I have lately been thinking a lot about the conscious mind. Just think, when Adam was in the garden he did not necessarily need a self conscious awareness of himself as to judgement or status. He was with God. He was truly free, no quilt, shame or conflicts, just perfect harmonious happiness, one with God. I think it is in the deep regions of the sub-conscious where the spokesperson of the spirit resides, in a all important underlying self awareness of our own new creation our oneness with The Father, to be precise. Perhaps we could call it that quiet voice that speaks the truth from the promptings of the spirit, if we care to listen. It cannot be our mind only that contains the contact with the spirit, in a self conscious manner, if that were true then all we would need is more and more knowledge to grow in the Spirit of Christ. While the mind has been renewed in the new birth in order to be able to change our thoughts and perceptions of the personality or the soul, it is still encased in the natural old man, not made entirely new like the spirit, and so still subject to the whims of the natural man. But God can and does hear, and speak through us and lives in us in Spirit and we are one with Him; thus we are in effect His natural instrument the expression of Himself. "So now we serve not under [obedience to] the old code [law self-conscious effort] of written regulations, but under [obedience to the promptings] the Spirit in newness of life" Rom.7:6. So why is it we may have a voice within and it is God's, and He is only good, yet we still often choose to ignore it? I believe this fact has given us the world we have. After we left the garden we were on our own, to develop a world system and of course we used our mind. Our oneness with God, defined as life in spirit was lost to death in the departure from the garden bliss, we had a spirit it was just dead. In other words we no longer could be aware of it and our oneness with God..... Later the spirit in newness of life could be found if sought in the new births spiritual infusion of God and also with the minds renewal as to its new possibilities. We could effect the world around us as the Body of Christ: but since God made us as volitional creatures for the purpose that we might chose Him of ourselves [respond to grace] we retained by God's will Adams worldly conscious capability's or the natural mans nature, even with the renewed possibilities. Which are contained in the mind. If we were to be honest with ourselves this really makes us vulnerable to all manner of things; our own foolish misjudgements on God's intentions for us as well as allowing others to control us and the the influence of the world and Satan. In other words the new spirit made alive by God has a voice but it is suppressed by our own natural presence. The Question is: How do we get it back?
I know my friends I am taking a journey somewhat into the philosophical even mystical realm here. But really how could it be denied that this union we have with a immaterial God, which is in spirit, is not mystical or mysterious: by this I mean: not understandable by reason only. And if philosophical is termed as a search for meaning of life, then we are engaged there also. I tried to impose upon my reason many facts and a common sense application of the Word of God in a studious discipline to gain more of Him as life, but still felt incomplete. It seems the application of doctrines and biblical facts were not enough to enter in to this mysterious place called Spirit. Nor did experiences sought by fellowship and thinking of a job well done in Church duty's. What was I to do with a bible that tells me: "That God made us alive together with Christ Jesus. and raised us up together with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly in Christ Jesus" Eph. 2:5-6? Could this possibly be true?
The search here is how do we translate and process the voice of God from His Word and also the voice that lives inside of us as spirit? Let me see; a message is given by His Spirit to our flawed mind/soul and then we are to honor the hearing of it by completing His Son as His Body on this earth. Can we make that happen by a self-conscious effort? I don't know about you but I am having trouble with that! If it was merely works and duty or even gained knowledge that accomplished the spiritual journey it would be quite easy would it not? To be very honest with you my friends if I think at all in depth about these mysterious promises; a presence with Christ in heaven which takes place within me here and now, a Spirit occupying my body and my becoming one with it, not to mention the concept of a everlasting life. I simply must throw up my hands and say with the world....how can this be? Oh we can quote scriptures like; "you must regard yourself as dead in relation to sin, but alive in relation to God, because you are in Christ Jesus" Rom 6:11. But we still are left with the dilemma of dealing with the mental concepts, and that is the only source for understanding available to us. If one did not have questions regarding these strange things I would like to take their pulse!
I was having fellowship with a Christian friend the other night and we were talking of some of these very difficult things that we grapple with and he said: : "Both the worldly perspective i.e. evolution, and the biblical story, when seeking to understand them mentally as concepts, seem like fairy tails, and I agreed. But then he said, I choose the bible version because it offers hope." There you have it my friends! Then we went on to describe the changes that took place in our lives and attitude even our behavior, by a power outside of ourselves, as we would never in and of ourselves have chosen this Christian life. There is, I think the best evidence of the reality of spirit. A wise man said: " it is not by stringent cutting off of exterior things, nor by seeking mental apprehension of death with Christ [or life] in the self-conscious mind, but by simple reckoning [counting it true] His death as ours [and his life in us] ---shall you experience in the inner depths of your life as a servant of God, the divine spiritual reality that Christ in you is in truth your very life." In other words only faith will carry the day.
I don't know about you my brothers and sisters, but I sure do not see any good reason to bother with this life, face all the ups and downs, knowing that a good day will just as likely be followed by a bad one. And then sit around watching my body grow old and sick, knowing the likelihood misery will be my lot and that I will probably die alone in some old folks home, all without hope. So I take on the view by faith that the Word of God is real and true and that it is proven by faith only! Nothing else will satisfy either us or The Father. I wait upon the Spirit to speak and hope to hear. I trust no mater my actions and sins or the actions of others that God will make His will be done in my life and theirs. That it is only by His Spirit in consort with my spirit, that I am anything of value to Him. And that it will be accomplished by The Spirit that I will become the image of His Son. That the only way that this or anything of the Christian life will be made good is by His Spirit, in spirit. The key for me to be in contact with this my faith reality in this life, or trust in the next, is to rest in this thought as true truth! So please come with me my blog buddies who are still on board this hope train, put up you feet and relax, put down that never ending study of scripture attempting to make information the backstop for you faith. Stop seeking to expand your mind just for a moment. Open you heart to the mystery of spirit and enter the joy by faith of the answer to the mystery. By this, I believe, we will take better conscious control of our happy destiny.
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