THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE SOUL – XVII

WBS.180

FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE SOUL – XVII

Luke 3:22  And the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

As long as our souls abide in the spirit of Yahushua, the life of 

Yahushua will manifest in our body; and our soul will be transformed 

into his likeness…the likeness of the righteousness of IAUE.

Yahushua was born of a virgin.

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Master himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Yahushua Messiah was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.

19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of IAUE appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Yahushua: for he shall save his people from their sins.

22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of IAUE by the prophet, saying,

23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, El with us.

From the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden unto this day, man has been unable to give birth to a child that was in right relationship to IAUE.  Adam could not give to his succeeding generation that which he had forfeited.  Consequently, man’s redeemer could not come from the bloodline of man; for all of Adam’s offspring, all of his descendants were disqualified from restoring what they could never possess of themselves. The Redeemer had to be born of a virgin.  His bloodline had to originate elsewhere than from the fallen race of man.

Luke 3:38  Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of IAUE.

The Scripture shows that Adam was regarded as the son of IAUE; but he was the “created” son of IAUE, created in the image and after the likeness of IAUE (Genesis 1:26-27).  When Adam behaved contrary to the likeness of IAUE, he lost the likeness of IAUE and forfeited much of the image of IAUE.  It was the design of IAUE that His created son, would bear more children of IAUE; but the Scripture shows that because of the fall, Adam’s children were born in his own image and likeness…not the image and likeness of IAUE (Genesis 5:2-3).

Yahushua’s favorite term for himself was “Son of man.”  In Hebrew this is “ben Adam,” or “son of Adam.”  Yahushua was what man would have been like had Adam NOT disobeyed IAUE and forfeited his moral purity and perfection (righteousness). The spirit that animated the physical body of Yahushua was a spirit in right relationship with IAUE, just like Adam’s spirit before the fall. (Unlike the spirit that was breathed into our bodies, Yahushua’s spirit was filled with the life and light of IAUE.)  Yahushua’s body was void of the law of sin in the flesh.  His body responded in perfect obedience to his perfect spirit. Yahushua was the second son of IAUE; but he was the first one BORN of IAUE.  

When Yahushua was about 30 years of age (Luke 3:23), he came to John to be baptized; and this is what happened.

Luke 3:22  And the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

There are two very important keys in this verse that can transform our souls (which is the subject of this series of posts).  The first is that Yahushua did not receive the Holy Spirit until this moment in his life.  Most of Christendom’s theology is so confused and muddled with the Trinity doctrine that believers, today, have an impossible time rightly understanding the Scriptures; because when they read “God” in the Scriptures, they just as readily think, “Jesus.”  When they read “Jesus” in the Scriptures, they are just as comfortable thinking it refers equally to IAUE and to the Holy Spirit. This is the first verse we see relating to the life of Yahushua where the Holy Spirit is associated with him.  Like Yahushua, after we have received the Spirit of Yahushua, we should also receive the Spirit of IAUE.

Our Master was born with a perfect spirit that never suffered imperfection as did Adam’s spirit.  Yahushua walked in perfect obedience to his Father’s will for those first 30 years without ever having received the Holy Spirit.  Look at the Genesis account regarding Adam.  Adam did not have the Holy Spirit, either.  (If we believe that the spirit that was breathed into Adam’s nostrils bringing his body to life was the Holy Spirit, then we must, of necessity, believe that the Holy Spirit died, was separated from IAUE, when Adam sinned.) 

How does understanding this fact help to transform for our souls?

Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of Elohim dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Messiah, he is none of his.

Observe in this verse the distinction made between the Spirit of Elohim (IAUE) and the spirit of Messiah (Yahushua).  If the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we are empowered to walk in the spirit and not in the flesh.  However, if we do not have the spirit of Yahushua, we do not even belong to him.  We must first belong to the Master before we can be indwelled by the Spirit of His Father.

