CHAPTER EIGHT
THE SPIRITUAL PERSPECTIVE
Before the coming of the Holy Ghost, we’d notice that the disciples of Jesus had no understanding of some of the things He was telling them about the kingdom of God. They’d occasionally come to Him alone for better explanations.
It was impossible for Jesus to tell them much about the kingdom because they were not ready. Their minds were still of the world, they were still reasoning like the people of the world. For example: the rich young ruler had come to Christ to inquire how he could make eternal life. Jesus told Him to obey the commandments and he told the Lord that he had been doing that from his youth up till that point. Jesus then said to him to sell his properties, share the money to the poor and come and follow Him. But the man went home sad because he had many possessions.
After the rich young ruler left, the Lord made a statement “…And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” Matt 19:24 this statement, the Bible says astonished the disciples. They questioned “…who then can be saved?” v 25.
The disciples reasoned from a man’s point of view. First of all they thought that the kingdom was far away, some long distant future they were going to experience. They didn’t know that the kingdom was close to them. Secondly, they felt being rich would stop anyone from entering the kingdom of God.
This wasn’t what the master meant. The rich young ruler had acquired wealth by his natural abilities. Letting go of such wealth was not possible because he had not come to the knowledge of what the kingdom holds. He didn’t know that in the kingdom of God, He can have such and even more, his natural abilities never being a factor. That’s why the Lord said it is impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
When we depend on our natural abilities, it becomes impossible for us to experience the divine nature of the kingdom of God.
After the disciples questioned Jesus’ statement, the master replied: “…With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” Matt 19:26 implying therefore that we can have it all with God. It is all in the kingdom no human effort required.
We cannot approach the system of the world from the view point of the flesh and expect to succeed.
It is often said “if you can’t beat them, you join them” a lot of people who should be enjoying the higher life are living in the lower life because they are operating from the perspective of the flesh.
Paul understands these truths when he said our weapons are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds. If we face the natural world from a natural fleshly point of view, we will fail. If we face a spiritual world from a fleshly point of view we will fail. The only path to success is to walk by the Spirit of the Lord.
When we know these things it becomes impossible to fail in life. These truths that the Holy Ghost guides us into give us an edge over the system of the world. We will even know things before they happen for He is also the Spirit of revelation.
When Jesus said “… seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…” a lot of people have interpreted that statement to mean the born again experience. And the righteousness that is mostly preached from this statement is mostly self righteousness and not the righteousness of God. People are left to “struggle” to be righteous even as it was under the law.
By seeking the kingdom of God, Jesus was saying that we should “know” the kingdom. And what are we to know about the kingdom? First of all we must know that the kingdom exists and that we are citizens of that kingdom by the spirit. We are not waiting for the kingdom to come we are in the kingdom right now. It is a place in the spirit
Jesus said to Nicodemus “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” John 3:5-6
“Except a man be born again” not except a man travels to so and so place. So being born again brings us to the reality of this realm regardless of geographical location. We must understand that it’s a spiritual place not subjected to any physical location. Therefore we do not approach it by the flesh.
The Jews had a flesh approach toward God by reason of the law that’s why they had very little understanding of Jesus’ teachings. The Jews believed for example that one must travel wherever he was to worship God in Jerusalem for that to be an acceptable worship before God. But Jesus’ meeting with the Samaritan woman teaches us that God is not to be approached from the view point of the flesh.
The Samaritans had been worshiping God on the mountains, but the Jews said it was wrong. But see the master’s reply to the Samaritan woman: “Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. John 4:21-24”
The Lord is saying here that whether on the mountain or in Jerusalem is immaterial. It has to be by the spirit.
Approaching the kingdom by the flesh does not limit God in anyway. He is God no matter what. We are the ones who are limited by this approach. We don’t get to enjoy the fullness of salvation because we try to obtain by flesh what is of the spirit.
Secondly we must know who we are by reason of being in the kingdom. We can understand who we are as citizens by understanding who Christ is.
The kingdom gives us two personalities: first we are citizens. Being citizens is and identity that gives us an edge over the system of the world and the kingdom of darkness. This brings all demonic powers to the obedience of Christ.
But there is a greater part of our identity by being in this kingdom. We have become “sons”! Hallelujah! “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” Rom 8:16-17
We will understand the difference between being just a citizen and being a son by understanding how the human kingdom works.
In Jesus’ days, the Hebrew nation was under the rule of the Roman Empire. The Romans had some level of authority over the Jews by just being Roman citizens. The Jews had more respect and regards for the roman citizens and to an extent, are subjected to them.
The Roman citizen exercises some level of authority. But imagine that in this time, the son of Caesar meets a roman citizen and a Jew. Both of them at that time are subject to the son of Caesar!
This is the difference between the son and the ordinary citizen. Being ordinary citizens give us authority over world system and the devil. But being sons gives us authority even over the angels.
We must also understand what we have in the kingdom. This is knowledge that can only be revealed unto us by the Spirit of the Lord.
“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For
who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Cor 2:9-16
Understanding this point can never be over emphasized. Verse 9 begins to tell us that the natural man is in no place to know these things which have been prepared for us. The natural man cannot know because he does not have the Spirit of the Lord, for it is the Holy Ghost that reveals them unto us.
What the Spirit reveals to us are things that have been given freely to us of God. We don’t need to work for them. We don’t need to pay any price they are ours. These are the things that are contained in the will of God, which is the New Testament that we have in Christ. The world will always have a price for whatever it is giving you. That is why the people of the world cannot understand these free gifts. The spirit of the world cannot reveal this unto us. The Holy Ghost knows the content of the “will” of God!
