“When we have a genuine awareness of the reality of Christ, we realize that we have been fighting ghosts.”
K.Lirik
“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”
1 Cor. 3:16
“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”
2 Cor. 13:5
There are two views on human sinful nature, as well as two views that explain the presence of sin in a born-again believer:
- Sinful nature is a law or a principle that affects a human spirit, soul and body. After a human spirit comes back to life, the law of sin and death, though devoid of its power and control, still works in the soul and body of a born-again person. Sanctification is an increasing dominance of the new creation over the law of sin and death in the soul and body.
- Sinful nature is a person’s fallen spirit that spreads its corrupting influence on their soul and body. After the spirit experiences a new birth, the sinful nature disappears, but its effects, mental memory and strongholds - such as thinking, habits and emotional reactions — still remain in the soul and body. Sanctification is the cleansing of the soul and body from the consequences of a sinful past, and submitting its reactions to the rule of the born-again spirit.
The first position assumes that a born-again person has two natures which are fighting with each other. I personally hold on to the “one man-one nature” principle. There are no two natures that are at war with each other, but there are two identities in the human mind. However, I would like to avoid unnecessary disputes and focus our attention to the central question of how we can live in victory. If you carefully examine both positions, you will find that they have something in common – they deal with sanctification.
Whatever position I hold, victory over sin only comes through being crucified with Christ, through our identification with him. In other words, it doesn’t matter where sin resides – rather it is important where it does not. There is no sin in a born-again spirit, so it is with this spirit that I must identify with - this is my true self. If I deny having a sinful nature altogether, I try to protect the sovereignty of my true self, which alone has the right to control my thoughts, feelings and desires. It is impossible to believe in two opposing realities at the same time - that I am dead to sin and that I am alive to it. So I vigorously protect my personality from the presence and influence of my alternative self, whether it is my sinful nature or an unsanctified part of my soul.
Whatever we believe on the issue, it is vital that this faith leads us to victory over sin and greater reliance on God’s Spirit. So naturally I hold on to the position that leads my own self to freedom.
Nature identification
The problem of identifying spiritual nature is that we tend to look at it from a materialistic perspective and view it as some sort of a part of the human body. Yet spiritual nature is not part of the material realm, but of the spiritual realm which we engage through faith. Faith defines reality. To say even more specifically, faith is the reality.
Thus, the nature of my personality is determined by how I identify it myself and what I associate it with. If I identify it with Christ, it makes me a new creation, but if I identify it with my natural desires, feelings, and my sinful past, it makes me a sinner. In other words, I am who I believe myself to be:
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through FAITH. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love.”
Eph. 3:16-17
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
Gal. 2:20
“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
Rom. 6:11
“For as he thinks within himself, so he is”
Prov. 23:7 NASB
Of course, my doubts about my status in Christ do not change the objective reality of a new birth, but they do not allow me to experience the blessings associated with it. The nature of Christ will not cut across my unbelief to manifest itself in my life:
“through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[a] boast in the hope of the glory of God.”
Rom. 5:2
Remember the story of a boy raised in a pack of wolves? If Mowgli believes he is a wolf, of course this does not make him a wolf by nature. However, it is not what we think of Mowgli that matters - our faith and knowledge of him will not change him. It is important that he thinks about himself. It is his self-awareness that defines the reality in which he lives. If Mowgli wants to integrate into human society, trying to change his behavior, it may seem to him that he is fighting his wolf nature, while in reality he is only trying to get rid of a false self-identity.
It is the faith of a person’s heart that determines their position before God, as well as the subjective reality in which they live - even if this reality is false, just as an insane person remains in their insanity because they consider their fantasies a reality.
For a number of years, I struggled with a clear definition of sinful nature. As I already wrote, the problem was my materialistic approach – hard as I might I tried to locate the source of sinfulness, the source of fleshly thoughts, behaviors and desires.
But let’s try to look at the fallen nature of man in the light of understanding the nature of evil. Original, metaphysical evil is not an essence or substance; it does not exist in and of itself, as something created by someone. Evil is the absence of good, like darkness is the absence of light, or cold is the absence of heat. Darkness, unlike light, has no source.
Based on this understanding, our rough definition of a sinful, evil nature runs as follows: it is an area of human nature not occupied by God (Lk. 11:24-26).
Thus, a new birth is God entering a man, while sanctification is God filling a man.
“He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds[a] of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
Mat. 13:33
“because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death.”
