Spirituality is one of the most obscure, esoteric subjects that we, as human beings, must learn to understand. This difficulty stems from the fact that Christians literaly exist in two realms, and these spheres are exclusive...and to make matters worse, they are antithetical. These are the physical and the spiritual. Before we are "born again" and recieve a human spirit, which establishes the link to God, we are "carnal" creatures, dichotomous....meaning "Divided or dividing into two sharply distinguished parts or classifications". These are the body and soul. But after salvation we become trichotomous, or having three distinct parts. A spirit is added to the mix. I'll get to what significance this metamophosis has in a moment, but first an analogy. There are many possible parallels to what I'm going to explain, but let's use a simple one....a bumpkin from the sticks moves to New York City, the most cosmopolitan city in the world. Right away you can see a problem, no? Our wayward country boy is completely befuddled by the sharp contrasts in the two environments...one simple and uncomplicated, and the other extremely complex. It's not that he can't learn to master life in the city, but initially he faces a considerable challenge. Let's expand on this analogy a bit; The rules for living in New York City are all different than living in the country, so a bumpkin has to re-learn almost every aspect of life. Take transportation, for example. On the farm he probably walked a good distance every day, out to the fields to help his Dad, over to a neighbor's farm, and if he had a distance to go and his folks were gone, he would thumb a ride from a passing neighbor along the road. In the city the primary mode of transportation is the hack, or taxicab. They're easy enough to recognize, bright yellow with a small marquee on top, but until someone explains the ground rules to Junior he doesn't have a clue how to get from place to place. Why? Because the methods he used on the farm aren't effective in the city. However, just a simple 5 minute conversation can solve his problem. Before long he'll be waving down a cab, competeing on the curb with other fares, just like a veteran New Yorker. There's also the problem of terrain. On the farm Junior can see his nearest neigbors, and the distance between them in open and uncluttered, but in New York he can only see as far as the sky scraper across the street, and even if he could see farther, he wouldn't be familiar with the location of whatever destination he has in mind. Here again, learning where things are take time, but he can also master this difficulty. He will begin familiarizing himself with his immediate vicinity, wherever he rents a flat, and then begin to expand his horizons. First he will learn how to get to a grocery store, then the bank, a cafe, perhaps a bar...and as time passes his knowledge of his surroundings grows until he knows how to get to every necessary location involved in his daily routine. The spiritual life is an exact parallel to our analogy in some ways, but there are dimensions that can't be depicted in our analogy. For example, as Christians we subsist in two contrasting environments simulntaneously. This presents some unique problems, particularly when we are "baby" Christians, because we not only have a new way of life added to the old, but the two are in contrast, the old carnal life of the unbeliever, and the new spiritual life of the believer. Compatible with the analogy, the rules for our dual lives, or spheres of existence, are completely different. The basis for our carnal life, those tenets we have mastered as an unbeliever, must be gradually set aside and replaced by an entirely new set of values and modus operandi, or methodology, the way we handle every mundane aspect of our lives. Let's focus on one specific set of circumstances and examine how we deal with them in the one environment, then in the other, in way of establishing an example of contrast. An unbeliever loses a loved one. Their grief is inconsolable, for in their mind their beloved is lost to them forever. There may be fallacious beliefs in play, such as reincarnation, which defray some of the sorrow, but for most people there is no hope. The fall out from prolonged grief has many possible consequences, the least of which is a perpetual state of melancholy. However, the effects can be far worse; bitterness, anger, self pity, any number of abnormal mental distortions that can lead to psychosis, or otherwise have a permanent negative impact on one's life. The believer, on the other hand, experiences a period of legitimate grief, sheds some tears, which is perfectly normal and acceptable, but their sorrow is short lived and centered primarily upon the fact that their loved one is no longer here as their companion, their friend, or whatever relationship is involved. Provided that the loved one was a believer themselves, however, we are comforted to know that