10 And if Messiah be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Yahushua from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Messiah from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

Remember, what I said above about the physical body of Yahushua?  He was born without the law of sin coursing through its members.  Unfortunately, our bodies were not born free of this sin-driven orientation of the flesh.  Having the spirit of Yahushua dwelling in us (being born again) does not eradicate the law of sin in the flesh; but being indwelled by the Spirit of IAUE introduces into our lives the power of IAUE to overcome the law of sin in the flesh and all of its destructiveness to our bodies. The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit “quickens” (gives life) to our mortal bodies.  Essentially, what this is saying is that the effects that sin has on the body (sickness, disease, decay, deterioration, propensity for disobeying IAUE, etc) cannot stand against the power of the Holy Spirit.  Our physical bodies do not transform at the new birth into the same kind of body that Yahushua had while on earth (That happens at the resurrection), but the Holy Spirit does bring life to it, where it would naturally bring death.

12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

If we allow this truth to sink into our thinking, into our souls, the limitations we impose upon ourselves will lose their foundation.  How often have you said or heard it said, “Oh well, I am only human”?  We offer this as an excuse for our failures to obey the will of IAUE.  We should be ashamed of ourselves.  Did our Master die to make us into such pitiful creatures?  Absolutely, not.  We should declare of ourselves what the Scriptures declare of us.  “The Spirit of the Master dwells within me.  I belong to him, fully and completely.  The Holy Spirit of IAUE dwells within me.  He gives life to all my flesh and empowers me to live above all of the effects of sin.”

The second transforming truth in this verse is the declaration of IAUE, “Thou art My Beloved Son in thee I am well pleased.”  At that point in his life, what had Yahushua done?  He had yet to work his first miracle, preach his first sermon, cast out his first demon, raise his first dead person.  What had he done?  He had studied the Scriptures all his life; and he had submitted himself to the baptism of John “to fulfill all righteousness.”  When Yahushua was baptized by John, he publicly demonstrated that he was dead to this world and to the kingdoms of this world; and he was committed to the Kingdom of IAUE and to all that IAUE holds dear.  It was at this point that IAUE called him “My Beloved Son.”

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of Elohim, they are the sons of Elohim.

Once we receive the Spirit of IAUE, we are empowered to walk in the spirit and not in the flesh.  When we are led by the Spirit of IAUE, we are the sons of IAUE.  We are the sons of IAUE when we DO the words of IAUE, the will of IAUE, and not just learn about His words and accumulate teachings and doctrines. Yahushua said that his meat was to DO the will of His Father. 

Romans 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of Elohim.

All of creation is WAITING for us to break out of our selfishness, our pride, and our unbelief.  We have a great treasure within us, and all of the resources of the Creator Himself residing within our mortal bodies; yet we live like going to church on Sunday is the highest expression of our moral response to IAUE.  Our souls will NEVER be transformed into His likeness until we see ourselves as IAUE sees us as His SONS, doing His will, doing His works, and turning the world upside down.

Do you see yourself as a Son of IAUE?  Say it.  Speak it out loud. “I am a SON of IAUE.  His Spirit dwells within me.  His power enables me to do all His will, all His works, all His good pleasure.  I am a Son of IAUE.”

Once we begin to THINK like that, nothing will be impossible to us, any more than it was impossible to Yahushua; because Yahushua is in us.  He is the treasure.  Once we allow our souls to embrace this reality and we being to walk in the assurance that we are the sons of IAUE, then the great Firstborn, the Messiah, will begin to manifest himself in our lives in ways we can only imagine, today.

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Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance of the will of IAUE.

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THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE SOUL – XVI

WBS.179

FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE SOUL – XVI

John 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

James tells us that faith without works is dead; because where true faith exists; corresponding actions will manifest the existence of that faith.  Mere belief without faith cannot be seen by others.  No one can tell that you have faith unless it can be seen.  True faith can only be demonstrated by action.  In the same way, discipleship can only be proven, can only be demonstrated by fruit; and fruit can be borne only by abiding in Yahushua whose spirit resides within us. 

In Christian churches around the world, there are many who would love to be used of IAUE.  They want the gifts of the Spirit to operate freely in their lives. There are many who would love to have their lives transformed such that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, meekness and self-control were their constant experience.  There are many, especially, who would love for their lives to cease being marred by repetitive sinful activity.  They pray that IAUE would bring these things to pass in their lives…and yet…absolutely nothing ever happens.  They stay the same.  They are still quick to back-bite, gossip, get angry, argue, be rude, judgmental and intolerant.  They are still sitting in their pews hearing the Word of IAUE week after week and doing none of it; and they are still in bondage to their sinful practices.  Why is this?  Are their prayers not sincere?  Of course they are. Do they not truly desire these things to be manifest in their lives?  Of course they do; otherwise they would never even think to pray for them. So what is the problem?

