The Great Mystery, Christ In Us
In parts 1, 2, 3 and 4, (which are available on our blog page here: https://veritasmedical.com/blog/) we’ve established that:
- Chronic stress is not compatible with health because stress induces cortisol production, and cortisol shreds the immune system, metabolism, neurons, the gastrointestinal tract and other hormones like thyroid, progesterone and testosterone.
- Although stewardship of the 3 pillars is important, this 3 pillar stewardship will not overcome the effects of chronic cortisol elevation.
- There are always “non-responders” to every diet, exercise plan, IV and supplement regimen, or natural protocol for every symptom or disease. These “non-responders” are typically under the influence of chronic stress, inducing chronic cortisol production, keeping people symptomatic.
- “Stress management” only provides temporary relief.
- Trying to control or eliminate all the stress-provoking circumstances in your life is impossible, especially in these last days in which we are living.
- It’s not about eliminating stressful circumstances but rather seeing those circumstances through filters of truth instead of filters of a lie. Seeing all of life from the point of view of the spirit of truth instead of being deceived or tricked into voluntarily putting on goggles or filters from another spirit, a liar and a deceiver who wants to kill, steal and destroy is the key to the entire peace pillar.
In part 5 of this series I’ll be covering the 3 parts that make up a human being: the body, the soul and the spirit. The truth comes to us through our spirit. The lie comes to us through our soul (I’ll show you an example in scripture later where Peter puts this on display). Our flesh is just physical matter that is simply responding to these thoughts from either our soul or our spirit.
If we are going to be able to maintain peace and health, not flipping into fight or flight mode too often, then we are going to need to see ourselves, our relationships, and our world through our spirit “eyes”, under the influence of truth and love. The adversary of truth and love who wants to keep us divided and sick and dying prematurely is a defeated enemy who has zero power, unless he can trick a human being into submitting to or agreeing with a thought that is not the truth, just as he did with Adam and Eve.
Thinking that is under the influence of a lie will produce actions, attitudes and behaviors in a person’s life that will result in fear, anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, jealousy, competition, unworthiness, rejection, people pleasing, taking on unlawful responsibility, need for control, comparison, striving, addictions, over-achieving, performance-driven life, division, amongst other things….all leading to fight or flight stress mode, setting people up for physical and mental sickness, disease and premature death.
The understanding of the difference between spirit, soul and body was an absolute game-changer for my wife and I. It allowed us to see things more clearly from the perspective of truth (remember, truth sets people free…despite their circumstances!).
In the 26th chapter of Matthew, Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane when he stated that his flesh was weak, his spirit was willing and his soul was sorrowful unto death.
In 1st Thessalonians 5, Paul prays that their whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless.
In Hebrews 4, it states that the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit.
Without the understanding of the difference between body, soul and spirit, it would be difficult to understand the story in Genesis that talks about how Adam and Eve could look upon the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and see that it was pleasing to their eye, but if they ate of it, their eyes would be open. How does that work?!
I believe their physical or natural eyes were already open because they could look upon the fruit of the tree, which was a physical thing in the natural realm.
I believe Adam and Eve’s spiritual eyes were already open because they walked with God, who is a spirit, in the cool of the day in the garden (Genesis 3). Also, in the New Testament it says the Holy Spirit communes with our spirit, spirit to spirit (Romans 8:16).
So, this just leaves the eyes of the soul to be opened when Adam and Eve decided to not just listen to the other voice in the garden but to agree with it, submit to it, and act on it. The soul is where our free will resides and is composed of our mind or intellect, our will and our emotions.
Remember, what we are really talking about here is all about our thinking and the goggles or filters that we see the world through….including how we see our spouse when we are having a disagreement, our co-workers, our boss, our political leaders, the news we consume, the comments we read on social media, etc, etc. We are looking at the world through a lens or filter of either truth or not the truth. The truth lens will allow you to remain at peace, avoiding cortisol surges that lead to all manner of physical and mental “diseases.”
Here is a simple example…you could always be looking at a co-worker through the goggles of comparison or competition. This could cause you to try to work harder or different in some way to try to set yourself apart or above or better than them. This could cause you to try and dress or act a certain way or even change the way you speak, interact, or react in certain situations at work. It could even lead you to, either consciously or subconsciously, doing or saying something to try and make them look bad and you look better. This can also open the door to jealousy, envy, coveting, manipulation, gossip and so much more. It reminds me of the scripture that says “for where envy and self-seeking exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.” (James 3:16).
