I recently shared some ideas about the Adamic nature at work in Christians. And someone asked me: “Would you mind explaining what a carnal nature in a believer means? It was my understanding that you either have a carnal nature or not, if we have been regenerated why do we still have an Adamic nature?”
It’s important to distinguish what is of Adam and what is of Christ. One is pleasing to the Father while everything that eminates from the other has no value before God. I feel the church system has for years misguided people to strive to transform their Adamic nature to be like that of Christ’s. But the only one that can live the God kind of life is Christ.
Regeneration or our initial salvation is when we as believers became a new creation. This is dealing with our spirit. So our spirit is reborn and perfect. What’s not perfect is our soul; our mind, will and emotion. Adam is referred to as the “living soul” in 1 Cornth 15:45 and Gen 2:7. When Paul says put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the lust of the flesh, he is speaking to regenerate Christians in Rome. This duality between the carnal, Adamic or soulish realm of man and the Spirit is clearly relayed by Paul in Rom 7:15-25. He says: “For I know in me (that is my flesh) nothing good dwells for to will is present with me…But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me to captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” The battle within Paul is evident even in our lived experiences as Christians. Galatians 5:16-17 is written to believer in Galatia and states: “Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” There are numerous verses like this including: 1 Corth 3:3, Rom 8:13, Col 3:1-5 and many more. In a nutshell, carnality is synonymous with babyhood i.e living out of the carnal mind as opposed to the spirit. Paul says I speak to you as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. From the sin in the church in Corinth to the manifestation of the numerous issues of the seven churches in the book of Revelation all stem from the fact that the carnal mind is at work even among believers.
The fact of the matter is salvation is just the initial step in the divine plan of God, just like being born into the world is the initial phase to this life. The salvation of our soul is yet to fully take place as this is the process of sanctification. James 1:21: “receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls” indicates there is an unfinished work yet to be done in the believer. This work involves a cross for each one of us; “if anyone desires to come after me let him deny himself take up his cross and follow me.” “For unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains alone.” Life through death is a fundamental principal of the Kingdom.
The soul is a great mystery relayed throughout scripture from Genesis to book of Revelation. The continuous revelation or unveiling of Christ in us is what brings the Adamic nature to death. Right now, Christ is in seed form in most of us. “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (I John 3:2) The most important work is taking place within sons, which is the birthing of Christ. Paul laboured as in child birth until Christ be formed in the lives of the Galatians. And we also “with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (1 Cornth. 3:18).
Sanctification is not just a separation from sin but separation unto God. The birthing or unveiling of Christ in us means we are in union with Him and our mind, will and emotions are one with His.
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