For we wrestle not against flesh and blood
Synonyms for Soul: psyche, spirit, consciousness, ego, essence, conscience, individuality, personality, and self
We rely on the physical so much that we cannot understand or even see the spiritual. That’s what our enemy (Satan) is counting on.
Ephesians 6:12 – KJV
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
In other words, the battle we’re in isn’t physical. It is spiritual! The unseen forces are hard at work around you, and there’s a war going on for your soul this very second. It’s bigger than any physical war man has ever fought. It’s larger than any tornado, volcanic eruption, earthquake, tsunami, or hurricane and more catastrophic than anything that has ever occurred in the earth’s history. If you could produce a movie that could accurately depict the spiritual battle. It would be the most horrifying movie ever made. The good news is that God is on our side, and we have nothing to fear.
2 Timothy 1:7 – KJV
For God hath not given us the Spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
One of the vital things to recognize about the spiritual battle we face daily is that it comes down to what voice you’re listening to and knowing if it’s of God. The fact that you have recognized something else speaking to you is a great accomplishment. (You’re not crazy, LOL) You’re on the right path! Knowing that something else is talking to you is a major plus in your favor. It comes down to three voices: Ours, God’s, and Satan’s. But remember, even the antichrist can deliver a convincing message, as the Bible teaches us that in the End Times, people will give in to false doctrines.
1 Timothy 4:1 – KJV
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
That’s why the Word of God tells us in 1 John to test the spirits to know whether they’re of God. Don’t just run after anything that looks and sounds good.
1 John 4:1 – KJV
Beloved, believe not every Spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1 John 4:2-3 – KJV
Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every Spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3. And every Spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that Spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
The above scripture warns that not every Spirit is of God. If it’s not of God, then it is antichrist (Satan-driven). So, we’ve established the voice of God and Satan, and everyone can agree that humans can produce their own thoughts. Being able to distinguish between the three voices should be pretty straightforward. Right? I had a college professor ask me if it was that simple. Us, God, or Satan? Or could a person be a mixture of the two? RECOGNIZING THAT SOMETHING ELSE WAS SPEAKING TO ME before I became a (Born Again) Christian was nearly impossible. I would have specific thoughts that would come seemingly out of nowhere, and I would ask myself where they came from and why I would even think such a thing. What I didn’t realize was that it wasn’t my thoughts. It was the spiritual battle going on around me.
Do you remember the old cartoon where the devil sat on one shoulder while an angel sat on the other? The devil would whisper evil stuff into one ear, and the angel would say no, don’t do that, don’t think that! in the other ear. That cartoon depicts the spiritual battle around you better than any movie. Remember that in this blog’s opening, I said if you could produce a movie that accurately represents the spiritual battle. It would be the most horrifying movie ever made, but I’m telling you that a simple cartoon depicts it better than anything. So, back to the college professor’s question, is it that simple? Yes, it’s that simple, but the complexity of understanding it is something else on its own.
From a psychological perspective, we tend to enter a Complexity-biased state when trying to understand the spiritual battle we face.
Complexity bias is our tendency to look at something that is easy to understand, or look at it when we are in a state of confusion, and view it as having many parts that are difficult to understand. We often find it easier to face a complex problem than a simple one.
(the above snippet is from Farnam Street; I will make the link available below.)
For instance, most of us know about the cartoon I described earlier, where the devil sat on one shoulder while an angel sat on the other. The devil would whisper evil stuff into one ear, and the angel would say, no, don’t do that or think that in the other ear. It’s very simple to view the cartoon and see it for what it is, but when it comes to reading the Bible and trying to develop a relationship with God. Surely, we have to be able to decode some ancient language or find some missing part of the Bible and learn some unique way to communicate with God, but in reality, all God wants us to do is acknowledge him, and he gave his only son to redeem us from sin.
John 3:16 – KJV
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Trying to have a relationship with God doesn’t have to be confusing. A simple hello works well.
God is not the author of confusion.
1 Corinthians 14:33 – KJV
For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
The devil wants to confuse you.
Before I became a Christian, I wasn’t sure if there was a God and was confused by so many different religions and beliefs. Then, I would see advertisements on TV and websites saying the translation of the Bible was wrong. According to them, even The King James (KJV) needs to be corrected, and if you weren’t learning some ancient translated code, you were wasting your time reading it. Then you would have someone else saying they have discovered a lost book of the Bible that would change everything. With all that added to me being uncertain if God was real, I developed an I don’t care attitude toward Christianity. I would continue like that for a while, but my life always felt like I had something missing: more than just needing a new job or place to live. It was internal, and I just felt empty.
