Developing Your Spirit, Your Soul and Your Body
If you’ve ever tried listening to someone on a phone line that is damaged you will know what it’s like to try and hear God when our mind and emotions are not renewed in line with God’s Word. Our emotions and beliefs can affect how we hear God’s voice and hinder us from receiving his best for our lives.
In Acts 18:24-28 we are introduced to a man named Apollos who was a dynamic preacher and ‘fervent in spirit’. Yet Apollos had to be taken aside by Priscilla and Aquila to get some of his beliefs straightened out. Apollos went on to ‘powerfully refute the Jew’s … by the Scriptures.’ Even the most anointed of Christians who are fervent in spirit can miss God if their beliefs aren’t lined up with God’s Word.
We’re talking about how to be led by the Spirit of God. Although our inner person, our spirit, has been born again, we are still ‘earthen vessels’. For God’s will to resonate within us there are things that we need to allow God to do in us, to make us a vessel more fit for his service and more in-tune with the Holy Spirit.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Paul prays that God would sanctify us completely, ‘spirit, soul and body’. That means God wants to prosper us and bring our whole being, spirit, soul and body, into line with his will.
Firstly, we need to learn to ‘discipline our body’. Our physical body has a voice that affects how we ‘feel’. Paul calls these the ‘lusts’ of our flesh (Ephesians 2:3). This refers to things that we crave and our fleshly desires. In 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27, Paul said to be effective in the ministry he had to learn to discipline his natural desires. There are times when we need to say ‘no’ to our bodies. The more we do this, the easier it gets.
One way we can do this is to fast. I’ve found that short or partial fasts help me focus on spiritual things. Fasting doesn’t change God, but it does put our flesh in its place. Learning to discipline our body is letting it know who’s boss!
Secondly, we need to ‘renew our mind’. Some people think God is going to clean out our thought life, no matter what we watch, read or think about. If God was going to do that we’d all be sanctified zombies. No, the Bible tells us that we need to renew our minds with the Word of God. Romans 12:1-2 says to present our bodies in a way that is acceptable to God and to have our mind renewed by the Word of God.
We have a promise that the Holy Spirit will lead us and bring to remembrance God’s Word. However, if our thinking is carnal and our mind isn't renewed with God’s thoughts, we aren't giving the Holy Spirit much to work with. In fact we’re really not valuing God’s will enough to bother changing the way we think.
Our emotional and mental realm can be ruled by emotions. Feelings such as pride or anxiety as well as mental habits such as projection or rejection all can affect how we think God is leading us.
Colossians 3:16 says to let God’s Word dwell ‘richly’ within us. That means we’re to have a copious overflow of God’s Word inside of us. So much so, that it overflows through our mouths in ‘psalms, hymns, spiritual songs and thankfulness’. Philippians 4 says that we need to dwell (or spend our time pondering) on things that are good and worthy of praise. A mind and emotional realm that is being renewed is essential in learning to be led by the Holly Spirit.
Finally, we’re to build up our spirits, to strengthen the part of us that hears from God. Jude 1:20 says to ‘build yourself up, praying in the Holy Spirit’. So praying in the spirit will strengthen our spirit. It builds us up and makes us strong. Paul says when he prays in an unknown tongue his spirit prays but his mind is unfruitful (1 Cor 14:14). Meditating on the scriptures will also build your spirit (Ps 1:1-2)
Let’s not miss out on God’s best for our lives, because we haven’t been willing to develop our spirit, renew our mind and bring our flesh into line with God’s Word.