Part 11 of 14 – The Essential Spirit -

 

An Error Needing Correcting

Here I must correct a doctrinal error taught in some circles. It’s taught by some great Christian teachers who I otherwise still regard very highly. The error is this false teaching that in essence says “The Satan Sin-spirit came into man’s human spirit, but it was evicted when Christ’s Spirit came in at the new birth.” This error leads some Christians to live by an erroneous presumption; hence they suffer powerlessness toward overcoming Sin. Sadly, I've met some and know of others who subscribe to this falsehood, making shipwreck of their lives.

Those who teach this offer only misinterpreted and misapplied “proof” text, such as this.

2Cor 5:17 … if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” From this they erroneously presume that believers are now 100% new and free of a Sin nature. They say, “Sin must be gone because the old is passed and all things are become new.” Paul’s writings must be interpreted in the light and context of his other writings. Paul’s elsewhere tells us that which “passed away” is our “old man” (Gal 2:20a), crucified with Christ. He says Sin still remains in the flesh of believers. The “all” that is “new” is our regenerated spirit – Our body is by no means new, since that still will yet die; our soul is not new, since Paul says our soul needs to become renewed. 2 Cor. 4:16 …though our outward (body man) man perish, yet the inward (soul) man is renewed day by day. It is only our essential spirit-self that is new. Our spirit is new by Christ’s indwelling life and nature.

Question: Would God ever permit the Sin-spirit of the Devil to indwell man’s human spirit? God’s “temple” now is the believer’s spirit. 2 Cor. 6:16 … ye are the temple of the living God; 1 Corinthians 6:17 he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit; 1 John 4:13 … we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit; John 3:6b… that which is born of the (His) Spirit is (your) spirit. If the dominating Sin-spirit and nature indwells the unsaved man’s human spirit, then how could he ever make a free-will choice to receive Christ? The concept of Sin in man’s spirit is pure folly and contrary to Scripture in it context.

In Matt 8:32 we see that fallen demon spirits prefer to inhabit flesh. Here Jesus cast demons out of two mad men, and the demons spirits then entered swine – the epitome of flesh. Matt 8:32 he (Jesus) said unto them (demons), Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine…

Sin is not in, and has never dwelt in, man’s human spirit. Sin is in man’s fleshly body members. Romans 8:3 … God sending his own Son … condemned sin in the flesh (<<<where?). Thus, Sin is quite apart from man’s spirit. Paul writes concerning him and all believers in Romans 6:12, 7:5-23, 8:3 and Gal. 5, indicating Sin is specifically located in our flesh body members, even while Christ’s Spirit indwells the believer’s spirit.

Paul confirms this understanding when writing to the regenerated Galatian believers. Gal. 5:17 …the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other… “Flesh” here is not the bodily flesh as meat, but it is the poisoned, Sin-infected, flesh of all men. Sin prompts men with evil desires and sinful impulses. Though rendered powerless, Sin in the Christian’s flesh, is still near at hand. Paul’s remedy for overcoming Sin in the flesh is seen here in Gal. 5:16 … Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. Sin is still in our flesh, but Sin has no power over the Christian who “walks in” (abides in) the Spirit.” The Sin nature is deprived, no longer ruling the believer, because we’re free; having been crucified with Christ. Sin is “made of no effect” by our death with Christ.  The believer, now dead, possesses only one legitimate life and nature – which is Christ alive in the believer’s spirit (Gal 2:20).

As we noted in Part 10, serpents bit and poisoned many Israelites to death. Rather than God evicting the poison, God told them to “behold the brazen serpent on the pole,” to live. Paul tells us, we are to identify with Christ’s body-death at the cross as our old man’s death in order to make Sin’s poison of no effect. Thus, we as a self-soul are now free to live by trusting and yielding to “the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,” within us. Christ, as the “Spirit of life” in us, is the only one who is able to overcome the Sin nature resident in our flesh. Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh (with Sin in it), ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify (put to death) the deeds (praxis, habits) of the body, ye shall live.