Expand Into Your Spiritual Self

Being a Son, Part 2

03/16/24

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INTRO

Good morning. Today I’d like to speak about expanding into your spiritual self, and how to go about it. You may have noticed this talk is subtitled “Being a Son, pt 2”. That means this is a continuation of my previous talk. As such, there is a particular point I wish to remind you of – being a ‘son of God’ isn’t limited to men only. Yes, our language makes a distinction between male and female children, referring to them as sons and daughters. But in God’s terminology all of us who have accepted the infilling of the Holy Spirit are ‘sons’. So please understand that when I speak of sons, I’m referring to us all – male and female.

Also in the previous talk I made brief reference to our “spiritual nature”. Today I’d like to expand on that topic. Additionally, in attempting to learn more about spiritual existence it is important to understand that the spiritual realm has properties with which we’re unfamiliar, since most of our life experience is in the physical realm. So I wish to explore a few of these properties.

I: SPIRITUAL RULES

The first thing to know is that the spiritual realm has rules. These rules are set by God, and they apply to everyone – angels, demons, humans, and yes even to God himself. We see how God holds these rules inviolate by the fact that to save humans The Law demanded the sacrifice of Jesus: No exception.

So it follows that angels and demons must operate within the rules as well. We also see this in the situation with Job, where Lucifer wanted to harm him but had to get approval first. These are the rules.

From this we can understand that when demons are attacking us, there are limits. And if we begin to learn the rules, we can then use them against the demons. We can drive them out when we determine they’re trespassing; we can impose punishments on them for violating the rules; and we can order them back to their prison in the Pit, in accordance with the sentence already imposed on them by God.

You may ask what right we have to do this. First, Earth is our home, not theirs. So they’re “breaking and entering”. And second, God has given us authority to judge spiritual beings. 1 Cor 6:3, “Know you not that we shall judge angels?” So we have every right to condemn demons in our territory and order them back to prison. When we declare this, the angels which are faithful to God recognize the authority we’ve been given, and they carry out our orders to drag the demons away.

Thus the importance of learning we have authority, learning we have angels helping us, and learning to give orders which follow the rules.

A primary way of learning the rules is to learn more about God. When you know what God is like, you know what He wants; because His Law is merely a representation of His nature. So then, how do we learn what God is like? Call on the Holy Spirit to help you. Recall Jn 14:26, “The Holy Spirit will teach you all things.”

Also, read the Scriptures to see how other sons of God dealt with demons. When you read the Bible with the Holy Spirit guiding you, you understand things much more clearly than when reading the Bible without the HS. By having your spiritual eyesight open, things are seen with a new perspective.

Another way of learning what God is like is to review the past significant events of your life. As you look at your own events, but now with your eyes opened, you begin to see how spiritual beings had a hand in them. You also begin to see how your actions which unwittingly broke the rules opened a door for the enemy to gain access to you. This factor is something we should learn much more about because there are many times when we open a way for the enemy to get to us through our own ignorance or carelessness.

For example, as I mentioned in the previous message, when we live in fear that we could lose our lives at any moment and for little reason, in feeling like this we are giving a way for Satan to get to us. Then, once he has a handhold on our thoughts, he twists them until he has us under his control. Hebrews 2:14-15, [Jesus took on flesh and blood that He might] “deliver them who through fear of death were all their lives subject to bondage.” Similarly, we lose effectiveness when we doubt the authority of our sonship.

II. DEFINITION OF EVIL

Next I’d like to posit another concept which may be very challenging to your personal way of thinking. ‘God’s definition of Evil is different than our own’. “What?! What do you mean?” you may be asking.

When we think of the term “evil”, we call on several definitions – doing bad things; or, doing something that harms others; or, breaking the 10 Commandments, or the Command to “love everyone”. But nearly every concept about it is centered on ‘actions’.

Let me offer you a different paradigm. “Evil” isn’t a quality of itself: rather, it’s the absence of God. By this I mean there aren’t two different states – one called “good” and the other called “evil”. Instead there is one factor: the presence of God, or the lack of it.

It may help if you turn your thoughts to a different field. Perhaps you remember from high school science class that there aren’t two separate states of temperature, ‘hot’ and ‘cold’. There is only one measurement: the presence or absence of ‘heat’. Likewise, there isn’t a separate element known as ‘dark’; rather, there is the presence or absence of ‘light’.

So, if we adjust how we think of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ into the presence or absence of God; then we can start to understand things about God that may have seemed contradictory by the old way of thinking.

