By Wendell Tenison
LESSON FIVE: CAUTIONS FOR THE RENEWED SPIRIT
CAUTIONS FOR THE RENEWED SPIRIT:
Now we come to the time in the sinner's life when he now realizes that he must obey God according to his commands in the scripture. This may be very soon after he has become aware of sin, or it may be much later in his life. We must understand that one must be cleansed of his sins, converted and added to the kingdom of Christ. His heart will be cleansed, his spirit renewed and he will be a whole new man so long as he is faithful to his master, Jesus the Christ . After conversion the new child of God must be aware of the many stumbling blocks which lay ahead.
They are:
Rev.2:4; Leaving his first love.
Rev.2:14; Practicing and teaching false doctrine.
Rev.2:20; The temptation to teach and seduce the servants of God to commit spiritual fornication.
Rev.3:1-3; Thinking that he is alive when he is dead and failing to be watchful.
Rev.3:15; The threat of becoming luke warm and the Lord spewing him out of his mouth before he vomits.
The church in Ephesus was given a stern warning by Christ that if they did not repent of their departure from their first love, he would remove the identity of the church in Ephesus. What is one's first love? The union of the Christian to Christ is spiritual marriage, the same as we are married to our spouse. We all remember how we felt when the marriage to Christ took place and that same attitude and feeling must not diminish. This is the root problem with most members of the church.
To remove the candlestick which the Lord said was the church, is to blot that church from the records. Of all the preaching that I have heard in my life I have never heard one on this subject. Why? Because it would be the most unpopular topic that a preacher could preach about. All Christians must ask themselves the question, have we left our first love and has the Lord removed the identity of the church where we worship? We would be amazed if we knew just how many so-called churches of Christ are no longer churches of record!
OBEDIENCE TO CHRIST:
(Heb.6:8-9) "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;........And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him."
Man for the most part thinks that he is better than the Son of God, in that he does not believe that he must obey the commands that Christ has given. Christ having been made perfect or raised to a state befitting him because of his obedience, has been crowned with honor and glory as the savior of mankind.
(Rom.6:17-18) "But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you,.............Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness."
As the scripture says, obedience comes from the heart. However, we will see the critical part the spirit plays in the role of the one newly created in the kingdom of God's dear Son.
THE SPIRIT IS SUBJECT TO THE MAN:
(1Cor.14:32) "And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets."
The context of verses 23-40 is that all things must be done decently and in order. In other words, they were not to butt in until it was their turn to speak. Many other vital subjects are addressed here, but our subject is the spirit. Being subject to the prophets is the same as being subject to the person, which is the same as being subject to self or the soul.
(Ps.51:10) "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."
This is the theme of this lesson: God renewing a right spirit within us. The question is why? We have already answered that question in the previous lessons, but we will continue to learn more about the spirit as we continue.
(Ps.32:2) "Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile."
Guile means deceit and we have been talking precisely about the powers of the spirit.
(2Cor.7:1) "HAVING therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
Here again, we see the attributes of the spirit. What is the filthiness of the spirit? We have already discussed some of the evil things of the spirit. But, how do we cleanse the flesh and spirit? Of course, it is the blood of Christ that cleanses from all sin, but true repentance must come from the heart. A cleansed heart will not allow a filthy spirit.
THE FOUR PART MAN:
(Matt.26:41) "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
The soul that God has created consists of four parts: The heart, the mind, the flesh and the spirit. For the balance of this lesson we will see only the positive side of the spirit.
1Cor.14:14-15) "For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful...........What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also."
(Jude 1:20) "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost."
(1Pet.3:4) "But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God great price."
(1Cor.6:20) "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."
We find the spirit willing, singing, praying, glorifying, which is the result of a meek and quiet spirit.
THE SPIRIT IN THE GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST:
(Gal.6:18) "Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen."
It is quite obvious that our spirit needs the aid of our Lord. Our spirit plays the same role in our bodies as does the Holy Spirit of God in the Godhead. The Holy Spirit of God accomplishes everything that pleases God, whether it be on the bright or the dark side. Of course, our spirit is not perfect and in no way can be compared to the Spirit of God.
(1Cor.5:5) "To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ."
Make no mistake about it, if we are lost, so will the spirit. Our spirit will not determine our destiny, but the heart. At first, it seems a little hard to comprehend, but as we think about it, everything falls into place.
Of the two which is the most important, the flesh, or the spirit? According to this verse the spirit is more important because the flesh will decay anyway. The flesh is of the earth, but our spirit is sent directly from God. There is not even a hint in the scriptures that our spirit experiences disease like the body does, but goes back to God who gave it and the flesh, back to the dust from whence it came. We remember the verse that has been quoted earlier, "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak."
(1Thess.5:23) "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
It is certain that reference is not made to the fleshly body escaping corruption, but to the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ on the clouds at the destruction of Jerusalem, Matt.16:28; James 5:7-8; Phil.4:5; Luke 21:27; Mk.14:62; Matt.24:30-34; Acts 1:9-11.
