Walking by the Spirit/the spirit

At the new birth, the spirit becomes the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, because by attaching ourselves to God, we become one spirit with Him. May the Lord grant us the grace to truly measure the immensity of this truth and the extraordinary, transforming impact of this revealed truth in our earthly life.

“Whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.” (1 Corinthians 6:17, NIV)

God is Spirit, and it is in the human spirit that the Holy Spirit comes to make the risen Christ dwell—He who died on the cross of Golgotha 2,000 years ago. There is no other Christ, and there never will be any other, than the One who died once and rose forever. This process by which Christ comes to live in our heart is also called the new birth. God does not come to dwell in our soul. The soul is not what is born again—our spirit is.

“In him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:22, NIV)

The introductory text of this article is a prayer: that the God of peace would sanctify our spirit, our soul, and our body.

Before the new birth, the human spirit is without life. In some people it is barely active; in others, very active through all kinds of fleeting intuitions. In others still, the spirit is deliberately in contact with the spiritual world (the world of spirits). These can be placed into two groups: those who believe they are communicating with benevolent forces or beings of light without knowing their true nature—and those who openly know exactly with whom they have made a pact.

“Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14, NIV)

Our soul is the seat of our personality—a personality that is formed and refined throughout life: first through genes and heredity, then through education, a positive or negative family environment, the people we spend time with and their influence, the knowledge we acquire, and every personal choice we make. Intelligence, memory, emotions, thoughts, feelings, and the will—this is our soul.

The soul is constantly and directly affected by the external world. It feeds on the things of the earthly world, relying mainly on the testimony of the body’s senses: hearing, sight, taste, smell, and touch. The soul stores, filters, keeps, or rejects a multitude of information and forms its own understanding—its own view—of the outside world. That is how it traces, with more or less wisdom and discernment, the path of its life.

The body is the outer shell, the house in which all this lives. It has members that perceive and feel, but also shape and transform this world according to the instructions given by the soul. It has appetites and traits of its own that affect the soul: hunger, thirst, heat, cold, noise, silence, desire, fatigue, and many other things.

The Bible teaches us that before the new birth, we are living souls in a body. The spirit is without life because it does not have the life of God—therefore it is dead because of offenses and sin.

“You were dead in your transgressions and sins.” (Ephesians 2:1, NIV)

The carnal or natural man is a soul living in a body whose spirit is cut off from divine life. Some Bible versions translate “natural man” as “a man left to himself,” which captures this reality well: a human being living only by the soul—even if, as we said, some receive intuitions that relate to the spirit. But they do not walk led by their spirit; rather, they are led by external stimuli and by the desires of their thoughts and appetites. The spirit is not the control center of the natural man.

The headquarters of all decisions for the natural man is the soul—and this has been so since sin separated Adam from God. That was the moment humanity became a living soul, whereas before his disobedience, he was a spirit united with God, with a magnificent soul in a perfect body, all in perfect harmony. He was a complete being. He and his descendants became living souls. This is the meaning of the text:

“The first man Adam became a living being… the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.” (1 Corinthians 15:45, NIV)

At the new birth, the spirit comes alive because the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of life—comes to dwell there. All things become new… fully and completely for the spirit, and in part for the soul.

“If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come…” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV)

And the first new thing is this: the soul loses the “legal” right it always had and exercised until then—the right to be the boss who decides everything. It is no longer alone. Together, the spirit and the soul will take back the government of your life: on one side, the revived spirit, now one spirit with the Spirit of God; on the other, the enlightened soul, reshaped according to the image of who you truly are on the inside.

Created in the image of God who is Spirit, you are a unique spirit—an extraordinary person—endowed with a soul, a unique personality, and a body that you remain free to direct as you choose. By accepting Christ, the Good Shepherd, you have the assurance of being well led and well advised, because He knows the path that suits you best—the one in which your full flourishing awaits. From your spirit, He will lead you on the road to true happiness, which your soul is destined to enjoy to the full despite external trials and difficulties.

At your new birth, a new life is born—deep, because it roots itself in the supernatural Kingdom of God; a life with inexhaustible and infinite resources, because of the extraordinary union of your spirit with the Spirit of God. By joining yourself to God, you have become one spirit with Christ—we have already seen this.

Our spirit has been raised up, brought back to life—and more than that: we learn that it is seated in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.

“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:6, NIV)

This is an invisible reality, inaccessible to our five senses. That is, we cannot feel, see, or hear that our spirit, in Christ, is seated on a throne above every rule, authority, power, dominion, and every name. Our spirit is seated on the throne because it is united—because it is one with the One who is seated on the throne at the right hand of the Father.