For example, how can God tell us in the Bible that killing is wrong, then a few chapters later He’s telling his people to go into battle and kill others? Isn’t this a contradiction? No. The commandment isn’t about the action itself, but is about doing that action without God’s permission or presence. In other words, God is able to carry out certain actions which we don’t see as good because He is pursuing a purpose we can’t see or understand.

Consider some verses from Scripture which seem questionable:

In Lk 16:1-13, Jesus is speaking of an “unjust steward”, that is a dishonest manager; and Jesus actually praises his cleverness, instead of condemning his dishonesty.

And in Mt 10:16, Jesus advises his followers to “be as wise as serpents”. Aren’t serpents evil? Why then is He saying to be like them?

Also, Paul says in 1 Cor 5:5, “hand such a man over to satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit might be saved on the day of the Lord.”

What are these ideas? Are they using ‘evil’ for good purposes? They at least deserve more thought to try to understand what’s happening here.

You may object and state that this is a very dangerous position to hold. Because there have been many misguided zealots throughout history who did a lot of killing in the name of God. And I agree that this is a vulnerable stand to take.

Just to be clear: I don’t advocate going out and killing people, then claiming, “God told me to”. Rather, I’m trying to get you to open your mind to the possibility that the way we’ve been thinking of “Evil” may not be the same way God views it. And I mention this as merely one concept of many. There is much we don’t understand when it come to the nature and character of God.

My personal thought on it is this: If a created being pursues an action which we consider to be evil, and he’s doing this unbidden by God, then he must bear the consequences of his actions. He has done these things without the presence of God. But if God gives a being a mission to do a particular action, even if others may find it objectionable, he can do so without guilt or fear of God’s punishment.

In other words, vengeance is God’s (De 32:35 & Ro 12:19). It is not for us to decide when and how vengeance is to be applied. However, it is also the case that God sometimes uses humans or angels to bring about that vengeance. For example the plagues on Egypt that were brought by the hand of Moses.

III: “SELF”

Now I wish to discuss what is meant when we speak of our “self”, and to propose a new definition for us to consider. This new understanding is important for us to be able to come into a more complete awareness of our spiritual identity and to thus make better use of the new abilities available to us. Becoming familiar with our entire nature is how we can access the power God gives to His children.

To facilitate understanding of this new sense of self, I will be describing what we understand to be our ‘physical self’; I then will posit a description of our ‘spiritual self’; and I will propose what me might do to begin assimilating that new being; and thereby become the complete, unified, dual-nature being which God intended us to be when He created us.

For most people for their entire lives their sense of self – the “I” – is fundamentally connected to their physical body. Yes, they can intellectually distinguish that there’s a difference between the brain and the mind; one is made up of a lump of flesh, the other is only electrical signals. And what they consider themselves to be is comprised of their thoughts, emotions, and desires.

Nevertheless, the mind can’t exist independently of the brain, so what we consider “self” is of necessity inclusive of the physical as well as the mental. The brain isn’t alive without thought, and the mind can’t exist outside of the brain.

Some address this by making distinctions between body, soul, and spirit; with the body being the physical form, the soul being the thoughts and emotions, and the spirit being the religious element which seeks connection with God. But never, or almost never, do we think of ourselves as able to live independently of our physical bodies.

As a side note, yes, there are some people who think a person’s consciousness leaves their body upon the death of their body, and that this entity is then supposed to float up to Heaven. And that those disembodied souls that don’t go to Heaven then remain here as ghosts. But I personally don’t subscribe to this theory. I believe that once your physical body dies, your consciousness sleeps until God calls you to wake up in a new physical body. But I also feel that this belief does not foreclose the possibility of an expanded existence in the spiritual realm while the physical body remains alive. The understanding of the interactions between and the interconnectedness of our two types of bodies is where we need to focus much more study.

IV: SPIRITUAL BEINGS

The need to interact with spiritual beings leads to the question, “What are they like? What should I expect if I encounter them?”

Upon turning our thoughts to these types of beings, the first ones that comes to mind are angels. And our mental images of angels come from Renaissance paintings and present-day popular media. These sources depict angels as basically human looking, but with wings. We might also think of something like a chubby baby with wings that flies around helping people fall in love. It is also understood that these beings are invisible to human eyes most of the time. Are these accurate concepts? I believe for the most part, they are not.

Since angels can’t be seen, and since we’re given to understand that they’re as intelligent as humans, our mind wants to furnish an appearance that correlates to our own. But the primary reference we have regarding this subject is the Scriptures.

