physical_spiritual

There is a reason why every single person on planet earth needs to get saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. It is God's will and intent that every human being on earth would be saved and would speak in tongues. God wants everybody to be baptized in His Holy Spirit. I want to explain why this is, at the outset, so that you have an understanding as to:

1 Corinthians 2:9-15 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" -- but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment.

Genesis 3:6-10 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

When I was unsaved and in college, someone who was witnessing to me gave me a bible to read, so I started reading it. When I came to the passage we just read in Genesis 3, I stormed over to the room of this guy and angrily slammed his bible down on the floor in front of him.

Obviously they wanted to know what I was talking about, so I repeated to them the passage we just read in Genesis 3, and then I asked this guy a question. If Adam and Eve were created by God and placed in the Garden of Eden on this earth by God, how is it that they were running around naked and yet they didn't even know it? I mean, didn't they ever look?! The idea was stupid to me.

Seeing that I was on a role, I proceeded to my second question. If God is omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful) and omnipresent (all-over-the-place-at-once), then how is it He can't find the only two people He ever made? There they are, hiding behind shrubs and bushes, and He can't even find them. Am I supposed to serve a God like that?

Remember what we discussed yesterday in Spiritual Body - Corporate Structure, regarding the western mindset philosophy and reasoning model? It is based on Aristotle's philosophy of believing only what you can see, smell, taste, touch and hear. If I can't perceive or understand something via those inputs, then it can't be real. "Prove it to me," is the motto of this age, and that philosophy eventually found its way into the church. That's why we have so many dead, dry churches and why the church has so little impact on our culture. "God heals," or "God delivers," or "God performs miracles," is no longer voiced in our philosophical churches. In America and Western Europe especially, if an idea or concept, however scripturally sound it may be, can not be understood with one's natural mind, then forget it; it will be ignored.

Well hear this -- God delights in blowing your mind. Jesus came so that when His true church gathers together, when Christians congregate to worship and celebrate their Savior, they would be seen as being God's people by two important characteristics:

But there is a problem -- a big problem, and we just read it in 1 Corinthians 2. The sticking point is that unspiritual people in the church, those with a western philosophical mindset, have no real understanding (nor are they capable of understanding) of spiritual things uttered by spiritual people. In fact, they will persecute their church brethren because of these differences that they are incapable of comprehending.

A spiritual man has an understanding of the two worlds that coexist all around us all the time, just as God has created them. The bible teaches us this from cover to cover. One of these two worlds is the most obvious -- the physical world which God created out of nothing:

The second of these two worlds, the "real world," is the spiritual world. In it, God resides, but is presently invisible to us. It certainly exists, however, and when you die, you will certainly see Him -- Jesus! I say this is a "real world" because we will spend the bulk of our time in it -- eternity!

These are the two worlds that God made. The spiritual person is the one who sees and understands (with varied limitations and successes) the very real but invisible spiritual world coexisting with the visible natural world. The bible itself applies the label "spiritual man" to this one who discerns and understands not only with his physical senses, but also via the Word of God (Logos) and by what God speaks to him by the Holy Spirit (Rhema).

God communicates things to Jesus. Jesus, for His part, has always listened to His Father and obediently carried/carries out His commands (John 7:16; 8:26; 10:18; 12:49; 14:10; 14:31). Also, Jesus is constantly in God's presence interceding for the believers (Hebrews 7:25), so there is constant interchange between God the Father and Jesus the Son. That's communion! That's relationship! Next, Jesus turns to the Holy Spirit to pass along what He has just received from God the Father (John 16:13-14). Finally, the Holy Spirit completes this information exchange by communicating the Will of God to the praying believer (John 14:26; 16:13-14, Romans 8:26-27, Isaiah 30:21).

So again, 1 Corinthians chapter 2 is saying that the child of God can hear from God because God has passed His Word along through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the communicating agent to the Kingdom of God on earth. I repeat -- the Holy Spirit is the means by which God communicates to His people on earth. That's why Jesus said, in John 14, that it was good He was going away, because then the Spirit would come to us. God communicates by His Spirit, so if you are going to hear the present, real-time Word of God (Rhema), you need the Spirit of God. Conversely, if all you possess are your natural, unspiritual senses, you can read the written Word (Logos) of God all day long, but you can not hear what the Spirit whispers to you (Isaiah 30:21); you are unspiritual.

