THE CONSUMMATE MAN IN CHRIST

03/29/2023

”Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

Man--and by man, I mean the human person--is part spirit, part soul and part body. When he gets born again, his spirit is immediately joined to the Lord so that you cannot tell his spirit apart from God's Spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:17 says, "

But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him." His capabilities in the spirit realm are the very capabilities of the Almighty. This is the glory of God that He was so willing to share with us (see John 17:22). 

The soul of the renewed man, on the other hand, also merges with God but then, because of the educational and information systems to which he is exposed, his soul can rarely reach full strength without the right course of action. Understand that the soul is the part of you that encapsulates the mind, intellect and emotions but it is almost always referred to as the mind. 1 Corinthians 2:16 says, "For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ." 

It was the possibility of corrupting this mind of Christ that made Paul admonish, "And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you]" (Romans 12: 2 Amplified). Think about it for a second, if you have the mind of Christ, what is it that can actually defy you that wasn't created by that mind? Your responsibility now is to manage that mind and how you do this is by keeping the wrong stuff out and grounding your mind in the implanted word of God. James 1:21 says to the saints, "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls." 

Lastly, your body is one with the Lord's body. Ephesians 5:30 says, "For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones." Your eyes are His eyes. Your head is His head. Your bones are His bones. If this is what it is, then how then can you entertain sickness or any kind of defeat in the Lord's body? The responsibility placed on you is to "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." (Romans 12:1) 

Now your spirit, soul and body are connected. You already have mastery in your spirit because you are one with the Lord in your spirit,  and with this mastery, you can master your soul through the word and then, following the mastery of your soul, you can also dominate your body absolutely in righteousness and holiness. 

Understand that your spirit, soul and body are all important to the manifestation of God through you to the world. The attainment of the consummate man, that one that is the expression of God, through and through, should be the quest of your earthly sojourn.

Have a blessed day

Faith-Filled Confession 

My spirit, soul and body are one with the Lord. I take advantage of my divine responsibilities to these three aspects of my stewardship to the Lord and I arrive a my place of the consummate man in Christ. Glory!

ONE YEAR READING PLAN: Joshua 21-22; Luke 6:1-26