Conversely, if you were looking through the goggles or filters of truth, then your spirit man would immediately bring to your conscious mind the truth that there can be no comparison or competition in the Kingdom of Heaven because we are all uniquely made, for a unique purpose, with unique gifts and talents, for us to be able to put on display the glory of God in our particular sphere of influence.
I would submit to you to consider that the thoughts we have every day can be coming from our soul (under the influence of the liar), or we can have a thought that comes to us through our spirit (under the influence of the spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit).
There are multi-chapter books written on this subject, so this article is just a very short summary and really just scratching the surface. I would encourage you to keep an open mind and explore this topic more deeply yourself. Don’t just read with a critical eye looking to see what you don’t agree with (like the Pharisees did with Jesus, listening for what they disagreed with and not truly hearing), but with a humble and open heart, asking the spirit of truth to lead you into all truth. In my experience personally and with thousands of patients, I can testify to the fact that not understanding some deeper truths, like body/soul/spirit, has allowed the adversary to keep the body of Christ immature, divided and knocked to and fro by every wind and doctrine, especially through the spirit of fear.
When my wife and I first started to break out of the traditions of man, recognizing we had been living in the world AND of the world, finding a false sense of security in our own strengths, talents, plans, 401k, titles and recognition, worldly praise and accolades, and we started to have a discontentment with many areas in our life. Something was just off.
We recognized something was off with the education system, something was off with the religious system, something was off with the medical system. We didn’t know exactly what it was that was off. We didn’t know exactly what education, religion and doctoring should look like, but we were starting to see more and more clearly what it should not look like.
We had just prayed the earnest prayer about seeking the Kingdom first and had repented for seeking other things first (mainly a baby after a 2 year struggle with infertility). The fruit that was being produced in our lives and in the lives of those around us was just “off”, producing fight or flight in us. So, we started to readily admit and confess to God that “we can see what it’s not, but help us see more clearly what it is”.
As we continued to earnestly pursue the Kingdom first, trying to lay down all off our own preconceived notions and traditions of men, we discovered one of the most profound truths in scripture that opened up a whole new level of understanding and ability to submit to God (the truth) and resist the devil (the lie)….causing him to flee. This truth was the understanding of the difference of thinking coming from our soul versus thinking coming from our spirit.
Soul vs Spirit Thinking
Here is an example in scripture of a thought coming from a man’s spirit influenced by the spirit of truth versus a thought, just a few moments later, from the soul, influenced by the father of all lies. In Matthew 16, Jesus asks the disciples “who do men say that I am?” They answered that “some say you’re John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
Then he asked the disciples “who do you say that I am?” Peter pipes up and says, “you are the Messiah, the son of the living God.” And Jesus said, yes Peter, you are right, and “flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven.” This would have been the truth coming to Peter through his spirit.
Then a few verses later, Jesus is telling the disciples that he will be going to Jerusalem where he will be persecuted and killed, and Peter jumps up and says no way, this is not going to happen! Jesus responded by saying to Peter, “Get behind me satan!”. Now, I do not believe that Jesus thought that Peter was actually satan, but the thought Peter had and he verbalized was a thought from satan, the father of all lies. This thought from satan would have come to Peter through his soul, where the enemy can influence or lie to us.
After Jesus said to Peter, get behind me satan, he went on to say “you are a stumbling block for me (the truth); for you are not setting your mind on things of God (the truth), but on things of man.” (My translation: Peter’s goggles or filters were dirty, influenced by a lie instead of the truth).
The soul is where the battle is. The soul is where the knowledge of good and evil is at. Adam and Eve, eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, is what opened this whole thing up. They were and we are supposed to be eating from the Tree of Life, the Holy Spirit, the truth, in order to see in a manner that produces life, the ability to shine the character and nature of our Creator into the earth. God uses us, his kids, as ambassadorial representatives, to shine love and truth into the earth in all of our circumstances.
