“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” John 3:6 ESV
There are ways to engage in order to manifest the kingdom of God. If you are born spiritually, you exist spiritually. In the natural when a baby starts developing, to come to adulthood ,he /she goes through different stages of learning . Similarly, when we are born again we begin the journey of development .
The real secret of the Christian faith is the birth and development of the spirit man.
If you are born of the spirit but never develop the spirit man you haven’t fulfilled the purpose and intent of God for your salvation. It’s not enough to be born again and never develop your spiritual senses to discern between good and evil.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2 ESV
There is a possibility of living as if the world is our primary realm of existence or that we are primarily domicile on earth. We ought to give the spiritual aspect of our existence top priority. We make every effort physically to engage life, we develop our soul in order to be compliant and live a good life on earth. However, it is expedient for every born again Christian to give attention to our primary existence which is in God (spiritual) .
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
“and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." Revelation 5:10 ESV
We are born into the kingdom of God. This new life cannot be lived by the natural man. God gave us a companion in the person of the Holy Spirit, without the Holy Spirit we can’t live spiritually.
“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:23-24 ESV
Jesus Christ was speaking of a new engagement where worship could be expressed in the Spirit . Worship would transition from the physical synagogue to the temple of citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem,the city of the living God. The father would make a demand and provision for spirit worship.
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17 ESV
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7 ESV
Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit because he dwells in you . If you don’t have the spirit, you are not of Christ. If you are born again you have the spirit of Christ and you can engage the father in every way made available in Christ.
“.........Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” Romans 8:9 ESV
If you don’t understand these truths you will grieve him consistently because you will live like an unbeliever. A lot of believers don’t even know about their new nature. When you are born again you receive the spirit of Christ . The spirit of the Lord bears witness with your spirit that you are a child of God.
1. You have your human spirit
2. Your spirit is no longer dead to God ( your spirit is born again and made alive to God)
3. When you become born again you receive the Holy Spirit/ spirit of Christ.
4. You have the ability to hear God from within
Spirit to spirit relationship
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13:14 ESV
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."”Acts 1:8 ESV
When Jesus was speaking to his disciples about the times to come , he told them that it was to their advantage that they receive another helper. The spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive will be with us and in us. We have the spirit within us .
“Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.” Luke 10:19 ESV
Jesus gave promises that would only be made manifest by the help of the Holy Spirit.
“And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover." Mark 16:17-18 ESV
Without the Holy Spirit we can’t exercise this authority against Satan and his kingdom. It is the Holy Spirit that helps us to live this life and judge every disobedience. The kingdom is expressed in the Holy Spirit.
“(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 KJV
Human beings can use physical weapons but spirits use spiritual weapons. Only Spirits can use spiritual weapons.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:10-12 ESV
From the moment you become born again you are a citizen of God’s kingdom . You cant engage the kingdom without understanding that your spirit is made alive in God by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This isn’t mere theory but a reality to be lived by every born again Christian. We exercise spiritual dominion and authority by the help of the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit we can’t live the kingdom life.
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” John 16:13 ESV
The Holy Spirit reveal Christ to us, he teaches us spiritual truths.
The new life you’ve received cannot be lived properly without the Holy Spirit teaching you how to live it. Because the Holy Spirit will never speak of himself( because of his humility ), we tend to ignore him and resist him .
The Holy Spirit guides you into all truth
A lot of believers have limited truth (mere academic knowledge). The Holy Spirit guides us into the practicals of living the truth. The Holy Spirit takes us through different stages of growth as we yield to him. The Holy Spirit reveals every inheritance that we have in Christ.
“Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.” 1 Corinthians 2:12 ESV
The Holy Spirit reveals the kingdom to us, it’s the revelation given by the Holy Spirit from the word of God that transforms us. We shouldn’t limit ourselves by engaging the word theoretically. The Holy Spirit helps us to go beyond the intellect, to know the truth by experience so we can practically live it out.
The Holy Spirit teaches, guides, helps and strengthens us with might when our spirit man is weak. We need to participate with the Holy Spirit in order to live the kingdom life. Without the Holy Spirit you can’t be kingdom centric and you can’t manifest God on earth. God gave us his spirit so that our spirit can be energized with divine life to manifest the nature of God on earth.
The kingdom of God is revealed by the Holy Spirit
Only believers who live and walk by the spirit reveal the kingdom of God. Only believers who submit to the Holy Spirit as Lord can manifest the kingdom. The believers who govern themselves will never manifest the kingdom of God.
Many churches have kicked the Holy Spirit out, that’s why they can’t manifest the kingdom. They merely exist but deny the realities of the power of the Holy Spirit.
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14:17 ESV
Your righteousness, peace and joy are in the Holy Spirit. If you kick the Holy Spirit out , you will be bankrupt and live far below standard .
The kingdom life is spiritually expressed in the Holy Spirit
This aspect of our existence that has been shutdown by religious teaching and carnality will alive by the Holy Spirit.
Some believers are already worn out spiritually, but there will be renewal and you will activated by the insight you receive now.
The Holy Spirit is the seal of promise ,so there is nothing in scripture that can be attained without the Holy Spirit. You can’t live the life without the Holy Spirit.
Be filled with the Holy Spirit!
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,” Ephesians 5:18 ESV
The Holy Spirit is so gentle that he won’t force himself on us. Most believers don’t understand that they have to exercise submission in order to be led by the Holy Spirit.
“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” 2 Corinthians 3:17 KJV
There scriptures that encourage believers to live a completely different life that is opposed to every way of the world. For example in Galatians we are told to walk by the spirit and we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. In order to subdue the flesh it takes the power of the Holy Spirit. We can not become what God wants except with the help of the Holy Spirit.
We can pray in the spirit by praying in tongues. We can sing in the spirit . We can hear , live , walk, and led by the spirit. When you live in this manner , you won’t find it difficult to deal with demonic powers and influences.
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,.....”Ephesians 6:18 KJV
“For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”Philippians 3:3 KJV
We have no confidence in the flesh. God is looking for people who can train their spiritual senses by exercising their senses to discern between good and evil .
“for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Hebrews 5:13-14 ESV
When you get born again , your spirit man is reborn and you have to develop your spirit man in order to grow into maturity. The writer of Hebrews describes different levels of Christian development and highlights the diet of each. One group can’t handle revelations while the other has been trained to discern between good and evil.
Every child grows by training and that’s how we grow in the spirit.
There are believers who spend all their existence in the natural, they are carnal and take offence when someone speaks the realities of the kingdom. You can’t manifest God’s way of doing things if you live in flesh. The children who are milk inclined are not skilled in handling revelations.
“I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.” Galatians 4:1-2 ESV
If you’ve just been born again, learn the word of God, be discipled so you can be trained in the word of righteousness. Spiritual growth is dependent on your desire and hunger for God.
In conclusion, if your spirit man is not born again you can’t experience the kingdom life and even if you are born again but live without the Holy Spirit you can’t manifest the kingdom life. Jesus is the king of the kingdom and the Holy Spirit is the enforcer of the Kingdom. Every believer that submits to the Holy Spirit becomes a participant in the kingdom of God.
“how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” Acts 10:38 ESV
Jesus as a man lived filled and anointed by the Holy Spirit. He resurrected and ascended to heaven by the Holy Spirit. It’s impossible to engage as kingdom citizens without the Holy Spirit. The patterned son could not do the will of God without the Holy Spirit, God had to anoint him with the Holy Spirit and with Power. This is the reason Jesus commanded his disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit. Be determined to pursue intimacy with the Holy Spirit.
It’s either life with the Holy Spirit or no life. We will walk in the spirit and no longer live as slaves of the flesh.
