Spirit?
Which spirit is it? Is it of the one above (of God) or is it of the many below (man), uniting as "one" (becoming God)?
by
Dean Gotcher
"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 [the believer evaluates all things according to God's will (according to the words of God), according to the spirit, according to faith], yet he himself is judged of no man [man evaluates all things according to his own understanding, according to his own will (according to the opinions of men), according to the flesh, according to sight]. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ [who was subject to His Heavenly Father in all things, even unto death]." 1 Corinthians 2:12-16 bracketed added.
"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you." John 16:7-15
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled." 2 Corinthians 10:3-6
"Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 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." Romans 8:12-17
"Spirit, in so far as it is the Spirit of God, is not a spirit beyond the stars, beyond the world. On the contrary, God is present, omnipresent, and exists as spirit in all spirits." (Hegel Philosophy of Religion) "Man knows about God only in so far as God knows about himself in man;" (G. W. F. Hegel)
The spirit of "unity" (a "feeling" or sensation of "oneness" with one another, i.e. of "love," i.e. of pleasure, i.e. of "enjoyment," of sensuousness), according to dialectic 'reasoning,' is "only that which is of Nature" (Karl Marx), where "... the eye becomes the human eye, the ear the human ear." (Karl Marx), where man's "sensuous needs" and his "sense perception," i.e. his "sense experience" (that which all men have in common) 'justifies' "human nature" as being the only foundation upon which man can build unity, i.e. finding "oneness" upon (coming to know himself as he is, of nature). "The essence of man is not an abstraction inherent in each particular individual." "The real nature of man is the totality of social relations [team spirit, man 'realizing' common-unity (creating community) by 'discovering' and focusing upon that which he has in common with all men (his "human nature," his desire for the approval of man, i.e. affirmation), engendering common-ism (communism)―building common-unity (community) upon common-ism (communism), i.e. communitarianism, negating that which inhibits "human nature," Godly righteousness]." (Karl Marx, Thesis on Feuerbach # 6) Man's perception of "goodness" is based upon his own heart, which (being wicked, i.e. of this world, i.e. ever 'changing' according to man's "felt" needs in accordance to his internal desires and the external environment of the 'moment') deceives him into believing that he is "good" (or can become "good," i.e. righteous in and of himself, i.e. as God)―basing "goodness" upon the augmentation of pleasure and the attenuation of pain, i.e. a continuum or spectrum of the 'changingness' of "feelings," i.e. of emotions). Only God is good, who is established forever, calling every man to be perfect, as He is perfect (which no man can do in and of himself, not being God). "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17 By making "human nature" (the spirit of "oneness," with man's "natural inclination" to unite, become-at-one-with the world in pleasure, i.e. unity) the standard whereby to measure all men, nature (that which is of the creation, sensuousness) becomes the standard by which man is to live, negating the Spirit of God (the creator, who is righteous in and of Himself, imputing His righteousness to those of faith in Him) in the thoughts and actions (the "theory and practice") of men. Actually the theory and practice of man (man's praxis of the flesh, using his 'reasoning' ability to 'justify' it) negates his ability to know the Holy Spirit and God.
"For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." Romans 14:7-12
While man's love for one another (seeking to become "one" in a "spirit of unity") can be perceived as being "good," it can only be a love of the world. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." 1 John 2:15-17
It is God's love which draws man to God and makes it possible for man to love man, as God loves man. Man's love is vain. It is of "What can I get out of this person or this situation for me?" His consciousness is always subject to his own "felt" (sensuous, carnal) needs, especially lusting after the "approval of men." While we are to love everyone (as God loves' everyone), we are to trust in no man. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5 "Cursed is the man who trust in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD." " Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is." Jeremiah 17:5, 7 "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man." Psalms 118:8
We are to weigh (evaluate) all things according to God's word (what God says), not according to men's opinions (how man "feels" or what he "thinks," even about God's word). Man, putting his confidence in man, will justify his own flesh, doing the will of man. Man, putting his confidence in God, will walk according to His spirit, doing His will. "And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God." Luke 16:5
The "charismatic" movement has been guilty of bringing the world into the "church," confusing the Spirit of God (of the one above) with the "sense experience" of man at-one-with man (of the many below)―even doing "wonderful things in the name of the Lord"―making sensuousness ("human nature"), i.e. the sensation or "feeling" of "oneness," i.e. unity, the standard whereby to weigh God and His word, "growing" the "church" upon the doctrines (the opinions) of men.
We are to "take captive" our feels, thoughts, and actions (as well as the feelings, thoughts, and actions of all men, including our minister's) to the "obedience of Christ," who was obedient to His Heavenly Father in all things, even unto death. We are to walk in His Spirit, living according to His Word,, i.e. as Jesus did, living according to "It is written," i.e. living according to "every word which proceedeth from the mouth of God." It is in our dying to self (denying our desires and thoughts and picking up our cross, i.e. enduring "the rejection of men") and our living in Christ (following after Christ) that we find liberty, liberty not only from the flesh but also from our use of dialectic 'reasoning' ("human reasoning," i.e. "higher order thinking skills") to 'justify" the spirit of the world, the "divine sparks" of the world becoming as "one," as man becomes "one" in the praxis of 'justifying' himself, i.e. 'justifying' (in consensus) his "human nature" (the "feelings" and "thoughts" of man, i.e. the opinions of men) before man, even doing so in the "name of the Lord." After all, dialectic 'reasoning' and praxis (the "spirit" of the ages, reasoning, put into social action) is simply the two or more finding "oneness" through the dialoguing of men's opinions to a consensus and putting their "feeling" of "oneness" (unity, common-ism) into social action negating the one (the Lord) as the only way, the only truth, and the only life, i.e. the only way to the Father. "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6
© Institution for Authority Research, Dean Gotcher 2012-2015