Remember Adam and Eve? When God created them, they were originally equipped with the Spirit of God built right in. This is pivotal and is directly related to the gospel account of Jesus' transfiguration (Matthew 17 and Mark 9). When Jesus, in these accounts, is on the mount of transfiguration, He starts to "glow". Peter, James and John, who have accompanied Jesus, immediately freak out! The "glow" that Jesus had on that mountain was the supernatural presence and power of the Holy Spirit of God in His then natural flesh-and-blood life. The "glow" Jesus exhibited on that mountain top was the same "glow" Adam and Eve had in the Garden of Eden because they were originally created with the supernatural power and anointing and filling of the same Holy Spirit! They came with everything included -- no batteries required; they were completely self-contained, including their freewill.

It is this "glow" that prevented them, prior to Genesis chapter 3, from noticing their nakedness. They couldn't tell so it didn't matter. They were sinless prior to Genesis chapter 3, so God's Spirit was in them and on them and causing them to "glow". Since they had never know anything other than this "glow", it seemed O.K. to them. Being completely sinless in actuality, they had the "Spirit without measure," (John 3:34), much like Jesus did. Adam and Eve, prior to Genesis chapter 3, were in a totally spiritual mode of operation -- which is just what God wants for us right now! Adam and Eve were totally in the Spirit; they didn't know how not to walk in the Spirit!

"Do not take your Holy Spirit from me," said David in this passage. When Adam and Eve sinned, the Spirit of God left, the "glow" vanished, and they realized for the first time they were naked. Somehow they knew what "nakedness" was, how it felt, and it caused them to instantly feel shame. They felt uncovered, vulnerable and afraid.

They were afraid of what God would do, what He might say, and how He would react. Let me ask you this question. When does a relationship become vulnerable to failure, and when do those involved in the relationship fear for its success? The failure begins because there is poor communication.

Prior to their sin, Adam and Eve did not fear God -- what He would do or say or how He felt about them. In fact, they walked and talked with Him every day. He was their creator, yes, but He was their friend as well. God loved that! That communion is why He created man in the first place! Think of the distorted concept of God so many people have today, imagining that He is just waiting for them to make a mistake so He can pounce.

People fear God and fumble around trying to make up or cover up because they have lost their line of communication and they are trying to perceive Him through their natural senses rather than listen to Him directly, via the Holy Spirit. From Genesis 3 onward, we see the reality of countless lives living in fear of Him. As a result of sin, the Spirit has largely vacated, severing the lines of communication by which God could talk to man and tell him what is on His God-heart.

But God, who loved and cherished His intimacy with Adam and Eve, who loves all relationships with His children, who desires to be intimate with you right now, says, "I've got to do something about this." That is why, from Genesis 3 to the present day, God is working on two things towards this end. First, He sends Jesus to earth to eliminate the "separating issue" in our lives, which is sin. He wants the sin out of the way so He can actually spend time with you. Secondly, God's plan also encompassed our being once again filled with His Holy Spirit, jut like Adam and Eve, and just like Jesus, to reestablish the lines of communication once more.

When you experience a church today that is philosophy-based, you may notice that they effectively shove the Word into your mouth and head. You are told, "Just read your bible and believe what it says." Well and good, but is this intellectual philosophical approach what God's Spirit employees? No!

"That certainly seems to be a cold, trite approach to God's living Word," you may be saying. "I could speak these words until I'm blue in the face and yet I know something is missing. I could look in the mirror and repeat, 'God loves me, God loves me, God loves me. This bible verse says this and that bible verse says that,' and my life won't be any different!" That's why the bible says, "The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life," (2 Cor. 3:6). Why? Because the Spirit lets you know that everything is O.K. from God's perspective. The Spirit gives you communication from God, and His (Rhema) Word becomes alive! The bible confirms itself in this in Romans 8:16, when God, through the Spirit, lets us know that we are His kids.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us for it is written, "" CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE'' in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."

