The Path of Godliness

Motivated to pursue spiritual realities

Those who are motivated by the flesh only pursue what benefits themselves. But those who live by the impulses of the Holy Spirit are motivated to pursue spiritual realities. - Romans 8:5 (TPT)

In the previous chapter, we dealt with the old man and we saw the nature of the old man. But what is the nature of the new man? How does the new man function? And why is it important to function in the realm of the new man? These are some of the questions we will be answering in this chapter. But first, let's understand who a man is. Who is man?

Who is Man?

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify[] you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. - 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NKJV)

When reading the bible, it is important to read everything and to read it slowly. God speaks to our spirit through His word. We have to learn to hear the voice of God through the Scriptures. That's how God speaks to us. God's word tells us who we are. The word of God is a mirror. And through the word, we see what we are really like. 

The bible shows us that man is first a spirit, has a soul and lives in a body. We are usually more concerned about the realm of the soul and that of the body than we are of the realities of the spiritual realm. The spiritual realm is a realm where we meet God. Why? Because God is a Spirit, and if we are going to interact with Him, we'd have to interact with Him in the realm of the spirit. 

What then makes up the soul? The soul is made up three parts. The mind, the emotions and the will of man. When we exercise our ability to reason and to imagine, that's us engaging the realm of the soul through the mind. When we feel the different range of emotions that we feel, that's still soul-ish business. And when we have ambitions and desires, all of that engages the realm of the soul. 

The spirit realm is the highest place to live. I want us to think of the spirit realm as a life and not some sort of place. Because, if we think of it as a place, we might not get there. Many of us will be shocked to realize that we could have been more while living here on Earth. We should leave the earth emptied of all potential. 

Why is it necessary for us to walk in the spirit?

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." - John 4:23-24 (NKJV)

God is Spirit. And He seeks people of the spirit to worship Him. If God seeks such people, then it tells us that it is possible to worship God from the flesh. This also tells us that people who worship from their spirit are quite rare. If they were so many, why would God seek them out? What we are learning from scripture is that God intensely desires people that can interact with Him from such a realm. If we want to be like God, we should strongly pursue a life of walking in the spirit. 

What is God's purpose for the Spirit?

There are many functions of the spirit. But we'll look at just three. 

Worship - But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." - John 4:23-24 (NKJV)

The highest kind of prayer we can ever pray is when we worship God. Most of our prayers are self-centered and that's why we don't get much out of prayer. While there is nothing wrong with giving God our needs, it is wrong however if that's all we do.  We need to come to a place where we can bask in the presence of God and magnify His name with thanksgiving. There are so many things to be thankful for. And we can use worship to glorify the name of God. 

Fellowship - The second function of the spirit is to fellowship with the Father. We can also commune with God. There is no other way of interacting with God without walking in the spirit. Without the spirit, we are only left with religion. But God desires to fellowship with us. And we should yearn to be in His presence as well. 

O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land

Where there is no water. - Psalm 63:1 (NKJV) 

Revelation - We can receive revelations in the realm of the spirit. Now, it takes our walking in the spirit for certain manifestations to occur in our lives. Some people don't believe in visions and in manifesting the wonderful gifts of the spirit. And that shows how much we might lack. 

But as it is written:

"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. - 1 Corinthians 2:9-12 (NKJV)

God reveals things through His Spirit. What revelation have we received since we gave our lives to Christ? This can happen in the life of a young minister. This can happen in the life of a young believer. God can reveal some things to us as well. 

The Bible says, "Now we have received...... the spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given." We need to co-operate with the Spirit of God to be able to manifest the things that God has freely given. We can choose not to be ordinary. We are not ordinary people. But we are children of God. 

That's why we need to learn to walk in the spirit. If we cannot learn to function in this realm, we cannot become what God already destined for us. Remember God already finished whatever we are going to become. Christianity is about becoming what God created us to be. So, the question we should be asking is : what did God create me for? 

The entire universe is standing on tiptoe,[] yearning to see the unveiling of God's glorious[] sons and daughters! - Romans 8:19 (TPT)

We are waiting to see you manifest. God created us to unveil His Glory. Did you ever read where the bible says, "We are one with God?" Well? If we are one, we can manifest God's glorious life in us. Christianity is the manifestation of the life of God in an individual. That's why some people in the book of Acts could raise the dead. That's why they could heal the sick. That's why they could do all those glorious things. They learned to see themselves as glorious children of the most high God!

We are not weak! We are for signs and wonders. We are created to show others the glorious life of Jesus. This is what it means to pursue spiritual realities. We want to make the spirit realm real to us. Did you ever read the portion of scripture where Paul was bitten by a snake, but nothing happened to him? And the people around him thought he was a god. Why? He was able to manifest the glorious life of Christ in Him! 

But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god. - Acts 28:5-6 (NKJV)

Paul just shook it off. Are we Sons and Daughters of the most High God? We can also manifest the glorious life of God in our own lives. I am not saying we should offer ourselves to vipers (That'd be dumb) but let's manifest the high quality of life that Jesus died for us to have. 

Prophecies 

I am child of the Most High King!

I manifest the the Glorious life of Jesus Christ!

I pursue the highest levels of spiritual realities! 

I am born of God!

Note : The prophesies are declarations that we should speak out loud. It's time to declare who we are! Shalowm!