If we are born again, we are seated with Christ and share with Him—in our union with Him—a position of absolute authority above all. We are called to reign in life through Jesus Christ alone. This is what the following verse says:

“…those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace… will reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!” (Romans 5:17, NIV)

The power of this reign belongs to Jesus Christ, who has united us to Himself and causes the streams of His imperishable life to flow from our spirit to bless the world around us—and to fill us as well. The hose that waters is the first to be completely filled with water.

But here is the issue: between our spirit and this earthly world, there are our soul and our body. Will they allow the divine flow to pass through?

The life of Jesus of Nazareth—miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit and a virgin woman named Mary—shows that this is possible. The divine and creative Word laid aside His privileges and became flesh; He came to earth in the form of a simple man (Philippians 2:7, NIV speaks of “made himself nothing… being made in human likeness”) named Jesus, who demonstrated that a human being, born of the Spirit, led by the Spirit of God, and filled with the Spirit of God, can—through submission to the Father—live an extraordinary life and accomplish supernatural works: doing good, healing, raising the dead, encouraging, comforting, teaching, delivering.

“He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ…” (Ephesians 1:5, NIV)

Jesus is the only Son of God, the firstborn of the old creation and the new creation. The heavenly Father wanted Him to have first place in everything.

The old creation
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” (Colossians 1:15, NIV)
And in Him all things were created—visible and invisible—thrones, powers, rulers, authorities: all things were created through Him and for Him.

The new creation
“He is the head of the body, the church… the firstborn from among the dead…” (Colossians 1:18, NIV)

The whole old creation was judged and carried into death at the cross through Jesus Christ, the last Adam. That is why, when He rose, He became the firstborn from among the dead. At the resurrection, the first of a new creation appears—a new humanity.

Through the new birth, we become—by adoption—the other sons of the Father, the creatures of this new creation, the brothers of Jesus Christ. Astonishing, isn’t it? It is even said that Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers, of whom He is the eldest.

(Galatians 4:4–5, NIV: “God sent his Son… to redeem… that we might receive adoption to sonship.”)
“…that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” (Romans 8:29, NIV)
“So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.” (Hebrews 2:11, NIV)

The One who sanctifies is Jesus. Those sanctified by Jesus are Christians. And all are from God. Jesus is the first new man of this new humanity that will live forever—the first man to have clothed Himself with divine perfection in a body like ours, carrying the fullness of the divine nature in a human body, after passing through death and resurrection.

(Your reference says Colossians 1:19; NIV: “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.”)

And we are His brothers, from the same Father. Merit has nothing to do with it.

We have become heirs of this great King, called to live forever in glory after the resurrection, in a human body bearing the fullness of divinity—in Him, in Christ—a passionate life, infinitely creative, always and endlessly renewed; a life of beauty and love where wonder is constant, overflowing fullness, where boredom no longer exists, where every personality has its place, where each one is satisfied, refreshed, fully happy, and eternally overflowing with life!

Our spirit already tastes the powers of the age to come, but our soul and body are on earth. Whoever is in Christ already has their spirit “seated” in the heavenly realms, at the right hand of the Father, Creator of the visible and invisible universe and all its wonders.

This is true at the very moment you read these lines or hear these words—even though you do not see it or feel it. Yet your spirit perceives these things because your spirit has an organ: faith. By faith, you “see,” in a way, the realities I’ve just spoken of. It is your faith in the Word of God that declares invisible things that are nevertheless profoundly real.

We are so used to feeling excited only by what our eyes see, that we may have just read or heard the most extraordinary and truest things that can be proclaimed, without necessarily feeling any emotion.

That’s not surprising. Enthusiasm and emotion belong to the soul—and the soul is not directly connected to God. The spirit is.

Here is how it works: when our faith (the organ of the spirit), enlightened by God, grasps these hidden truths—when a mystery is unveiled, when one of these spiritual treasures is revealed—our strengthened spirit becomes an “eye” for the soul and begins to communicate the reality of what it sees, with even greater force than physical eyes or ears. Then the soul responds: it is moved, because emotion is part of its function, and a flood of gratitude, joy, wonder, and admiration rises from the heart. In that moment, the soul is not being led—as it usually is—by the testimony of the physical senses, but by the testimony of the spirit through the “eyes” of faith.

