Monday, November 21, 2016

A Shallow Walk or A Deep Spiritual Walk-


Excerpt-

'The Holy Spirit alone can teach us what is soul life and what is spirit life. Only after we learn how to differentiate experientially these two kinds of life and come to apprehend their respective values, are we delivered from a shallow, loose, sensational walk into that which is deep, firm and spiritual. Only then do we come into rest. The soul life can never furnish us rest. But please note that this must be known in experience; simply understanding in the mind will merely make us more soulish. We need to pay special attention to this piercing and dividing. The Word of God plunges into the soul as well as into the spirit in order to effect the division of these two. The Lord Jesus in His crucifixion had His hands and feet and side pierced. Are we willing to let the cross work in our soul and spirit?

 The cleaving of soul and spirit means not only their separation but also a cracking open of the soul itself. Since the spirit is enveloped in the soul, it cannot be reached by the Word of life save through a cracked shell.

The Word of the cross plunges in and splits open a way into and through the soul so that God’s life can reach the spirit within and liberate it from the bondage of its soulish shell. Having received the mark of the cross, the soul now can assume its proper position of subjection to the spirit. But if the soul fails to become a “thoroughfare” to the spirit, then the former surely will become the latter’s chain. These two never agree on any matter. Before the spirit achieves its rightful place of pre-eminence it is challenged persistently by the soul.

While the spirit is striving to gain freedom and mastery the strong soul power exerts its utmost strength to suppress the spirit. Only after the cross has done its work on the soulish life is the spirit liberated. If we remain ignorant of the damage this discord between the spirit and soul can bring or remain unwilling to forsake the pleasure of a sensuous walk, we shall make hardly any spiritual progress.'   The Spiritual Man

Biblical references-

Joh 3:15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 
For God So Loved the World
Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 
Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

God GAVE His only begotten Son.

Joh 10:15  As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 

Jesus DIED for us.

Luk 14:27  And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 

We bear a CROSS.   We've talked about this before and it's truth.

We are the cross we bear.

Mat_16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Deny ourselves and take up the cross. It is only through the cross we can truly deny ourselves.  We can't take up our cross without denying ourselves,  they go hand in hand.

More tomorrow by the GRACE of God all through JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD and SAVIOR now and forever!

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