The Dynamics of the
Everlasting Gospel By E.H. “Jack” Sequeira
Chapter 9 – The Ministry of the Holy Spirit (Part 2)
The element which makes us human belongs is the soul.
Some of these elements are the ability to learn and think,
our ideals, love or hate, feelings, discernment, choice and
decisions, etc. Numerous examples are to be found in the
Bible in the original languages of the Old and New Testaments
where the word “soul” is used to refer to man as a
person [Genesis 14:21; Exodus 1:5; Deuteronomy 10:22; Acts 2:41; 7:14;
Romans 13:1]. This is because the seat and essence of man’s
personality is to be found in the soul, where dwell the
faculties of the mind [Job 7:15], the will [Proverbs 2:10, 19],
our knowledge [2 Samuel 5:8; Job 10:1; John 12:27], and the
emotions.
Since the soul is the seat of our personality, it is the
seat of the real “I.” For this reason the Scriptures often use
the word “soul” in the original as a personal pronoun such as I,
you, me [Genesis 12:13; Deuteronomy 23:24; Mark 14:34]. Therefore, our
“self” is our soul. Hence, everything that originates from the
soul is polluted with self, which the Bible equates with
iniquity (see Chapter 1); that is
why self-righteous acts are condemned in the judgment as works
of iniquity [Matthew 7:21-23].
Again, since everything originating from man’s soul is
infected with self, the Bible often uses the word “soul” to
refer to self. Two examples that may be cited are Leviticus
11:43 and Esther 9:31.
The soul, with its life of self, is man’s natural life and is referred to in the
Scriptures as “the flesh” [Galatians 3:3; Romans 8:4]. This is an important fact that all
Christians must realize, for it bears greatly upon whether one becomes a spiritual
Christian or remains a carnal (fleshly) believer [Romans 8:5-6]. Since the life of the
soul is none other than the life of self, the thoughts, desires, opinions, love, feelings,
etc., that originate or proceed from the soul are all controlled by self. This is our
natural life, because we inherit it at birth.
Consequently, such a life is the life of the flesh, which
is the only life the unconverted man can live; and nothing we
do of ourselves can change this life, not even education or
culture. But sad to say, this life of the flesh is also the
experience of the carnal believer [1 Corinthians 3:3], a life that is
a contradiction to Christ and the life of the Holy Spirit.
In the wholly sanctified man, however, the self-life of
the soul is crucified through the application of the cross
of Christ [Galatians 5:24]. As a result, that which proceeds from
the soul (mind) as well as the behavior of the body is now
under the direction and authority of the Holy Spirit which
indwells the believer’s spirit. Such a life is the life of
Christ reproduced in the believer, and is well pleasing to
God.
This brings us now to our main point and that is the
operation or work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the
believer. We have established the fact that the Holy Spirit
dwells in the spirit of the believer; but it is in the
believer’s soul or mind that He operates. Just as God, in
the sanctuary of the Old Testament, dwelt in the Most Holy
Place, but directed His people through the ministry of the
Holy Place [Urim and Thummim, Exodus 28:30; Numbers 27:21], so
likewise the same procedure is followed in the human temple.
God’s Spirit dwells in the believer’s spirit but operates
through his soul. When this happens, the believer has the
mind of Christ [Philippians 2:5].
It must be made clear at this point that the believer’s body —
and, therefore, his behavior — is never controlled directly
by the Holy Spirit but is done through the soul (mind). Going
back to the earthly sanctuary, we notice that access to the
Most Holy Place was only possible through the Holy Place, so
that it was impossible to communicate from the Most Holy
Place to the courtyard except through the Holy Place.
Similarly, the Holy Spirit dwelling in the believer’s spirit
(represented by the Most Holy Place) can have access or
controls his body only through his soul (symbolized by the
Holy Place).
In order to see how this works in actual practice, we must consider the life of
Christ, for He is the prototype and our example. The humanity of Christ was
identical to that of ours in every point [Hebrews 2:17], so that the body He received
through Mary was a body of sin [Galatians 4:4; Romans 1:3] which was dominated by the
law of sin [see Romans 8:2-3].
For this reason, Christ could be and was tempted in all
points as we are [Hebrews 4:15] through the lust of the flesh
[James 1:14]. However, from His birth or conception Christ
was born of the Spirit [Luke 1:35] and, from the very
beginning of His earthly existence, He learned to walk in
the Spirit, so that Luke could declare, “The child grew,
and waxed strong in spirit.” Thus the mind or soul of
Christ from the very start of His human history was under
the full control of the Holy Spirit who dwelt in His Spirit
[see Luke 4:1, for example].
