Romans 13:11, “And
that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out
of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we
believed. 12The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us
therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the
armour of light. 13Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in
rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in
strife and envying. 14But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts
thereof.”
We live in the most
self-absorbed society in my life time. And when we are so
self-focused, we can miss the greater plan that God has for us. If we
are always focused on I, me, and mine, it is difficult for us to
understand the needs of those around us. Our role in God's plan is to
affect our world for the cause of Christ. When I am focused on the
here and now, the day to day issues in my life, it pushes my
spiritual connection farther away. If my attention is given fully to
the pain in my body, the issues of my relationships and the
responsibilities of daily care and provision for my family, then
there is little room for activity in the spirit realm. That is why
the Lord invites us to cast all our concerns on Him.
1 Peter 5:5,
“Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all
of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with
humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the
humble.6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of
God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7Casting all your care
upon him; for he careth for you. 8Be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour: 9Whom resist stedfast in the
faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your
brethren that are in the world.” In verse 7, the word for “care”
in the Greek is “mer'-im-nah” which mean “anxiety” and it
comes from the word “mer-id'-zo” which means “to divide or
separate into pieces (through the idea of distraction).” The word
for “careth” in the Greek is “mel'-o” which means “to care
about.” It is a verb which means it is an action word.
What the scriptures
teach and what Jesus taught is that our physical world and our
spiritual world are indisputably connected together. Activity in the
physical realm affects activity in the spiritual and vis versa. Jesus
understands our conflict and He wants to be part of our daily
struggles. In the person of the Holy Ghost, He has become our
provider, our comfort, our deliver, our healer and everything else
that we need. Our walk with Christ is not a separate part of our
journey in life. When we try to separate the two worlds we create
difficulty for ourselves.
The world around us
can be overwhelming at times, especially in the current state of
world affairs. Many questions flood our minds as to what may happen
next. If we focus on current events alone, we will become depressed,
oppressed, discouraged and defeated. But when we allow the Holy
Spirit to teach us how these events fit into prophecy and the end
times, the uncertainty of our future is eliminated. We can move into
a relationship with Christ where the spirit and physical realms
connect in the prefect plan of God.
What has created
such a disconnect from the spirit world. In the Garden of Eden, the
spiritual and the physical were perfectly joined together. The
disconnect came when man disobeyed and sinned. As a result of that
disobedience Adam and Eve had to deal with issues of life that God
never intended. God never intended that they concern themselves with
anything relative to their living and provision (water, food,
shelter, clothing). He had already made provision for all their needs
and God presented Himself each day to walk with them in the cool of
the evening. Anything they needed, God was right there in person to
provide.
God's intention was
that they dress the garden. We don't know exactly what that involved
but we do know that the environment drastically changed after the sin
of disobedience. They went from having everything they needed to
providing for themselves through toil, sweat and tears. The earth
itself became a vessel of discipline. They were driven from the
perfect climate of the garden to the dry and thirsty land of
rebellion where they had to battle the thorns and thistles for food
to eat. God cursed the ground because of sin and in the sweat of his
face man would have food to eat. And the pain of childbirth would be
greatly multiplied.
God never intended
it to be this way. His plan was for the spiritual and physical to be
perfectly joined together. How can that be with the fallen state of
mankind. Through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the
cross, we can walk in the spirit though we are present in this
physical body. Though we live in this physical world, we live and
move and have our being in Jesus Christ (Acts 17:28). Through faith
in Him, we are sanctified (set apart from the world) Heb. 10:10, “By
the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of
Jesus Christ once for all.” Through faith in Christ we are
regenerated (restored to sinless state) Titus 3:5, “Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved
us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”
And through the saving grace of the cross we are justified (just as
if we never sinned) Eph. 2:16, “Knowing that a man is not justified
by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we
have believed in Jesus Christ,..” Therefore, we can conclude that
through Jesus' sacrifice we are restored to the relationship God had
with man before the fall.
Why is that so
important? God wants to walk with us in intimate relationship. His
intention is that His Holy Spirit is our counselor, comfort, rock,
strong tower, mighty fortress, deliverer, provider, healer and
anything else we need. “But my God shall supply all your need
according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:19
I want to note two
very important factors in the relationship between God and Adam.
1)There was
continued communication between them.
2)Obedience to God's
instructions was absolute.
When these two
principles are observed, the spiritual and physical are perfectly
joined together.
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