Learning Spiritual Boundaries

 

"Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.” Ephesians 4:14 (NLT)

by Alexandra Copeland

Learning boundaries, those things of which we can and cannot do in the realm of the spirit, are one of the most valuable lessons a Christian can learn. Many of our walks in Christ are such that the things we should know we don’t, and the things that are not helpful to our upward progression in Christ, we know. We’ve spent a great deal of time focused on pieces of a puzzle that have nothing to do with our purpose or with the work the Father has committed into our hands. When we’re young in the Word and we’re just getting our acts together spiritually, He allows us some latitude in this area, but the times now demand that we grow up. We have to recognize when God is calling us to stay in our lanes so that we can continue to remain blessed, productive and abounding in His Word.

Year by year, the older we become, the more we are expected and required by God to walk in purpose. Yes, there are things that each of us, individually, were put on this earth to do and fulfill within the plan and will of God. Ephesians 1:11 NIV tells us, “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.” I can’t do what you do, the way that you do it, and vice versa. Individually, we each have a part to play in the body of Christ, and it ought to be our esteemed privilege and honor to commit ourselves to do that which God has purposed.

Collectively, we strike a mighty blow for the Kingdom of God. This is how He beautifully designed His system to work; “the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:16 NIV) This is no small feat when you consider the fact that most us have our own ideas about what it is we should be doing, and how we ought to get it done. Often, our agendas are far away from where God desires us to be.

I heard a wonderful pastor say that he had wanted to be a surgeon early on. This was his life-long dream. It had never once entered his mind that he would be a pastor, not even when he gave his life to Christ. Coming from a family with very limited financial resources, he assumed that God would give him the money to go to medical school and that earning his degree would be a strong testament to his faith. When he was called to go into ministry, he did so reluctantly, and mourned the loss of his dreams, but later he testified that what God had given him was far and above what he could have ever hoped for himself. “The person of the Holy Spirit is my friend...” he said, “...and I could not have imagined in my wildest dreams the spiritual richness of the life that I enjoy today.”

Jesus Christ is our precious and powerful LORD! He’s the head of our lives. Becoming born-again dictates that we relinquish lordship to him; we are no longer in the driver’s seat—we’re no longer in charge. Jesus Christ knows how to optimize our lives. He knows where we need to be, when we need to be there, and how to get us there; and he shares this information with the spirit that indwells us.

The gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit resides in the deepest part of our beings. He is our comforter, advocate, helper, and friend. Our blessed Lord said in John 16:13(NKJV), “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” We cannot live as successfully in this Christian life as we are intended without operating by, in, and through the spirit.

God made us in His image. We are three-part beings, spirit, soul, and body; the spirit being the highest and greatest part of us. The Apostle admonishes us in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (KJV), “And the very GOD of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray GOD your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our LORD Jesus Christ.” The soul of a person is different from the person’s spirit. We are spiritual beings with a soul, and we dwell in a body. We have a spiritual nature that is separate and apart from the nature that governs the flesh or the body. Given this, you can very clearly see how sometimes our souls and bodies can have an agenda that isn’t quite on board with the agenda of our spirit. To which should we yield?

If fulfillment, harmony, and the very best that life can offer is our goal, then we must learn to listen to the spirit and to yield to his leaning. Understand that if we stay in alignment and harmony with the indwelling Holy Spirit, we’ll achieve a synchronicity that cannot be found anywhere else. Stepping outside the boundaries of the spirit will get us into serious trouble.

1Corinthians 14:33 tells us that God is not the author of confusion, so when we experience chaos and trouble on every hand, it’s a good indication that we have stepped out of bounds in some way. The flesh side of us, the carnal mind, will tell us “Nawh, that’s just life happening.”  But James 3:16(NLT) tells us a different story. It says, “For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.” Furthermore, 2Corinthians 3:17 (NLT) affirms, “For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” So we need to stay in a place in our hearts and minds where the Spirit of God is our first priority—a place where we have surrendered our will for His.

The Apostle Paul told us in Ephesians 4:14 (NLT) that when we come into the fullness of Christ, “Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.” God has called us to be set apart, and to be holy. He doesn’t want us vacillating back and forth, strong in the faith one day, and wobbling in it the next. If we remain within the boundaries of the spirit, we will be solid and steadfast. As sons and daughters of the Most High, we don't have to obey the flesh and its whims. Our call is to be attentive to the spirit within. So learn to hear his voice and be obedient to it. His guidance will give us the kind of boundaries in life that keep us safe and ever growing in Christ.■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright ©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.