The temptations of Christ came to Him through the sinful
(selfish) desires of His flesh as mentioned above, the same
way as do ours. For example, it was through bodily wants that
Satan tempted Him in the wilderness to use His divine power
to satisfy self, independent of His Father’s will [Luke 4:2-4]; or again, it was the natural fear of death (self-love
of the flesh) that led Jesus to plead thrice with His Father
to remove the bitter cup of the cross [Mark 14:34-41].
But the fact is that the self-centered desires of the
flesh cannot be satisfied without the consent of the mind or
soul; in other words, temptation in and of itself is not sin
until the mind consents to the temptation. “When lust hath
conceived [in the mind], it bringeth forth sin” [James 1:14-15]. But since the mind of Christ was under the full control
of the Holy Spirit, the response of His mind to every
temptation was “No!” That is to say, “not my (self) will, but
thine [God’s] be done.” Therefore, sin had no part in His
life [John 6:38]; but instead He condemned sin (the law of
sin) in the flesh [Romans 8:2-3].
Christ’s flesh, being sinful flesh like ours, lusted
after sin, but his mind being spiritual, never yielded to
sin and therefore He conquered sin in the flesh, through the
power of the Spirit. So likewise, if we have the mind of
Christ, or to put it in Paul’s words, if we put on “the Lord
Jesus Christ,” we will make no “provision for the flesh, to
fulfill the lust thereof” [Romans 13:14].
In Hebrews 2:18 we read, “For in that he [Christ] himself
hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that
are tempted.” Every time Christ was tempted, He suffered. We
know that Christ was tempted as we are, otherwise His being
able “to succour them that are tempted” would become
meaningless. But the question we must ask is, where did Christ
suffer being tempted?
The answer is found in 1 Peter 4:1, “Forasmuch then as
Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves
likewise [like Christ] with the same mind: for he that hath
suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.”
Please note that the suffering of Christ which Peter is
referring to has to do with victory over sin and not His
suffering on the cross. Christ being tempted in the flesh
suffered in the flesh [see Hebrews 2:10], but His victory was
in the mind. So also says Peter, if we arm ourselves with the
mind of Christ, which was the mind of the Spirit, sin will
cease in our lives, but the flesh will suffer [see Romans 8:5-10].
This is because the nature of the flesh, as we will discuss
later on in this Chapter, cannot alter, but will always desire
to sin and therefore must suffer if not satisfied.
It is in the mind or the soul that Christ gives the
believer victory over sin through His indwelling Spirit. In
fact, it is this to which Paul was referring when he declared
in Romans 7:25, “So then with the mind I myself serve the law
of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” Note also the
admonition found in Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this
world [i.e., “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16)], but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind [surrendering the mind to the
Spirit], that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable
and perfect will of God.” The mind is surrendered to the Spirit
by a continual attitude of prayer. This is what is meant by
“praying in the mind.”
In the unbeliever, the soul as well as the body is under
the dominion of sin (self-life), so that perfect harmony exists
between the two. Paul made this clear to the Ephesians when he
reminded them of their former or pre-converted life which was
“fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind” [Ephesians 2:3].
This is because the life of the soul is also the life of the
body in the unconverted man, which life has been contaminated
with self, as a result of the fall. In the carnal Christian who
is born of the Spirit but still walking after or in the power
of the flesh (self-life), the mind may desire to do the will of
God but, unaided by the Spirit, it cannot overcome the law of
sin in our members [Romans 7:22-23].
Such a life is therefore also marred by sin, although the
person may not be as grievous a sinner as the unbeliever. But
the spiritual Christian is one who is not only born of the
Spirit but is by faith absolutely surrendered to the Spirit
(has the mind of Christ), so that it is no longer “the old man”
but Christ, through His Spirit, that is living in him. Thus,
“the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who
walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” [Romans 8:4].
The Body
The body in fallen man is the instrument which gives
expression to the self-life of the soul. What the soul
(mind) wills is expressed through the body.
The body as created by God was made to be a servant of
the soul, which in turn was to be under the direction and
authority of God’s Spirit dwelling in man’s spirit. Thus,
the desires of the body — such as sex, hunger, love, etc. — as
originally created by God were to be controlled by God
through the soul (mind) so that man’s behavior would
reflect the character of God.
But when man sinned and separated himself from God’s
authority, becoming independent, the natural desires of the
body, now polluted with self, became lust, satisfying self
rather than God. Thus, man’s nature became perverted so that
the lust of the flesh became the controlling factor in man’s
life. Hence, the life of fallen man is in harmony with the
principle of self originated by Satan, which is the very
opposite of what God originally planned for man.
