CHAPTER 6
YOU ARE SPIRIT
Jesus answered, Verily, verily I say unto you, 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
Of all verses of scripture that are misunderstood, I believe this verse from John 3 ranks at or near the top. From what I have heard from others, many Christians interpret this verse to support the absolute necessity of water baptism as a means of salvation. Hence they conclude that water baptism is being born of water and being born of the Spirit is receiving the Holy Spirit as the Lord Jesus did when He was baptized and then coming out of the water, He received the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16).
As God is three-dimensional (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), we are three-dimensional as well, existing as spirit, soul, and body.
As logical as it sounds, it simply is a misinterpretation of scripture. My intention with this book is not to teach about the necessity of water baptism as a part of God’s will for all believers. However, the Bible teaches that baptism in water is simply an outward symbol or confession of our own death, burial, and resurrection in the newness of life (Romans 6:4; 1 Peter 3:21).
Moreover, the Bible uses the word baptism to refer to a number of things—most importantly the baptism or immersion into Christ (Romans 6:3; Acts 2:38). When Peter answered the multitude in Jerusalem, Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, he was not ordering everyone to be dunked in water using the name of Jesus. Rather, and this bears out in the totality of scripture, he was telling the people to turn back to God through repentance (or a change of attitude toward their right standing with God) and be immersed or baptized into the body of Christ by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8), and your sins will be washed away—not with water—but with the blood of Jesus. In fact, Peter makes the same exhortation in Acts 3:19 when he says, Repent therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out..., indicating that the baptism he refers to is actually the new birth—the immersion into Christ and not the ceremonial expression we know today as baptism.
Finally, the Bible teaches that there are many baptisms (water, Spirit) but only one baptism that brings salvation—that is the baptism into the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:5).
In John 3:5-8 the Lord is trying to teach about the clear distinction between the natural birth and the spiritual birth. Why people misunderstand this verse is compelling to me because the Lord clarified what He said at the end of the verse: That which is born of the flesh (of water) is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
However, much like Nicodemus, many Christians have failed to understand even the most foundational of spiritual truths. From our natural birth, we are born into sin, and take upon the nature or spirit of the devil (Psalm 51:5; Ephesians 2:3). The sin of Adam and the death it produced was passed down to all men, which is why the Scripture has concluded that all have sinned (Romans 5:12). This sinful nature inherited from Adam is what drove us to commit the actions of sin (Romans 7:5).
Therefore, your actions that amounted to sins did not make you a sinner. Rather, the sinful nature you were born with drove you to sin. In simple terms, you sinned because you were born a sinner. Consequently, your sinful actions did not make you a sinner any more than your good works made you righteous. I stress these points—not to condemn you, but for you to understand the necessity of being born again and what occurred at this new birth.
So, we conclude that if you were initially born a sinner, then when you were born again, you were born again righteous, holy, and pure (Ephesians 4:24).
Until this sinful nature is crucified, it is impossible to have the intimate relationship that God desires. Jesus said, God is a Spirit. And they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. [John 4: 24] If your spirit is, by nature, the spirit of disobedience, any direct contact with God will kill you. This is why Jesus said that new wine cannot be poured into old bottles, else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. [Luke 5:37]
Since God is a Spirit, your salvation is done in your spirit. As we learn from the Bible that the spirit realm, the things of the spirit, or the things unseen always have dominance over natural, fleshy, or earthy things. God created the world in the spirit realm (using His word, which is spirit) before it became a natural reality (Hebrews 11:3).
In order to truly comprehend these truths, you must stop looking for your salvation in your flesh. The Bible says: Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption. [1 Corinthians 15:50]
What the majority of Christians fail to comprehend is that their salvation was done in their spirit—not in their flesh or mind. The work of the Holy Spirit upon receiving the gift of eternal life is to give life to our new spirit. Therefore, our old spirit is crucified and dead to our past sinful lives (Galatians 2:20).
If you are born again, your spirit is divine, perfect, and is the same spirit as Christ. Many Christians stumble over this truth and this is the reason they are not walking in the victory the Lord died to give them. I’m not saying that you are God, or that you are equal to God. But I am saying that you are a partaker of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4); and you have received a portion of God’s fullness by grace through faith (John 1:16). Being a partaker means that you have been given a portion of God, which is His Spirit indwelling in you. In fact, you are 1/3 divine.
The Bible says: Do you not know that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them members of a harlot? God forbid. What? Do you not know that he which is joined to a harlot is one body? For two, he said, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. [1 Corinthians 6:15-17]
The Bible also says that your spirit is perfect—the same spirit as Christ. But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. [Romans 8:9]
For by one offering he has perfected forever them that are sanctified. [Hebrews 10:14]
The Bible clearly supports this truth: Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, so are we in this world. [1 John 4:17] I like to say it this way, “As Jesus said, ‘He who has seen Me has seen the Father,’ we should desire to confidently say, ‘He who has seen me has seen Jesus.’”
However, after reading this, most people immediately look in the mirror (at their flesh) and conclude that this statement would be a lie. Their flesh is weak and for the most part their minds are focused on fear, death, and worry. As I explained before, you cannot look at your body and soul to see Christ in you, because He is found in your spirit. The Bible says: Wherefore henceforth we know no man after the flesh. Yea though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth we know him no more. Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. [2 Corinthians 5:16-18]
Teaching the same principle to the Philippians, Paul wrote, For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. [Philippians 3:3] Additionally, in his letter to the Romans: For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God. [Romans 2:28-29]
Paul also wrote, For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son… [Romans 1:9] This clearly teaches that our service to God is done with your new godly spirit, and you must serve Him according to grace—not according to your own obedience to the law.
An understanding of the truth that your salvation was done in your spirit will most certainly answer many questions most of you have asked since you were born again. God is a spirit, and He only sees you through your spirit and through the sacrifice of Jesus.
Now your journey is to become completely transformed into the image of God by allowing the character of Christ to be magnified in your body (Philippians 1:20) through the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2) which is accomplished through thoughtful study of God’s word. Any good works, obedience and faithfulness will simply be a byproduct of your relationship with the Lord.
The illustration I gave before of the new Christian and his frustration with understanding the reality of the new creature is pervasive throughout the body of Christ. You were told that your life would change, but you haven’t realized any fruit in this change. The reason being is that you are only looking at your flesh and thinking with your mind instead of looking into the spirit and thinking with your heart. Change has been presented as something accomplished by you instead of simply through the process of planting the word of God in your heart and bearing fruit as a result.
Once you discover the truth that your salvation is complete in your spirit (Colossians 2:10) the rest of your life is a journey toward apprehending the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. You will never fully arrive—meaning in complete body and soul—until you receive your glorified body and completely renewed mind (1 Corinthians 15:49-54; 1 Corinthians 13:12). But, as the Scripture says, Beloved now we are the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that has this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure. [1 John 3:2-3]
I take this passage to mean that during the journey of our lives in Christ, (if we continue to seek Him with all our heart) we will see the Lord in a greater way (as He is), which will cause us to reflect His nature in our outward actions.
Chapter 6--You Are Spirit
