ICS Daily Devotions
Let the Spirit rule
The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inner depths of his heart. (Proverbs 20:27)
There are several verses in the Scripture describing man as a tripartite being, consisting of spirit, soul, and body.
The spirit receives divine revelations from God and all divine instructions from the Holy Spirit who dwells inside. He communicates with our spirit and guides him into all truth (John 16:13). The soul features our personality and consists of three parts: the mind (the rational part of our being), the emotion (feelings, moods, and desires), and the will (the volitions and decisions of our inner being). The body is the physical part that contains the five senses and carries out our actions. Our spirit is meant to be the “king”, our soul the “general”, and the body the “soldier”. It is important for the soul (general) to submit to the spirit (king), and to let the spirit rule over our lives because it is in the spirit that faith is built.
If the soul begins to rule instead of the regenerated spirit, it will bring chaos into our lives and there will be a constant struggle between the spirit and the flesh. We cannot command the flesh, if we live in the flesh. The soul (general) is a good executor but a bad king. Therefore, we need to live in the Spirit to effectively submit the body into obedience. The sequence should be as follows: initiated by the Holy Spirit, our thoughts and inspirations proceed through our spirit and soul, until our body acts upon them in a divine manner. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is a life empowered by the Holy Spirit within us, enabling us to take over the flesh that previously dominated us and dictated our lifestyle. It is only when we submit to the Holy Spirit that we are governed by our born-again spirit and are not slaves to our flesh. Paul said that if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control… 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Sermon Series: A Transformed Life