According to Scripture, our bodies in their sinful
condition are referred to as “the body of sin” [Romans 6:6].
This is because the principle of sin — which is the principle
of self — has permeated every member of the human body [Romans 6:6; 7:23].
The body in and of itself is not sinful, but it is the
self-life that motivates the body and which originates from
the unregenerated soul that is sinful and therefore makes
our “flesh” sinful. And this body with its life of sin is
beyond repair. For this reason, the believer looks forward
to the Second Advent when our sinful bodies will be redeemed
[Romans 8:23; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:50-54]. Until then,
the principle of the cross — which is the principle of
self-denial — must daily be applied through the Holy Spirit to
our sinful lives [Luke 9:23].
The body of sinful man, as well as his soul, are both
under the power of self so that at his very best, without God,
he is totally self-seeking. This is the clear teaching of
Scripture: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned
everyone to his own way” [Isaiah 53:6; Philippians 2:21; 2 Timothy 3:1-2]. Thus, the natural life of man is the life of the flesh
which we must now consider.
The Flesh
The natural self-life of the soul and body together make
up the life of the “flesh.” Man becomes flesh by birth [John 3:6]. The natural man, therefore, cannot live any other life
but the life of the flesh. Man may educate himself and become
highly cultured, but he will still live the life of the flesh.
That is to say, selfishness in one way or another will be the
controlling factor in his life. The unconverted man is
powerless to fulfill any of God’s will being “weakened by the
flesh” [Romans 8:3].
In fact, the flesh is hostile to the Spirit of God and will not truly submit to
God’s law; indeed it cannot [Galatians 5:17; Romans 8:7]. Every believer must fully realize
that the corruption of the flesh is unrepairable [1 Corinthians 15:50-53]. Great
though His power is, God will not transform the nature of the flesh into something that
is pleasing to Him. This is because the self-life of the flesh belongs to the realm
of Satan, which realm is condemned by God unto destruction. For this reason, at the
cross Christ crucified the flesh [Hebrews 10:19-20].
Both the soul and the body are by nature of the “flesh.”
The unbeliever and, unfortunately, many Christians do not
understand God’s Word, and are therefore always trying to
improve or reform the flesh. The flesh, being sinful, is
deceitful [Jeremiah 17:9], so that it can appear good on the
surface to oneself and others; but within it is “full of
hypocrisy and iniquity” [Matthew 23:25-28]. Hence all genuine
attempts to improve the flesh, either by punishing the body
or making promises and resolutions, are bound to meet with
failure. Due to its exceeding corruption, God warns His
people to hate “even the garment spotted by the flesh” [Jude 23].
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh,” said Jesus
[John 3:6], and therefore it will always remain so. God
recognizes the impossibility of the “flesh” to be changed,
improved, or bettered, since its originator, the devil, cannot
change. In saving man, therefore, from the power of sinful
flesh, He does not try to change the flesh but has put it to
death through the cross of Christ, and instead gives man a
new life, the life of His Spirit. The flesh must be crucified!
This is salvation from the power of sin [Galatians 5:24]. Once the
self-life of the soul surrenders to the cross of Christ by
faith, this makes it possible for the Spirit to take over the
faculties of the soul (mind).
It is important at this point that the reader also
understand the dual works or behavior of the flesh. When the
lust of the body dominates the life of an individual, such a
life is full of wickedness. However, when the soul dominates
a man he may live by high moral standards (like moralists),
so that his civic character may be a fairly good one.
Nevertheless, the lives of both of these individuals are the
life of the “flesh,” even though their outward characters
may be very different.
The acts (or behavior) of the flesh may therefore be
divided into two distinct categories: (1) sinful acts and
(2) self-righteous acts. The sinful acts mainly proceed from
the lusts of the body and you will find a list of these acts
enumerated in Galatians 5:19-21, referred to as “the works
of the flesh.”
The self-righteous acts, on the other hand, proceed from
the soul and do not resemble the defiling sins of the body. On
the contrary, they are good, often religious, and commendable
acts. The self-righteous acts of Paul before his conversion are
a good example [Philippians 3:4-6]. Believers may hate the sinful
acts of the flesh, but often they love the self-righteous acts
[Galatians 6:12-13].
But in God’s sight, both these works are condemned as sin
or iniquity [Isaiah 64:6; Matthew 7:22-23]. It is only when we
realize this that we will be able to appreciate the stand Paul
took with reference to his self-righteousness, “But what things
were gain to me [his previous self-righteousness] those I
counted loss for Christ ... and do count them but dung, that I
may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine own [self]
righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through
the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith”
[Philippians 3:7-9].