The problem is that these prayers cannot be answered.  They are prayers upon which the Father cannot act.  Why is this?  It is because the answer to all of these prayers was already provided to us in Messiah Yahushua before we ever even thought to ask for them.  There is nothing more that IAUE can do than what He has already done.

2 Peter 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

Ephesians 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

20 Which he wrought in Messiah, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

ALL THINGS pertaining to life and godliness have already been given to us BY HIS DIVINE POWER?  Is IAUE’s power somehow diminished when it comes to us?  Did He use too little power when He gave US those precious promises?  Certainly not.  He is, at this very moment, able to do more than we can ask, more than we can even imagine, according to (by activating) the power that works IN US…the power that is already inside of us.  What kind of power has He placed within us?  It is the same power He used when He raised Messiah from the dead.

We are not short on power.  We are not short on the supply to anything that pertains to our life in the body.  Why, then, do believers keep on praying for what they already have?  They expect, somehow, that IAUE is going to see in their hearts they are desperate for the answers to their prayers, and He is going to just “fix” them spontaneously, sovereignly.  Let me tell you; for Him to do so would be like breaking the shell of an egg to release a new chick.  Depriving the chick of the necessary struggle to break through the shell on its own will result in a weak, sickly life that will most probably end prematurely.  Christians, for the most part, are cowards.  They do not want to do anything that requires commitment, discipline, or inconvenience, or even a cessation of their right to personal pleasures.  They would not mind, however, if all of that were bypassed sovereignly by IAUE; and they just instantly became what would have resulted from it had they had any of it.

The truth is, contemporary Christianity breeds a type of believer that does not want to die.  We have already discussed this repeatedly throughout the life of this blog.  The current “gospel” message is not THE gospel message of the New Testament.  It produces “believers” not “disciples.”  It produces one who anticipates everything to be provided to them in Heaven when they die; and they do not have to do or be anything in this present life to obtain their eternal reward; consequently, they never know genuine repentance (which is the FIRST requirement of the TRUE gospel message).

We have seen the necessity of “always bearing about in the body the dying of the Master Yahushua, that the life of Yahushua might be manifest in the body.”  If we are new creatures in Messiah, then the spirit of Yahushua is the life that animates our body, now.  Our problem is, as long as our soul functions on the basis that IT is still in charge of the body, we will not effectively access the life of Yahushua within us.

Matthew 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Matthew 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

Mark 8:35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.

Luke 9:24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

Luke 17:33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

John 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

How many times does the Master have to say it?  The word “life” in these verses is “psuche” which is the “soul” life.  If we hold on to our soul after becoming a new creature in Messiah, instead of allowing Messiah to transform our soul; we will lose everything.

Brothers and sisters, this is where the proverbial rubber meets the road.  This is the bottom line.  This is the ultimate test of the gospel to which we have responded.  Messiah died for all that we which live will no longer live for ourselves but for the one who loved us and gave himself for us.

There is no lack of the power of IAUE within us to makes us loving, peaceful, joyous, patient, kind, good, gentle, meek and temperate. There is no lack of the power of IAUE within us to heal the sick, heal the lame, raise the dead, cast out demons and set the captives free.  There is no lack of the power of IAUE within us to manifest the gloriously divine nature of our Creator and Savior.  The problem is our insistence upon allowing our own soulish life to maintain control of our lives; operating like some sort of valve that we open at times when we permit the spirit of Yahushua to flow; and close it (most of the time) to allow ourselves to continue living our own life.

I believe that there are those that have been reading this blog who have been trying to do the things we have discussed as an act of their own wills.  They have been seeing in the Scripture various things that are the will of IAUE (giving thanks for/in all things, rejoicing evermore, praying without ceasing, etc.), and have been choosing to do them as an act of their own will; rather than recognizing that this is what the Master Yahushua, whose spirit resides within us, wants to do within us. 

