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"And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence."
- Colossians 1:18
A true Christian is fundamentally and essentially by nature, spiritual. (Rom 8; 1 Pet. 2:5). All of our growth (true Christian growth), which brings us closer to God and deeper into the things of God is a result of the action of our spirit being engaged with the Holy Spirit. We have to recognize there is a dimension to life that can only be accessed by being born from above. This life is not earthly. It is heavenly, which means it is spiritual. According to the words of our Lord, this experience separates what is of the earth and that which is of heaven. "For that which is born of flesh is flesh; and that which is born of Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6).
What is so vitally important that we understand is that when we became born again we didn't just enter into a new belief system. We became a new species of being. The recreation of our spirit brought us into a whole new world, a world apart from this world. Jesus prayed for his disciples, and for all those who would believe on him through their teachings, and said, "They are not of this world, even as I am not of this world" (John 17:16). When Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, he said, "For our conversation is in heaven" (Phil. 3:20). Literally, the word conversation means citizenship or be a part of a commonwealth. If you know anything about a commonwealth you know that it is constituted by a single government. The Greek word for church is EKKLESIA. We generally interpret it to mean "the called out ones." But what is oftentimes overlooked is that it also involves a nomenclature, which suggests a calling by name. Derek Prince, who was a noted Greek scholar, said: "The name church is a poor rendering of EKKLESIA. It should actually be translated a governed assembly."
If we get a hold of what this means it will change everything about how we operate as believers. We are called by his name (Christian, or followers of Christ), and to be a follower means we are to answer to the government of heaven, which is administrated on earth through the Holy Spirit. In just a few verses ahead of this Paul talks about his determined purpose was to know Christ, to follow after him so as to apprehend that for which he was apprehended, and to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:10-14). This high calling is a calling upward to a heavenly life. He then adds: "Let us therefore, as many as be perfect (or completely devoted to Christ) be thus minded: and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, LET US WALK BY THE SAME RULE, LET US MIND THE SAME THING" (Phil. 3:15, 16). To come under the rule of heaven means we have a governing body that we are to answer to. That governing body flows down from the Father to the Son and to us through the Holy Spirit. As we learn to walk under His counsel we will become more and more conscious of our spiritual connection to the general assembly or commonwealth of heaven. That is why we don't do things the way the world does, because we are not of this world. We have a more pressing counsel that defines our jurisprudence.
So much of today's Christianity is governed by its reasoning faculties and that is why it remains limited in its efforts. What constitutes a spiritual body is one that allows the Holy Spirit to occupy his rightful place in our lives. As long as the soul determines its own counsel, spiritual realities will remain undetectable and indistinct. It will reduce our spiritual capabilities to being weak and vulnerable. Only by the power of the Holy Spirit and our effort to come under the rule of heaven can we see a greater manifestation of heaven working hand in hand with us as we carry out the duties of being the church.
There is a faculty built into each of us as believers that will enable us to comprehend and understand what is truly spiritual. It is upon this faculty that we must come to depend upon and allow to govern our lives. The Holy Spirit works with our spirit, and when we apply our heart to follow him we will come to understand more clearly what it means to live by the constitution of heaven's authority.
So decide today that you are going to give full sway to the Holy Spirit and let him govern your life. To live a spiritual life means you are determined to follow the rule of heaven. It is coming to that place where your whole life rests upon pursuing the counsel of God. God has given us his word to guide our way. May we give it our full attention and allow the Holy Spirit to determine for us our pursuits, our goals, and the things that he desires we seek after. He knows best and he will always lead us right, if we will but trust him.
Just a tip to remind us all, that if our efforts are not founded on the activities of our spirit being engaged with the Holy Spirit then he has nothing to take hold of in order to bring us into the fullness of the blessing of the gospel. Jesus himself said, "It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing" (John 6:63).
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