From the human point of view, the self-righteous acts are
highly valued, but from God’s point of view all the good acts
of the soul (or flesh) are hostile to the Holy Spirit. This is
because the flesh makes self the center and elevates self-will
above God’s will. The soul may serve God, but always according
to its own idea or feelings, not according to God’s. It may
even try to keep God’s law with all its power, yet self never
fails to be at the heart of every activity. In 1 Corinthians
3:1-3, the apostle Paul divides all believers into two classes:
the spiritual Christian in whom the indwelling Spirit of God
controls the whole person, spirit, soul, and body; and the carnal
Christian who has experienced the new birth [see vs. 16] but
is still dominated by the life of the flesh.
Consequently, the life of the carnal Christian is not much
different from that of the ordinary man (i.e., the unbeliever).
The spiritual Christian, on the other hand, is reflecting the
life of Christ, being filled (i.e., wholly controlled) by the
Holy Spirit [Luke 4:1; Acts 2:4; 11:24; Ephesians 5:18].
The major problem facing the Christian church today is the
problem of carnality. The churches are full of babies in Christ,
even though the believers on the whole are “old” Christians.
According to Paul, this was the problem of the Corinthian and
Galatian churches [1 Corinthians 3:1-3; Galatians 3:1-3]. History has
repeated itself, sad to say, but thank God it is not too late
to repent. May every believer learn, therefore, that there can
be no partnership between the flesh and the Spirit and that
the only formula for the Christian life is, “Not I, but Christ.”
Hence, victory over the flesh should be the deep longing
of every believer living in these last days, since the glory
of God is to lighten the whole world in our day [Revelation 18:1].
And this victory is gained through the deeper work of the cross,
as the Holy Spirit daily brings it to bear upon us. Once a
believer has by faith reckoned himself crucified with Christ
[Romans 6:11], he must now allow God’s Spirit to put
this into effect, crucifying daily the self of the flesh. Each
time self pops up its ugly head, the Spirit will bring
conviction; our reaction must not be to defend or excuse
ourselves but to surrender this self to the cross of Christ.
When self is completely crucified in God’s people, then the
splendor of God’s glory will shine forth through our mortal
bodies [Romans 8:11-14]. Such believers are ready to meet their
Lord without tasting death.
The deeper work of the cross, which is to remove our
self-life so that the Spirit might reproduce in us the
character of Christ, is often spoken of in the Bible as fiery
trials and chastenings [Hebrews 12:5-11; 1 Peter 4:12-13]. Though
painful to the flesh at the time, “nevertheless, afterward it
yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which
are exercised thereby” [Hebrews 12:11]. It was only through
suffering in the flesh that Christ was able to produce
righteousness in sinful flesh [Hebrews 2:10, 18; 5:8-9].
Likewise, “he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased
from sin” [1 Peter 4:11]. Therefore, we who rejoice in Christ
Jesus must also rejoice in His suffering, so that His name may
be glorified on earth. “Let this mind, therefore, be in you
which was in Christ Jesus,” so that you no longer live the rest
of your life in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will
of God [Philippians 2:5; 1 Peter 4:2].
In concluding this most important section, with reference
to the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, I
trust it has become clear that there is no aspect of the
Christian life that is independent of the Holy Spirit’s
influence. The total life of the Christian is intended by God
to be a life guided and controlled by the Spirit of God [Proverbs 3:5-6]. Thus, the Bible clearly teaches that the Holy Spirit
is the one who liberates us from this self-life of sin [2 Corinthians 3:17-18], is the means of our sanctification [2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1
Peter 1:2], guides us into all truth [John 16:13], makes our
prayers meaningful [Romans 8:26; Jude 20], and gives us the
power to witness the gospel [Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8]. This is the
work of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer.
Therefore, putting self aside, by surrendering to our death
on the cross of Christ, let us make full provision for the third
person of the Godhead to communicate unto us the full salvation
prepared and provided for us in Christ Jesus.
The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Life of the Church
The work of the Holy Spirit does not stop in the life of
the individual believer, but also involves the life of the
whole church. Every believer has been baptized into the body
of Christ, which is the church, by the Holy Spirit: “By one
Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews
or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all
made to drink into one Spirit” [1 Corinthians 12:13]. The new birth
does not only put us into Christ but also identifies us with
His body, so that “we, being many, are one body in Christ,
and every one members one of another” [Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 10:17;
12:12]. Thus, the indwelling Spirit becomes the connecting
link that unites all believers together to form the body of
Christ, the church.