The first mention of any spiritual being is in Genesis chapter 1. And this reference is to God himself. We see God described as a spirit; as a wind blowing across the waters. We see Him described as the power which created our world. We see God speak of himself in the plural; that is, as more than one. And we see God mention His thought on what appearance humans should have. Ge 1:26, “Let us make man in our image.” From this we have to reason backwards. God doesn’t say what God looks like; but He does say humans were made to resemble God. So from this we can deduce that God’s appearance is human-like; at least to some degree.

Examining other parts of Scripture which reference God we come to the further conclusions that God is considered threefold yet also one. That is, we’ve identified a being who is known at the Father; another being known as the Son, or Jesus; and a third being known as the Holy Spirit. And yet, though these are three distinct identities, they refer to themselves as “one God”. This seeming contradiction has caused people much confusion and debate. But I’m not prepared to give an exhaustive explanation. I merely mention that God speaks of himself as three-in-one. And I mention that for convenience I follow suit with many others and refer to Him, or Them, as the Godhead.

So, if God looks like humans, or rather humans look like God; then what about angels? What do they look like? As I mentioned, most people assume that angels are also human looking. They seem to reason that if God made humans to look like himself, then He would have done the same for angels. But this conclusion isn’t supported.

If God had a practice of always making all of His creatures look like Him, then there would have been no reason to make note that humans were specifically designed to look like God. The fact that attention was drawn to this point tends to indicate that these were different than previous creations.

So, what other Scripture references do we have regarding angels? Genesis 18 tells of angels visiting Abraham while on their way to destroy Sodom and Gomorra. And this angel is described as appearing like a human. However, we learn from other references that this “angel” was in fact Jesus. Knowing this, it’s no wonder this being looked human.

As we continue our search of Scriptures we find that what we refer to as “angels” is not a singular type of being. Instead there is a full array of beings mentioned, and a few of these are actually described.

There are: Cherubim (Ez 9); Seraphim (Is 6); Ophanim (Ez 1); Creatures with four faces (Ez 1);

Watchers (Da 4); Principalities, Powers, and Rulers (Ep 6). Although some of these are roughly humanoid in appearance, others are nothing at all human-like. Such as the Ophanim, which are described as wheels within wheels and covered with eyes.

Beyond these there are other spiritual beings described. And although they are intelligent and serve in God’s presence, they are definitely not human. To the contrary, they are described as “Creatures” and “Beasts” (Rv 4 & 5. Da 7). These beasts are described being like lions, eagles, bears, leopards, and dragons, as well as others.

Some may argue that these were just symbolic analogies. But that suggestion can’t be supported conclusively. The creatures described by Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Paul, and John are very real; and not just allegorical representations of intangible concepts.

I believe we must accept that the Kingdom of God has sentient, intelligent beings which look nothing like humans. Each creature has been made to serve a specific function and fill a designated position.

This explains why when He created humans He pointedly stated that these would be in His image. It also illustrates that God likes a wide variety of beings. And so, you, with your unique personality, are of great value to Him.

With regard to the appearance of demons, they are spiritual beings of the aforementioned classes. We should not assume that only human-looking angels were involved in turning against God. It is likely that members from nearly all of the various classes of beings joined the rebellion. So there are demons from among all the categories of these spiritual entities.

Thus the beings we fight against won’t all look like little cupids. We may someday face a great dragon, like the devil himself; or a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.

Scripture says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you,” Ja 4:7. But we must understand, resisting spiritual beings requires exerting power in the spiritual realm. Let me repeat that because this is key!: To fight spiritual beings we must exert spiritual power! So it’s important to learn how to do this.

V: LANTERN

To help you understand our spiritual nature I ask you to consider a gas lantern. It has a gas burner inside a metal and glass container, and a source of fuel. When the gas is turned off there is no flame in the burner ring and the lantern gives no light. Once the knob is turned to the ‘on’ position the gas begins to flow, a flame can be lit in the burner, and the lantern will give off light. The size of the flame and the amount of light given is adjustable with the knob.

Some lanterns require that when you first turn on the knob you use a match to ignite the gas. However, there are some lanterns made with what’s called a ‘pilot light’. This is a very small flame right beside the burner ring. The pilot light is constantly on, waiting to ignite the gas once it starts flowing in the burner. But when the gas is not flowing, the pilot light is so small it doesn’t give off any light in the lantern. It’s not made to give off light, its purpose is only to ignite the gas once it’s flowing.

