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Supernatural
Biblical Guidance 1
Understanding
the Spirit Nature of Man
by
Pastor John Hamel
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:
and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of
the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every
creeping thing that creepeth upon the
earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God
created he him; male and female created he them.” (Genesis 1:26,27)
In the next fifteen
lessons we are going to be studying the basics of being led supernaturally
by the Holy Spirit. The libraries and
bookstores of the world are bursting at the seams with counterfeit forms of
supernatural guidance.
However, seeking guidance by any means other
than the way the Bible instructs always leads to heartache and
deception.
The Holy Spirit does not want God’s people ending up on
dead end streets, going in circles, paying for the same ground over and over,
or banging their heads against the wall in despair. By looking at the
basics of supernatural Biblical guidance, we will discover how to be led by
the Holy Spirit through all the affairs of life.
What we will share
in this fifteen lesson series is by no means the final word on
guidance. We will cover the basics but we will give you enough
information to help you to begin to research the subject of guidance on
your own.
We will begin
today’s study by coming to an understanding of the true nature of man.
In our above text you will notice in verse 26 that God said, “Let us make
man in our image.” The Hebrew word for “image” is “tselem” and
it means “resemblance, representative, to look like. To have likeness
in form, figure and quality.”
In order to
discover man’s true nature we must first discover God’s true nature,
because man and woman alike have been created to resemble, represent and
look like in form, figure and quality the Almighty God. We are going
to look at God’s nature in a moment, but not before reiterating something
from verse 27. Notice that the Bible says male and female were
created in the image and likeness of God. Both sexes have been
created in the image and likeness of God. Let us get that straight
before going any further.
As a matter of fact
within the Body of Christ there is no difference between male and female,
not when it comes to God’s Covenant or Born Again
man’s authority. We are all one in
Christ. (Galatians 3:28) When the Bible talks about “man” it is a
generic term for man and woman alike. A woman is a man with a womb, a
“womb” man. Man and womb-man are created equal.
God
Is a Spirit
“GOD IS A SPIRIT:
and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John
4:24)
These are the words
of Jesus. Since God is a Spirit and He created man and womb-man in
His form, figure and quality, then man is also a spirit.
“And the very God
of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God YOUR WHOLE SPIRIT AND SOUL AND
BODY be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(1Thessalonians 5:23)
Notice that the
Apostle Paul presents man as a triune being. Paul is saying in
essence, “Man is a spirit. He has a soul and he lives in a
body.” He puts the spirit first, the soul second and the body
third. Medical science normally teaches that the body is first and
the soul and spirit are secondary. We must be watchful to keep man’s
triune nature in the order that the Bible presents.
The Bible teaches
that we are spirits first, created in the image and likeness of God.
Next the Bible reveals that all spirit beings have a soul that is separate
from the human spirit. The soul houses the mind, the will, the
intellect and the emotions. The spirit and soul are so closely joined
that only God can discern the difference between the two. (Hebrews
4:12) Finally, the Bible teaches that we as spirit beings live in
physical bodies. You are not a body. You simply live in
one. It is your Earth-suit. You cannot be here without
one. Your body houses your spirit. Your spirit will never die because it is created in God’s
image and God will never die.
Some cults
such as Jehovah’s Witness teach that when you die, your spirit is
annihilated and goes to neither Heaven nor Hell. That is not what the Bible teaches.
Other cults teach that when you die, your spirit leaves your body and you
come back to this life as a cow or a rat, some other animal or
possibly another human being. You will not find reincarnation
in the Bible.
The Bible reveals that when a Born Again human being
leaves their physical body at the moment of physical death that they go
immediately into the presence of the Lord. (2Corinthians 5:8)
Ultimately every Born Again human being will receive their redeemed body
back and will live in it eternally. (John 5:25-29; 1Corinthians 15:12-58; 1Thessalonians 4:16,17)
A human being who
rejects Christ leaves their physical body at death and goes to Hell where
they await judgment for rejecting Christ. Ultimately that human being
will be rejoined to their body and sent into the Lake of Fire eternally. (Luke 16:19-31;
John 5:25-29; Revelation 20:11-15)
When Jesus told
Nicodemus “except a man be born again, he cannot
see the Kingdom
of God…” He was not
referring to being born physically again. (John 3:3-6) He was
referring to being born spiritually.
The first time a human being is
born, he is birthed into the physical world through the person of his
mother.
The second time a human being is born or “Born Again,” he is
birthed into the Kingdom
of God through the
Person of Jesus Christ. This all happens in the spirit realm because
man is first and foremost a spirit, even as God is a Spirit. The part
of man that is Born Again is man’s spirit. Man’s spirit has Eternal
Life and the nature of God imparted to it. It is man’s spirit that
becomes brand new at the New Birth. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Man becomes brand new on the
inside not the outside.
