|
 "THE
DISCIPLINE OF LIVING BY THE SPIRIT"
by Graham Cooke
I believe it is very important that we understand the discipline of how to
live with God because everything flows out of our relationship with God.
What we think about God is the single most important thing in the world - it
is the revelation that will drive our life and provide the channel through
which our prophetic gift and ministry will flow.
We are probably all aware that man is essentially two parts:
soul/body and spirit - what the Bible calls 'the outer man' and 'the inner
man'. In God's design, He intended the Holy Spirit to dwell and mingle with
our spirit. The soul is made up of mind, emotions and will, and must take
its instruction and authority from the Spirit of God. In scripture, it is
spoken of frequently as being something over which we have to gain and
exercise authority. (Rom. 7:22; Eph. 3:16-17; Rom. 8:9; 2 Cor. 4:16)
Up until the time of salvation, our soul is ruling unopposed
in our life. We live a life unconnected with our spirit until God intervenes
in our life. We make our own decisions, reigning and ruling through our
soul. We do what we want, living to please ourselves most of the time. We
become self-centered and our love is often conditional.
The Battle Within
At the moment of salvation, our spirit comes to life, but
our whole ability to live that life for other people or for ourselves is
still dominated by the soul. At the moment of our salvation, an internal
battle starts to occur. God breaks in, we're born again and our spirit is
revitalized. Now the battle for supremacy begins.
There is a law that breaks out inside us at the moment of
salvation.
Salvation is not a one-off occurrence - we have been saved,
we are being saved, we will be saved. Salvation is a process, and the
process of that salvation is about sanctification. Sanctification is about
bringing everything within us under the rule of God so that joyfully, in
everything that we are and have, we are becoming His. The spirit begins to
exert this pressure from within, but the soul doesn't want to give up the
right to rule.
Our Will is the Vehicle
If our will is not the vehicle for the spirit, then our
emotions will try and run the show. However, our will has an insatiable
appetite to be in the presence of God, so our will is the vehicle for life
in the Spirit, not our mind and emotions. It is as our will comes under the
rule of the spirit that our soul learns how to submit joyfully to the rule
of the Holy Spirit.
When our soul power is broken, that is when we come into the
place of extreme joy. The soul power has to be broken, or we cannot serve
God effectively. The soul, if unconquered, is always affected by external
things.
So life in the spirit is about learning how to live from the
inside to the outside, not the other way around. You see, when we live in
our soul, we are always waiting for God to do something.
When we learn how to live in our spirit, we are our own
revival. When we learn how to live in the spirit, we don't need a move of
God coming from outside, we have one on the inside of us. This is what Jesus
meant when He stood up at the feast and said, "If you drink from me, you'll
never have to be thirsty again."
Learn to live in that inner place of the Spirit so you're
governed by your inner man and ruled from the inside to the outside.
Blessings on you as you walk in the Spirit.
by Graham Cooke
Permission is
granted (and you are also encouraged) to reprint these articles in hard copy
form, as well as sending them to your own email lists and posting them on
your own websites. We ask only that you keep Elijah List website, email
contact info, and author contact information intact. Thank you and
blessings, Steve Shultz, Publish, The Elijah List
http://www.elijahlist.com
|
Developing
Your Prophetic Gifting
A
Divine Confrontation
"God is the Kindest Person I Have Ever Met"