Rom. 8:2
Concerning the sinfulness of man, the logic of many believers can be allegorically summed up as follows: “This object has obviously become cold because it contains a source of cold.” Of course not! It has become cold because there is no heat source near it. Certainly, the cold affects the structure of matter and changes it, for instance, by crystallizing water. The law of sin and death works the same way, producing respective fruit in the human spirit, soul and body. How does God deliver us from this law? He places inside us a source of heat, the Holy Spirit who begins to “melt” our “spiritual matter” in accordance with the law of the Spirit of life.
A disease is not an effect of death working in the body, but an effect caused by an insufficient amount of life in it. The classic definition of death is separation from a source of life. A branch that has been cut off does not die because of the fact that death has entered it, but because it has no life of the vine in it.
“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
Gal. 5:16
To use the language of my metaphor, stop waving your arms, trying to disperse the darkness! Just turn on the light!
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Jn. 8:32
Reality or phantom?
The traditional view sees sin as a cancerous tumor present in the body (for instance, in the hand), which constantly keeps you in fear of another relapse. To keep it under control, you need to lead a highly disciplined life: follow a diet, take medications, carefully monitor the symptoms, do checkups, and in case of metastases, go through chemotherapy or radiation therapy, etc.
I approach the problem of sin differently. The cancerous arm has been amputated along with the tumor, but the phantom pain still remains - this is when the nervous system continues to send electrical impulses to the brain, which, in turn, projects them onto the missing limb. In our case, this phantom pain is thoughts, habits and desires left in the soul from the life under the rule of our fallen nature. There is no more man of sin, but the “impulses” remaining from him in the soul are still trying to convince us of his imaginary presence. Healing from this “presence” comes through reconfiguring the brain, which allows it to accept objective reality.
So, the traditional view teaches that freedom is obtained through discipline, but Scripture, while denouncing fleshly behavior, encourages the disciples to remain in the faith.
“I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? … So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?”
Gal. 3:2-3, 5
Paul claims that our sinful nature has died (Rom. 6:6) and then exhorts us to put to death whatever belongs to our earthly nature (Col. 3:3-6). Why put to death what is dead?
Let us first examine how the components of our earthly nature are put to death. By faith! Faith in what? In the Word of God that says they are dead!
“We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”
Rom. 6:2
“The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus”
Rom. 6:10, 11
When do we face the need to put to death our earthly nature? What allows us to think this way and feel that they are alive? Unbelief! Read about it in Romans 6.
The ways of the “earthly nature” have to be “put to death” by those who first “revive” them with their unbelief. If we do not revive, then there will be nothing to kill. Growth is the path from unbelief to faith, to a full identification of myself with Christ where I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
And if you constantly allow the presence of a sinful nature in yourself, then how is it even possible to come to faith in freedom from it? It is impossible to simultaneously believe that our nature is dead and that it is alive, that it is nailed to the cross and that it is still in us. This is a kind of double-mindedness that does not allow us to enter into the fullness of faith.
But does the propensity to sin that we still have after being born again not indicate the presence of a sinful nature in us?
Adam was sinless and had no sinful nature. If so, what was this in Adam that moved him to sin?
Just as temptation is not a sin, free will which includes potential for sin, is not a sinful nature. This nature appeared later as a result of breaking away from God.
Our sinful nature has been crucified by the body of Christ, but at the same time we haven’t lost our free will, and therefore our potential for sin. We have the nature of Christ within us, therefore, when we sin, unlike Adam, we do not die spiritually. The goodness of God leads us to repentance, and the Blood of the Covenant, under which we come back through repentance, saves us from spiritual death.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to purify us from all unrighteousness.”
1 Jn. 1:9
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”
1 Jn. 2:1-2
Defining “nature”
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
2 Cor. 5:17
What do we mean by “the nature of man”?
“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
Lk. 6:43-45
Why does this tree produce apples? Because it is an apple tree. An apple tree is the nature of this tree, its essence, which determines the shape, color, smell and taste of its fruit, which are an external expression of the inner essence of the tree. When there are no fruit or even leaves on the apple tree, it still remains an apple tree. In this case, it is just harder for us to identify it.
In other words, the nature of the tree is what determines the appearance of respective fruits on the tree. Grapes can possibly appear on a thornbush in one single case - if the thornbush ceases to be a thornbush and becomes a vine, that is, if its nature changes.
After the “thornbush” experiences a new birth, it does not become a “vine” in itself. New creation is explained by the influence of the divine nature of the Spirit of God on the nature of man. The Spirit of God does not replace the nature of man with His nature, but, by uniting with it, makes it alive (Eph. 2:5) and changes it (2 Cor. 5:17).
But what is it that distinguishes the new creation from the man of sin? Can we locate the part of human nature where the metamorphosis occurs? What is it that is born again?
“Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”
Jn. 3:6
The new thing is the spirit. It is the spirit that is the new creation, and it is the spirit that defines the born-again nature of a person, to which the soul must now submit. A person whose life is still dominated by the soul, not the spirit, is called natural, or fleshly, in Scripture.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
Jn. 15:5
A branch that is not on the vine may look like it is alive – it has green leaves, maybe even a grape brush, but life is inevitably coming out of it. If this branch is grafted onto the vine, the vital juice of the vine will fill it and the life of the vine will become the life of the branch, thus producing the respective fruit.
After the fall of Adam, each person who comes into the world is born a sinner by nature, producing the fruit according to this sinful nature, such as sinful and evil thoughts, actions and desires.
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.”
Rom. 5:12
“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”
Psalm 51:5
But through Jesus Christ God “recreates” our inner nature by creating a new one which is prepared to do good works (Eph. 2:1-10).
How is this possible?
Replacement
There was no sin in
the human nature of Christ since he was born of another seed. He was not a
sinner by nature, although he continued to be open for temptation. In addition,
the Spirit of God constantly dwelt in Jesus, and by his power, our Lord
destroyed all the works of Satan. Of course, this gave him a number of advantages
over ordinary people in fighting temptations. But these are exactly the same
advantages that any born-again Christian indwelt by the same Spirit enjoys
today.
Before his
crucifixion, Jesus Christ identified Himself with our fallen human nature so
that the Father could condemn it and put it to death in Him on the cross.
“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence
to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that
he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh”
Heb. 10:19-20
The curtain that
separated us from God’s glory was not the flesh of Jesus. It is vital to
understand that it was not the human nature of Christ that was condemned and
destroyed in him because it was the sinless humanity of the blameless and pure Lamb.
It was our fallen nature inherited from Adam, with which the flesh of Christ
was identified. The temple curtain was not a symbol of him, but of our sinful
flesh which prevented us from entering God’s presence. Scripture claims that
the filth of sin and disease was laid on the Lord’s body, thus unequivocally
identifying the sinful nature of man with the flesh of Christ - Rom. 7: 4, Eph.
2:15, Col. 1:22 and Heb. 10:10.
“For God has done what the law, weakened by the
flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and
for sin,[a] he condemned sin in the flesh”
Rom. 8:3
“For if we have been united with him in a death
like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We
know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin
might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”
Rom. 6:5-6
I think it is no
accident that Jesus chose the thornbush to illustrate sinful human nature (Lk.
6:43-45) because it was a crown of thorns that was laid on His head before his
crucifixion.
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the
tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have
been healed.”
1 Pet. 2:24
“For it was indeed fitting that we should have
such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and
exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer
sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people,
since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.”
Heb. 7:26-27
Jesus identified himself
with us and died in our place. He became like us so that we could become like him.
Now it is our turn to identify our sinful nature with his death, and our own
born-again nature with His resurrection:
“Now if we have died with Christ, we believe
that we will also live with him.”
Rom. 6:8
“Now if we have died with
Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.”
2 Tim. 2:11
“We were buried therefore with him by baptism
into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory
of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”
Rom. 6:4
So Jesus took our sinful nature upon himself and gave us His holy one. This was a case
of replacement, not room-sharing:
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple
of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
1 Cor. 6:19-20
Is there anything unredeemed left in us where sin could remain? Has God’s
Spirit settled in our bodies as a tenant or as an owner? Having paid the full
price for the temples of our bodies with the blood of Christ, God’s Spirit has
become their rightful owner. Therefore, it is we who, because of unbelief, are
trying to sneak sins and lusts back into his tabernacle (Ezek. 8:10):
“Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to
you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in
the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you
will be free indeed.”
Jn. 8:34-36
So we need to decide once and for all which of the two lives in us - a
slave of sin or the Son of God.
Christian yin and yang?
A view teaching about two natures in man is not new. For instance, it was
expressed in the concept of yin and yang a few thousand years ago in China.
There is also an Indian parable about two wolves fighting inside man, a good
and an evil one. By the way, this parable is often used by Christians to
illustrate the confrontation between the spirit and the flesh.
A large number of
Christians are convinced that the only thing that has changed in the concept of
two natures after a new birth is that the good half has gained more power, while
the evil half has been exhausted. But we start having serious doubts about it
when we compare the lives of many Christians desperately fighting their sinful
nature, and the lives of such Stoics as, for example, Mahatma Gandhi or the
Dalai Lama.
