2Corinthians 5:17-18 (Amplified) says, "Therefore, if any person is (ingrafted) in Christ Jesus (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old (previous moral and spiritual condition) has passed. Behold! All things are made new. But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ has reconciled us to Himself (received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself) and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation (that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him)."
Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified) says, "Therefore, (there is) now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live (and) walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. For the Law of the Spirit of Life (which is) in Christ Jesus (the Law of our new being) has freed me from the Law of Sin and of death."
Galatians 6:8 (Amplified) says, "For he who sows to his own flesh (lower nature, sensuality) will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life."
In the last two scriptures, Paul speaks about the case of persons who are born-again by the Spirit of God, while still being taught and raised by the natural man. The Holy Spirit will teach and lead us into maturity in Christ Jesus. By His Own Presence within us, the Holy Spirit will bring us into a place of knowing and understanding who we are as a new creation. The natural, carnal minded man has been taught by the world's idea of this new creation and will return us to bondage of guilt and shame. It will keep us trying to perform as mankind always has and keep us trying to perfect ourselves by religion. One is the dictates of the Spirit and the other is the dictates of the flesh.
God never intended to separate the natural man from the spiritual man, but He intended to combine the two into a being who would be equipped to help and do by the natural man, what the new creation man was born to do. As natural men, we're limited to what we can do to help and by our flesh. The new creation man is unlimited in his ability, through the Spirit of God Who lives within him/her.
This is what Paul was teaching and what Jesus taught too. The Father placed us into a unique position, where we need to learn how to do His will by His Presence. We have His Spirit living in us and we have His Love and compassion for those who are sick, dying and in need. The new creation has the Holy Spirit in us, to heal and restore the natural man. We've learned how to walk in the flesh to some degree, while not walking in the sins of the flesh. But, we've neglected to learn how to walk in the Spirit, by the new creation man within us.
The world's idea of being a Christian is not walking in what we've come to know as sin. We've spent much time disciplining the flesh, but haven't spent much time developing the spirit. We have compassion for the poor, sick, helpless and the hurting of the world and we've given much time in natural things (donating time and money) to help these things. We've been faithful to give to charities and other matters of the natural man (which is the right thing to do), but we need to understand the new creation man within us and go beyond just helping the natural man by the natural man. Jesus went beyond just feeding and seeing the natural man, by His Father Who was within Him. Jesus didn't stop at donating money to the blind man and went the Spirit within Himself to restore sight to that man. This is what the natural people around Jesus, saw that changed them. Anyone could give the blind beggar money, but not everyone could restore his sight.
There is more to "not defiling the Temple of the Holy Spirit," than not cussing or drinking. We can actually defile this temple (this flesh and blood body that the Holy Spirit lives in), by denying God access to our new spirit man. By our flesh, we've stood in proud opposition against the things of God, because of teachings of our foster parent (the world). Accusing God of things we've accused Him of, is defilement. Even though we've done this in ignorance, it's still defilement by the flesh, according to Galatians 3:3 (Amplified) where Paul asks, "Are you so foolish and so senseless and so silly? Having begun (your new life spiritually) with the Holy Spirit, are you now reaching perfection (by dependence) on the flesh?"
Arriving to the place where we can understand who and what we are now in the Father, is the greatest challenge for the new creation people. In Mark 16:18 (Amplified) Jesus commented to the people, concerning the things they were to do under the Law, saying, "Even the Gentiles do these things." We don't need to be born-again, in order to see the needs in people's lives. Even the unsaved can see and do something about them. Charities and organizations have been established by the world, to help those in need. The unsaved person cannot though, lay hands on the sick and have them recover. Only the new creation can do this.
Through Christ Jesus, our obligation to the world doesn't only involve the natural, but involves the Spiritual. God has combined the natural man with the spiritual man, making it one unit called the Church. Our love goes beyond sympathy, into deliverance. We don't have to just feel sorry for the sick, but we can make them well again, by the Holy Spirit within us. We simultaneously walk in two different realms now, just like Jesus, Paul, Peter, John and many others in the early Church did. It was the Super-natural power of the Holy Spirit Who drew the world to the Gospel and not large charities, rituals and traditions. It was the Living Spirit of God encased in the natural man and moving by His grace, that drew the people. The world has already heard religion and lacks seeing the Super-natural Presence of God among them.
There were men who went ahead and demonstrated the Super-natural power of God, before the world told them "we cannot do these things." Without the Super-natural Presence of God moving through the Church, we're mostly just debating the things we believe, instead of revealing what the Father says. Don't allow the world to tell you what it thinks about the new creation. Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to you, what you've become. Some might disagree with this (like many have for centuries), but those before went on into the things God had for them and we should too.
Before Paul preached the revelation he received to the Gentiles, the Jews believed that they only, had access to God. The things we read in the Epistles, wasn't only foolish to the Jews, but was considered heresy to the natural man and his carnal mind. It's not so different today. Speaking about the Super-natural things of God (even in the Church) is much like it was in Jesus' day, where He spoke to old covenant people. We can either change what we preach, in order to satisfy the carnal minded or we can preach the glory of God in the new creation family. God hasn't turned healing over to the physicians, but we've chosen the doctors over healing. Both can and have healed the sick in some form or another, but most all the glory has gone to man and medicine. Even in Jesus' time, there were doctors, but none could cleanse the leper except for the Spirit of God.
I'm not saying that we shouldn't visit the doctor or be foolish and die, because of pride. What I am saying is, we must allow the Holy Spirit to be the Teacher of the Church and to the world. Don't give up on God, because someone else did. The Word says, "Seek and you shall find, ask and it will be given you, knock and the door will still be opened" to you. Only those who are seeking, will ever find the True Answer, on this side of Heaven. When we arrive Home, everything will be alright for all of us. On this side of Heaven, though, we're called to reveal God as He truly is and not how the world perceives Him to be.
Combining the Spirit and the flesh, is how God will show Himself to the world. Jesus said, "It's not Me, but the Father in Me that does the work." If you're born-again, then Same Father is living in you and He hasn't changed one iota. He needs a people who will believe in Him enough, that He will be manifested to the world through us. The heroes of the New Testament like Paul and Peter, had a difficult time with those who didn't believe too. It's no different today in the world, than it was for them...but it still worked. Some in that time, believed that Paul and others were "strange and foolish," but they continued on in their world and because of that, we have become God's children.
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