Biblical
Spirituality
Steven R. Cook
Spirituality stands as the basis
for the dynamic Christian life.
- Spirituality
is an active submission to the leading of the Holy Spirit in accordance with
the Word of God.
- A
spiritual person seeks to glorify Christ in every area of his life by
walking within the sphere of God’s provisions.
- Spirituality
is the basis of our capacity to obtain godly wisdom, pray effectively,
walk in strength, direction, and express true worship toward God.
The Greek noun ðíå™ìá (pneuma) is used in the Bible to refer to an angel, breath, wind, and also to the spiritual nature of man given to him at the moment of creation, which was lost at the fall, though he retained his human body and soul. When an unbeliever trusts in Christ for salvation, he is then given a new human spirit. The human spirit is sometimes difficult to distinguish from the human soul. The human soul processes natural information and the human spirit processes spiritual information. There is sufficient evidence in the Scriptures to show that a distinction between the human soul and spirit does exist.
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. I Thessalonians 5:23
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
There have been serious contentions between many teachers throughout the ages right down to the present as to whether man is dichotomous (consisting of two parts: body and soul) or trichotomous (consisting of three parts: body, soul, and spirit). I happen to think that the unbeliever in his fallen state of spiritual death is dichotomous, while the believer who has been given a new human spirit at the moment of faith in Christ is trichotomous. There may be some who disagree, but I think the above verses are sufficient to demonstrate that regenerate man has three parts to him.
The constitutionality of man before sin entered the world:
Human Soul Consciousness Self-Consciousness Intellect Volition Emotion
The constitutionality of man after sin entered the world:
The makeup of the Old Sin Nature (OSN):
- The Greek adjective pneumativko~ (pneumatikos) is used of the believer who is in that state of being controlled by the Holy Spirit.
The adjective is used to describe the thinking, words, and actions of one who is regenerated, indwelt, enlightened, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. The believer’s whole life is in conformity to the will of God at each moment he says “yes” to the leading of the spirit. But, in order for the believer to say “yes”, he must know how the Spirit leads. Thus our direction is turned toward what the Bible says about the various ministries of the Holy Spirit in the life of both the unbeliever and the believer.
Ministries of the Holy Spirit
The
Holy Spirit is that member of the Godhead which makes manifest the person and work
of Jesus Christ on behalf of all humanity.
Ministry to the unbeliever:
The
Holy Spirit is to convict the world of unbelievers regarding the Person and
work of Christ on their behalf. This can
be found in the following passage:
“And He, when He comes, will
convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning
sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I
go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the
ruler of this world has been judged. John 16:8-11
- The
Holy Spirit convicts the unbelieving world of one sin only: “concerning
sin, because they do not believe in Me.”
- The
only interaction the Holy Spirit has with the unbeliever is in revealing
the finished work of Christ on the cross.
- Once
the Holy Spirit makes perspicuous the gospel message, the unbeliever has
the opportunity to believe or not believe.
- If an
unbeliever hears the gospel and chooses not to believe, then he remains in
darkness and perpetuates spiritual death.
- If the
unbeliever hears the gospel and believes in Christ for salvation, then he
is brought out of spiritual death and into eternal spiritual life.
Ministry to the believer:
1. Regeneration is the
first ministry to the person who hears the gospel and believes in Christ. Once you are “born of the Spirit” (John 3:6),
you are entered into the family of God and have special privileges which belong
only to those who are His children (Ephesians 1:3).
Therefore if any man is
in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things
have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17
To be a new creature in
Christ means that a spiritual transformation has occurred. When a person
believes in Jesus for salvation, he is brought to spiritual life by God and is
baptized by the Holy Spirit into union with Christ (Romans 6:4; I Corinthians
12:13; Galatians 3:27-28). Literally,
the believer becomes a new species.
And you were dead in your
trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of
this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that
is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly
lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the
mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. Ephesians 2:1-3
There was a time when we
lived and walked in spiritual death. We
were not aware of the Holy Spirit or the things pertaining to spiritual reality. We belonged to that group who lived in
darkness, deception, and hopelessness.
But now there is spiritual life and a new reality.
But now in Christ Jesus
you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 2:13
For you were formerly
darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light.