John 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

We must do as Paul told the Roman disciples.  We must consider what has been accomplished for us by the Master and conclude/reckon that we died in him.  We, therefore, are dead, and our life is now hidden with Messiah in Elohim.  It is Messiah who now lives within us.  Are we going to live out our lives resisting the life of Messiah within us?  Are we going to go to our graves having insisted upon our right to living as our soul desires?  Or are we going to lay down like a corn of wheat falling to the ground, and yield to the life of Yahushua?

Remember our story of Ben and Jack?  Jack died for Ben.  Ben now has the option of continuing to live for himself, or relegate his own life as having died in Jack, and living the rest of his life in the flesh as Jack would do.  That is where we are, today.  We are face with this choice.  Messiah Yahushua died for us.  If we enter into his death, his life will flow through us in power and majesty.  If we retain our hold on our bodies and fail to offer them as living sacrifices to our Master, then our Master will not have the freedom to use our bodies as he pleases.  He will forever be waiting for the opportunity to demonstrate what it could be like for the Kingdom of IAUE to be manifested in our bodies.

When Paul told the Romans in Chapter 12, that it was their reasonable service of worship to offer their bodies as living sacrifices; and to be transformed by the renewing of their minds; he was continuing the discussion that he began in Chapters 6-8. 

Messiah died for us. 

We died in Messiah. 

Messiah now lives in us. 

We cannot do the will of our Master if our soul is mindful of the flesh. 

We CAN do his will if we are mindful of the spirit.

Our soul life is the battleground; but the war has already been won by Messiah.

Our souls are transformed by the renewing of the mind.

Our minds are renewed by allowing the spirit of Yahushua full reign in our bodies.

As we experience the life of Messiah working in us/through us, our minds are renewed.

We demonstrate in our lives the good, perfect and acceptable will of IAUE.

What results from this process?  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, meekness, self-control, healing, deliverance, the power of IAUE and the Kingdom of IAUE freely manifested in our lives.

There is a favorite topic among some Christian circles.  Books have been written about it.  It is called “death to self.”  This is nothing more than a ploy of the enemy to keep the will of man strong and unyielded to the spirit of Yahushua.  Self cannot kill self.  Self can only discipline itself to appear demure and not in control; when all the while the very objective of “death to self” is to maintain the life of self while simultaneously appearing to be yielded to the Master.  All it really does is empower the will of man.

So, what is the answer?  The truth.  We died in Messiah.  The life now living within us is the spirit of Yahushua. 

Our current soul (mind, will, emotions) was formed and developed by the union of a spirit (one that was separated from the life and light of IAUE) entering into us in our mother’s womb; This spirit allowed us to learn to think and act like the world around us, conforming our soul to its own nature…the nature of the kind of life that is alienated from the life and light of IAUE. 

When we became new creatures in Messiah, that original alienated-from-IAUE spirit was removed from our body.   It is now hidden within Messiah and is seated at the right hand of IAUE. The spirit which originally gave life to our flesh ceased being the animating life of our bodies.  We died.  The spirit of Yahushua simultaneously entered our bodies and maintained the life of our body.  Now, the spirit of Yahushua wants to exercise that same right to rewrite our souls unto HIS likeness in our body.  The process for that happening is quite simple.  We reckon ourselves to be dead, which is a fact; and we reckon ourselves to be alive in the spirit of Yahushua.  As long as our souls abide in the spirit of Yahushua, the life of Yahushua will manifest in our body and our soul will be transformed into his likeness…the likeness of the righteousness of IAUE.

[Through the years this blog has been online, there have been readers from all across the globe:  USA, England, France, Russia, Malaysia, India, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Netherlands, China, etc.  I would love to hear from you and learn if you have found this blog to be helpful to your walk with the Master Yahushua.  Email me at: kaprion@gmail.com.  I should be able to translate your emails if you cannot write them in English.  Thank you.]

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Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance of the will of IAUE.

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THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE SOUL – XV

WBS.178

FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE SOUL – XV

Romans 8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against IAUE: for it is not subject to the law of IAUE, neither indeed can be.

8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please IAUE.

The moment Ben looked at his body as being alive, being

his own, then Ben could live for Ben, and not for Jack.