Hence, according to the New Testament teaching, the church
is a closely knit body of believers, with no distinctions
whatsoever of race, color, sex, or status [Galatians 3:26-28]. It is
a fellowship of men and women who are all by faith one in Christ
and who are to be perfectly united and coordinated for the
purpose of manifesting the life of God in the same way that
Christ manifested it in His human body when He was on this earth
[John 14:9; 1 Timothy 3:16].
But sad to say, the Christian church has miserably failed
to do this, so that our present world has not really had an
opportunity to see what God is like. For this reason, every
believer must come to the realization that salvation in Christ
is more than a personal way of escape from eternal damnation.
Every person saved in Christ is saved “unto good works” [Ephesians 2:10; Matthew 5:16; Colossians 1:10; 1 Peter 2:12]; and this is within
the framework of the church, which is to be the salt and light
of the world.
Unless we who call ourselves Christians know this and are
willing to be instruments in the hands of God’s Spirit, the
world which consists of more than 75 percent non-Christians
will never really witness the power of the gospel, and this
means millions will go down into Christless graves.
The apostle Paul makes it clear that every member of the
church has a specific function in relationship to the body,
as allotted by the Holy Spirit [Romans 12:5-8; 1 Corinthians 12:14-26;
Ephesians 4:11-15; 1 Peter 4:10-11]. These texts indicate clearly
that every believer has been endowed with one or more gifts
of the Spirit through which the church itself is to be
ministered to and by which the church as the representative
of Christ is to witness Him to the world. Thus together, the
church as the body of Christ, is to manifest God in the flesh.
In other words, it is only through the church as a whole
that the life of Christ can be fully displayed. No individual
member can fully display or manifest Christ completely, for
the simple reason that no individual member is the total body
of Christ. Therefore, it takes the church as a united body,
living in perfect coordination and conformity to the
directions of the Holy Spirit, to manifest the totality of
Christ to the world. It is this that will take place before
Christ comes, and which the Bible refers to as “the mystery
of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants
the prophets” [Revelation 10:7; Colossians 1:25-27].
From the above facts it becomes obvious that, besides His
work in the life of the individual believer, the Holy Spirit
has a most important work to do in the life of the church.
This work as we have already implied is two-fold. In the
first place, He bestows gifts upon the church for the
specific purpose of developing the body of Christ until it
grows “unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of
Christ” [Ephesians 4:13]. Such gifts are prophesy [1 Corinthians 14:3-4]; evangelists, pastors, and teachers, etc. [Ephesians 4:11-13].
And secondly, the Holy Spirit bestows gifts upon the church
in order that she may demonstrate and witness the power of
God to a lost world. Such gifts are miracles, tongues,
healing, etc. [1 Corinthians 12:8-11; 14:22].
After almost 2,000 years of church history, it is both sad
and unfortunate that neither has the church grown unto the
fullness of Christ, nor has it fully displayed the life of God
in the flesh. In view of this, should we, 20th Century
Christians, not come to God in humility and corporate
repentance for this failure of the church?
After all, the fault does not lie with God but with men.
It is we who have distorted the truth of the gospel [Galatians 1:6,
7; 1 Timothy 4:1-2; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; 2 Peter 2:1], and have put the
cause of self (including denominational pride) above the cause
of Christ. Speaking of the last days the prophet Joel
proclaimed, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will
pour out My Spirit upon all flesh” [Joel 2:28].
The question we need to ask ourselves is, When will God
pour out His Spirit upon all flesh? The answer is given in
Joel 2:12, 13, 17, 18: “Therefore also now, saith the Lord,
turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and
with weeping, and with mourning, and rend your heart and not
your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God.... Let the
priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and
the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and
give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should
rule over them. Wherefore should they say among the people,
Where is their God? Then will the Lord be jealous for His land,
and pity His people.”
It is this deep heartfelt repentance that God is patiently
waiting for from His people. “As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten: be zealous, therefore, and repent” [Revelation 3:19]. And
when this is realized by the church corporate, then will He
pour out His Spirit upon all flesh; and this earth will be
“lightened with His glory” [Revelation 18:1].
“Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion [symbol of
the church]; for the time to favor her, yea, the set time is
come.... So the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and
all the kings of the eareth thy glory. When the Lord shall
build up Zion [the church], He shall appear in His glory” [Psalms 102:13, 15-16].
“He which testifieth these things saith, Surely, I come
quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” [Revelation 22:20].