4 Words in 1

 

Man Was Created as a Soul!

Man was created as a soul (mind, emotions, nature, character and personality) having a inner-sanctuary where the Spirit-Life of God dwelt, called his “spirit”, both spirit and soul is housed in an earthly jar, called his “body”.

This body would be subjected to respond in obedience to the will of the soul of man.

Whoever controlled the soul of man, then also controlled the character, nature, personality, behavior, actions and words, expressed through his body, (Galatians 5:20-23).

The first man to be so created, lived in perfect Union with God, He was just like God (in His Likeness), because his soul was flooded by the Spirit of God in him.

There was no separation between God and man’s soul, spirit or body. He was created to be in perfect sync and the Spirit of God in him infused his entire being.

Man would do nothing, think nothing, and say nothing that would disagree with God, because although he was created as a unique soul, with free choices to be made, he and God were One, and he sought nothing more or less than to live in harmony with God.

When Adam’s soul was corrupted (when he broke Union with God and with His will by making a choice that disagreed with God’s thoughts), a separation came between the harmony that once co-existed between God and man’s spirit, soul and body.

God’s Spirit withdrew from Adam’s spirit and man became subjected to the authority of another power who would now influence his soul, death with all of its sinful nature would now reign over man, causing his soul and his body to become corrupted in sin.

Salvation

When we talk about salvation, it is not our spirit that gets saved, rather it is our spirit that is born-again and thereby is instantly perfected – our soul though, enters a process of being brought to salvation (perfection and harmony with God).

When we are born again our spirit is regenerated or reconnected to God’s Spirit-Life

(God’s Spirit comes to dwell in your spirit and suddenly the “lights are turned on”. We begin to see and experience what we previously were “dead to” – spiritually, we come to life!).

In other words, the Life of God comes alive in us to Live in our innermost being (our spirit), as it was in the beginning with Adam, there is a re connection, or a reconciliation that occurs in us.

As this re connection occurs, and man is reconnected with God in his spirit, a new process unfolds that we call “salvation”, where the soul and the body now also enters the process of being reunited with God’s Spirit in us, as it was in Adam, so that our entire being may come into Unity with Him just as Adam was, resulting in us living in full agreement with Him and His will, and being made to be as He is in this world, as it also once was with Adam.

This process of salvation begins in our yielding to obedience in your willing submission for our soul (our ways, thoughts, character and personality, actions and behavior) to be re-created and transformed and brought into Union with the Spirit of God, living in us.

As you are being sanctified by the inner-work of the Holy Spirit (set a part from the old ways of the old man and the old nature), and come into harmony with the Holy Spirit in you – your spirit, soul and body (the actions expressed in your body (or the fruit of His Life in you, being made visible) will become a pleasant Fragrance of His Spirit working and reigning in you.

Being born again then is the beginning of the process of being saved by being restored back unto God and into who we were created to be as being in the express image and Likeness of our Father (reflecting (mirroring) His Character, Nature and Personality).

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,” 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

“Idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law,” Galatians 5:20-23.

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Character Change

The Holy Spirit is given in us to influence us to become Christ-like in our Character, Nature, Personality and therefore also our behaviour.

This does not imply that we lose our individuality. God has created us to be unique.

It means that our entire being becomes infused with Him and that whatever lives in us that we inherited from the carnal life of living in the flesh, as being separated from Him, is being dispelled until we become a sweet smelling savour unto the Father, as sons redeemed, re-created (remade and remodeled) by the Son.

How does this change happen?

It happens as we allow the Holy Spirit to influence every aspect of our being. To infuse us with Himself.

That means that any part of us that is still subject to sin needs to willingly be yielded to Him so He may penetrate that area of our lives with His Life, and transform us in that area by our willing obedience to allow Him to do so, until we look just like Him in that area (and in every other area) of our lives.

When we (our thoughts, will, nature, personality and character – called our soul – or the essence of we are as created beings) yield to the Holy Spirit in our lives, He comes to influence us and becomes a Living part of all we are.

It is then when we find the Holy Spirit not only dwelling in our spirit, but being a part of all we are – spirit, soul and body – and when we find our lives bearing His Life (pleasant Fruit) for all to encounter through us!

God bless you as you begin yielding every area of your life to Him today!

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Imagine This…..

You were IN Genesis (the beginning of time and space), long before it ever came to be, (Jeremiah 1:5, John 17:5-6, Philippians 1:4).

You existed with the Father in Eternity, sharing an Eternal plan and destiny that you were born and sent to accomplish in a set time on earth.

Jesus came to reunite you with the Life you shared with the Father — long before the earth was formed — and to reconcile (reconnect, restore) you to the fellowship, Union and destiny you knew with the Father, before any form of life existed on earth

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We All Have Revelation

To each of us a measure of Revelation is given that grows in proportion to our inner-desire and willing surrender to come to know deeper in Christ by the Wisdom of personal experiential knowledge, as we are transformed to become what we come to learn and discover in our inner-life journey with Him.

Having more Revelation than others then does not make us any more or less than another.

It makes us different from one another and in having more, we learn to become more grace-filled, patient, tolerable and passionate, to see those who still have to grow into deeper depths and higher realms of the Spirit — lay hold of all they were destined to come to know and to become.

 

~ Johann van der Hoven

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Johann van der Hoven is in South Africa. He has been serving the Lord in ministry since 1991 and has hosted numerous apostolic revival meetings in South Africa and in South America. He also currently pioneers a organic church planting movement across South Africa. For more information about him and his ministry visit www.sonsofsovereignty.com or Revival.

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