Triune

Mankind was formed in the triune (three parts) image of God. The Bible says we are body, soul (mind, will, emotion), and spirit:


I Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.


When Adam was created, he was designed with a divine connection to God through the indwelling Holy Spirit, breathed into Him at the time life was imparted to Him. His spirit, where the Holy Spirit resided, led His soul (mind, will, and emotion), and his body followed behind in the decision making process. As soon as Adam and Eve rebelled, their spirit died, and the Holy Spirit left their frame. Shame filled the space the Holy Spirit once dwelt in, and instantly, their soul took the lead...the mind, will and emotions became the captain of the ship..."reason" now reigned supreme where "faith"...living by the Spirit...had previously been the mode of operation. The divine connection was severely hindered...soon all of mankind was fit only for destruction, with the exception of Noah. Mankind, in their reasoning, began giving into the direction of the body...walking by fallen reasoning at best, and the appetites of the body at worst. This is the completeness of the perversion of what man was meant to be: The being meant to live by divine connection with God is at his worst when instead he is living by the appetites of his body and letting his mind, will, and emotion follow the lead of those appetites.


Through Noah, and later Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob...Jesus came. He paid the price for rebellion with His own unjust death. He was the only man to ever live who shouldn't have had to die, but by His death, conquered death, so that all who would say "yes" to the divine reconnect might live. A major part of what Jesus offers mankind is the option to re-establish the divine order mankind was always meant to live by: spirit leading soul, and the body following both.


To have accepted Jesus' payment for sin as your own means your spirit has been completely renovated and the Holy Spirit is back inside of your frame, ready to lead!:


Romans 8:8-9 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.


BUT, this is where many Christians are stuck living where Paul called a "wretched" state: continuing to live by the soul or the flesh, when the Holy Spirit is ready and waiting to lead!


Romans 7:21-25 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.


Romans 8:1 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.


Walking according to the Spirit is the key to living the way I was designed to..engineered to live...for a life of greatness in connection with God and His plans for me! Greatness both here and on the other side of eternity!


God formed you and me with a perfect plan in mind, but he won't force us into it. He fashion days just for you and for me, but because of love, He allows us to choose whether to walk in agreement with that plan, or to go our own direction...walking by our own reasoning...our own common sense:


Psalms 139:13-18 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.


Jesus said that living and teaching the Sermon on the Mount...the ultimate road map to walking in this plan for greatness...is to actually choose GREATNESS now, and even more in His eternal kingdom, where every eye will see what true wisdom is:


Matthew 5:19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.


To live pursuing greatness means to live led first by the Holy Spirit. This requires faith that the Spirit is present inside me, and can give me strength to bring my mind, will, emotions, and appetites under control. The Spirit living inside me means that the "fruit" of His being lives fully inside me. All of the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self control, faithfulness, wisdom, knowledge of the deep things of God, the power that raised Lazarus from the dead....and more...are FULLY present within everyone who belongs to Jesus...all I have to do is choose to tap into His presence.


Because of love, the Holy Spirit doesn't demand to lead the way. For love, free will is the law of the land. Everyone gets what they want. I get to choose who leads. The natural fallen state...going with the flow...is letting my own soul or body do the leading. To let the Spirit lead requires a conscious choice. I do this by simply talking to the Holy Spirit. When I "feel" anxious, I thank Him for peace and ask Him to move that very real peace into my mind, will, and emotions, where I can feel it. If I feel anger, I thank Him for the perfect love that is there...as I acknowledge His presence and request His leadership over my feelings, thoughts, and appetites...miracles start to happen inside me. These always lead to miracles happening outside of me!


When we get saved, all the wealth of the Spirit is deposited fully into our account. BUT, if I never draw out of that account, I live in poverty. We write checks on the Holy Spirit's wealth by talking to... remaining in...the Spirit.


I don't want to search for, or worse yet, misapply, Bible verses to make me feel better about holding the life Jesus described as "great" at arms length. I want to find the key to living by the Spirit, which is learning to talk first to the Spirit, rather than the running conversation with my own mind!


When I forget to let the Spirit lead, I want to run to God and not from Him...this is grace made possible by forgiveness. Grace to "push delete" when I mess up and run back into the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

John 15:4-8 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.