Seeing through our spirit man, under the influence of the spirit of truth, in every situation in life today is what allows us to:
-love others more than ourselves (Matthew 22:39), consider others more than ourselves (Philippians 2:3), honor others more than ourselves (Romans 12:10)
-take up our cross daily, denying ourselves (Luke 9:23)
-us decreasing and Him increasing (John 3:30)
-love your enemy and turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39)
-forgiving people, for they know not what they do (Matthew 6:14)
-loving not our lives, even unto death (Revelation 12:11)
If you stop to consider the last time you were angry at or offended by your spouse, boss, co-worker, or anyone else, it was probably, at the very root, because of how that situation affected you. I wish my wife would… “fill in the blank.” Why? Probably, if you really think about it, because ultimately if she would just do “this”, it will make my life easier, make me feel better, or somehow impact me positively.
So, I believe we must start focusing on how to recognize that we can have a thought from the spirit of truth through our spirit which will cause us to love others first or a thought from the father of all lies through our soul which will cause us to turn inwards. We must take captive our thoughts, consider our thoughts, identify which thoughts are true versus which thoughts are lies, and reject the lies.
Here are some examples of truth “goggles” to put on….
There is no comparison in the Kingdom of God, we are uniquely made, each with a unique purpose and role to play, not one more important than the other. (1 Corinthians 12:12-27)
There is no offense in the Kingdom of God, I have died to myself, you can’t offend a dead man. (Galatians 2: 20, 2nd Corinthians 12:10, Proverbs 19:11)
There is no need to people-please, trying to keep everyone happy, because I am fully accepted and loved by God already, not needing the acceptance of man to make me feel whole, valued or loved. (Ephesians 1:4, Romans 8:31, John 3:16)
There is no fear of lack of provision in the Kingdom of God, my Father owns it all and will provide for all my needs. (Psalm 24:1, Philipians 4:19)
There is no fear of sickness or death, Jesus healed all my diseases and covered all my sins so that I can live forever. (Psalms 103:3 and John 3:15)
Renewing of the Mind
I believe that with the understanding and framework of spirit, soul, and body, it makes all these versus much more powerful:
-Romans 12:2 tells us to not be conformed to this world (under the influence of the prince of this world, the liar), but be transformed by the renewing of our mind (in our soul).
-1 Corinthians 2:16 says we have the mind of Christ (in our born again spirit).
-Matthew 10:28 tells us to not be afraid of those who can kill the body, rather to fear the One who can destroy the flesh and the soul.
-3 John 1:2 says that John wishes above all else that we prosper and be in good health, as our soul prospers.
-Psalm 23:3 says “He restores my soul. He guides me in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake.”
-in John 3:3-7 Jesus explains to Nicodemus that we must be born again, a second time, of the spirit.
-Romans 8:11 says that the spirit that raised Jesus from the dead now dwells in us.
-Jesus must leave so that the Holy Spirit can come, and it is better that he does leave because with the Holy Spirit residing in us, greater things then what Jesus did, we will do, and He will lead us into all truth (John 16:7, 16:13 and John 14:12)
We have all believed and agreed with a lie, giving that thing place or authority to influence us and our deeply held beliefs that we have about our world, our relationships, how we see ourselves, see others, see our work, see our lives and our circumstances.
As we become transformed by the renewing our mind to the truth, and the truth sets us free from the lies of the enemy, we will think different, see different, act different, make different decisions, and produce different fruit. Our “fight or flight” mode will switch to and remain in “rest and digest” mode. As the mind, will and emotions of our soul starts to submit to or line up with the truth in our spirit.
I encourage you to be like the Bereans in Acts 17:10 and search out (in the Greek: to scrutinize, investigate, interrogate, ask questions, discern) the truth about body, soul, and spirit in the scriptures. I also found Watchman Knee’s book “The Spiritual Man” and Andrew Womack’s book, “Spirit, Soul and Body” to be very helpful.
I believe God’s will is for us to have life and life more abundantly, representing God’s character and nature, love, in the earth. The devil’s will is to kill, steal and destroy by making us self-centered and fearful. It is a battle for our soul. The battle has already been won in the spirit realm, now it is up to us to bring that reality into the earth via our thinking!
Next month, we’ll continue on this journey of discovering how to walk in peace despite our circumstances. Until then, I encourage you, if you have not already, to receive the spirit of Truth into your spirit.
The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 1st Corinthians 2:14
