Man is a three part being...spirit, soul and body.
We are spirits, we have a soul and we live in a body.
We were crucified with Christ, buried with Him in baptism, raised up together with Him and seated in Him in heavenly places.
We were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world and are one Spirit with the Lord.
Who? Were our bodies crucified in Him? Our souls?
Who is seated in Him right now in heavenly places, at teh right hand of God? Our bodies? Our souls?
NO! All of these verses refer to our spirits! We are reborn, born of the imperishable seed that is the living and enduring Word of God...Jesus IS the Word!
And we are the word multiplied!
2 Corinthians 4:7 says that we have this treasure in earthen vessels!
Paul said "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but CHRIST LIVES IN ME...' [Galatians 2:20]
In John 14, Jesus said He and the Father would all come and make their abode—dwelling—with us. And the Father would send the Comforter—the Holy Spirit—to us. That's the entire Trinity! Living in flesh bodies, walking in the earth.
1 John 4:17 says '...as He is, so also are we in this world.'
Think about that for a minute.
Jesus was a man full of God. How did He live? He knew no limits of any kind and nothing was impossible for Him.
Wait a minute...He said nothing would be impossible for us! Why? Because He knew that we would be full of God, too, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ! His Body in the earth.
His first body left the earth when He ascended to heaven...we're His Body now! Filled up to all the fulness of God!
God In Us
God is in us, people...not just a tablespoon, not just some spiritual hitchhiker...the real Triune God lives in each and every born-again Christian!
His problem is we won't let Him out! He's trapped in there, restricted to what we will or will not let Him do!
Why do you think He's in there? To do greater works than Jesus did! But, like the stopper in the genie's bottle, our souls—our minds, wills and emotions, what we believe—keep Him bottled up!
Think of it this way. Faith works by love, and we, being full of God, have both His faith and His love.
Consider these scriptures:
'Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, ACCORDING TO THE POWER THAT WORKS WITHIN US, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.' [Ephesians 3:20,21]
'...strengthened with ALL POWER, according to HIS GLORIOUS MIGHT...' [Colossians 1:11]
'...that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be STRENGTHENED WITH POWER through His Spirit IN THE INNER MAN...' [Ephesians 3: 16]
He's in there, alright, but He can only do what we allow Him to do!
Hebrews 3:17-19 tells us that Israel could not enter the Promise Land because of sin and disobedience, which Paul called unbelief!
Was it His will for them to enter? Absolutely! But the power—the choice—to enter was theirs. And they chose to believe something other than what God said.
These were natural people, who limited God in the earth.
We are not natural, but spiritual people, filled with God Himself and His power!
But like them, we choose to let Him out or not to let Him out by what we believe.
His Word tells us plainly to lay hands on the sick and they will recover. But everyone else says it might not work, it's passed away, blah blah woof woof.
Like Israel, we have a choice...believe what God said, or believe the other 10 guys. God is in us in power to perform His word—trapped in these earthen vessels, permitted to do only what we'll believe Him for.
He says all things belong to us, richly to enjoy. [1 Corinthians 3:21,22; 1 Timothy 6:17] In Luke 12:32, Jesus said the Father has chosen GLADLY to give us THE KINGDOM! But a bunch of guys 1700 years ago told us that we should be poor...so poor we are!
Trapped.
When are we going to let Him out? When are we going to do what Romans 12:1,2 says?
'Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
'And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, sothat you may PROVE what the will of God is, that which is GOOD and ACCEPTABLE and PERFECT.'
Now we've been taught that this means we can't have any fun. but that's NOT what it means...the Holy Spirit is telling us how to let Him out!
Don't be conformed to the world and it's wrong way of thinking! Get your body under control and renew your mind—agree with God, not with the world! Be like Joshua and Caleb, and NOT like the other 10 guys!
The world is waiting for us to prove Who He is! Savior, Healer, Provider...the One Who raises the dead and stills the storm. Lover, Creator, Father, Brother, Comforter.
He cannot do greater works through His Body in the earth until and unless we let Him out.
Let Him out. Speak His Word into the earth and expect His will to be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.