Nearly all of my brethren do not believe that there was an appearance of our Lord on the clouds at the destruction of Jerusalem. Jesus emphatically said, there were those standing who would not taste of death until they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom, Matt.16:28. They say, the coming on the clouds was symbolic of his coming to destroy a nation. Here is the reason given: "Notice that the Son of man is both sitting and coming at the same time," Matt.26:64. The strong implication by the commentator is that the Lord cannot be in two places at the same time, or he can’t remove himself from one place and go to another, or both. Who is to say, since the coming on the clouds was figurative, so is sitting on his throne. However, I do believe he is sitting on his throne. I do not believe there has ever been a king who sat upon his throne and never moved from that spot during his entire reign. Would it have been impossible for Caiaphas to have seen the Lord sitting on his throne and then see him on the clouds? This is a compound sentence and that is exactly what he was told he would see. Concerning Nathanael, was he really going to see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man as the Lord told him he would, Jn.1:49-51? There must have been some mistake by our Lord; surely this was symbolic of something or other.
A question I will pose for my unbelieving brethren is this: Stephen saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God, Acts 7:55; which is it, is he sitting or standing? According to the explanation given, he can’t move from his sitting position. It would be ludicrous on my part to believe that Jesus could not arise from his seat and show a deep concern for his servant by standing and taking notice. Would he not be allowed to take a step or two?
Another question: how can our Lord come in and sup with us if we open the door after he knocks, Rev.3:20, when he is sitting on his throne in heaven? If so, can he only dine with one saint at a time?
Yet another: now this verse is fighting words amongst my brethren; how can our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ come unto us and make their abode with us, Jn.14:23, if Jesus cannot move from his sitting on his throne in heaven?
Just one more time: if Jesus can't be sitting and coming on the clouds at the same time, then surely he can't be with two or three gathered in his name, Matt.18:20. There are a great many twos and threes and many more who gather in the name of Christ at the same times. This must also be symbolic of something or other. Not really! God the Father and God the Son can do anything they please, whenever, and wherever. This compares to my brethren who believe that God was not able to preach the gospel to every creature before the destruction of Jerusalem, Matt.24:14; Col.1:6,23.
Be careful how you answer, because it might incriminate you. My guess is the same format to answer these questions would be the one the denominations use; just explain them away. I never ceased to be amazed how my brethren like to shorten the hand of God.
The fleshly body does house the heart which will live forever, Ps.22:26. With the exception of the heart and mind being named, we see again the four part man, with the soul being considered the identity. The Greek New Testament renders the "whole" in 1Thess.5:23, as "entire."
(Mal.2:14-16) "Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant..............And did not he make one? Yet hath he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.........For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth the violence with his garment, saith the Lord of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously."
A part of the spirit is retained (residue) by God in the making of man and wife as one flesh. The Septuagint uses the word residue as does the King James and Strong's concordance defines the word residue as remnant. Only God knows why he retained a residue of the spirit. Since man and wife will not be reunited in heaven, nor marriages made in heaven, this is a logical conclusion that God will make the spirit complete again.
As a side note to verse 16, God hates divorce! He hated it then and he hates it now.
THE SPIRIT MADE PERFECT:
(Heb.12:23-24) "To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,............And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel."
Many years ago as I was studying the book of Hebrews this verse got my attention. It was verse 23 that prompted me to want to know more about the spirit of man. So far as I am concerned, verse 23 is the foundation for a study of the spirit of man and one of the keys to understanding it. This verse has just confirmed what I have been saying.
If the spirits of just men whom God has justified have been made perfect, then the spirit was not perfect from the beginning, or it went astray. My guess is that it went astray because of the influence of sin in the world.
THE APOSTLE JOHN IN THE SPIRIT ON THE LORD'S DAY:
(Rev.2:10; 4:2) "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as a trumpet...........And immediately I was in the spirit: and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne."
To begin with the interlinear Greek New Testament that I have by Stephens, 1550, renders "I became in the Spirit on the Lord's day" in both 2:10, 4:2, instead of the King James version in both verses, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." The King James version differs from Stephens in that the word Spirit is upper case in 2:10, and spirit in lower case in 4:2. Stephens renders both in the upper case.
As I have stated before, according to Stephens the earliest copies of the Greek were all capital letters. Therefore, letters capitalized or not, cannot help in our understanding. However, I have followed the usage of modern editors concerning capital letters.
Only the context of a reading will determine the proper application of spirit, whether it be of the Holy Spirit, man's spirit, or some other spirit. Generally, this is not a problem with those who are familiar with the scripture.
As to whether John was in the Holy Spirit, or his spirit on the Lord's day is a moot point. We find in Jn.4:23-24, that we are to worship God in spirit and truth. Most would explain this as one being in the proper frame of mind. Not true! Our mind and spirit are two different things, but our heart, mind and spirit must be in union. We have already cited Jude 20 and 1Cor.14:14-16, where we sing and pray with the spirit and are to pray in the Holy Ghost. So far as I am concerned, John was in both his spirit and the Holy Spirit on the Lord's day.
Next we come to 4:2, where John said that immediately he became in the Spirit. Here I am using the Greek rendering instead of the King James. The word immediately indicates a change in status of the fleshly body. If we read a little further we will know that John was beyond the realm of the terrestrial and into the celestial. It was an impossibility for John to be removed from this planet without his spirit because our spirit is not flesh and blood and it guides our body functions. If the lord will, that we could make an earthly comparison by man's imagination, it would be as we see on Star Trek, where someone is beamed up, except without his body. Also the Apostle Paul states that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, 1Cor.15:50. I know that this has reference to the Christian's reward, but still there is no difference when it comes to the earthly being transformed into the heavenly.