Last week, Tim talked about the difference between spirit, soul, and body (watch it here). I know it’s surprising how many people don’t realize these are three distinct parts of us. The real you is a spirit. You have a soul—your mind, will, and emotions—and you live in a physical body.
The key is to let your soul connect with your spirit rather than being led by your body. We’re not meant to be ruled by our flesh, but by our spirit, which is connected to God’s Spirit. When your soul follows your spirit instead of your body, you can live by the Spirit and not be led around by your emotions or physical senses.
"Therefore if any person is [engrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!"
– 2 Corinthians 5:17 (AMPC)
That’s not just a nice idea—it’s a miracle. When you accepted Jesus as Lord, your spirit was instantly changed. The old spiritual condition is gone, and something completely fresh and new has come.
"For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness]."
– 2 Corinthians 5:21 (AMPC)
This is why you are not becoming righteous; you were made righteous. It’s a finished work. Your spirit was recreated in the image of God, and you became the righteousness of God in Christ.
"For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]."
– Ephesians 2:10 (AMPC)
God knew you before He said, "Let there be light." He loved you, had a plan for you, and then prepared everything you would need to accomplish that plan. It’s not just that you have a calling, you have a custom-designed toolkit, everything you need wrapped up and sealed in your recreated spirit.
"Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own."
– 1 Corinthians 6:19 (AMPC)
"He has also appropriated and acknowledged us as His by putting His seal upon us and giving us His Holy Spirit in our hearts as the security deposit and guarantee [of the fulfillment of His promise]."
– 2 Corinthians 1:22 (AMPC)
God sealed your spirit with the Holy Spirit. When I picture this, I think of Flex Seal from those commercials—they patch a hole in a boat, and then the boat floats perfectly. But this seal is far better. It’s the Holy Spirit Himself, making your spirit impenetrable to anything that doesn’t belong. Your inheritance is guaranteed by His presence in you.
"Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us."
– Romans 5:5 (AMPC)
He poured His love into your heart. He also gave you a measure of faith. And you’ve already been blessed with every spiritual blessing:
"May blessing (praise, laudation, and eulogy) be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual (given by the Holy Spirit) blessing in the heavenly realm!"
– Ephesians 1:3 (AMPC)
God didn’t leave anything out. Everything you need to succeed and live the life He planned for you is already yours.
"For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that [are requisite and suited] to life and godliness, through the full, personal knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His own glory and excellence (virtue). By means of these He has bestowed on us His precious and exceedingly great promises, so that through them you may escape [by flight] from the moral decay (rottenness and corruption) that is in the world because of covetousness (lust and greed), and become sharers (partakers) of the divine nature."
– 2 Peter 1:3–4 (AMPC)
That’s not a future promise. That’s already done. The power, the nature of God, the freedom from corruption, it’s already present in your spirit. So the problem is not that you don’t have it. The problem is often that your soul hasn’t caught up to your spirit.
Let me put it like this: If I said, "I really need a new Bible," and I start praying and believing, and then someone hands me one, am I still in faith about getting it? No. I already have it. Why would I doubt something I’m already holding in my hands?
Yet we do that with God’s promises. We keep asking and striving when He’s already said yes. We need to stop waiting to feel something and start standing on what we already know is true.
"For as many as are the promises of God, they all find their Yes [answer] in Him (Christ). For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it) to God through Him [in His Person and by His agency] to the glory of God."
– 2 Corinthians 1:20 (AMPC)
Every promise in the Word already has a "Yes" stamped on it. You don’t have to wonder if it applies to you. If you are in Christ, then the answer is yes. And your job is to say "Amen" – "So be it."
We have to stop filtering truth through our feelings. You’re not going to feel your way into God’s promises. You walk by faith, not by sight. Your spirit already agrees with God. Now your mind needs to catch up.
