Angelic Conflict part 167: Human history (soul and spirit) – Heb 4:12; 1Jo 4:1-6; Eph 1:15-23; Pro 16:32; 25:28; 1Co 15:35-44; 6:12-20.

Title: Angelic Conflict part 167: Human history (soul and spirit) - HEB 4:12; 1JO 4:1-6; EPH 1:15-23; PRO 16:32; 25:28; 1CO 15:35-44; 6:12-20.  

 

 

The spirit of truth listens to the word of God and the spirit of error does not, 1JO 4:6.

 

1JO 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world [Gnostics in this case].

 

"test" - dokima,zw[dokimazo; present active imperative] = test for purity.

 

It doesn't matter who they are to you, loved ones, family, celebrities, powerful, or wealthy. If they are contrary to the word of God then they should be considered as failing the test.

 

GAL 1:8

But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed.

 

1JO 4:2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;

 

This verse again states that God the Holy Spirit testifies to the new divine human spirit in the believer as we've seen in ROM 8:16.

 

Remember that Gnostics denied that the Christ was Jesus. The taught that Jesus was flesh and the Christ was a spirit that came upon Him and that they were not one and the same. They taught that the Christ spirit left Him before He died on the cross, thus denying His atoning work.

 

1JO 4:3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

 

"the spirit of the antichrist" - the influence of doctrines of demons that oppose the person and the work of Christ.

 

We know from the book of Revelation that the antichrist will not come until the Tribulational period, but the false doctrines that oppose Christ and bring lawlessness and destruction to the souls, minds, and bodies of men were already at work. The antichrist demands worship under the penalty of death and so do the doctrines of demons, only now the death isn't always physical, but the darkness of the spirit of stupor and error.

 

1JO 4:4 You are from God, little children [the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God], and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you [Spirit of God] than he who is in the world [spirit of the world].

 

1JO 4:5 They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them [they love their own].

 

1JO 4:6 We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

 

Believers who do not listen to the word of God are influenced by the spirit of error.

 

[repeat] The spirit of truth listens to the word of God and the spirit of error does not, 1JO 4:6.

 

The new spirit is a spirit of wisdom and revelation of Christ, EPH 1:17.

 

EPH 1:15 For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you, and your love for all the saints,

 

EPH 1:16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;

 

EPH 1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.

 

Every believer has the new spirit but Paul's prayer is that spirit will be influenced by wisdom and revelation. This demands a willing student of the word of God. It demands positive volition.

 

Revelation, or uncovering, shows us again that the HS testifies to the new divine spirit.

 

Revelation [aha moments] is a link between the witness of God the HS with the new spirit:

 

1CO 2:10

For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

 

ROM 8:16-17

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.

 

As written in Rom 8, Eph 1 again links the new spirit with the inheritance given to the royal family of God.

 

EPH 1:18 I pray that the eyes of your heart [clarity of divine thought] may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling [election, predestination, and adoption], what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

 

EPH 1:19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might

 

EPH 1:20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

 

EPH 1:21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.

 

EPH 1:22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,

 

EPH 1:23 which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all.

 

With Christ in this position of victor of the AC, having rule and dominion over all of God's adversaries, there is nothing or no one who can stop the revelation of Him to the spirit and soul of the believer or the imputation of power through that wisdom to the believer who is willing. Therefore, the only one who can stop what eye has not seen .... is you.

 

The new spirit loves the word of God and so the positive believer cannot take credit even for his love of doctrine.

 

However, the new spirit does not make robots out of believers, which point is obvious in our world.

 

We determine which spirit will influence us and so we are commanded to control or rule our spirit.

 

PRO 16:32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,

And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.

 

"spirit" - ruach = wind, breath, breath of life, spirit of man, and spirit of God.

[used 378 times in OT]

 

PRO 25:28 Like a city that is broken into and without walls

Is a man who has no control over his spirit.

 

Enough compromise to the antagonists of rest and the old spirit will make one a slave in a negative sense - a spirit of bondage which we did not receive from God.

 

HEB 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

 

God's word pierces through the lies, excuses, deceptions etc. and critiques or is a critic of this. The division is necessary to know so that excuses aren't made, like, "This is how I am, I cannot change,  I will always be this way." These are convenient lies from the old dead spirit or old sin nature. The soul is neutral and it will be influenced by what we choose to be the spirit of us. By neutral I mean that it is influenced, however, once it is influenced it isn't neutral any more, yet it can sway from natural to spiritual and spiritual to natural in time, so it is highly influenced.

 

soul - conscience, self-consciousness, emotion, volition, mentality: each of which can be good or bad.