Saved From All Things Mortal Part 3

It is difficult for us to even imagine the original mindset God gave Adam and Eve because of the familiarity of the former mindset and daily exposure of this world.

  

Maybe this might help.  I don’t know the inspiration of the Vulcan species in the fictional universe of Star Trek but imagine being a Vulcan in the world of humans.  Vulcans strive to live by reason and logic with no emphasis on the emotional or fleshly desire.  How would you perceive human understanding and logic if you were a Vulcan?   What would a Vulcan base “human” logic upon?  They might not even see “human” logic as even logical because of where the logic comes from. 
 

Some still confused and manipulated and pulled by the opinions of the world might construe that this inherited knowledge from Adam and Eve as “sound” but what kind of wisdom is that?  Is it wisdom to take the word of man over the word of God? You want to place your life in a man’s hand or God’s hand?  Which one gives you eternal life?  Which one returns to the earth as dust?

The body was never designed to be the source of guidance and leading of one’s life.  If the body had been, God would have designed the body to use the knowledge of good and evil in a “productive” manner and not how it immediately became and has become… perverse in every way.

In taking the sentiment from J.R.R. Tolkien about the ring and I translate it to the flesh.

“Understand, my friend. I would use the flesh from a desire to do good… but through me, it would wield a power too great and terrible to imagine.”

The knowledge of good and evil within humanity has turned everything upside down and sideways.   Take just the simple desired principle of love in this day and age.  How does the world define love? Is love defined the same way God defines love?
 

God defines love as this: “Love is patient and kind, not jealous, boastful or proud or rude.  Love does not demand its own way.  Love is not irritable and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged.  It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

How does the world define love?  Is it in those things listed?  Do people expect those things from others but not the other way around to give?  Do they really believe in commitment? Is love just a friendship with benefits?  Does love include in sickness?  Does love include “poorer”?   Does it include loss? Does it continually bring up the past? Does it keep score? Is it jealous and untrustworthy?  Does it compete and compare? Is it selfish/self serving? Is love just when it’s convenient? Is love for the selected few or everyone?  Is love based only on physical pleasure?  Is love materialistic?  Is love conditional? 
     

Feet solely standing on “the knowledge of good and evil in the human understanding has brought a great deal of irrational thinking into this world and even the church.  False teachers are popping up all over the place.  It has brought a lot of devastation to souls and loss into the world.  The pile of irrational thinking is so immense it has become a tower and monument of the foolishness of man.  A great pile of litter to be burned.  AND the further things go in this world of corrupt thinking the more foolishness and dangerous and hostile to the things of God. 

It comes down to this truth.  God was always to be the one guiding and directing the human vessel.   

Proverbs 3:5-6 says:
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Romans says, “When they refused to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their evil minds and let them do things that should never be done.  Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, fighting, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.  They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful.  They are forever inventing new ways of sinning and are disobedient to their parents.  They refuse to understand, break their promises, and are heartless and unforgiving.  They are fully aware of God’s death penalty for those who do these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway.  And worst yet, they encourage others to do them, too.” (1:28-32)

The soul controlled and yoked by flesh is condemned because the works of the flesh end in death/hell. The soul controlled and yoked by the flesh seeks to be commended by the temporal things of this life not by God.

Romans 5:18-19
“Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation of all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.  For just as through disobedience of one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”

Adam and Eve brought death to the human race but Jesus brought life and eternal life in heaven for those who choose to trust in Him.  They are made righteous by Jesus’ obedience to the God Father.   Jesus, Alpha and Omega-the beginning and end, makes right what Adam made wrong.  Jesus is a life-giving Spirit.(1 Corinthians 15:45)

Romans 8:5-8 
“Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.”

I find life is a journey that one wishes had constant puppet strings tied to the fingers of God.  I find as a Christian, when one doesn’t abide in the Spirit of Christ, the flesh goes right off to war. 

Galatians 5:17-18
“The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law.”

The heart, if not transfixed on God, goes digging like some undisciplined bloodhound under gravestones we had purposefully stayed away from.   It puts its nose where it doesn’t belong. It digs up the past.  It comes back and accuses us of intentions we hadn’t thought of.  It brings us burdens in which we were never meant to carry.  It even tries to persuade us to sit on prideful thoughts like a fool.  The flesh loves to crown us in our circumstances, failures and shortcomings and have its court jester point and make fun.  Thank God he took what had been harden, stubborn, foolish, and arrogant and changes it into something we might call “good”. Thank God he uses what is imperfect to show it’s not us… but Him.  Thank God he is greater then our hearts.

“For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.” 1 John 3:20-21

And I suspect we all fall into using candlelight instead of what our house is now wired to as Christians.  We all see dimly at times forgetting we have a source of sight within us that is better then what our eyes can comprehend, see and perceive.  We let the eyes haze and drape shadowy themes over the soul… we let the ears play uninspiring soundtracks into our day -yes, the Spirit is willing but the body is weak. 
 

I have never honestly thought of it this way, but the Spirit showed me that when we are not guided/directed by the Holy Spirit -the sinful nature of the flesh/body goes after the changed Christian heart (Ezekiel 11:19).  It’s like a person who has had an organ transplant and has to take anti rejection medication so the organ isn’t rejected but in the Christian’s case the anti-rejection medication for the changed heart is the Spirit of Christ.  The Spirit of Christ keeps the changed heart empowered for it can no longer be empowered by the flesh or the things of this world but God Himself who has unlimited resources to inspire and build sole confidence in Him.