Now let’s use the example of a gas lantern to illustrate the various stages of growth of our spiritual self. Think of a person as the lantern, and think of the Holy Spirit as the fuel source. The more HS present in a person, the larger their flame and the brighter their light. Once the fuel is flowing in the lantern it can ignite into a flame; this flame is the new spiritual being born in us. Understand that the flame is different than the gas and different than the lantern. Yes, the first two are necessary, but the flame is its own thing, distinct from the other two.

For most people their lantern is unlit, except for a small pilot light. This small flame isn’t visible from outside the lantern so the lantern appears dark. This is the condition of a human who doesn’t have the BHS. Yes, they have a spark of “life”, which comes from God. But this measure of Spirit which gives life to the physical body doesn’t convey a separate living spirit in that person. That comes only by accepting the full BHS. Then the Spirit in them gives birth to a “new man”, a new being, which is more than merely the spark of life that animates the body.

This new spiritual being is capable of engaging with the spiritual realm and helping the person who was formerly only physical now begin to function in the spiritual as well. Using our lantern analogy, the gas has been turned on and flames have started emanating from the burner; and the lantern begins giving light to those around it. At first the flames are small, because the gas flow is limited; but as the person begins understanding how to increase the flow of gas, they increase the size of their flame and thus give off greater light.

It is possible for the flow of gas to be so great that the flames surpass the confines of the lantern and begin burning around it so fully that the lantern body is no longer visible; only the large flame and intense light is seen. In this state it can be said that the lantern is no longer containing the flame, but that the flame is containing the lantern within it.

VI: HOUSE FIRE

I would like now to demonstrate a concept regarding God’s desire for our wellbeing. To do so I’ll present three variations of a hypothetical situation. I believe the response to each premise will be illuminating.

Each situation begins the same: Imagine a man is standing outside his house that is on fire. Beside him is his first-born son, who is in his late teens or early 20s. They have just escaped the burning building and are standing in the front yard looking back at the house.

For the first scenario, suppose the father asks his son if “Wolfie” the family dog managed to get out, and the son says no. If the son then asks the father if he should go back inside the burning house to look for the dog, what do you think the father will say? “No, absolutely not!” No matter how much they love their pet, the father can’t risk his son’s life for it. Wouldn’t you agree?

For the second scenario, suppose the father is Leonardo daVinci. And imagine he says to his son, “Oh no! My painting of “Mona Lisa” is still in there.” If the son offered to go back inside to retrieve the painting, do you think the father would agree? Again, the answer would be, “No, of course not.” Despite not wanting to lose his prized artwork, the father would want even less to lose his son. So the father would tell him no. And again, I think you’d agree with this.

For the third scenario, suppose the father asks if his second-born son has made it out ok; and the first son answers that he did not. Ah, now we have a much different situation. So now, if the first son offers to go back in to rescue the second son, what do you think the father will say?

And if the father looks hesitant to give an answer, suppose the eldest son says, “Look, I can see inside the front door. A chair has fallen across my brother’s bedroom door and is preventing it from opening. I can run inside, move the chair, and help my brother escape.” As the father still hesitates the son says, “Look, I can cover myself with this heavy blanket and protect myself from the flames. It’s a straight path; I can get in and out quickly.” At this, the father at last agrees. The first son covers himself, runs in, moves the chair, opens the door, and takes his younger brother under the blanket, and they both get out of the fire safely.

Even though the father agreed to this plan, it doesn’t mean he has very little love his first-born son. No, to the contrary, He loves him very much; but he loves his second-born son too. And it was only by having a plan with a good chance of success that he agreed to let his older son try. Yes, there was a risk of losing two sons instead of one; but there was also a chance of saving the second son and thus having both still alive.

Now let’s apply this concept to the risk Jesus took to save Adam and his family. Yes, there was a chance that Jesus could be lost as well. But protections were put in place to help lessen the possibility. “[The angels] shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone,” (Ps 91:12; also Mt 4:6). So because the Father loved mankind so much (Jn 3:16), He was willing to let Jesus put himself in jeopardy to save us. Once the mission was over and mankind was saved, the Father loved Jesus even more because of His willingness to risk himself so that we too could live again.

VII: HOW TO EXPAND

God himself wants to unite with us. “Why would he?”, you may ask. Because of how much He loves us. Think of what you’d do for your son. Because God made us to be “sons”, He wants us to be like Him, to actually be a part of Him.