I had green eyes before I was Born
Again and I had green eyes after I was Born Again because nothing changed
physically. I have all the same emotions and memories now that I had
before I was Born Again, because I did not become a brand new creation in
my soul. My past was erased but my memory of the past was not erased.
(Colossians 3:3)
I became brand new in my spirit just like all human
beings do at the moment of the New Birth.
Human beings simply
live in human bodies. The body is the part of man that contacts the
physical world. This is the realm of sight, sound, smell, touch and
taste. Human beings possess a soul.
The soul is the part of man
that contacts the intellectual realm. This is the realm where
knowledge is acquired. The soul and the spirit are so closely
connected that when your spirit leaves your physical body, your soul goes
with it whether to Heaven or to Hell. You will have the same mind,
will, intellect, emotions and conscience wherever you end up as you had
when you were in the Earth. (Luke 16:19-31)
The Scripture could not
possibly be clearer on this.
You may be thinking
at this point, “Pastor John, I thought we were going to be talking about
the Holy Spirit and supernatural guidance.” We are talking about the
Holy Spirit and supernatural guidance but first we must lay some
groundwork.
Until you fully realize that you are a spirit, not a soul
and a body, you will not be able to receive proper supernatural
guidance. The spirit of man is the part of man that contacts the
spiritual realm where God lives. Once you get this fact down deep on
the inside of you, you will begin to hear from God through the Person of
the Holy Spirit more clearly than you probably have ever imagined.
So
let us keep digging the foundation.
There
Is an Inward Man & an Outward Man
“For which cause we
faint not; but though our OUTWARD MAN perish, yet the INWARD MAN is renewed
day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16)
The outward man
grows old and dies physically. The inward man just keeps improving as
he exposes himself to the written Word of God. Keep this in
mind. The outward man is not the real you. The inward man, the
spirit man, is the real you.
“But THERE IS A
SPIRIT IN MAN: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth
them understanding.” (Job 32:8)
The spirit man is
contained within the physical man, and it is as distinct as a balloon and
the breath that keeps the balloon inflated. As I said, your body is
actually your Earth suit. You cannot live in the Earth without your
Earth suit any more than a scuba diver can live under water without his
outward scuba gear.
“The burden of the
word of the Lord for Israel,
saith the Lord, which stretcheth
forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of
the earth, and FORMETH THE SPIRIT OF MAN WITHIN HIM.” (Zechariah 12:1)
You are a spirit. If you are Born
Again, God lives in your spirit. (1Corinthians 6:17) If you are Born Again, the
Bible calls your body “the Temple
of the Living God.” (2 Corinthians 6:16)
Even more specifically, the Bible calls your body “the Temple of the Holy Ghost.” (1Corinthians 6:19) Your body contains
your human spirit. Your human spirit contains the Holy Spirit and
this is how your body becomes the “Temple
of the Holy Spirit.”
Because the Holy
Spirit lives in your spirit, this is where the primary form of guidance
will come from. Yes, the Holy Spirit can give dreams, visions, prophecies, voices and Angelic visitations as forms of
guidance, but none of these are the primary way that God guides all
Believers daily.
Next to the Written Word of God, the primary way the
Holy Spirit speaks to Believers is through their human spirit. The
Holy Spirit does not guide through feelings. Feelings are the voice
of the body. The Holy Spirit does not lead through reason.
Reason is the voice of the soul. The Holy Spirit leads through His
Spirit within the human spirit.
“FOR AS MANY AS ARE
LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD, they are the sons of God. … THE SPIRIT ITSELF (HIMSELF) BEARETH WITNESS WITH OUR SPIRIT…”
(Romans 8:14,16)
The sons and
daughters of God are to be led primarily by the Spirit of God. The
Holy Spirit will bear witness with our spirits as to what is and what is
not God’s will for our lives. We will study this thoroughly in the
next lesson.
Keep in mind
principal number one as we set out on our study on the Holy Spirit and
supernatural Biblical guidance. YOU ARE A SPIRIT, YOU HAVE A SOUL AND
YOU SIMPLY LIVE IN A BODY. The Holy Spirit lives within your
spirit. It is only reasonable that it is from your spirit that you will
receive His primary form of guidance.
If you miss it here, you will miss the most common form of guidance
in the Bible. If you miss it here, you will end up in the spiritual
ditch on the side of the spiritual road as you travel.
“Counsel in the heart
of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.”
(Proverbs 20:5)
The counsel, the
wisdom and the supernatural guidance you need are already resident within
your spirit. The Bible says that it is like deep water because it is
way down on the inside of you, in your spirit. (1 Corinthians 1:30) A wise person will
do whatever it takes to draw that counsel, wisdom and supernatural guidance
up and out.
We will be studying how to do that in the next lesson.
Be Blessed ... John and Barbara
Hamel
How
to Be Born Again (Receive Christ as Your Savior)
How
to Receive The Holy Spirit & Power
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