God’s Spirit Works with the Human Spirit

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In the converted mind, both the Spirit of God and the spirit in man are present. They work together, with one another: “The Spirit itself bears witness WITH our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Rom. 8:16).

This is truly fascinating understanding. The converted person is different from animals in TWO distinct ways. But first recognize that science could never learn what you have just read!

Now consider an additional point. From the very moment you are converted, purchased by the blood of Christ, God owns your spirit: “For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:20). God has literal ownership of your spirit—and at conversion it becomes His to work with.

It is critical to understand the character-building process at work in the converted mind and how it involves the human spirit. Notice: “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that rules his spirit than he that takes a city” (Prov. 16:32).

Self-control—temperance—is listed as a fruit of the Spirit of God in Galatians 5:23. Take time to read this verse. When placed together, these verses show that only through the Spirit of God working with the spirit in man can temperance be built!

God Preserves the Spirit in Man

At the end of the converted person’s life, God returns the human spirit to Himself. In it, He has preserved a complete, detailed record of all that pertained to the life of that individual. This is the plain statement of scripture. Notice: “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” (1 Thes. 5:23).

The spirit, soul, and body represent all that was the person. The personality, experiences, accumulated knowledge, and character of each human being is reflected in the human spirit—the spirit in man.

This is why the spirit in man returns to God at death: “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it” (Ec. 12:7). So then, at death, the human spirit returns to God, who formed and placed it in the mind. Recall Ecclesiastes 3:21: “Who knows the spirit of man that goes upward, and the spirit of the beast that goes downward to the earth?” Now you know what few others know—that the spirit in man does return to God.

The deacon Stephen understood. As he was being stoned to death for preaching a powerful sermon that antagonized his listeners, the Bible records, “And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep” (Acts 7:59-60). That is right! Stephen died (“fell asleep”) knowing that God would receive his spirit and it would reunite with him, we will learn, at the resurrection.

Now we are ready for one final scripture before continuing. It is the capstone that explains the “preservation” of all human spirits and exactly where God keeps them. Understand this: “But you are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect” (Heb. 12:22-23). This is an incredible passage. The God of “all spirits” (and of all “just men made perfect”) keeps them with Him, until the resurrection.

It is in heaven—the heavenly Jerusalem—where the spirits of all God’s saints since Creation are held—are preserved intact—awaiting the “coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thes. 5:23).

Satan’s Spirit of Disobedience

Before continuing, we need to at least mention one other kind of spirit. Paul wrote to the Ephesian Church about the power of the devil and his influence upon the world: “Wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the POWERof the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2).

Besides the Spirit of God and the spirit in man, it should be noted as such that the devil is a spirit. He is part of the angelic realm of spirits, consisting of faithful angels and demons (fallen angels).

Notice that Eph 2:2 states Satan’s “SPIRIT … works in the children of disobedience.” The devil is a spirit and he has POWER, through his spirit, to influence humanity toward disobedience! In Chapter Nine, we will learn in more detail how Satan, through his spirit, sends moods, feelings, and attitudes of hostility into people’s minds, bringing disobedience. The devil has enormous power of INFLUENCE, allowing him to send thoughts of deceit, anger, pride, hate, greed, envy, resentment, and more, directly into people’s thinking!

Satan, as this world’s god, has seduced the masses of supposed Christianity into rejecting God’s supreme purpose, involving obedience to Him—so that they can follow a permissive false Christ, so popularly worshipped and believed today, to a false salvation.

The Bigger Picture

Let’s now look at the big picture. Now that we understand more of the human spirit, we must briefly continue examining God’s overall purpose. We must look further at what He is doing with mankind.

Remember, human beings are able to acquire knowledge. Animals do not have this capability. And God has programmed into animals, through instinct, everything that they need to function effectively within their environment. There is no “spirit of animals” giving them mind power.

Humans receive the spirit in man from conception. It allows them, through use of the five senses, to acquire and retain knowledge.

Once again, people do not instinctively know all that they must know in order to operate successfully throughout their lives. They must acquire ever more knowledge as they grow older and as more demands are made upon them. Animals have no such need.

We have already discussed that all available knowledge falls into either physical knowledge (how to work with matter and physical things)—or spiritual knowledge (that which is necessary for people to develop personal relationships with God and man, and to achieve salvation).

All people recognize that the accumulation of useful knowledge is a lifelong process that continues throughout their lives. The spirit in man makes this possible!

But it is critical to recognize that the human spirit is not the man—it is in the man. There is a big difference! This spirit does not have mind power by itself. Neither does the brain. The brain hears through the ears and sees through the eyes. The human spirit does not do these things of and by itself. The brain does the thinking—with the spirit giving it the power of intellect. Remember, the spirit is in the man, giving the five physical senses the ability to work with the brain for analysis and discernment of meaning and comprehension. Like electricity to a computer, the spirit empowers the mind to process information received through the five senses.

All knowledge is learned. Tiny babies are born with NONE—their minds are like blank sheets of paper waiting to be written on. In the process of growing up, they must learn to do everything. To function as adults requires much physical knowledge. Of course, adults recognize that no one can succeed in life without a certain amount of knowledge.

But herein lies a great problem. The physical knowledge that man has acquired has been insufficient for him to be able to solve the many great problems afflicting all the nations of the world. For instance, he is utterly incapable of learning how to be happy or to bring abundance and peace to Earth. And no one has discovered how to rid the world of war, poverty or disease.

Why?

Humanity is missing another key component!

Next Part The Missing Dimension

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