Unfortunately, many people memorize this passage for the wrong reason, and therefore miss the point entirely. What is sad is that so many people read this and stop midway through v14 and remark, "Great, so what's the blessing of Abraham? How much can I expect? I can't wait to reap my (financial and material) blessings." But they neglect to finish v14, which says that the blessing might come -- why? so that the world would receive the promise of the Holy Spirit through faith. Do you know what that means? Basically, it's my entire message in one verse.

It simply states that Jesus came to eliminate the curse of sin, which is in all of us, and results in our eternal separation from God and dooms us to judgement. Going further now, did Jesus only come to forgive you of your sins? Galatians 3:14 tells us an emphatic "No!" by showing us God's desire for us to receive His Holy Spirit unto ourselves. God sent Jesus, ultimately, to bring us back to the state in which Adam and Eve existed in prior to Genesis chapter 3. God so desires this because He wants intimacy and fellowship with us so badly it makes His heart ache!

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is God's introductory class to take us from being people who live and breath and walk and react to inputs to our physical senses, to people who live and breath and walk and react to the propmtings of the Holy Spirit. You should see by now why this baptism in the Holy Spirit is so vital, and why it is so fought against by the devil. He wants us to be forever in doubt about God. Look at how he conned Eve. "Indeed, has God said . . .?" He got her to doubt God's intentions and integrity, and he still works with us the same way today, his MO has not changed. That's why we need to be filled with the Spirit and walking in the Spirit. That's why the bible says that those who walk according to the Spirit do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. You may be -- no you will be! -- tempted to drink, lie, cheat, have sex outside of marriage, etc, and all the while the devil whispers, "Psssst, sure, go ahead, have that little drink and then go and sleep with her because it's the best time you'll ever have."

But if you live by the Spirit of God, He will well up inside you and tell you, "Oh no my child, I've got awesome things for you that no eye has seen and no ear has heard and no mind has ever even conceived. I've got plans for you my child, plans for your future. I'm going to make you the head and not the tail!" Do you see? When you live by the Spirit, the truth, the actual truth, is discernable because the flesh has little to say in the matter.

That's why you need to pray in tongues. What is 'praying in tongues?' It is simply communication at a spiritual level. It is communicating supernaturally to God in a "secret code" language that only your heart and God understand. Keep in mind yesterday's message Spiritual Body - Corporate Structure, and listen to the argument against speaking in tongues usually offered up:

Remember 1 Corinthians chapter 2, "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them." The "natural man" lives life with this philosophy: "I must understand with my physical senses." He is locked into that thought mode! It is a bondage and a lie! We can only learn the truth of something if it can be communicated to us, and the lines of communication can only exist through God's Holy Spirit!

John the Baptist, from the outset of his ministry, prepared the way to Jesus by declaring the importance of the Holy Spirit's role. 'Baptize' here means more than getting dunked in water. In the Greek it means, "to immerse in so as to change the character of". It's like pickling cucumbers. Why do you place a cucumber in a solution of brine and spices? Is the goal to get it wet? No, it is immersed for a reason -- to become a tasty, perky pickle! So too, does God want us baptized in His Spirit -- to change our character, to make us tasty, to transform us into a new creation! Pickles have a distinct flavor, and so do Christians -- to God!

Please understand that being baptized in the Holy Spirit has nothing to do with salvation. All this talk about baptism in the Spirit is not another way to describe salvation, but it's wrong to be satisfied with someone's spiritual condition such that we might say, "As long as they're saved, it's O.K." Yes, if they are saved and have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they will certainly go to Heaven, but being satisfied with salvation only is like telling God you only like half of His plan as described in Galatians 3:13-14.

And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.'' So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

The visible signs that show which people are His believers are delineated here. Jesus' followers will go and tell people about Jesus. They will lay hands on people and pray for them and heal them and remove spiritual demons from them. They are going to pray in other tongues. They are going to be supernaturally protected by God as they go about these tasks.

