We have mentioned that the gospel according to Matthew presents the gospel of the kingdom. In this Bible study we want to see that the kingdom is established and developed through the seed of the kingdom.
First we will see the parable of the sower. Then we want to emphasize that Christ the King is literally within His believers – as opposed to only being in them figuratively. This is very important, especially since we conclude this Bible study seeing the expansion of Christ as the king. That’s right, “The expansion of Christ”. How can this be? What does this mean?
If you have a soft heart toward the Lord, we believe you will be enlightened through this Bible study and even enter into the experience of the kingdom.
The human spirit is mysterious. Various people have characterized it in their own special way. What would you say about the human spirit?
Our first topic deals with where our human spirit comes from. By taking a close look at the creation of man in Genesis, we not only see the fact of where our spirit comes from, but we can see how God Himself is so closely related to the human spirit.
Then, before going too deep into our study of the human spirit, we recognize that the Bible makes a clear distinction between the human spirit and the soul.
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1 Thessalonians 5:23 And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Luke 1:46-47 And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 And my spirit has exulted in God my Savior.
Proverbs 20:27 The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah, / Searching all the innermost parts of the inner being.
John 4:24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness.
John 5:39-40 You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that testify concerning Me. 40 Yet you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
Fellowship to help us know Christ and pursue Him
The quotation below comes from the book, God’s Plan of Redemption, by Mary E. McDonough
The terms “inner man” and “outer man,” or their equivalents, are employed in modern psychology, but the psychology of the Bible is more analytical inasmuch as it indicates a subdivision of the invisible part of man, thus teaching us that man is not dichotomous but is a trichotomous being. We find this plainly taught in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 and indicated in Hebrews 4:12 and Luke 1:46-47.
This tripartite being may be illustrated by a third piece of cardboard containing three circles. Within the inner circle print the word “spirit.” Within the second circle (surrounding the first) place the word “soul,” and within the outer circle the word “body.” (See Figure)
With the spirit we know God and our relation to Him and our relation morally to every created object. With our soul powers—the intellect, sensibilities (affections, emotions) and will—we are able to deal with the intuitions of the spirit, the claims of these various soul faculties and the record of the bodily senses.
“The spirit of man,” not the soul, is said to be “the candle of the Lord” (Prov. 20:27). Caution the class in reference to a careless use of these terms. Do not say “soul” when “spirit” is meant and vice versa. Avoid the phrase “body, soul and spirit,” as it inverts the Divine order of arrangement. In a normal condition the powers of the spirit control the powers of soul and body.
(God’s Plan of Redemption, by Mary E. McDonough, http://marymcdonough.ccws.org/redemption/index.html)
The Recovery Version of the Bible renders 1 Corinthians 2:14-15 with the word “soulish” and we find it most appropriate, especially in its context. “But a soulish man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him and he is not able to know them because they are discerned spiritually. But the spiritual man discerns all things, but he himself is discerned by no one.” (1 Corinthians 2:14-15)
Instead of soulish, many translations of the Bible use “natural”. In any case, The footnote on “soulish” in the Recovery version goes right along with sister McDonough’s admonition that we distinguish between the spirit of man and the soul of man: “A soulish man is a natural man, one who allows his soul (including the mind, the emotion and the will) to dominate his entire being and who lives by his soul, ignoring his spirit, not using his spirit, and even behaving as if he did not have a spirit (Jude 19).”
We need to pursue Christ with an exercised spirit. Calling on the name of the Lord, crying to Him from our deepest part, “Oh, Lord Jesus”, is one way to exercise our spirit. We can also exercise our spirit by praising the Lord. Praising Him with “Praise the Lord!” and “Hallelujah” is to worship the Lord with our spirit.
If we read the Bible merely with our mind we will be like those who search the scriptures yet are not willing to come to Christ. To exercise the spirit means to contact the Lord Himself. When we come to verses in the Bible we should read and pray, pray and read, always contacting God as we read the scriptures. This is to exercise the spirit. This is why pray-reading is recommended. We don’t advocate pray-reading as a form, but we exhort the believers to continuously contact the Lord in their reading.
If man does not exercise his spirit, no matter how noble his deeds, no matter how deep his thoughts, no matter how scriptural his words, the transmission of God to that man will be absent. Let us make a strong resolution to be the spiritual men, ones who receive the things of the Spirit of God and discern all things. In our personal time with the Lord and in our corporate pursuit with others, let us come in this way, with an exercised spirit.
1 Corinthians 1:1-3 Paul, a called apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Sosthenes the brother, 2 To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, the called saints, with all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, who is theirs and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Fellowship to help us know Christ and pursue Him
A saint is simply a believer, one who has the life of God. The apostle Paul had no problem calling the believers in Corinth saints. The church in that place was one with many problems, yet the apostle still called them saints. Saints refers to those who were redeemed by Christ’s blood. Since this is so, you also may boldly say, “I am a saint!”. This does not mean that God is finished with us. He still needs to spread through all our being, through our mind, emotion, and will. This process is called sanctification and all the saints are in this process. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 says, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification.” The first step of our Christian life is also the first step of our sanctification. This happened already when we believed in the Lord Jesus and received His life. This is why the apostle refers to the saints as those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus.
We were chosen by God, predestinated and called– to be holy. We know this from Ephesians 1:4. You might say that this is what the Christian life is all about. To be holy is to be separated from everything common. It also means to be filled with the One who is holy. Holiness is God’s nature. Only He is holy. God begins the process of making us holy when He comes in to be our life. This happened when we believed in the Lord. He came into our deepest part, into our human spirit. John 3:6 says, “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” We cannot deny that our regenerated human spirit is filled with the life of God, with the One who is holy.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, “And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”. We are sanctified in Christ Jesus in our spirit, and we are in the middle of being wholly sanctified as He spreads to every part of our being.
May we come to Him again and again, and let Him spread. A song that encapsulates 1 Thessalonians 5:23 is God is spreading in my being. God sanctifies us, even as we sing spiritual songs like these.