If Christianity teaches about changing in the same way as other techniques
available to followers of other religions or to ordinary people with a strong
will, is there any point talking about the role of a new birth in the process
of transformation at all? Let’s at least be honest and abandon these “old
woman’s tales” of a born-again nature, new creation and the presence of Christ
in us. Let’s just try to follow the commandments using the same self-discipline
techniques as other religions and the world. Don’t you think that, by and
large, this is exactly what is happening in Christianity?! However, we are well
aware that the right motivation for transformation is not enough! Where has the
promised strength gone?
Obviously, something is wrong with this doctrine of a dual
nature!
The problem is that this concept is produced by the wisdom of the unregenerate
mind fed by the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. All you
have to do is to add a trunk with roots to the yin-and-yang sign, and you will
understand what I am talking about. This concept is created by the pride of man
who, starting from Eden, has been trying to attain the likeness of God through
his efforts for as long as six thousand years. Here is good, and here is evil;
do good and avoid evil, right? No, it is not right because, apart from God,
outside of His nature, both good and evil never bring a person closer to God, resulting
from eating fruit from different sides of the same tree. For the good of his
children, God will not allow them to achieve transformation in this cursed way.
That is why, using the same concept, we can never even come close to the same
level of self-discipline that secular and pagan stoics achieve. This is because
God himself confronts us in this:
“But he gives more grace. Therefore it says,
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Jam. 4:6
“So to keep me from becoming conceited because
of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the
flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited … But
he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that
the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
2 Cor. 12:7, 9
What then is the other way? True Christianity is nourished from another
tree, which is Christ. There is no black and white division in him. Outside of
him, there are saints and sinners, freemen and slaves, the good and the wicked,
the healthy and the sick, and in him, there are only sons of God. So the
purpose of Christianity is not to show us what to do or not to do, but to abide
in Jesus. The more we focus on right and wrong, the farther away we are from
true transformation. The lack of good fruit is not a sign of the lack of my
efforts in the process of transformation, but of my absence from Christ:
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever
abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me
you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a
branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and
burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish,
and it will be done for you.”
Jn. 15:5-7
Am I a good person?
Good in what area? Good based on what? Good in whose judgement?
Bad / good or good /
evil are evaluation categories of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I
belong to Christ, and when I succeed in displaying him, this is good because it
fits my purpose.
“See what kind of love the Father has given to
us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the
world does not know us is that it did not know him.” 1 Jn. 3:1
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved
children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a
fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Eph. 5:1-2
We are not called to be good, nice or cute and cuddly. We are called to be
sons and, living according to the spirit, to display Christ. This is what
distinguishes life by faith from life by the law. Otherwise, instead of “just
being,” we will “try to be” and get under the pressure of the need to comply
with external standards of kindness, holiness, spirituality and piety.
“But with me it is a very
small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do
not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am
not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.”
1 Cor. 4:3-4
One man – one nature
If occasionally we see in our life the fruit of the flesh that does not fit our born-again nature, we are tempted to start thinking that there are still two natures in us at the same time – a born-again and a sinful nature. But reasoning in this way, I actually declare that Jesus died in vain because my sinful nature is still alive. To fight this understanding, Jesus left the church with two ordinances designed to root us in the reality of the death of a sinful nature - water baptism and communion. Through the former, we affirm the one-time death of our old nature, as well as our awakening to a new life (Rom. 6), Through the latter, we constantly identify ourselves with the wounds and the Blood of the Lord, while this remembrance keeps alive our faith and awareness of freedom from our old nature, the power of sin and the curse (Lk. 22:19-20).
Many are hostile to the “news” of having one nature, not two.
The difficulty lies in the reality and fierceness of the battle that we are fighting for our freedom with fleshly thoughts, feelings and desires. In fact, this battle is intense because, by calling into existence things that do not exist, according to the law of faith (or, rather, lack of it), we actually dig out, revive and empower what should remain dead.
Sinfulness and holiness are spiritual concepts that determine our condition regarding the nature of God. Therefore, sinful and fleshly are not synonyms. Sin belongs to the spiritual realm, while flesh belongs to the material. What is it in us that correlates with God? Soul? Body? God is spirit, so it is the condition of a person’s spirit that defines their spiritual nature, their relationship with the Spirit of God. Scripture calls dead a person apart from God. What is it that is dead to God in them? What is it that died in Adam the day that he sinned? I only have one answer - the human spirit. And it is the spirit that rose with Jesus and was brought to a new life at the time of a new birth, thus becoming a new creation, a receptacle of the nature of Christ.
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Jn. 3:6
“But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.”
1 Cor. 6:17
So the spiritual nature of a person, their sinfulness or holiness, is determined by their spirit. This spirit can only be in one of two states, alive or dead. That is why a person cannot have two natures at the same time.
