Angelic Conflict part 169: Human history (soul and spirit) – Heb 4:12; 1Co 15:35-44; 6:12-20; Gal 5:16-17; 2Co 10:3-5; 4:15-18; Rom 8:1-25

Class Outline:

Title: Angelic Conflict part 169: Human history (soul and spirit) - HEB 4:12; 1CO 15:35-44; 6:12-20; GAL 5:16-17; 2CO 10:3-5; 4:15-18; ROM 8:1-25.  

 

 

 

1CO 15:35 But someone will say, "How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?"

 

1CO 15:36 You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies;

 

1CO 15:37 and that which you sow [present body], you do not sow the body which is to be [spiritual body], but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else.

 

1CO 15:38 But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.

 

1CO 15:39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish.

 

1CO 15:40 There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another [why are you anxious about needs].

 

1CO 15:41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

 

1CO 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown [much nicer than buried] a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body;

 

1CO 15:43 it is sown in dishonor [state of humiliation subject to disease, injury, and decay], it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;

 

1CO 15:44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

 

"natural body" - sw/ma yuciko,n[soma psuchikon] = natural or animal body that is suited for our natural or animal soul.

 

It's like a tulip bulb - ugly but upon death from being sown in the ground it springs up beautiful.

 

We were made in the image of God in our personality, we were born again into the image of Christ in our new spiritual species, but in the same bodies that are the image of the first, fallen Adam. But at physical death and resurrection we will be in the spiritual body that will never decay and will be in perfect harmony with the new creature. We will finally be complete forever. This is all done for us by means of grace.

 

Yet through regeneration, the reception of the new spirit and the indwelling God the Holy Spirit, even these animal or earthly bodies can be used to glorify God. It truly is miraculous what God has done to the immaterial part of us at salvation. He did not change our bodies but imputed to us 40 things that completely renew the life.

 

ROM 8:11

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal [subject to death] bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.

 

This thoroughly explains the war or conflict that every believer has within himself. His mortal body now houses a brand new spiritual creature that is witnessed to by the power of God the Holy Spirit. The body, or flesh with its inherent OSN wars against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh.

 

GAL 5:16-17

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.

 

There is only one way to find rest in the midst of this. When I want to do spiritual stuff the flesh revolts. When I want to do fleshly stuff the Spirit convicts. In our whole lives likely 90% of it was not what we pleased or planed. Rather, things were put upon us and we either reacted or responded to them. How do I enter the peace of God in this? Walk by means of the Spirit and cease from your works. Accept the life that God has ordained for you and rest in His mighty power to accomplish all His good will, which for your life is His highest and best. Ear, eye, nor mind has come to fathom the things that God has prepared for those who love Him, even in these natural, animal bodies.

 

God has chosen in the CA to put the divine, brand new, spiritual, immaterial creature within the natural body with its natural soul, hence He has created great conflict within.

 

This spiritual creature has no business in such a body, but God has willed it so. It explains fully why Christians often choose religion or Christianity light because it lessens the conflict within. So much teaching or Sunday services only feed the flesh and so the flesh is more content or at home with itself. But to feed the spiritual creature with a daily diet of doctrine causes the flesh many problems and at times makes the believer, in his soul, uncomfortable as he is in great conflict within.

 

The spiritual life does not negate the volition of the believer. Many believers desire the control their flesh. When they cannot they sometimes conclude that the spiritual life doesn't work. But what they fail to realize is that they have said no to the application of doctrine and yes to the flesh's desires. Volition is always involved and in grace, recovery of the heart from fleshly control to spirit control through the application of doctrine is needed, without condemnation.

 

1CO 6:12 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.

 

1CO 6:13 Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food; but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord; and the Lord is for the body.

 

1CO 6:14 Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power.

 

1CO 6:15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? May it never be!

 

1CO 6:16 Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a harlot is one body with her? For He says, "The two will become one flesh."

 

1CO 6:17 But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

 

1CO 6:18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.

 

1CO 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

 

1CO 6:20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

 

The body therefore can be controlled through the surpassing power of doctrine and the influence of God the HS over the new divine spirit. Obviously the body, the flesh, home of the OSN can control the soul through the mind. The question for every believer, all of whom have an OSN with its strengths and weaknesses, what do you desire, the spirit or the flesh? The war and this question will never end until we are transformed at death.

 

Victory in this war for each individual believer comes through the victory of Christ and not the self-will of the flesh. The volition must choose divine truth, alive and powerful.

 

2CO 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,

 

2CO 10:4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh [human self-will], but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

 

2CO 10:5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,

 

What did Christ obey?

 

John 6:38-40

"For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.  For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."

 

And in His humanity, our Lord didn't experience the conflict of a sinful flesh, but definitely the conflict of choice.

 

Matt 26:39

And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt."

 

So we are to take every thought as a prisoner of war and place it under the scrutiny of Christ's obedience to the Father's will.

 

"Every thought" not just when you're in the mood. This is the war, the battle, the alertness, the motivation, the desire, all from a love for Him and a desire to glorify Him by resting under that will. That's the inner conflict.

 

Added to this is the increased conflict without. The world and the KOD hates the new spiritual creature and the suffering like Christ's ensues. One has to be extremely motivated to persevere and remain under the pressure and testing and that motivation comes from the understanding from doctrine of why you are here, what your objective is, and the reasons for the conflict. Like a soldier fighting in a war that has a clear objective, an extremely noble objective, though war is hell, he is motivated to risk his life to achieve that objective. The angelic conflict, kingdom conflict, invisible war, whatever term is used, is the doctrine that answers that question.

 

OT saints didn't experience this type of conflict within since they were not given the spiritual dynamics of the new immaterial creature as the CA believer has.