READING SCRIPTURE, SPIRIT AND FLESH

When you read scripture, or hear it spoken, there are 2 primary ways that you will find yourself responding to it. The most common way is the fleshly one.

Here is how you can recognize the fleshly response. It will take an encouragement, an exhortation, an admonishment, etc, and ask things like, 'How can I do that?' 'What steps do I need to take to make that a reality?' The flesh will always seek to figure out how to mimic behavior to make itself look good. It always seeks to know 'how'. Such thinking is working from the outside in. In other words, using the example of the pattern given to Moses back in Exodus, it is focused on putting the outer court together first, working toward the most set apart place.

Such thinking assumes that it is the outer court that is the most important thing, and must look good, since this is what is plainly seen by others.

There is another response, one that your spirit has, which will be characterized by an agreement with the encouragement, exhortation, admonishment, etc. Our spirit never seeks to know how to do what it hears, because it already knows. Being awakened, it rejoices in the truth that it hears.

It is in that place that we are completely obedient to the voice of the spirit of our Father. That most set apart place is the source out of which flows that which affects our outer court. And there is nothing wrong with our most set apart place. It is there that God and man are inseparably joined as one spirit.

How does this affect what we do outwardly? Read carefully what Paul says:

Neither present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God, as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
(Rom 6:13 WEB (R))

Here we have 2 ways to present ourselves, the first is based on a false perception, while the second is based upon reality. We are alive from the dead, and our members [pictured by the outer court] are instruments of righteousness.

Many believers do not believe this truth, and listen to the dead flesh in themselves or in others, and thus find themselves constantly running to the next seminar, or book, or cd, trying to find out 'how' to fix what they see as lacking in themselves.

Instead, know that you have been fixed, and, believing that, your members will follow suit. They only follow what you believe at any given time.

This is the basis upon which the writers wrote their encouragements, for you will note that the admonition or encouragement or whatever is simply stated as is. You do not find them going on to provide step by step instructions, or ways in which to make those things happen. They assume already that you know, and such serve as a reminder to us of who we are and what is true about us in Christ.

So remember, the next time you hear something and hear yourself or someone else saying something like, 'Ok, but now how do I do that?', recognize where the source of that thought is from, well-intentioned as it may be.

Ron