Lecture 1: Three perilous forces faced by a spiritual man

(GB Message)

We use the word ‘spiritual’ to distinguish those things that are not earthly but pertain to divine matters. For us, these terms are special terms used exclusively in connection with God. To be spiritual minded is not an ability that can be acquired by human beings on their own. Rather the ability is only imparted by God through the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him (simply because they are beyond the capacity of the earthly mind); nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual (having the help of the Holy Spirit) judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one”, 1 Cor 2: 14, 15.

Such a mental attitude as referred to in the quotation cited above cannot be attained unless God grants it. To begin with, the person must have been born of water and the Spirit. The other two qualifications are (a) being a healthy member of an anointed church (b) being one who walks seriously in the path of sanctification observing all the discipline found therein. Thereafter, knowledge improves as his experience in the path of sanctification progresses.

The antithesis of spirituality is mere intellectual capacity, prestige consciousness, and a lack of the poverty of spirit referred to in Mt 5:3. God is indeed only too willing to grant it to all those who are genuinely eager to receive it with a real hunger and thirst, because it is a part of the righteousness referred to in Mt 5:6.

The purpose of this study, about the three perilous forces, is not to engage in something intellectual but spiritual, and for every spiritual favour, we need the power of the Holy Spirit. Every progress in our spiritual life is by His grace only. But it is also equally important to understanding that we should never take such favours from God for granted. We need at this time His special favour for our further growth, and so we must implore God humbly for such a favour. May God grant us to grow spiritually, with more spiritual knowledge and clarity. May He also enable us to correct ourselves whenever necessary. We need this growth not only for our own healthy progress, but also in order to be effective witnesses in a spiritually sinking world.

The next preparation is to equip ourselves to deal effectively against the following three perilous forces faced especially whenever we are involved in any serious, spiritual endeavour.

• The environment around us
• One’s own carnal mind
• Satan and his agents

The environment around us
Spiritual people face many obstacles from the environment around them, whether it is an electricity failure, an unexpected visitor, a transport problem, an unusual problem to do with the servant maid, or some other emergency. It is by the grace of God that a believer never finds these problems totally overwhelming.

If the environmental hazards are solved, let us not think that it is automatic but rather let us acknowledge that the problem was solved by divine intervention even if we had failed to pray. God understands our anxiety and our deep desire for whatever spiritual endeavour we are engaged in. As an example, I can speak of one member who could not get leave to attend this church retreat, but found himself able to attend, by God’s providence working through mysterious circumstances. In my own case, a school function across the road from us with the blaring loudspeakers came to an abrupt end just before the noise could affect our retreat.

Strangely such problems are experienced by living churches, whereas the activities organized by dead churches often seem to go on with ease. The lesson we learn from these things at this point is, that in spite of adverse circumstances, believers must be able to circumvent them, if not change them when we plead for God’s help.

So far we dealt with the environment as a distraction. We should not forget that it could be an attraction as well a distraction. That is why the warning, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him”, 1 Jn 2: 15. That could be a serious peril though its sting may not be so apparent to many. If God’s love is not in a person he cannot be a Christian.

Every non-Christian is knowingly or unknowingly in rebellion against the God of the Bible because he is enslaved by the satanically-controlled world system. The love of the Father cannot be in such people. This is not a reference to the physical, material world as such, but the invisible spiritual system of evil dominated by Satan and all that it offers in opposition to God, His word, and His people. “Adulterers and Adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God”, James 4: 4.

One’s own carnal mind
Even after our spiritual re-generation, our carnal mind is not closed for good, but it is being crucified. It is a day-to-day task of a believer who takes up his cross daily.

This situation is like an object in unstable equilibrium. That is the struggle pictured in Rom 7: 23. That is also why we are reminded: “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit”, Rom 8: 9. Having stated this reminder, a conditional clause is added as, “…. if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you”. Between vs. 8 and 11 this conditional “if” is repeated four times reminding us about the unequal-equilibrium state in every spiritual person.

In 1 Cor 3: 1, there is a disappointment expressed, because of believers giving in and stumbling because of the unstable equilibrium (And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.); so also in Heb 5: 12. Let us always bear in mind that “a carnal mind is enmity against God, (the reason being that) it is not subject to the law of God….”, Rom 8: 7. We are strictly commanded to “walk in the Spirit”, Gal 5: 16. It is a condition to escape falling into the traps set by the flesh to sin against God and so the command “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh”, vs. 16.

In order to control our carnal mind which is not yet dead we ought to strictly fulfill the condition highlighted above. It is going to be uncomfortable to many, though not for all, reminiscent of the key words “many” and “few”.

Spiritual life is functioning in a war front. In this warfare the carnal mind plays the worst havoc compared with the first and the third ones. It won’t be an exaggeration if it is stated that a large percentage of people in hell would concede that this hazard had been the main cause for their dreadful fate. If that be so, we could very well imagine how important it should be to deal with it and to plan systematically for an effective answer to this peril.

Satan and his agents
Satan and his agents harbour bitter hatred towards spiritual persons. It is not clearly explained in the word of God as to how exactly they harm spiritual people. But we have the following warning:
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (Eph 6: 10-11)

All we know from these two verses is that the devil is a formidable foe to deal with. Comparing scripture with scripture we learn that the devil has two categories of agencies, one comprising the inner circle with his own deputies, the False Prophet and the Antichrist, and the other comprising ‘principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this age and the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places’ (Eph 6: 12) as his agents. The latter include demonic spirits also.

Like flies and mosquitoes, these evil forces work on human beings to cause spiritual disease. They are in charge of most of the churches and Theological institutes, serving under the guidance of Satan their boss.

Because of Christ’s victory over these forces by His atoning sacrifice and resurrection from the dead (Eph 1: 18 – 21; Col 1: 13), Christ can shield His true believers against these forces. Those who do not believe are firmly under the control of these evil agents. Even in the case of unbelievers, God keeps these evil forces from totally destroying them (Eph 2: 2). But He may give them up sooner or later. We need the protection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in order to avail His protecting shield, we should be His true disciples.

Prayer for God’s help
Towards managing all these three perils, praying is very important. Prayer cannot be used like an Aladdin’s lamp. For effective prayer, the person’s consistent relationship with God is important. That is one of the reasons why I endeavour to din into the ears of every member the need to improve our relationship with God during normal times as different from trying times.

Secondly, prayer is meant for the disciples of the Lord. Ironically, in Christendom, the word ‘prayer’ is so casually used, especially in dead churches. When we were nominal Christians in dead churches we also engaged in such meaningless activities. In our context today, we are talking of prayer in the sense it is used in the Bible. Thirdly, with prayer, it is the bounden duty of the praying person to do everything humanly possible for the person for whom he prays.

Along with prayer we shall do well to ensure the following three things:
(1) that we are spiritual persons, (2) that the matter for which we pray is spiritual in nature and not as the miracle workers we hear so much in these days do and (3) that we examine ourselves and makes sure that we abide in Him, and His words abide in us. If that be so, … ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (Jn 15: 7).