they are face to face with our Lord, in God's Kingdom, and we will join them when we depart this life. As for the unfortunate liklihood that the lost one was an unbeliever....well, there are many nuances that we could talk about, but for the sake of clarification I'll stick to the most favorable outcome....which serves the purpose of our comparison. Let's look at a second example; A man loses his job in his 50's. Although he is eminantly qualified in his field, he finds that the corporate environment in our society today isn't interested in hiring a middle aged man. There's the issue of health insurance, and the probablility that Joe Blow is more likely to contract a serious illness than a young man, which runs up the cost of the policy for everyone. Then there's longevity. Behind Joe there are 30 young, energetic applicants for the same job, and they can be hired for a fraction of the money an old veteran like Joe would command. Joe will be retiring in a relatively short time, but they can expect a young man to stay on the job 20 or 30 years. The possible obstacles to finding another suitable job are myriad, the point being that an unbeliever is severly effected by this tragic turn of events. His life is thrown into a tail spin, and the horrendous consequences that may befall him will have a drastic effect on his mental and physical state. He may lose his home, have his car reposessed, be unable to help his kids with their college education, lose his comfortable lifestyle, and the exigencies that arise from such a calmitous situation may even cause enough consternation on the part of his wife that his marriage could be destroyed. He may resort to booze, drugs, or worse, suicide. But even if he manages to deal with the problem, perhaps find a lesser job, his life isn't going to be such that he is happy and contented. He will be nagged by fears that he could lose his new job too, what will become of him when he can't work anymore, and so on and so on. There will be a residue of bitterness, the most destructive of all sins. He may embark on a vendetta to settle an old score....in short, such a huge problem is going to be extremely hard to handle, and it is very rare than an unbeliever has the resources to maintain a happy life. But the Christian has a source of comfort and strength that exceeds human capability. If he is living within the enviornment of the spiritual life that God has provided us he will rise above, and even benefit from his hardships. Let me emphasize if he is living within the spiritual environment, for this is a critical issue that we will examine soon. But we need to have a more in depth explanation of the mechanics of spirituality, as it pertains to our last example, to satisfy the needs of the believer, and this is true of every minute aspect of our lives. We must not only have the faith to meet and overcome difficulties, but we must accomplish this with an arsenal of doctrines from the Bible, "The Mind of Christ", which comprises a formidable body of knowledge in our souls that establish the mechanics for living successfully in this world. Let me rephrase that....we can only accomplish the faith we need to deal with life by means of Divine knowledge. Without an intimate knowledge of God's Word our faith is hollow and without power. But I get ahead of myself. What rationales will the Christian Joe Blow bring to bear in his employment crisis? There are many promises and factors involving God's essence that will come to his rescue. Our heavenly Father is responsible to sustain us on this earth, and no disaster is great enough to prevent his grace from blessing us. There is also an entire set of doctrines that teaches us why we are allowed to suffer, apart from discipline, in order to develop capacity, enhance our trust in God, and give Him the opportunity to deliver us in the worst possible circumstances. Moses at on the shore of the Red Sea comes to mind as an excellent Biblical emample. These examples serve to illustrate the reality of our dual existence and should, therefore, motivate us all to seek out God's formula for living the Christian life. That life, as intended by God, is lived in the spiritual environment. But such is not so simple a matter to bring into effect. We don't just "pop" into the spiritual life one day, on the heels of salvation, and start executing the spiritual life without a hitch. Far from it. Remember, we are still in a body of corruption, still subject to the vulnerabilities that are inherent to all men. The carnal life, and all it's attendant norms and standards, still have complete control of our thoughts through our bodies and the temptations of this world. It will take time, a lot of time, to replace those worldly values, and as this tranformation progresses, we are able to remain in the spiritual environment for longer periods of time, which brings us more concentrated blessing and happiness from God. Let me draw the reader's attention to