Do you see what God is communicating here? God's people will have communion with other people -- relationships that bring physical and spiritual health. God's people will also have communion with God because they will pray in other tongues -- a relationship in which they don't have to worry or guess what God will do next or what He wants from them, because they will intimately know Him and His desires. Everything in this passage is relationship centered; loving relationships with God and people.

Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.''

What you need is a new wardrobe! God says that you need to get saved, but after that, since you are walking around naked and saved, you need some clothes! You need a new wardrobe! By the time Jesus uttered these words to the disciples, He had died and been resurrected. The plan of salvation (Jesus dying for our sins in our place) was now complete. Therefore I ask you this: Why would Jesus now tell His disciples to wait until they were "clothed" if all the "clothing" you need in your spiritual life is received when you get saved?

"Your sins are forgiven," says God. "You are no longer separated from Me; I've taken care of that aspect of our relationship with each other. But I also want you to hear and know My voice. I never want you to doubt Me. I want to have a relationship with you. I want you to have power to tell others about My Son, and I want you to have the proper clothing with which you are enabled to do what I ask and can carry out My desires."

Have you ever noticed those who come to the altar one day and get saved, but never get filled with the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues, how they struggle throughout their lives? They have salvation but no power or protection to maintain it. Can you see why? When you get saved, the world doesn't change; your circumstances will remain the same. You have got to have "clothes" on that will protect you from the onslaught of the enemy. Let's look at Acts 2:1-4.

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

In this passage the clothing process took place, the promise of Jesus came, and they prayed in other tongues. Every filling with the Holy Spirit that occurs in the book of Acts is accompanied by praying in other tongues. This is very controversial, and many evangelicals disagree. They often point out a particular occurrence in Acts chapter 9 where Paul is prayed for by Ananias to receive the Holy Spirit, but speaking in tongues is not mentioned as a result. However, all you have to do is look to 1 Corinthians 14:18 to learn that Paul is thankful to God he speaks in tongues more than all of the over-zealous Corinthian believers!

[Editor's Note: The bible is an entire book, it is the sum of the whole, and can not be viewed apart from itself nor out of local and/or historical context. The Holy Spirit, who fills us as Dean is describing, wrote this book through obedient and willing servants. He didn't always, however, put everything in a neat, progressive, linear arrangement. We have to search for the pearl of great price!]

When you read about people in your bible that have been clothed with the Spirit, they begin to pray in other tongues. You can read these occurrence in Acts chapters 2, 10 and 19. Now, remember how a spiritual person hears from God? Who is it that communicates to people on this earth? Say it out loud.

If you are filled to overflowing with Him, not only can you clearly hear from Him, but you can communicate back to God as well through the Spirit. You can have that relationship that God so desires that was lost back in Genesis 3. God fills people so they can hear Him and talk to Him and have that peace from knowing Him as Adam and Eve did as they walked through Eden with Him in the cool of the day.

Basically, we are selfish people. We are selfishly motivated in our thinking and in our relationships. Not only are we selfish, but we are weak too! We all have weak prayer lives, as Romans 8:26-27 reveals. In fact, we don't even know how to pray at all like we should. That is probably due, in a large part, to our inherent selfishness.

Have you ever heard your own prayers? If you are being fair, you will admit that they are generally selfish in nature. But God doesn't want a selfish relationship with us. God wants you to pray according to His perfect will. His prayers for you are not selfish, they are radical! They are perfect! They are totally selfless! Romans 8:26-27 tells us that our prayer lives are weak, and that we don't know how to pray, but the Holy Spirit knows how! When you pray in the Spirit, when you pray in tongues, He prays through you with groans and utterances that can not be understood.

When the bible speaks of praying in the Spirit, it is talking about praying in tongues. You can not interpret what praying in the Spirit means according to a 2000 AD American philosophical, Aristotelian mindset. The interpretation of "praying in the Spirit" must be viewed with the mindset of the people who wrote these words and the times they lived in. Luke, inspired by the Spirit, wrote these words in Acts. He regularly witnessed miracles and speaking in tongues, and he knew both Paul and Jesus. His mindset was the miraculous, not philosophical or American. Simply put, to them, praying in the Spirit meat nothing other than praying in tongues.