Ephesians 5:8
And when you were dead in
your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive
together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions. Colossians 2:13
If you have believed in
Christ for salvation, then you are spiritually alive and can understand the
things of the Spirit. As a Christian,
there is the possibility for the Holy Spirit to manifest His fruit (love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control) in your life and for you to reap the benefits; but, for that to
happen you must understand a few truths first.
To understand spirituality, you must understand what the Holy Spirit has
already done for you and how He works in your life.
2. The second ministry
to the believer at the moment he is saved is that of “indwelling.” We literally become the
Now on the last day, the
great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is
thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. “He who
believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his
innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” But this He spoke of the
Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not
yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39
“I will ask the Father,
and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that
is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see
Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in
you. John 14:16-17
And hope does not
disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts
through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:5
However, you are not in
the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if
anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. Romans
8:9
By this we know that we
abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of
His Spirit. I John 4:13
The Old Testament saints
had the Spirit come “upon” them but rarely ever “in” them. At times the Spirit
could be taken from an Old Testament saint (I Samuel
3. The third ministry
of the Holy Spirit to the believer at salvation is sealing. “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by
whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians
4. The fourth ministry
of the Holy Spirit to the believer at salvation involves baptizing him into
union with Christ. This is a work done
totally by the Holy Spirit for the believer.
This is never to be confused with believer’s baptism where the believer,
after salvation, is baptized in water as a symbolic expression of what the
Spirit does for him. The baptism of the
Holy Spirit can be observed in the following verses:
As for
me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is
mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and fire. Matthew.
“I
baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Mark
1:8
John
answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to
untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
fire. Luke 3:16
“I did
not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon
whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes
in the Holy Spirit. John 1:33
For John
baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many
days from now. Acts 1:5
Or do you not know that
all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?
Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as
Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too
might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:3-4
For by one Spirit we were all
baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we
were all made to drink of one Spirit. I Corinthians 12:13
For all
of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There
is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither
male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:27
One
of the benefits of being baptized into Christ is that all racial, social, and
gender differences are overcome and we are all one in Christ. This equality can only be offered by the Holy
Spirit. Man has been trying to offer equality on these levels and has failed
miserably. When the Holy Spirit places
us into Christ, we have equality and
a common ground upon which we stand.
5. The fifth ministry
of the Holy Spirit to the believer is bringing to his remembrance the Words of
God as they are found in the Bible.
“But the Helper, the Holy
Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will
teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
John 14:26
“But when He, the Spirit
of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on
His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose
to you what is to come. John 16:13
It is the role of the Holy
Spirit to help us remember the Words of God so that we can find help in time of
need. This requires some involvement on
our part as Christians because we must be willing to study the Word of God in
the first place. The Holy Spirit will
only bring to our remembrance the Words of God which we have first learned
through study.
6. The sixth ministry
of the Holy Spirit to the believer is “filling” (Ephesians
Spiritual
distinctions
The Bible identifies three
kinds of persons in the world: (1) the natural
man who is an unbeliever and is spiritually dead; (2) the carnal man who is an immature believer
and who walks daily after the flesh and feeds on the “milk” of the Word; (3)
and the spiritual man who is
controlled by the Holy Spirit on a daily basis, who walks in the Spirit, and
who takes in the “meat” of the Word.
1) The natural man
But a natural man does not accept the things of the
Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them,
because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all
things, yet he himself is appraised by no man. For who has known the mind of
the Lord, that he should instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. I
Corinthians 2:14-16
The natural man (or
unregenerate person) has no ability to perceive the things of God. “But a natural man does not accept the things
of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand
them, because they are spiritually appraised” (I Corinthians
Apart from the gospel, the
Bible never speaks to the unbeliever.
The Bible offers only the gospel to the unbeliever, and if he rejects
the gospel, then he continues in spiritual death and will never be able to
understand the things of God. The answer
for the unbeliever is faith in Christ.
Again, it is not that the natural man WILL not understand the things of
God; he CANNOT understand the things of God because he is spiritually
dead.
2) The carnal man
The carnal man is the believer
who is controlled by his sin nature and who walks according to his flesh.