This excerpt from last week’s post refers to the story of Ben and Jack, brothers during the civil war in the USA.  Jack went to serve in the Union Army in Ben’s place and died on the battlefield.  Jack died in Ben’s name.  Ben was still alive, but legally, lawfully, he was dead.  He died in Jack. This is a real-life story that helps to illustrate what Paul told the Galatians.

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Messiah: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Messiah liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of IAUE, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Now, this story would be a perfect illustration if, when Ben learned of his brother’s death on his behalf and relied on it to be true in terms of its legal consequences to him, Ben’s spirit would literally have been replaced with Jack’s spirit; if the spirit that animated the physical body of Ben was now Jack’s spirit, and no longer Ben’s spirit.  If that had happened, then Ben could say that he died with Jack; and yet he was still alive; however, it was no longer Ben that was alive (it wasn’t Ben’s spirit that was animating his physical life), it was Jack living in him (the spirit of Jack was animating his physical life). This is exactly what happens in the life of one who bows his knee to Messiah as his master and King.  There is an exchange of spirits.

Now, re-read the title of this post:  The Transformation of the Soul.  Who do you think is talking when Paul says, “I am crucified with Messiah?” It is his soul.  His soul (mind, will, emotions) are still the force of Paul’s life that makes choices, exercises judgments, holds thoughts and imaginations, evaluates circumstances and is responsible for what he does in his body.  Paul’s constant choice, however, was to yield to the mind and counsel and wisdom of the spirit of Yahushua within Him.  Paul recognized that because Yahushua had died FOR HIM, then for all practical purposes, he died IN HIM.  There was no longer any legitimacy to his living out his life as he pleases.  Had he been the one to die…he would be dead.  There would be no more choice as to what would be done in his body.  His body would be a corpse.

The moment Ben looked at his body as being alive, being his own, then Ben could live for Ben, and not for Jack.

If after becoming a disciple of Messiah, experiencing this amazing exchange of spirits (becoming a new creature in Messiah) we look at our own bodies as something we still have as our own, as still belonging to us, we WILL live for ourselves…and occasionally, we WILL allow the spirit of Yahushua to have his way from time to time; but we WILL maintain the control valve that determines who has that permission, and when that permission will be granted use of our body.  Can you see?  It is not for us to make a choice other than to yield to our Master.  Any other choice and it is OUR will, not HIS will that we are doing…even if we are doing what we know to be His will; because WE are the one who has allowed for it to be done.  This is not the kind of discipleship taught in the Scriptures.

2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Messiah constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:

15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

1 Corinthians 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify IAUE in your body, and in your spirit, which are IAUE’s.

IAUE bought us.  He paid the price for us. He exchanged the life of His son for us. He bought us out of the slave market where we were in bondage to sin (enslaved unto disobedience to His will).  He now owns us. Specifically, he OWNS our body and our spirit.  He does NOT own our soul.  He wants us to GIVE that to Him as a deserved response to what He has already done for us.  IAUE has come as far as He can to restore us to Himself.  We still need to make that choice to give to Him that which He does not own.  We must give to Him our soul.

John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:20 that we are to glorify IAUE in our body and in our spirit for they belong to Him. He bought them. We do NOT have the freedom to use them as we please (as our soul pleases). Consider some property that your neighbor owns; their car, perhaps.  Can you, without your neighbor’s permission, walk into his house, take his keys and drive his car out of town for a weekend vacation?  If you do, you might find yourself in jail for committing theft.  Are we, therefore, to be thieves in the eyes of IAUE when it comes to our misappropriation of His property; and yet we give no consideration to our free use of the physical body which is no longer ours, but His.  We do not respect the legitimacy of His purchase…just like Ben, when he still thinks of his body as belonging to him and not to Jack (which was purchased by Jack at the expense of his blood on the battlefield), Ben will do in his body what his own soul desires; rather than yield his body to the will of the one who through death has purchased it.

How do we glorify IAUE?  Messiah says that bearing fruit is what brings glory to IAUE.  How do we bear fruit?  We bear fruit by abiding in Messiah…which is to say, by abiding in the spirit of Yahushua that is now the animating force of our physical life.  If we abide in the spirit of Yahushua rather than mind the things of the flesh, we will quite naturally produce the likeness of Yahushua in our souls.  This bears fruit.  This glorifies the Father; and as this verse declares, this is what makes us Yahushua’s disciples.