At a recent meeting I was a part of, 1000 teen-agers were filled with the Spirit at the end of the evening and they were yelling in tongues! Do you know how cool that was? This was in one service! Later that night, after the service was letting out, some of the leaders came to me and objected, saying, "Don't you think that was wrong -- praying in tongues out loud?" Let me ask you -- are you embarrassed to invite others to church because sister so-and-so might be sitting next to you, and you know how she is. She just might begin to wildly speak out in tongues -- she's prone to that you know.

One of those leaders I just referred to, a minister in a Pentecostal denomination, came to me personally and set me down and remarked, "I don't think that was right what you did tonight. All these kids were praying in tongues, but there were many present who still had not gotten saved. Isn't that wrong? Why, you were even praying in the microphone in tongues!" I told this minister to listen while I taught him something about the bible. Everybody turn in your bibles to 1 Corinthians 14 and get ready to hear what I told this minister.

Did it ever occur to you that God's purpose for church is not to make people comfortable while they are on their way to hell? What is it that the Spirit of God uses to point out the sins of people that are in the church? CONVICTION! Is conviction pleasant? NO! That's why I try not to listen to my wife preach, because I'm always under conviction! If someone comes into the church, do you suppose God wants them convicted of their sins -- yes or no? YES! I want God to make people feel uncomfortable the moment they step on church property. True conviction occurs only if the Spirit of God brings it upon the individual, otherwise what is felt his merely guilt accomplished by words, emotions and manipulation.

v. 23-25 Therefore if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and ungifted (unspiritual) men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted (unspiritual) man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.

Wait a minute, there seems to be a contradiction in the bible; you just read it. Verse 22 says that tongues are for unbelievers. Verse 23 says that if an unbeliever sees all the church praying in tongues he will think you are nuts. If speaking in tongues causes unbelievers who are present to think you are crazy, what was God thinking of in Acts 2:1-4? Was He wrong? Some present in Acts 2 understood what was said, but with 17 different language groups present, most of the sound that was heard would have been completely unintelligible. Now, in Acts 2, how did the crowd respond? One group said, "This is a sign from God, what does it mean?" The other group replied, "They are nuts and drunk!" To this day, those are the two responses offered for those who witness the speaking of tongues by Spirit filled believers. You will either hear, "This is incredible; what is God doing?" or "These people are crazy!" and yet it is still the same God causing it to happen. The response all depends on the heart of the hearer. Why do people think God's plan is crazy? How do we explain this apparent anomaly or contradiction? Look to 1 Corinthians 14:1-5.

Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries. But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation. One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself; but one who prophesies edifies the church. Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy; and greater in one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying.

In God's eyes there are two dynamics that occur in every church service -- we pursue God and we pursue men. To communicate to God, we worship in song and we pray; songs and speaking. When we communicate to people, how do we do it? Well, you could sing in conversation to your neighbor, but most of us usually speak to them. So, when you talk to God, use any language He understands, and when you talk to people, use the language they will understand. That is the gist of what we just read in 1 Corinthians 14:1-5. Verse two says that when we speak in a tongue we are speaking to God, and verse three says that when we prophesy we are speaking to men.

God fills people with His Holy Spirit, and those who happen to be present at that time and who are watching may freak out as they witness them speaking in tongues. Going back to an earlier comment, God does not want you relaxed and comfy in church so that you can easily slide into hell. He wants you alert to what He is doing, so you are prepared and willing to obey His will, and receive His Son Jesus as your Savior.

Tongues is a sign for unbelievers; when they come into a church they will witness us talking to our God. The obvious fact that God is alive and that we are passionate about Him and speak to Him thus is supposed to unnerve them. But we must also communicate to these unbelievers why we are doing what we are doing. In part, at least, that is God's intent, that we would tell them how God works, just as Peter did in Acts 2. Let unbelievers watch us speak and pray and worship in tongues; let them become uneasy, if need be; let some of them even call us crazy. Let them come and witness all this and then stay for the sermon and hear preaching that is anointed and powerful because the Holy Spirit has been allowed to move freely. He delights to move with freedom, and our faith to unashamedly speak to Him in our prayer language is a major part of giving Him room to move!