chapter iii

IN THE FLESH

It is Not a Reliable Sign That Something Spiritual Strongly Effects Our Bodies

Have you ever noticed how you can just think about something and you feel an effect in your body? If you think you are about to get into an accident you tense up. If you hear a noise when you think you are alone you may jump or scream. When something strikes you as funny you laugh. These effects on our bodies are a kind of sign that we are alive, they arise from our likes and dislikes, fears and pleasures. Sometimes these effects are very strong.

When signs of spiritual life are experienced in a strong way, we should expect that there can be (sometimes surprising) effects in our bodies. People have been known to Faint, express joy, shake, cry out, pant, get sick, or groan. To experience intense signs of spiritual life is to experience the Glory of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 3: 7,16,20 we read:

"I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power. . . I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being . . . Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. . ."

"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

"The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. . . I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable."

Remember the text this series of messages is based upon?

We can only handle a foretaste of heaven's glory, we are usually filled with what our flesh can handle. But there are times when the taste is overwhelming to a saint; an overbalance:

• Psalm 84:2

  "My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God."

• Psalm 63:1

  "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water."

• Habakkuk 3:16

  "I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us."

• Psalm 119:120

  "My flesh trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of your laws."

• Daniel 10:8

  "So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless."

• Revelation 1:17

  "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. . ."

But many things other than God's Spirit can trigger a physical response. Remember that even what we think about can bring response. So a physical response, even in a spiritual setting is not reason enough to give assurance that a person is spiritually alive. Here are some things people have said to me through the years that were reasons they were sure they, or other persons, were spiritually alive:

• Saw a shooting star.
• Couldn't stop crying when praying.
• Fainted and had a vision of Jesus on the cross.
• Spoke intongues.
• Experienced healing
• "I'm so happy"

It is possible to have a form of godliness while denying it's power (2 Timothy 3:5). Don't shy away from the fact that your body is effected by God's life within, but don't chase after it as if that is what you need to confirm that you are Spiritually alive. Its too shaky a foundation.