James tells us that faith without works is dead; because where true faith exists; corresponding actions will manifest the existence of that faith.  Mere belief without faith cannot be seen by others.  No one can tell that you have faith unless it can be seen.  True faith can only be demonstrated by action.  In the same way, discipleship can only be proven, can only be demonstrated by fruit; and fruit can be borne only by abiding in Yahushua whose spirit resides within us.  That brings us to our opening verses.

Romans 8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against IAUE: for it is not subject to the law of IAUE, neither indeed can be.

8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please IAUE.

In light of what we have discussed, today, can you see that the “mind” set on the flesh is a soul not given to IAUE?  It resists Him.  It refuses to regard the purchase paid for his body.  It refuses to honor what IAUE has done to purchase man out of the slave market.  The former slave still wants to wallow in his bondage, having disregard for the purchase price paid for his freedom.  No wonder it is enmity (hatred) against IAUE to be carnally minded.  The mind that is still contemplating pacifying the dictates of the flesh is absolutely contemptible in its flagrant disrespect for the blood of Yahushua.  Ben must have hated Jack to continue living for himself.

As we bear about in our bodies the dying of the Master Yahushua, HIS life will be manifest in our bodies…and our souls will be transformed by his light, and life and power at the same time.  Our souls will conform to the likeness of the Master’s righteousness and will glorify IAUE.

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Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance of the will of IAUE.

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THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE SOUL – XIV

WBS.177

FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE SOUL – XIV

2 Corinthians 4:10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Master Yahushua, that the life also of Yahushua might be made manifest in our body.

Today, I want to revisit two comments made in last week’s post and enlarge upon them.

We died in Messiah in order to release us from the “old man,” the sinful nature which is a part of our natural birth in the flesh; thus releasing us from bondage to sin.  We are freed through death to sin no more. The old man is dead and buried with Messiah.  Messiah rose from the dead, free from sin, free from death, free from Satan, free from the curse of the Law, free from every entanglement that makes man a slave to sin.

Roman 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is impaled with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Last week we illustrated how Messiah was impaled, not in his own name, but in our name.  He died for us, on our behalf; therefore we “reckon that if one died for all, then were all dead;” but what is this “old man” that was impaled with Messiah?  Paul says the Old Man was crucified for a purpose---that the body of sin might be destroyed.  If we are going to be freed from the body of sin, it would seem important for us to understand this transaction.

Man becomes a living soul when a physical body has a spirit breathed into it to animate the flesh.  The Scripture says that the “soul” that sins must surely die; but why do our souls sin?  Why do we choose to disobey the will of IAUE?  Why do scorpions sting, and opossums play dead?  Why do wolves hunt in packs, and bees protect their queen?  It is because that is their “nature.”  The spirit of man, being separated from the life and light of IAUE has a passive nature for it has essentially nothing to offer man of any benefit. The spirit imparted to man at birth cannot promote the soul to choose life, to choose obedience to Messiah, because such behavior is alien to it.  The Old Man leaves the soul of man to the dictates of the flesh to learn, to understand, to develop judgment and discernment, and to define what is good and evil.  The old man’s nature, thus, is sinful in that it leaves man to the dictates of the flesh which ONLY ALWAYS chooses to disobey the will of IAUE.  So the nature of man before coming to Messiah, is one of sin.  My father referred to the Old Man as that which gives man an Old Sin Nature (or OSN for short).  He was one of few people I knew in my earlier years who understood the truth that man born into Messiah no longer has an OSN, because he no longer has an Old Man animating the life of his physical body.  Man’s nature has changed.  The only problem is that our minds do not acknowledge or embrace that reality; and the soul (mind, will, emotions) of man that has always depended on the dictates of the flesh, still does, even after we come to Messiah.