To become more aware of our spiritual self is to recognize that there is actually a part of God within us. We keep doubting this and finding it hard to accept because we can’t believe He thinks so highly of us. We see ourselves as just His created objects, or as pets, or maybe even faithful servants like the angels. But we think, “the God of Everything can’t possibly love ‘little old me’ as much as all that!”

Yet I declare to you today – Yes! He really does want to share with you His “Self”.

When we receive that Baptism of the Holy Spirit we’re accepting the Holy Spirit to enter our spiritual being and unite with it, to unite with us! The Holy Spirit is a member of the Godhead. The Holy Spirit of God is actually God! God’s Spirit is entering us and uniting with our spirit. Ga 3:27, “As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

We tend to overlook the significance of this because of our ideas of what God must be like. We think, He is an Omnipotent Being who has enough power to create the universe. If such a being were to enter me, I’m sure I would feel enough power flowing through me that I too could create worlds. But upon being told we have the Holy Spirit within, we look for a surge of power but don’t feel it. So then we recall the Scripture that the Holy Spirit is just a “still, small voice” (1 Ki 19:12). This then leads us to think of the Holy Spirit differently than how we think of the “Almighty Father – ruler of everything”.

However, this is a mistaken concept. There is no such distinction of power between the members of the Godhead. Each is as powerful as the others. It’s our mistaken thought of what an omnipotent God should act like which leads to our confusion.

The Almighty God who created the universe and all that is in it is gentle and speaks softly. In other words, absolute power doesn’t have to shout! It can whisper and things still will be done.

So, return to what it means for you that the Spirit of God is within your spirit. Consider that this small feeling that you sense is someone capable of unlimited power. This is God! He’s trying to teach you what He’s really like; and what He wants you to be like, what He wants you to become.

Recognize that how the Holy Spirit worked through Jesus when He was living on Earth in human form, is the same way He wants to work through you and me. When you manifest the Holy Spirit working through you, you’re manifesting Christ’s power. Christ in you!

This concept sounds impressive, even awe-inspiring; yet we may be tempted to doubt that this status really applies to us. After all, “I’m not perfect; I have flaws and make mistakes. Yes, I’m trying to be good, but I still don’t live up to everything I know I should do. So I’m not a very good representative of Jesus. When people look at me they don’t see Him. So I don’t feel right putting myself forward as a ‘son of God’.”

Consider this – has your child ever made a big mistake? Have they then said to you, “I really messed up big time. I’ve embarrassed the family. I wouldn’t blame you if you kicked me out.” What do you say in that situation? Hmm? You say, “I don’t care what you’ve done. You’re still my baby! So don’t put yourself down. We’ll just work together to deal with this. You’re always loved, no matter what!”

It’s the same with God. You’re His baby; and always will be. You may say, “But God is perfect, and likes perfection. And I’m far from that.” So what? Do you think God doesn’t know what you are? Do you think He doesn’t already know how you act? Let me present you with what you may consider a wild idea. This way you are – this way you find fault with – God made you this way! Yes! God knew what He was doing when He created you with this personality. And guess what? He still made you!

You’re not a surprise to Him; not a disappointment. Remember the words of King Solomon, the wisest man ever, in Ec 3:1, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under Heaven.”

VIII: REVIEW

I’d now like to review the points we’ve just studied:

1. The spiritual realm has rules. And as we exercise our authority we must work within these rules if we’re to be effective. Call on the HS to help you learn them.

2. “Evil” is the absence of God’s presence. As you live and work always be sure you are operating within His mission for you.

3. Our sense of “self” extends beyond just the physical world, we now have a spiritual self as well.

4. Spiritual beings have more appearances than just humanlike. Biblical descriptions aren’t allegorical.

5. Like gas flowing in a lantern, the HS within ignites a new being in us, a spiritual being. We need to recognize and learn to connect with our “new man”.

6. The Father’s love for us is so great, He was willing to let Jesus risk himself in order to save us. Don’t minimize what they did for us by belittling your own worth. You are a beloved son!

7. By having the HS within us, we are actually in connection with God, and His sense of self.

– Jn 17:21, “Father, just as you are in me and I am in you, may they also be one with us.”

God had a purpose in mind when He created you. He has a use for your specific personality and your unique set of skills. The only thing left to do is for you to recognize that He knows what He’s doing. Accept the mission He’s planned for you and choose to fulfill it!

I bless you, each one, to recognize your spiritual self, your “new man”; I bless you to understand the full significance of the presence of the Holy Spirit within you; and I bless you to accept that you are already a part of God, and are entrusted with a special mission. Like Jesus, you too are a “son of God”.

Amen.