Berean Standard Bible 1 Corinthians 2:14
"The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."
Adam was created a living being. He had created life withing him. The Bible calls this natural life or soul life. This is the life that Lord Jesus wants us to lose, and we must lose if we wish to be spiritual.
That Adam's natural life was insufficient was demonstrated by the fact that there was the Tree of Life in Eden. God's intent was that Adam would choose the fruit of the tree of life. Instead, Adam chose the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
The fruit of the "knowledge tree" killed Adam and Eve spiritually. They became estranged from God. The first Adam brought death to all mankind.
Jesus came to restore mankind to God and make us spiritually alive once more. However, we still have the natural life of Adam dwelling within as well as the life of Christ. You may think of it like two wells. We can draw from the well of "living water" or keep going back to the well of "knowledge"
To keep this brief, I will give an example of both lives. Moses in his natural ability managed to kill one Egyptian. He fled to the wilderness where he lived for 40 years. In that time, we became the most humble of men. In the power of God, Moses led the tribes of Israel out of captivity and out of the snare of Egypt. God, through Moses, destroyed the army of Egypt. One man or a whole army? What a difference the power of God makes!
We may need decades to realise that the power of the soul-life is nothing compared to life in the Spirit. God will work in us to release us from the control of the natural man. This can be be hard. It may entail much suffering. God's ways are not our ours and make no sense to the natural man. God even wants us to relinquish our gifts if necessary. God required Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, the child of promise. Abraham had learned enough to obey God without question. And that is the secret. When we know God, not just know about Him, we will be better able to obey no matter what.
Every time we obey God, even though it hurts deeply, the natural man loosens his grip on us. We do not realise the hold that self has on us until it is exposed by the pressures of life. It helps to know that God is entirely on our side and has nothing but love and compassion for us. He knows how strong we are in all the wrong ways.
God brought the Israelites out of Egypt into the promised land. God brought Israel out of Egypt. Then He got Egypt out of the Israelites. All but two of the escapees from Egypt perished in the wilderness. All that was proud, rebellious and worldly was removed from Israel. Only then were they fit from the promised land. Are we willing to exchange what we are for all that Jesus can be in us, if we will let Him? Likely not. All that God asks of us is to be willing. He will work in us to cause us to be willing and to do what pleases Him.
The difference is heaven or hell. I wrestled with these issues for way longer than I should have. God's grace got me through and so now I am content. I don't see it that clearly but others do for sure. It is the place the Bible calls "The knowledge of the Truth." It's a place of peace that passes understanding and joy indescribable. It's the only way to live.
"The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."
Adam was created a living being. He had created life withing him. The Bible calls this natural life or soul life. This is the life that Lord Jesus wants us to lose, and we must lose if we wish to be spiritual.
That Adam's natural life was insufficient was demonstrated by the fact that there was the Tree of Life in Eden. God's intent was that Adam would choose the fruit of the tree of life. Instead, Adam chose the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
The fruit of the "knowledge tree" killed Adam and Eve spiritually. They became estranged from God. The first Adam brought death to all mankind.
Jesus came to restore mankind to God and make us spiritually alive once more. However, we still have the natural life of Adam dwelling within as well as the life of Christ. You may think of it like two wells. We can draw from the well of "living water" or keep going back to the well of "knowledge"
To keep this brief, I will give an example of both lives. Moses in his natural ability managed to kill one Egyptian. He fled to the wilderness where he lived for 40 years. In that time, we became the most humble of men. In the power of God, Moses led the tribes of Israel out of captivity and out of the snare of Egypt. God, through Moses, destroyed the army of Egypt. One man or a whole army? What a difference the power of God makes!
We may need decades to realise that the power of the soul-life is nothing compared to life in the Spirit. God will work in us to release us from the control of the natural man. This can be be hard. It may entail much suffering. God's ways are not our ours and make no sense to the natural man. God even wants us to relinquish our gifts if necessary. God required Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, the child of promise. Abraham had learned enough to obey God without question. And that is the secret. When we know God, not just know about Him, we will be better able to obey no matter what.
Every time we obey God, even though it hurts deeply, the natural man loosens his grip on us. We do not realise the hold that self has on us until it is exposed by the pressures of life. It helps to know that God is entirely on our side and has nothing but love and compassion for us. He knows how strong we are in all the wrong ways.
God brought the Israelites out of Egypt into the promised land. God brought Israel out of Egypt. Then He got Egypt out of the Israelites. All but two of the escapees from Egypt perished in the wilderness. All that was proud, rebellious and worldly was removed from Israel. Only then were they fit from the promised land. Are we willing to exchange what we are for all that Jesus can be in us, if we will let Him? Likely not. All that God asks of us is to be willing. He will work in us to cause us to be willing and to do what pleases Him.
The difference is heaven or hell. I wrestled with these issues for way longer than I should have. God's grace got me through and so now I am content. I don't see it that clearly but others do for sure. It is the place the Bible calls "The knowledge of the Truth." It's a place of peace that passes understanding and joy indescribable. It's the only way to live.
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