That is why singing and worship in the church can become true worship in spirit—more than religious exercises, forced rituals, or words spoken without the heart. It is the heart (or if you prefer, the soul), awakened and enlightened by the Spirit, that sings in truth and sends up to heaven a pure spiritual fragrance.

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly…” (Colossians 3:16, NIV)
…teaching and admonishing one another with wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit with gratitude in your hearts to God.

You’ve understood it: our spirit needs food and strength now. We have become so used to functioning by the soul. The spirit is far behind this over-trained soul that has been exercising since the first day we were born.

And you are receiving food and strength right now as you listen to or read these lines. We receive it every time we listen to the message of Christ and accept its simple meaning. There aren’t necessarily sensations or impressions. Our spirit is strengthened. That’s all. You don’t feel like you’re eating right now, do you?

Our spirit is a newborn. It will need time and practice, and our soul must learn to work with it so that we can take the reins of a wise, successful, and fruitful life.

“…so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God…” (Colossians 2:2, NIV)

Our spirit, indwelt by the Spirit of Christ, is the dwelling place of all knowledge and understanding, the source of every virtue and of love that surpasses understanding. It is united with Christ; it already has everything in fullness and abundance. But it must grow strong so that all of this may descend into the soul—and the soul must stop wanting to control everything.

The mature person—fully established in this revelation of union with Christ—is the one whose soul, and then the body, come into harmony with the spirit. Those who are led by the Spirit of God communicate to the soul the instructions for the path to follow. The power of God is available to the spirit (our human spirit) to release, when the soul has become perfectly cooperative and when necessary, all the inexhaustible and supernatural riches of the Kingdom of God.

Let us remain confident in the Holy Spirit to keep us united to the Vine, to the One whose life never stops flowing in us. When the soul no longer resists when the spirit speaks, it progresses from step to step, walking by faith—believing, declaring, making inspired decisions, and acting according to what the Word of God says, even though it is invisible to our human senses.

But how does the spirit speak? How can we recognize its voice?

The spirit communicates faster than with words—and without words. It quietly, gently sends, in a fraction of a second, an understanding, a conviction, a direction, a complete picture. It would have taken the soul hours and long explanations to unfold barely a quarter of what was established in an instant. This is the most common way our spirit communicates. It is its living way of speaking to us. It communicates a living and immediate knowledge that the soul often takes time to digest and properly absorb. This understanding or conviction is never in contradiction with the principles of God’s Word—or else it does not come from the Lord. That is important to know, because we must test the spirits by the written Word—even our own!

“Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits…” (1 John 4:1, NIV)

Life, desire, and ability come at the same time as that sudden and almost imperceptible understanding or conviction. And the well-instructed soul, which does not interfere by “adding its own input,” moves immediately into action—in deeds or in words. We see this with Philip the evangelist. Notice how little time there is between the moment God gives him direction and the moment he obeys. As soon as he understands, he acts. Action, reaction—as we say.

(Acts 8:26–29, NIV includes: “Go… Philip went… ‘Go to that chariot…’ Then Philip ran up…”)

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2, NIV)

A more or less lengthy work of renewal of the mind (the soul) began at our new birth, so that the soul stops interfering with the Spirit—because of its ignorance of the principles of the gospel and its very limited resources.

Let us listen, study over the weeks, months, and years ahead, pray and ask the Lord—by the Holy Spirit, our supreme Friend—to guide us on this path. He is the One who reveals to the human spirit the things God has prepared for those who love Him, so as to lead the soul on the way.

But we must remain vigilant about one point: your progress may be continually slowed, and sometimes temporarily halted, by one of the enemy’s most effective and radical weapons (or often simply by ourselves): a bad conscience and/or passive surrender to condemnation.

This must be settled and closed once and for all through sound teaching and a firm understanding of the laws and principles of the gospel. Let us understand and remain firm on this foundational principle: there is no longer any condemnation from God on the life of the one who has been born again. This is the basis of the joyful, peaceful, victorious Christian life. I encourage you to read the articles on this blog:

• Are you a bad or a good christian ?
• is it that God could reject ?
• Does sin deprive us of God?

Pray—rehearse this truth within yourself. Trust in the life of Jesus Christ in you, until the Lord has convinced you once and for all that He is not unjust in no longer condemning you—ever again.

Then, without being continually interrupted, you can go from progress to progress in union with the life-giving Vine.

Let us understand that He and we are working to reshape our soul so that it walks hand in hand with our spirit united to the Spirit of God, and that God gives us the time of a lifetime to take hold of our inheritance. It takes time to form queens and kings who reign in life through Jesus Christ alone!