A New View of Scripture - Episode 13 - NewCREEations

Oh, man! I sure didn’t mean to miss two whole weeks here. Unfortunately I got a little sick and my voice sounded horrible. It was all croaky and squeaky, and even a little cartoony. Personally I thought it sounded kind of funny. But it would have made for a really bizarre sounding podcast.

So I made the decision to wait until I sounded at least a little more human to record this episode. I’m still not a hundred percent better yet. But I’m sooo much better than I was. Sorry about the wait.

Picking Up From Last Episode

Last time we talked about how God put us together as people. Once we realize we are three part beings — body, soul, and spirit — it completely changes our perspective of scripture. Many things in the Bible start making more sense. That one piece of understanding is like a key that unlocks a whole richer experience with the Word of God.

For example, without knowing that we’re three part beings verses like Hebrews 4:12 don’t really make much sense:

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

If we don’t know that our soul and spirit are not the same thing then we might get hung up at that verse a bit like a heifer staring at a new gate. Because how could something be divided from itself?

A Fresh Look

But now we know we are a spirit that has a soul and is living in a body. So we can go back and look at scriptures like Hebrews 4:12 says and start to see the difference between our soul and our spirit.

Passages like Romans 7:15-20 start to come clear. In that passage Paul is talking about how impossible it is to keep the law.

For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

I call that the do-do passage. If Paul is doing something how can he say that he’s not the one doing it, but it’s the sin that dwells in him?

Walking in the Spirit

When we understand that what is most real about us is our spirit and that spirit is already perfect and sealed in perfection then the sin that we sill do is actually in conflict with our core spiritual nature.

As the very next chapter opens Paul goes on to say this:

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Then in verses five and six he adds this:

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Now that we know we are three part beings we can much more easily understand the difference between what Paul means when he talks about our flesh vs. our spirit.

When Paul talks about our flesh he’s talking about our bodies combined with our souls. And when he talks about walking in the spirit he means having our souls line up with our spirits to move us in spiritual godly ways.

You see, when it comes right down to it this is a case of majority rules. And that’s something we’ll talk about next time.

Used with permission from Chris Cree.