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”
Eph. 2:1-6
The nature of a person determines their spiritual affiliation. The like begets the like, so those born from above are children of God, while spiritually dead sinners are children of Satan. A person who believes in the presence of two natures in them, basically affirms their double sonship. It is impossible to be by nature both a child of wrath and a dwelling place of God’s Spirit (Eph. 2:22).
But fleshly thoughts, feelings and desires are real! If they do not come out of a sinful nature, where do they come from? From the flesh ... which is not sinful. I have already noted above that the concepts of fleshly and sinful are not synonyms; they are not the same thing.
In Scripture, the word flesh (Greek sarx) means immediately three concepts that must be distinguished:
- A physical body with its physiological needs (Rom. 13:14)
- The body of sin, the fallen nature crucified in Christ, buried in the waters of baptism and put off through circumcision made without hands (Rom. 6, Col. 2:11)
- The human soul, together with the legacy (old garments) of our sinful nature left in it, such as the old way of thinking, values and habits (1 Cor. 15:44, 1 Cor. 3:3, Jud. 1:19)
What many label as a sinful nature in a born-again believer is actually an unsanctified part of the human soul. This is not a sinful nature, but simply a human one, which must be brought into subjection to the nature of God. The soul is directly related to the material reality and the physiological needs of the body, so their union is called flesh. Paul calls fleshly believers at Corinth “those called to be saints” (1 Cor. 1:2). So fleshly Christians are born-again infants led by the natural instincts of their unsanctified souls:
“for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?”
1 Cor. 3:3 ESV
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
Heb. 4:12
There are fleshly Christians who have a born-again spirit, but act according to the flesh. In the church, however, we can often come across an even more problematic category of people whom Jude calls “natural”, not having the spirit. These are unregenerate believers.
A fleshly Christian is a born-again spiritual infant whose way of thinking is not renewed by God’s word and who is largely led by the instincts of the soul, not the spirit (1 Cor. 3:3).
A natural person is the one who does not believe the Gospel with all their heart, has no born-again spirit, and can be very religious, having a form of godliness. However, without the life of Jesus in them, the best they can do is just imitate a transformed life (Jud. 1:18-19).
“They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.”
Jud. 1:18-19
There is a difference between fleshly behavior characteristic of spiritual infants, and willful opposition to the truth on the part of unregenerate people. Jude describes in detail precisely this kind of conscious and stubborn opposition by those whom he calls people “who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the spirit” (see Jud. 1:4-19). Such resistance cannot be compared with the fleshly behavior of the Corinthians, so for Paul, they remain “called to be holy”, i.e. born again, but still fleshly.
It is important to see the difference between born-again fleshly believers and spiritually dead, “natural” people, in order not to waste time helping transform those who are not regenerated and do not believe the Gospel. That is why I begin ministering each person by expounding the basics of the Gospel and a new birth to find out what they really believe in. Sometimes it turns out that, although a believer has been coming to church for many years, they have never truly believed the gospel or grasped the meaning of a new birth.
“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
1 Cor. 2:14 ESV
If a regenerated believer who has an unrenewed fleshly way of thinking can be in the wrong about any spiritual truth, a unregenerate person will not be aware of this in any case. Therefore, if the former can be brought to life according to the spirit through instruction in the truth, the latter must first be led to a new birth through faith in the Gospel.
What is the difference between an unregenerate sinner and a fleshly Christian, between a sinful nature and an unsanctified soul? The difference is that, unlike our soul, our sinful nature is not subject to sanctification, change or transformation. The soul can and must be subjected, guided and sanctified. Nature can only be put to death. So God put it to death in the body of his Son on the cross.
But what is the practical benefit for us in knowing that we are fighting the unsanctified part of our soul, not our sinful nature?
Because of the law of faith described above, the intensity of the battle is proportionate to the process of identification. So there is a vast difference in how temptation is approached by a forgiven righteous Spirit- and faith-filled person and a sinner filled with doubt, fear and guilt.
For a long time, I would judge myself and constantly repent for having ungodly thoughts, feelings and desires, until the Lord showed me that a temptation to sin is not sin in itself.
“but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
Jam. 1:14-15
Because I have experienced full redemption (1 Cor. 6:19-20), my spirit, soul and body are now an impregnable fortress (1 Thess. 5:23) which the enemy can only enter from the outside and only through my unbelief when I open up the gate to him.
“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.”
