourselves, and to full surrender to Jesus Christ as our Lord and master. He will teach us to walk by faith and not by sight, and to trust God in all things.

 

The Natural Person

 

“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”

 

So, why is it, then, that so many who profess faith in Jesus do not accept the things of the Spirit? Could it be that they are not truly of the Spirit of God? Because their faith in Jesus Christ is human faith in a false christ and a false gospel? For, they are believing the lies and not the truth?

 

We have many people, at least here in America, professing Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but who refuse to bow to him as Lord, who refuse to leave their lifestyles of sin behind them, and who refuse to obey the Lord and his commands to us, his church. That is not of God’s Spirit!

 

If you are walking (in practice, in conduct) according to the flesh, and not according to the Spirit, then you are still in the flesh and not in the Spirit of God. Therefore, you do not have salvation from sin or eternal life with God. But these are not my words. They are God’s! (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8).

 

The Spiritual Person

 

The Spiritual person is one who has trusted in Jesus Christ to be his Lord (owner-master) and Savior. He has died (and is dying) with Christ to sin and he is walking in newness of life in Christ Jesus, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24).

 

He is discerning of right and wrong and of what is true and what is false, for the Spirit of God living within him gives him that discernment. He tests the spirits to see whether they are of God, and he rejects the lies, and he embraces the truth. And he exposes the fruitless deeds of darkness.

 

He is not subject to the judgments (discernments) of human flesh, which judge as the world judges. He may be judged by the world as evil or as intolerant or as hyper-religious or as a legalist, but he must not yield to those judgments, for they are not of God.

 

This does not free him of being judged by any man if he is doing wrong, though, by God’s standards. If we, as Christians, are doing evil and not good, then we are subject to being judged for the evil that we do. But if we are being judged unfairly for righteousness’ sake, we don’t receive that.

 

If we are truly of the Spirit of God, we are not going to be those who are doing evil, but we are going to be those who are living for the Lord, and who are doing what is good in the eyes of God. And we will know the good that we ought to be doing, because we have the mind of Christ living within us.

 

A Believer’s Prayer

 

An Original Work / July 31, 2012

 

With my whole heart, Lord, I pray

To be Yours, and Yours always.

Lead me in Your truth today.

May I love You, and obey.

Lead me in Your righteousness.

When I sin, may I confess;

Bow before You when I pray;

Live for You and You always.

 

Love You, Jesus, You’re my friend.

Life with You will never end.

You are with me through each day,

Giving love and peace always.

You will ne’er abandon me.

From my sin You set me free.

You died on that cruel tree,

So I’d live eternally.

 

Soon You’re coming back for me;

From this world to set me free;

Live with You eternally.

Oh, what joy that brings to me.

I will walk with You in white;

A pure bride, I’ve been made right

By the blood of Jesus Christ;

Pardoned by His sacrifice.

 

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