a very important factor in the contrasting environments we live in...that of thoughts vs. body and world. The spiritual environment exists in our thoughts exclusively! The soul, which is the staging area for our thoughts, is the battlegound where our lives on this earth is fought. As Christians, we have a mission here, which is the reason why we aren't translated, or taken up, into heaven at the instant we are saved. The one truth we can rejoice in is that when we believe in Christ the issue of eternal life is settled. In that one second, less than a second, we are born spiritually and God imputes to us the two essential factors that we need to abide with him in heaven forever...His reighteousness and His eternal life. To reside in heaven we must be as good as God is good, and have his endless life. Both of these qualities are far beyond our reach, so God gives them to us when we are saved. So here we are, residents in abstentia of God's heavenly kingdom. Obviously, if God leaves us here after we become His children, He has a good reason. That reason is the battle between good and evil, and in the simplest terms, this is the purpose for which we were created, to become a living testemony to the love and righteousness of The Most High. Of course, the evil that we battle in the strategy of God's arch rival, the angel Lucifer, Son of the Morning, the most beautiful and powerful creature (until Jesus Christ came on the scene) that He ever created. For more details on the titan struggle between God and Satan read the section on The Angelic Conflict. Many of the fundamental principles which govern our lives as Christians, and our destinies beyond this life, are intertwining. To fully understand how we acclimate to our new environment, and gradually wean ourselves from the influences of this world (and our bodies) we must learn about the system God has provided for our conversion. The objective is for us to master life by spiritual agency rather than carnal. For those who accomplish this coveted attainment God has laid aside what Paul calls "crowns", which represent magnificent blessings, beyond our wildest dreams, in heaven. That is, in addition to the "standard issue" resurrection body and eternal life. There will be "losers" and "winners" in the eternal state! Please note! No human being can lose their salvation! As stated, that issue is settled, sealed tight, decided forever, at the moment of salvation. No matter how a person fails in this life they are going to spend eternity with God. I hear Jeffry Dahmer accepted Christ before he died. If that's true, he'll be in heaven right beside your Baptist Minister and the sweet little old lady down the street! If Adolf Hitler had believed, which he didn't (he was demon possessed), he would have gone to heaven. God wills that none should perish, and Jesus Christ is "the only name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved". OK, after a brief detour, back to the subject at hand. The determining factor which "sets the bar" for higher blessings in eternity is how long we log in the spiritual life as opposed to the carnal life. That, friends, is our choice. It is within our power, the working of our volition, to decide where we spend our lives. The actual power that can tansport us into that rarified life, and keep us there, is God the Holy Spirit. See the Filling of The Holy Spirit for more details. Don't misunderstand! We can't come close to overcoming the deficencies that we, as human beings, are born with apart from God's provision of a "mentor", a Person of the Godhead whose responsibility it is to give us the power we lack. One of the important aspects of the incarnation was that Jesus Christ act as a prototype (First Fruits) for we who would follow. He was the first man to be filled with the Holy Spirit (see The Hypostatic Union) and served as an example for us to follow. The doctrine of Kenosis explains why The Spirit, and not the power of God the Son, was instrumental in the miracles Christ performed, and why. There are two elements involved in spiritual living; The power, and the knowledge. The power is The Spirit, and the knowledge is God's Word, which leaves yet one more important installment in the mechanics of spirituality, and that is the means by which we aquire the knowledge. This involves a third party; you, The Spirit, and a prepared pastor-teacher who studies and teaches every day. Read the I.C.E. section for more details. This, then, is a brief summary of spirituality and the victorious spiritual life. Keep in mind that the world we live in is Satan's kingdom, the antithesis of God's eternal kingdom, and as you grow in the knowledge of God's Word you must be prepared to abandon long held beliefs which come into conflict with worldly values and experiences. Doctrine is always the right path, but training youorself to turn aside and follow it, instead of the sirens of the world and the flesh, is a lifetime pursuit. [ HOME ]