1 Pet. 2:11
Lust is an external attack on the soul; it cannot come from the spirit, my born-again self is connected to the Spirit of Christ. I only become vulnerable to lust in a state of unbelief. The very moment I start considering it my own, I have nearly lost the battle. Before lust gives birth to sin, it must be conceived. Its conception occurs through an intercourse in which my “self” connects with lust. This is how lust seduces - it takes me captive, forces me to accept it and identify with it, as well as makes me think, “I want this, I need this.” Lust is a Trojan horse in my soul.
When the thought “I want” comes to me regarding a sin, I reject it being conscious of myself as a new creature. I reject it as alien to my true spiritual nature, as imposed on me from the outside: “No! I am God’s son, I cannot want this.”
One must understand that temptation is not the same as desire until I have agreed that it is mine. For instance, the temptation to watch pornography is simply an obsessive, hostile thought until I accept it as my own desire.
Spiritual maturity is determined by the extent of a believer’s identification with the spirit and lies between two extremes:
- Fleshly state (typical of spiritual infants, or fleshly Christians) is a state in which the soul is largely dominated by materialistic thinking, natural desires, instincts and habits left in it from the life under the rule of a sinful nature.
- Spirit-filled state is a state in which the boundary between the spirit and the soul has been erased, and the soul is fully controlled by the spirit, expressing the life, revelation and power of God’s Spirit without quenching and twisting.
Schizophrenia is a pathological condition caused by a mental trauma and characterized by a split personality or multiple personalities in a person. A schizophrenic identifies with one or the other personality, depending on the circumstances. Jacob calls a similar state of things among believers double-mindedness when they are still sitting on the fence about their spiritual affiliation:
“Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
Jam. 4:8
Faith defines reality
So the conception of two natures in man confronts us with the need to
constantly choose between two alternative identities, making us feel like a
schizophrenic. This is obviously a losing position because it focuses our
attention on the presence of a sinful nature.
Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. The words
of Scripture that we are dead to sin present us with the choice of believing or
not believing. After we have come to faith, there is no
more choice for us. THERE IS NO CHOICE IN FAITH!
Thus, our struggle is not a choice between two natures, but between doubt
and faith. Until we understand this, we will have to constantly feel the
presence of the ghost of our sinful nature.
“For the unbelieving husband has been
sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified
through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as
it is, they are holy.”
1 Cor. 7:14
Because nature is defined
by faith, children born from spiritually alive parents are sanctified by their
faith until their personal sense of identity begins to define their spiritual
affiliation.
So I repeat this
again: faith defines my nature and the reality I live in. Or I will say even
more specifically: faith is the reality.
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for
and assurance about what we do not see.”
Heb. 11:1
“By faith we understand that the universe was
formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was
visible.”
Heb. 11:3
This is the reason why
God gave new names to some of the people He called. In
identifying with their new name, these people began to think of themselves in
accordance with it and ultimately act accordingly, rewriting their fate,
subjecting the surrounding material reality to it. How did Jacob who
took advantage of others see himself? He saw himself as a wretched
thief and a deceiver who has taken someone else’s place by deception. How did
God see him? He saw him as God’s prince Israel. God did not associate Jacob
with his shortcomings and actions, but with his true destiny. Jacob's problem
was that he allowed his father, mother, brother and uncle to define his
purpose, as well as the time and way of its realization. Only when Jacob
submitted to the Almighty and allowed Him to change his name and self-identity along
with it, did God let him enter a place of rest:
“Jacob, however, went to Sukkoth, where he
built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place
is called Sukkoth.”
Gen. 33:17
Sukkoth (literally
“tents”, or “booths”), like the
Feast of Tabernacles, is a prototype of rest in reliance on God:
“You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All
native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I
made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land
of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.””
Lev. 23:42-43 ESV
Booths are a
demonstration of confidence in protection, safety and reliability independent
of human structures or fleshly efforts.
In the same way, we should not allow our past, our parents, other people or
the surrounding reality to define who we are. God’s purpose and His word alone should define us.
We can perceive the
surrounding reality through the lens of either of two concepts - the soul or the
spirit. As it turns out, these are two completely different realities.
Imagine two girls that
look very much alike. They are standing in front of the mirror. One girl,
looking into the mirror, says, “What a fat pimpled loser”, sticks out her
tongue at her reflection and spits at it. On the contrary, the other one says,
“I am a princess, a beauty, a winner”. Then she blinks and smiles at her
reflection. It is not hard to guess which of them will behave like a princess when
she moves away from the mirror.
We will never change
if we keep associating ourselves with the surrounding reality, not with God’s
word.
“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate
the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing
glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
2 Cor. 3:18
We are transformed
from contemplating the Lord’s glory, not our own shortcomings, failures and
defeats.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes
are healthy,[a] your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are
unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within
you is darkness, how great is that darkness! “No one can serve two masters.
Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the
one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Mat. 6:22-24
We see the material
world through the eyes that perceive the light reflected from the objects
around us. When our eyes are damaged, the light they perceive is processed
incorrectly and the surrounding reality appears distorted, for example, for
color-blind people.
The same thing happens to our worldview. “The light within you” is a worldview that processes and interprets
the world around us, defining our attitudes and responses. If this worldview is
shaped by false values, then our perception of reality will be distorted. It is
the heart values that are discussed in the previous verse where Jesus speaks
of a treasure. “If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that
darkness!” - false values and a distorted worldview shaped
by them do not allow a person to tell the true light from darkness.
“For with you is the fountain of life; in your
light we see light.”
Ps. 36:9
“To the pure, all things are pure, but to those
who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their
minds and consciences are corrupted.”
Tit. 1:15
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as
Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him,
strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with
thankfulness.”
Col. 2:6-7
“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in
the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in
you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”
2 Cor. 13:5
We accepted him by
faith, there is no other way. And we can only continue to live in him by faith.
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope
for and assurance about what we do not see.” Thus, being in him is not a
feeling, but an awareness of the fact, a constant mental focus on Jesus:
“Those who live according to the flesh have
their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance
with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind
governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and
peace.”
Rom. 8:5-6
Identification
“But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
1 Pet. 1:15-16
God calls us to holiness in actions, which means WE MUST NOT SIN. An even more interesting question is what is the foundation for our holy actions? It is a call to liken ourselves to his holy nature:
“No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.”
1 Jn. 3:9
- As a man of sin, I am not able not to sin
- As a new creature, I am not able to sin
- As a living soul, I am able not to sin
God destroyed the first, made us the second, so that we can be the third. Spiritual Christians (Point 3) are forced to constantly choose between two alternatives - (Point 1) and (Point 2). So even when they act according to the spirit, they still continue to feel the presence of sin in themselves. If Christians assume the presence of both natures in them, they cannot fully belong to either of them. Life in faith does not imply any alternatives because it considers only one reality - Christ. Our choice is not between two natures, but between faith and unbelief. There is no choice in faith itself! That is why we have to make a final decision: we must belong either to light or darkness because both cannot be within us at the same time.
Recently I noticed that my eight-year-old daughter constantly asks God in prayer to make her obedient. At first, I was happy about my daughter’s “correct” prayer. But then it suddenly dawned on me.
I realized that as a father, I have a serious problem. My parenting style based on reproach and discipline is of no benefit to my daughter. It is no good that she constantly faces the pressure of feeling guilty because of her energetic and cheerful temperament.
After this I began to focus my daughter’s attention on those crucial moments when she showed obedience, and we began to thank God for this together. Whenever she throws a tantrum or acts naughty, I tell her:
“What’s up, Virsaviya (Bathsheba)? It doesn't look like you. Such a good and obedient girl does not deserve to misbehave”.
The issue of identification is a key issue regarding faith and the central factor affecting our behavior. Not once in his letters does Paul address believers as sinners in the present tense. Fleshly, hypocritical and erring as they are, but not sinners. We are not transformed from contemplating our own sinfulness, but from contemplating the glory of Christ:
“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate[a] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
2 Cor. 3:18
Thus, repentance (metanoia) is a process of changing one’s thinking, a transition from identifying with one's sinful past to identifying with Christ.
Scripture says, “For as he thinks within himself, so he is” (Prov. 23:7 NASB). This means that I am who I think I am. When in the face of temptations and hardships, I forget who I am and what I have, according to God’s Word, I slide back into unbelief and begin to live according to the flesh.
The traditional view leads us to believe that we are werewolves, or man-wolves, forced to constantly choose between two natures. We have to control our wolf’s nature. We clench our teeth to try not to get on all fours and not to howl at the moon.
This shows our helplessness before any bondage or spiritual oppression - we see ourselves as werewolves changing their nature depending on the circumstances. In fact, our struggle is not a confrontation of two natures, but of two types of thinking – fleshly and spiritual, when we choose between faith and unbelief, between two types of our spiritual identity. A person focused on their human nature and a strong sense of their humanity will never have an idea crossing their mind to get on all fours and start howling at the moon.