It’s just like a wealthy man who dies, but before his death he writes a will and entrusts it to his lawyer. Now, members of his family cannot know what he has willed to them individually unless the lawyer sits them down and tells them what has been willed to each and every one of them.
Those things belong to them not the lawyer, but they don’t know neither can they possess such because they don’t know yet until the lawyer tells them. Oh! The things that some people suffer because they do not know. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” Hos 4:6
That is why the Holy Ghost is not to guide us into a geographical location of the kingdom but into the truth.
The consciousness of the kingdom
When we know the reality of the kingdom, understand who we are and know the things that have been freely given to us of God, a different mindset is created in us. It is no longer a mindset of defeat but of victory. We don’t walk in fear anymore we walk as sons. We now walk in the reality of the word of God.
It is very possible that you study this book and get excited about the revelation that has come to you from it but yet, in a few days time you lose that excitement and slip back into the mindset of the system of the world, the mindset of the lower life.
Paul writing to the Roman church said: “ And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Rom 12:2. We act in the direction of our knowledge. You don’t hold fire because you know that fire burns you. You plant crops in the field when you know that it is raining season. So we react and respond to our environment by the knowledge we have. If we have the knowledge of the Spiritual realities in Christ Jesus; we will act based on that consciousness.
The world has filled you with a certain “class” of knowledge. You have laws in nature and traditions that govern the way you react and respond to your world. But by now you must have understood that there is another realm, the realm of the “… good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
As long as you are of the mindset of the world, you can never prove this perfect will of God. This means that one must begin to have a different kind of knowledge. This is what Paul meant by “… the renewing of your mind…” Where is this knowledge that Paul is referring to? It is the WORD of God! James calls it “… the perfect law of liberty”
“But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1:25
Notice James talks about continuing in the word, not forgetting the word and working the word. You begin looking into the word first then you continue in the word. By not forgetting it means storing the word in your mind not to study today and then by tomorrow’s study you must have forgotten today’s study no! Then he said to be a doer of the work. The stage of “doing the work” is the stage where the word has become your consciousness rather than the world.
The word must wash the world away from your mind. You can never experience the kingdom of God with the mind of the world. When you get to the point where you are conscious of the kingdom, your mind becomes sanctified, your thinking and reasoning changes. Your language also changes. You begin to walk with a consciousness of who you are, where you are and what you have in the Spirit of Christ. This will teach you the acceptance of the higher life and nothing less than that.
The word brings us to the place of perfection. It is often said in the world that you can never find a perfect human being, but that is not what the word of God is teaching us. This statement derives its origin from the mindset of the world, from the mindset of defeat by the system of the world and of the law. The word of God washes imperfection away and introduces perfection in the process.
Paul, talking about Jesus and the church said: “…That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Eph 5:26-27
The “glorious church” that Paul is referring to here is beyond a church that has no sin. It goes beyond being sinless. It is a glory that reflects perfection in every sphere of life. A church that is not wanting in anything regardless of the changes that happen in the world. This is the kind of glory that makes the people of the world say “…Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” Isa 2:3
The world will never turn to the church except it sees a greater glory than what it knows.
A lot of Christians live the defeated life because they are more conscious of the world than of the kingdom. They see the lack, the defeat, the pain, the sickness and all the negativities of the world rather than see the victory and all the possibility that Christ has brought us into.
Being conscious of the kingdom is being conscious of who you are and what you have in the New Testament. This is very important or else you could be sitting by the river of life and yet dying of thirst.
God had a covenant of circumcision with the people of the Old Testament, from Abraham right down to David. Now Israel was at war with the philistines being led by Saul. The philistines were on one side of the valley and Israel was on the other side. Everyday Israel was being challenged by a champion of the philistines, Goliath of Gath.
Now seeing the size of the philistine champion, no man in the camp of Israel dared to step out and fight with him. Then David came along just checking up on his brothers being sent by his father to see the philistine challenging the armies of Israel. David said something very profound: “…What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 1 Sam 17:26
David had an understanding that the rest of the armies of Israel didn’t have. He knew that they were of the greater advantage because they were a people of the covenant. David was more focused on who they were as a nation in God. The confidence that he had was not in strength but in the covenant.
The covenant had brought Israel to another realm that does not function by human reasoning. That’s why God told Joshua that one shall put a thousand to flight and two shall put ten thousand to flight. That is beyond any human calculation. The normal thing would have been that the advantage is with the one who has more army.
The system of the world has an appearance that will always tend to intimidate us. Situations that tell you “you are not qualified”. That is exactly what was said to David. Saul told him he couldn’t face Goliath because Goliath had been a man of war from his youth. They even gave him an amour that was too heavy for him. But David didn’t need any of that; he knew who he was and where he was. He had brought the covenant into play; he was already in a different realm.
The way you appear to the world does not matter. What matters is who you are in the spirit and where you o
perate from. Saul and all the armies of Israel were of the same covenant as David so in the spirit, they were of the same status but they didn’t know that. They probably are aware of the covenant but they operated in the flesh, they worked with the eyes of the flesh they walked as men of the world not as men of the spirit.
It is possible to know who you are and not live by that knowledge. It’s like a prince who walks out of the palace without his crown. The town folks might not know him (even though he knows who he is) and treat him as they please because he is not carrying the palace with him. But if he was wearing the crown, the crown would automatically identify him and where he is from so that when he speaks, authority backs it up.