Then, one day, I came across a King James Bible, and there couldn’t have been a better time for it to show up. I remember the day I picked that book up like it was yesterday. My heart was in it, and God knew it.
Deuteronomy 4:29 – KJV
But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Jeremiah 29:13 – KJV
And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
After that, the events that unfolded in my life were so consequential that I couldn’t begin to explain how my life had changed for the better. Undeniably, an outside force had come into my life and was there to help. I knew the Holy Spirit had graced me With his presence. Circumstances in my life that I desperately needed to change. And it did just that before my eyes. (I’m not going into too much detail on that in this blog because it would be lengthy. That’s another blog altogether. I’m currently working on it. (I will post a link here when I’m Finished)
Now that I have covered part of the question, is it that simple? Let’s move to the Second part of the professor’s question. Can a person be a mixture of good and evil?
As far as being a mixture of the two, when a person comes to Christ and is baptized in the Holy Spirit, they will become a new person.
Ezekiel 36:26 – KJV
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
2 Corinthians 5:17 – KJV
Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
When we read the above scriptures, we can see that after a person receives the Gift of the Holy Spirit, their heart changes and is no longer hardened, and all things will become new. I can testify to the Holy Spirit changing my heart and teaching me how to live differently. As far as me being a mixture of the two?
I was a new person, and the Holy Spirit was teaching me how to live and think differently. I could see where one might think someone could be a mixture of the two. When it comes to God and Satan, there is no mixing of the two, but I could see where someone might misinterpret someone’s transformation process as a mixture of the two.
For example, before I was born again, there was a person I quit speaking to and was angry with, but after receiving the Holy Spirit, God changed my heart toward them. We started communicating again and eventually hanging out again; being a new Christian and entering an old familiar way that I used to live came with its share of trials. Even though I was a new creation in Christ and my heart had changed, my mind would want to drift back into an old thought process. I had to rebuke and repent, which isn’t mixing the two. When a person does this, they are saying they are not ok with sin and want it out of their life.
Ephesians 4:22-24 – KJV
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24. And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Staying focused on God’s Word and prayer and fasting kept the old man from returning. Even though I was a new person, my mind needs renewed daily.
Romans 12:2 – KJV
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Conformed to the world
1 John 2:16 Sheds some light on the conformed pattern of the world.
1 John 2:16 – KJV
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.
As Christians, the Bible teaches us how to live in the world but not be a part of the world. The Holy Spirit helps us not to go back to our old ways, and the battle that is going on between the flesh and the Spirit is all part of the process. In Romans Chapter Seven (7) Verses Fourteen (14) – Twenty-Five (25), the Apostle Paul is describing the Spiritual battle he’s in.
Romans 7:14-25 – KJV
we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 16. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. 17. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 18. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 21. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
When reading the verses, it’s also crucial to realize that he did not point out the sin he was struggling with. If Paul had told us what his sin was, we would use it to measure the sin in our lives. Sin is sin in the eyes of the Lord. I believe it is also equally important to point out that Paul recognizes that only through Jesus Christ can he serve the law of God. That’s why, personally and in how I live daily, I have a significant rule for myself: making Jesus the center of everything I do. He walked perfectly, and the Holy Spirit will teach us how.
James 2:10 – KJV (Sin is sin in the eyes of the Lord)
For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
1 John 2:6 – KJV
He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
I praise God for Jesus Christ, who has made all things possible.
Whatever spiritual battle you face, remember that you have a helper who teaches you everything.
1 John 2:27 – KJV
But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
I want to pray with you.
In Jesus’ name, I come before you, Father, and ask for forgiveness and your Holy Spirit to lead me and direct my heart and mind. I believe in you, I trust in you, Father, and I believe in your word that you will never leave or forsake me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
Mark 9:23 – KJV
Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
Luke 15:7 – KJV
I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
Deuteronomy 31:6 – KJV
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
God Bless you!
Thanks for reading.
Scriptures marked KJV are taken from the KING JAMES VERSION (KJV): KING JAMES VERSION, public domain in The United States. Pathway365 is based in the United States and is governed by its laws. Outside of the United States, you’ll need to check the copyright laws in your country before use.
Scripture quotations from The Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press