When Our Faith Isn't Progressive

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” John 3:6 (ESV)

by Alexandra Copeland
Going higher in the Lord is the most thrilling ride of life. One of the tremendous aspects of this thrilling ride is journeying deeper into the things of the spirit, and also knowing that greater abundance and blessings will not be trailing too far behind. I’m passionate about this reality and the awesome truth that God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. Think about something, what if we experienced a reality where we made a commitment to grow in the deeper things of God, and the Father never rewarded us? Emotionally, where would you be if you read and studied the Word, prayed often, continually thought pure and Godly thoughts, made only positive confessions, and treated everyone with kindness and respect, but had nothing at all to show for it?  How would you honestly feel? Well my dear friends, if this happened the world would not be left standing, because that’s just not the kind of God we love and serve.

Hebrews 11:6 (ESV) is a wonderful and direct piece of knowledge in God’s Word. It tells us who He is, what pleases Him, and it also tells us what to do in order to build our relationship with Him. It says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” It is impossible to please God without faith. From this you and I can know that faith is really the foundation upon which a solid relationship with God is built. Faith is how we honor Him, and it is the only worthy response to all that He is and all that He’s done for us.

Many of us approach our lives as if we can hold them together ourselves. We call ourselves self-sufficient, when really there’s no such thing. The Apostle Paul said in 2Corinthians 3:5 (NLT), “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.”  Jesus Christ said in John 15:5(NLT), “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”  Everything that we are, everything that we seek to do is funneled down and executed through the power of God that operates within us.

He’s the glue. One missed link, one tiny unraveling thread and it would be all over for us, but God’s love keeps our lives working from day to day, for as Acts 17:28(NKJV) says, “for in Him we live and move and have our being.” We are God’s Children, and we are brothers and sisters of Christ. Romans 8:17 says that we are joint heirs with him. In Genesis, God let us know that we were made in His image. We are three-part or triune beings; spirit, soul, and body. We are spiritual beings with a soul, housed in a body; for 1Corinthians 6:19 tells us that our bodies are the temple of God.

When Adam and Eve sinned, sin entered humanity, and every human born after the first couple was born into sin. Our precious Lord and Savior rescued us from this bondage by giving himself as a perfect sacrifice for our sin, but we cannot doubt for one moment that our destiny was always to be a part of God’s family, and He intended us to live a glorious eternity as spiritual beings. He is spirit, and we are His spiritual off-spring.

God didn’t hit each of us on the head with a wand and say, “BAMM!!!!!! You’re perfect. You’ll think perfect thoughts, speak perfect words, have perfect attitudes and behaviors, and execute perfect deeds.” It was certainly within His power to do so, but that wouldn’t be love, and our Heavenly Father is all about the love. We’re like Him. We have a will and we can call those things which are not as though they were. We can govern our lives and make decisions and choices based on what we want and will to do. The problem with this is that most of us have used our wills to operate chiefly in the flesh rather than in the spirit.

Ephesians 2:10(NLT) says, “For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” As born-again, blood-bought spiritual beings, we have unlimited capacity and ability in the spirit, but we can accomplish nothing long lasting by living in the flesh. God desires us to understand this. We have the choice to operate in the flesh should we desire it, but Romans 8:8 (ESV) tells us, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

What does operating in the flesh look like. Galatians 5:19-21 (ESV) paints a picture for us. It says, “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Some of us will partake in the darkness of actions like these, and then wonder why our lives are a mess, or why we can’t seem to get ahead. No, it isn’t that God is punishing us, because punishment is torment; love and torment are polar opposites. God is all light and in Him is no darkness at all.

This is the razor sharp point that so many of us miss. God is Spirit and Light, and we should be too, because we’re made in His image. But it all boils down to our thoughts, words, and actions, doesn’t it? Proverbs 4:23 tells us that the issues of life emanate from the heart. So if our thoughts, words, and actions flow with Galatians 5:19-21 instead of Ephesians 2:10, the end result is chaos and confusion. The devil loves it when we forget our identity and operate in the flesh, because operating in the flesh means that we’re lunch meat for him. Operating in the flesh takes us out of the realm of the spirit, and gives the enemy an entrance into our lives. You see, the devil knows that when we operate in the spirit he can’t touch us, and that’s why he tries to keep us in the flesh, so that we’ll remain defeated and powerless.

You are on this earth to learn to be like God. That’s your mission whether you accept it or not. Jesus Christ said in John 3:6 (ESV), “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” You and I are born of spirit through Jesus Christ, our Lord. This begins our spiritual journey. It begins that work that will be necessary for our souls. We don’t have to do any work on the indwelling Holy Spirit. He’s perfect! But our souls are not perfect. They are being perfected day by day, with every decision that you and I make to become more like Christ.

We can’t draw near to God if walking in Christ isn’t the modus operandi of our existence. God said in Hebrews 11:6 that we have to believe two things in order to draw near to Him: #1 we must believe that He exists and #2, we must believe that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. When we engage in behaviors and deeds that are counter to our Christ reality, our faith isn’t progressing. It’s not moving forward; to the contrary, it moves backwards. Every dark thing that we partake in or entreat sends a message to the heavens above and everything beneath them that we are not believing and trusting in God. This is a dangerous precedent to set.

God admonishes us to remember who we are and to allow Him to perfect us each day as we renew our minds to His Word. He tells us in Romans 6:12-13 (ESV), “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” God is telling us how to have life! He’s helping us to preserve ourselves so that we can enjoy all the wonderful and extraordinary treasures that life in the spirit has to offer. His Will is that we strive to be like Christ in every way imaginable, and fulfill our destiny as children of light and spiritual beings that are being perfected in Christ through life on earth. ■

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.