And I, brethren, could
not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in
Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to
receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still
fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly,
and are you not walking like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and
another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere
men? I Corinthians 3:1-4
Notice that the Apostle
Paul could not speak to the Corinthians “as to spiritual men, but as to men of
flesh, as to infants in Christ.” Unlike
the strong Christian who can receive meat, these believers can only
handle milk. Paul speaks to
their shame! Though the carnal man is a
saved believer, he is crippled because he is not able to receive meat. His carnality is marked by jealousy
and strife. These are believers
who have given in to sin and who have never confessed (1 John 1:9). The answer to their problem is in learning to
be “filled with the Spirit” daily and learning to “walk in the Spirit.”
3) The spiritual man
The spiritual man can
understand the things of God because he has the Holy Spirit to guide him into truth
and to make the Bible clear.
“These things I have
spoken to you, while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom
the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all
things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you”. John 14:25-26
“I have many more things
to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth,
comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own
initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you
what is to come. He shall glorify Me; for He shall
take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said, that He takes of Mine, and will
disclose it to you”. John 16:12-15
Please note that in both
these passages Jesus is talking to believers.
Only believers can receive truth from God, while the unregenerate walk
in darkness.
For to us God revealed
them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of
God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the
man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit
of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who
is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, which
things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught
by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. I Corinthians
2:10-13
Only the spiritual man can receive the truth of God and make application to his life. This is possible because we have received the Spirit of God who leads us into all truth and makes obvious to us the very thoughts of God which are freely given to us. When we talk to each other regarding the things of God, we understand each other and give approval. When unbelievers hear our discussion, they are baffled by it and cannot understand it because they are spiritually dead. They may think they understand, but they are operating from arrogance.
The
filling of the Spirit
And do not get drunk with
wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, Ephesians 5:18
When a person is drunk
with wine, the alcohol clearly controls him.
Likewise, when a person is filled with the Spirit, the Spirit controls
him. When a person is drunk, there is no
magic pill or drink they can take to make the sickness go away. The Greek word for “dissipation” is aswtia (asotia) and means to be sick without a
cure. In contrast to being drunk, the
believer is commanded to be continually “filled with the Spirit.” The Greek word for “filling” is plhrousqe
(plerousthe) and it means that Holy Spirit permeates every area of the
believer’s life, and the character of Christ is being formed in him. Being filled with the Spirit does not mean
the believer has more of the Spirit at one time and less at another; it means
the Spirit has more of him.
God is perfect and
everything He does is perfect. When God
gives us the Holy Spirit, He gives Him to us perfectly and completely. God is stable. This means that the Holy Spirit
never comes and goes from us, but that we come and go from the Spirit. God never leaves us, but we leave Him every
time we walk away from His will and produce sin. It is at the moment of sin that we “grieve”
or “quench” the Spirit within us and thus cripple ourselves from living the
Christian life. Once we are again filled
with the Spirit, the issue for us is to walk in the Spirit moment by moment as
we live the life of faith. Several points about what the filling accomplishes in us include:
1.
The purpose of the
Spirit in filling us is to glorify
Christ in us. Jesus Himself said of the Spirit: “He will glorify Me” (John
2.
The Holy Spirit is the
cause of spirituality in the life of the believer. Jesus Himself was said to be “full of the
Holy Spirit” (Luke 4:1) in His humanity.
As the Spirit led Him, so the Spirit will lead us. To be filled with the Spirit means that God’s
will is being done and Christ’s character is being formed in us.
Walking
in the Spirit
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. Galatians 5:16-17
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Galatians 5: 25
·
Spirituality and carnality are absolutes.
A believer is either in the Spirit or in the flesh at any given moment.
If the believer is walking in the Spirit, he will not be in the flesh;
if he is in the flesh, he cannot be in the Spirit. Paul very clearly says, “walk
by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” If you say yes to the Spirit, by that very
act you turn away from the flesh; if you say yes to the flesh, by that very act
you say no to the Spirit. Either you are
being controlled by the Spirit or you are being controlled by the flesh. The
believer is empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry out the demands of God’s
Word. Walking in the Spirit means the
believer is walking in perpetual reliance upon the Holy Spirit to
direct his life. Basically, the believer
is letting the Holy Spirit lead his life according to the Bible. As the believer learns to depend on the Holy
Spirit to guide and empower him, he is learning to walk in the Spirit.