Our physical body and our soul were unaffected directly by the impaling of Yahushua Messiah; but our spirit, which was ever separated from the life and light of IAUE was affected by Messiah’s death.  It was removed.  It was replaced with the spirit of Yahushua.  Our OSN is gone.  We now have a new nature, and that nature is the nature of Messiah, himself.  Our problem is our training.  Our minds have already-established patterns of behavior, patterns of thinking, concepts in which we trust to be true and consistent.  With a new nature emanating within us from the spirit of Yahushua, it is experienced in our minds as an alien surge of thought and behavior and we must learn to trust it.  We are basically faced with needing to break habits. We must come to break with the “comfort” of reliance upon the flesh to the new nature of the spirit that now dwells within us.  When you hear disciples say, “Oh, it must have been my old sin nature acting up,” they are speaking out of ignorance.  They no longer have an OSN.  What they have is habitual behavior over which they failed to exercise dominion.

Think of it like this.  Had we, at our birth, been born with the spirit of Yahushua as our animating life force, our lives would have developed as Yahushua’s life did in Nazareth.  We would have grown in the wisdom and knowledge of IAUE, and would have learned to speak the words of IAUE and do the works of IAUE. We would have understood faith and how to move and act within its ability just like Yahushua did. We would have grown up with implicit trust and reliance in the Scriptures. Well, Messiah’s spirit is NOW the animating life force of our bodies.  If you ever wished you could have lived as Messiah did, now is your chance. When 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that if any man be in Messiah, he is a new creature, this is what Paul was saying.  Messiah in us IS the New Man. Trust his spirit within you.  Allow his nature to retrain your mind unto perfect obedience to the will of his Father. Allow Messiah to retrain your mind and transform your soul in every possible way.   The apostle told the Ephesians (Ephesians 4:24) and the Colossians (Colossians 3:10) to “put on” the New Man.  Adorn yourself with it.  Put it on like apparel.  Don’t leave it in your wardrobe.  Wear it!

We SHALL be resurrected unto the same manner of man as Yahushua is now; but until then, our being reckoned dead in Messiah is what releases the treasure of HIS resurrected spirit within us.

2 Corinthians 4:10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Master Yahushua, that the life also of Yahushua might be made manifest in our body.

 

Paul said he bore in his body the dying of Messiah IN ORDER THAT the life of the Master might be made evident to the five physical senses in his body.  In terms of our prior studies, this is the ultimate bridge to release the light and life of IAUE in our life.

Note that Paul says he bore about in his “body” the dying of the Master Yahushua.  He did not bear it in his soul or his spirit.  The part of his being that needed the constant imposition of the death of the Master was his body.  This would be expressed in terms of our story in last week’s post about Ben and Jack that Ben would have always looked at his physical body as having died in Jack.  When he looked at his physical body, he perceived it as a corpse lying cold on the ground on some civil war battlefield.  The fact that it is still animated only means Ben must grant that its existence be used to express the life of Jack, who died in his stead. The moment Ben looked at his body as being alive, being his own, then Ben could live for Ben, and not for Jack.

Paul calls it, in Romans 12:1, a “living sacrifice.”  He is dead to it; yet the body is alive, so it now belongs to Messiah.  With the spirit of Yahushua now the animating life force of the body, this makes sense to allow the spirit of Yahushua to call the shots, make the decisions how the body is to be used…what words it shall speak, what deeds it shall do, what attitudes it shall express, what compassion it shall show to others, what works of the devil it shall destroy, what miracles it shall perform, etc.

This verse is expressed in different ways in the Scripture.  Here Paul calls it “always bearing about in the body the dying of the Master Yahushua.”  To the Romans Paul says:

Romans 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto Elohim through Yahushua Messiah our Master.

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

Can you see the parallel construction?  “Reckon” means to consider the evidence and draw a legal conclusion…a judgment.  We are dead to sin.  How?  In the body of Messiah.  We died in him to be liberated from sin.

The Master himself says it like this:

John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

We have been grafted into the vine which is Messiah.  It is his life flowing through us, now; his nature is dictating the growth of the fruit in our lives.  We MUST, however, abide in him, draw from his nature, his life; otherwise the nature of the flesh is what will determine what kind of “fruit” is borne in our lives.  If we do not abide in the spirit of Yahushua Messiah, then the whole purpose of the graft will have failed; and we do NOT want that to happen.

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Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance of the will of IAUE.

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