The "spiritual body," referred to in 1 Corinthians 15:44, with which the believer will be clothed in the resurrection, is a logical outcome of the spiritual stage we have been considering. "That is not first which is spiritual," writes the apostle, "but that which is natural; then that which is spiritual" (v. 46, ASV). The babe in Christ is "yet carnal," but by his understanding of Romans 6 he soon ceases to walk after the flesh and walks after the Spirit. Then he understands the "dividing of soul and spirit" and becomes a "spiritual man" with mind renewed, his soul and body a vehicle for God to express Himself through him. Now the original order of the tripartite man is restored, in the sense of:

1. The Holy Spirit ruling in the liberated spirit (the seat of the God-consciousness), with

2. The soul—or personality—as the vessel (the seat of the self-consciousness), and

3. The body as the slave (the seat of the sense-consciousness).

Now the man is truly "spiritual"—or, to put it more crudely, we might say he is a "spirit" dwelling in the vessel of the "soul," and this likewise is encased in a physical, mortal body. The language of Paul clearly shows that the full redemption of the body awaits the appearing of the Lord from heaven. "We ourselves groan," he writes, "waiting for our adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body" (Romans 8:23, ASV); "We wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of His glory" (Philippians 3:2021, ASV); "We would be clothed upon, that what is mortal may be swallowed up of life" (2 Corinthians 5:4, ASV). The body is, therefore, still a "natural" body, a mortal body, a vessel of clay (2 Corinthians 4:7). And not until sown in the earth at death—or changed in the twinkling of an eye at the Lord's coming—is it raised "a spiritual body."

But the "spiritual" man who lives under the rule of the Holy Spirit day by day may have an increasing "earnest" of the coming redemption of the body. For as he walks in the spirit, his body shares in the life-giving power of the Spirit, according to Romans 8:11, where the apostle declares, "If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you, He that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit that dwelleth in you" (ASV margin). The power of the reality of this "quickening of the mortal body" by the very same Spirit of the Father which "raised up Jesus from the dead" can be known only as far as the soul-life of nature is continuously "lost" by the power of the cross (Matthew 16:24-26), for the mortal body can only be quickened by the Holy Spirit when the Life-giving Spirit is free to energize soul and body.

The apostle's suggestive words in 2 Corinthians 4:10-12, ASV, have to do with this stage of the believer's life. Just as the soul-life has to be "lost" to find the Spirit-life inflowing from the Holy Spirit, using the soul-capacity and faculties, so the same principle of "loss" for "gain" must work in the mortal body. Therefore, it is written: "Always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body."

The loss of the carnal-life animating the soul was gradual, giving place to the inflow of the Spirit-life as the believer yielded to the dividing of soul and spirit, brought about by the wielding of the sword of the Spirit by the heavenly High Priest. Likewise, the "dying of Jesus" works continuously in the mortal body as the believer follows on in the way of the cross, "pressed, perplexed, pursued, smitten down" yea, "pressed above measure, despairing even of life" (2 Corinthians 1:8-9), so as to cast him upon the God who raiseth the dead, that he may prove the "life of Jesus" manifested in the sustaining and quickening of the mortal body. This "losing" of life, to "gain" the life of Jesus, is brought about by the Holy Spirit as the believer follows on to know the Lord. "We who live," writes the apostle, "are always delivered to death . . . that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you" (2 Corinthians 4:11-12, ASV).

Painful as it is to the "mortal flesh," the "spiritual man, able to "examine" these deep things of God, can see that the inworking of death and life means two results of vital importance to the Lord and His people: (1) That when the life of Jesus can freely flow from the sanctuary of the spirit through the soul faculties, quickening the "mortal body" with unhindered power, it means life to others, as well as to the believer himself—a quickening life to the whole Church of Christ, as depicted by the Lord in His promise of rivers of living water. (2) That this quickening of the mortal body is the "earnest of the Spirit," whereby the body itself is being prepared for the hour when "what is mortal may be swallowed up of life," even as the apostle writes, ". . . He that wrought us for this very thing is God, who gave unto us the earnest of the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 5:4-5, ASV).

The believer who has become really "spiritual"—that is, with his spirit ruling soul and body—does not at that time pass out of the realm of conflict but enters upon a more subtle phase of it, as set forth in Ephesians 6:10-18. The man who is said, in Ephesians 2:6, to be "seated with Christ in the heavenlies" is afterwards described as "wrestling" with spiritual hosts of wickedness in "high places," particularly in the form of the "wiles" of the devil.

This indicates that the spiritual believer in conflict has mainly to watch against subtle spiritual wiles of spirit foes, who are seeking to entangle him in matters connected with the spiritual realm, rather than in the conflict between flesh and spirit described in Galatians 5:17.

In this phase of conflict, the wiles of the powers of darkness are mainly directed toward getting the spiritual man to walk, in some degree, after the soul and not after the spirit; that is, to be influenced by and to walk by anything in the realm of the senses, instead of in the spirit in co-operation with the Holy Spirit of God.

It is essential, then, that the spiritual believer should understand that deceiving spirits of Satan can create a counterfeit of the human spirit in the realm of the soul. They do this by getting access to the outer man by guile and then producing emotions in the man other than those of the spirit. When these other emotions—which possibly appear spiritual—get a hold, they may become strong enough to silence or overpower the true spirit-action. If the believer is ignorant of the tactics of the enemy in this way, the true spirit-action is easily allowed to sink into disuse by the man following the counterfeit spiritual feelings, thinking he is "walking after the spirit."