“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
Rom. 6:11
I am aware of my role as a father, which defines the way I behave with my children. The extent to which it is expressed in my relationship with my children depends on how strong my awareness of my fatherhood is. If I see myself as a father only ten minutes a day, I will actually and really be a father for as long as ten minutes. Am I saying that I stop being a father to my children when I do not think about them or is not directly involved in their lives? Not at all. I just want to emphasize that I am showing the power and reality of fatherhood when I am aware of it. For this reason, God’s fatherhood towards me does not become formal for a moment because He does not stop thinking about me and showing His care even for a moment. Now ask yourself this question: for how long during the day are you aware of your being a new creature, a son or daughter of God, a king and a priest, a vessel of power and anointing? You are living in faith for that very interval of time, releasing the power of grace in your life. Faith is an awareness of the reality of God’s Word.
This double-mindedness is the main reason why there are such things as formal Christianity, fleshly behavior, addictions, disappointment, bondage, depression and fear. The problem is not the lack of faith, but the lack of constancy. To deal with double-mindedness is to remove from your life those times when we think of ourselves apart from God’s Word. A person’s spiritual growth and transformation is the path from unbelief to faith, to full identification with Christ:
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
Jn. 15:7-8
“Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”
Rom. 8:5
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
Phil. 4:8
Fleshly behavior is a sign indicating that I am not abiding in faith. Of course, I cannot ignore such a state in order to remain in it. I just need to control my abiding in faith rather than my sinful nature. Life according to the spirit is life in faith regarding one’s born-again nature, while life according to the flesh is life in unbelief:
“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? ”
2 Cor. 13:5
We abide in Christ when we are immersed in his Word, when his teaching becomes our way of thinking, our worldview, our view of reality and our response to it. Faith is our self-awareness in Jesus when we are mentally connected to him and his Word and when we are engaged in an inner dialogue.
Does this mean that the rest of the time when this does not happen, I do not abide in Christ? Yes, it does in the sense that Jesus still dwells in us, in our born-again spirit, but His life, wisdom and strength become inaccessible to us because of unbelief, and at this time we are simply led by the natural part of our soul. Many regard their daily hour of prayer and Bible reading as a religious duty to be fulfilled, which allows them to live according to the flesh with a clear conscience for the rest of time. Some, however, have no such hour at all.
As we grow in faith, we gradually remove from our life those areas and times in which we are not aware of ourselves being in Christ. In doing so, one day we will find that doing dishes has become a time of worship for us. We will see that our time with children is now filled with a revelation of God’s love and patience, as well as an understanding of their purpose. Complex accounting calculations turn into a form of interaction with the mind of the true Author of mathematical laws, with his omniscience and wisdom. Then, following Paul, we will exclaim enthusiastically: “Indeed, from him and through him and for him are all things.”
Lack of commitment which is so common among believers is also an effect of unbelief and lack of awareness of their heavenly sonship.
“The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.”
Jn. 10:12-13
There is a significant difference in commitment between a hired worker and an heir.
Imagine two people working at a restaurant, an employee and the owner’s son. The obedience of a hired worker is motivated by the fear of punishment (losing a bonus payment or a job). He will do exactly as much as they tell him, and will work as many hours as he will be paid for. The heir is in a close relationship with his father, so, knowing all the specifics of his job, he enjoys more freedom in his decisions and actions and is more responsible because he is personally interested in the success of the enterprise he inherits from his father. The lack of proper motivation has nothing to do with the lack of a new birth or a lack of discipline, but primarily with a misplaced self-identity. Without a revelation of sonship, efforts to set up a reward and punishment system will at best turn a person into a disciplined hireling rather than an heir.
In conclusion, I would like to remind us that Jesus makes a very serious warning:
“If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.”
Jn. 15:6
“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
Mat. 12:30
Man has not lost his spirit as a result of the fall - the life of God has departed from him and he has become a dead, fallen spirit. After all, demons are also fallen spirits that are dead, which means they are separated from the Source of spiritual life.
The spirit of a born-again person is alive – it is united with the Spirit of God. But in the case of stubborn disbelief and opposition to God’s Spirit, it may lose this connection and die again:
“hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.”
1 Cor. 5:5
“Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.”
Rev. 3:2
"It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”
Heb. 6:4-6
“These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.”
Jud. 1:19
We must understand that just as faith becomes the cause of a new birth for the human spirit, so chronic unbelief can become the cause of its death. A branch has no life in itself; its life is determined by its connection with the vine. When this connection is destroyed by secret or overt denial, the Spirit of God leaves and the human spirit dies. In Jude 1:12, Scripture calls such people “dead” twice. A repeat regeneration is impossible for them.
There are three genuine reasons why we sin:
- We don’t know who we are
- We forget who we are
- We have denounced who we are
What are we to do?
Preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to the first group
Remind WHO WE ARE in Christ to the second group
Confront the third group about their evil hearts and tell them of the consequences
Translator:
V. G. Saviankova
Translator:
V. G. Saviankova
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