When the true spirit-action ceases, the evil spirits may suggest that "God now guides through the renewed mind." Such is an attempt to hide their counterfeit workings and the man's disuse of his spirit. At the same time comes counterfeit light to the mind, followed by counterfeit reasoning, judging, etc., and the man thinks he has light from God because he is unaware that he has ceased to "walk after the spirit" and is now walking after the soulish-mind.

Another danger for the spiritual man lies in the subtle attempts of the deceiving spirits of Satan to get him to walk after the flesh (i.e., body), in the belief that he is still walking in the spirit, by creating feelings in the body which the man thinks are "spiritual." To defeat these wiles, the believer should understand that all physical consciousness of supernatural things, even undue physical consciousness of natural things, should be refused. Both divert the mind from "walking after the spirit" and set it upon the bodily sensations. Undue physical consciousness is also an obstacle to the continuous concentration of the mind. In a spiritual believer an "attack" of "physical consciousness" made use of by the enemy may break concentration of the mind and bring a cloud upon the spirit. Therefore the body should be kept calm and under full control. For this reason, excessive laughter and all "rushing" which rouses the physical life to the extent of dominating mind and spirit should be avoided. Believers who desire to be "spiritual," and of "full age" in the life of God, must avoid excess, extravagance and extremes in all things (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:25-27).

Because of the domination of the physical part of the man and the misunderstanding of supernatural experiences felt in the body, the body is made to do the work of the spirit and is forced into prominence which suppresses the true spirit-life. Under such conditions the body feels the pressure, feels the conflict, and becomes the "sense" in the place of the mind and spirit. Believers should learn to discriminate and know how to discern the true feelings of the spirit, which are neither emotional (soulish) nor physical. (See, for example, Mark 8:12; John 13:21; Acts 18:5, KJV.)

Through ignorance, a large majority of believers walk "after the soul," i.e., their mind and emotions, under the impression that they are "walking after the spirit." Because of what this means—depriving the believer of vital spirit power—the satanic forces use all their wiles to draw him to live in his soul or body, sometimes flashing visions to the mind, making presentations to the mind during prayer or giving exquisite sensations of joy, buoyancy of life, etc., to the body.

To depend upon supernatural things given from outside, or experiences in the sense realm, checks the inward spiritual life. By the bait of "experiences" in the senses the believer is drawn to live in the outer field of his body instead of living in the true sphere of the spirit. Then, ceasing to act from his center, he is caught by the outer workings of the supernatural in his circumference and loses—quite unconsciously—his inner co-operation with God. Then his spirit, which is the organ of the Holy Spirit in conflict against a spiritual foe, drops into abeyance and is ignored, because the believer is occupied with the sense-experience. Consequently, it is practically out of action, either for guidance or for power in service and conflict.

There is a serious danger arising out of the human spirit acting apart from co-operation with the Holy Spirit. When the spirit has been "divided" from the soul and become dominant, it is then open to become influenced by deceiving spirits in quite another way. Supposing in one of the ways already indicated, or otherwise, the man has ceased (unconsciously) to co-operate with the Holy Spirit, and is still guided by his spirit, he is liable to think his own masterful spirit is an evidence of the power of God, because in other directions he sees the Holy Spirit using him in winning souls. Under that delusion, he may have a flood of indignation inserted into his spirit, and he pours it out, thinking it is all of God. But others, with real discernment, are conscious of a harsh note which is clearly not of God. Such an experience may easily take place in conflict, as well as in speaking, if the praying one is not watchful—the energizing power being demonical and either influencing the spirit directly or by way of the soulish emotions.

This influence on the human spirit by evil spirits counterfeiting the divine workings in the man himself—because he is out of co-working with the Holy Spirit needs to be understood and detected by the believer who seeks to walk with God. He needs to know that because he is spiritual his spirit is open to two forces of the spirit realm. If he thinks that only the Holy Spirit can influence him in the spiritual sphere, he is sure to be misled. If it were so, he would become infallible. But he needs to watch and pray, and seek to have the eyes of his understanding enlightened to distinguish the true workings of God from the counterfeit.

The believer who is "spiritual" must ponder deeply the unveiling of the heavenly warfare given in Ephesians 6 and strive to know in its fullest extent the experiential meaning of the "whole armor of God" which he is to "take" and use in the "evil day" of specific onslaughts by the foe.

The burden of the Spirit of God at this present time is the perfecting, or full ripening into maturity, of the members of the Body of Christ, so that His appearing may quickly take place and the millennial reign of Christ and His co-heirs be ushered in. For the peace of the world and the discomfiture of Satan—who will then be cast down into the pit, and the kingdoms of the world become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ—for that, "Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen."

Made free! Made free in Jesus:
Deep planted in His death,
He liberates His Life power,
And breathes His Spirit's breath,
Then, waxing strong in spirit,
With force of quickening life,
The soul and body governed,
Its members cease from strife.
Made free! Made free in Jesus:
Joined to the Risen One,
By conflict prayer you triumph,
And claim His victory won.
Freed with His glorious freedom,
Above the darkness rife;
For now the law of sin and death
Is conquered by His life.

M .M.