I .TWO SPIRIT SCALAR MODEL

We now consider a very familiar model of man which has been in use widely for evangelization.

NATURAL MAN

This model considers man in the world who is unregenerate as man with his ego on the throne of his soul and the cross outside of him. He is alien to the kingdom of heaven. He has the sinful nature within them. Unregenerate man is sinful by nature. He cannot understand spiritual things nor can he know God.

1Cor. 2:14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Jude 19 These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

Gal. 5:19-21 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Rom. 1:29-32 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

1Cor. 6:9 -11 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

 Col. 3:5-6 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.

CARNAL CHRISTIAN

This is the man who has accepted Jesus as his savior. He now becomes a new creature - new creation in Christ Jesus. But he is still controlled by his ego which is on the throne. He is not controlled by the Holy spirit. As a result his actions are still pulled apart by different desires and in still similar to the sensual unregenerate man.

Col 3:6-9: You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

1Cor. 3:1 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly --mere infants in Christ.

2Cor. 5:17 -18 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

SPIRIT CONTROLLED CHRISTIAN

The spirit controlled spiritual man is one who has Christ on the throne of his soul and the spirit controls all his desires so that it is in consonance with the word of God.

1Cor. 15:44 -46 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being" ; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.

The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.

Gal. 6:1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.

Eph. 4:22 -24 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

However this model is too simplistic and the transition from carnal Spirit controlled life is a long process where each step involves Lower animal passions being continuously crucified until we grow into the full image of Jesus Christ.

Rom. 8:12 -13 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation --but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,

Gal. 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Gal. 5:24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

Eph. 2:22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Col. 3:5-10 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

Rom. 8:5-16 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; ...... For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

Gal. 5:16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

This could be represented as a filling of the Holy Spirit as we open up areas of our lives to the Holy spirit in day today life. Progressive Sanctification then leads to Christ likeness.

Fig 4

Progressive Sanctification

 

The same concept of how the Spirit of God fills the entire human dimensions of Spirit, Soul and Body from the inside is beautifully expressed in the following figure which speaks for itself.

 

http://www.ldolphin.org/unruh/planet/ch8ph.html

 

II .THREE SPIRIT VECTOR MODEL

There is another model that can be developed on the basis of the forces acting on the human soul in their life trajectory. A direct statement on these three forces are given in 1 Corinthians as below:

1Cor. 2:10-12 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God.

These verses in Paul's analysis of man in the world gives us three distinct spirits that exist in the spiritual universe of existence. We are now talking about the spiritual dimension where the real action is.

1. The Spirit who is from God, (Holy Spirit ,Spirit of God)

John 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship him in spirit and in truth."

We have seen earlier that one of the Trinity is Holy spirit. God gives this Holy spirit into the hearts of those who believe in him.

2. The spirit of man

God created the spirit of man within him. It is a force that gives man his direction, purpose and power. Spirit of man is the life giving spirit within man, it controls him.

Prov. 18:14 A man's spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?

Isa. 57:16 the spirit of man would grow faint before me-- the breath of man that I have created.

1Cor. 2:11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

This spirit can be weak, strong or faint. It has variable strength depending on the growth of the person. Each person is a vector in

with magnitude and direction in the plane of existence.

The fundamental immutable reality is God. Hence man must be compared and related with God. Sin and righteousness is definable only in terms of God. It has no other meaning possible. Evil was not created, because a good God cannot create evil. Evil is definable only in terms of a moral beings direction with respect to God. That is what we have done in this vector definition. This property we call Righteousness. Negative righteousness is then evil. In this universe each being is either righteous or evil in charge. The charge of the nonliving is zero because it doesn't have a spirit. A living being can have a charge zero if it does not have a component in the direction of God. He is neither good nor bad.

2Pet. 1:4 the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

James 4:4 You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

1John 2:15 -16 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world --the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does --comes not from the Father but from the world.

Fig. 5

Righteous Being or Positive Righteous Charge

 

 

 

Fig. 6

Devil or Unrighteous Being or Negative Righteous Charge

Fig. 7

This being has zero righteous component i.e. Secular Being or Zero Righteousness Charge.

Fig. 8

 Though this vector has the same direction and magnitude as in figure 3, this vector do have a + ve component in the direction of + It is the position of the being with respect the God that makes the difference. This explains the principle of situational ethics. An act may be righteous or secular depending on the state of the person who performs it, where he is in relation to God. So here we have a situation where not only the magnitude, and direction but also the position matters.

3.. The spirit of the world

The world is filled with creatures with free will. Each being is a vector in the space. The direction of the vector may be defined in terms of the reference point which is unchangeable- which is God's Spirit. The direction of the vectors can then be defined + or - depending on whether the vector has a positive component in the direction of God point or a negative component. the spirit which has a positive component towards God is called righteous and those that have negative component is called unrighteous or evil. Such a person is often called a devil.

Christianity rejects the idea of a negative God i.e. Satan as the antithesis of God. The Zoroastrian (Parsee) religion and most of the religions of the Middle East at the time of Israel believed in a polarized, equal and fighting good and bad gods. God is a good God - if the term can be applied to God. He did not create evil. Evil is not a physical reality. It is a moral reality arising out of the actions of a free moral agent. Man and other creatures of God created with a free will generates evil because they move away from God and follow other interests contrary to the purposes of God. This is the source of evil. Such an agent whether man or spirit, terrestrial or alien may be called the devil. There are many devils and many Antichrists in this world. The moral agent moving towards God and acting as a free agent is righteous. They are saints. But they need not necessarily be in consonance with God nor targeted directly on Him. These spirit beings form a cloud of righteous beings, unrighteous beings and secular beings. This cloud is similar in distribution as electrostatic distribution of charges. In the presence of God the righteous will move towards God and the unrighteous away from God. Hence at any instant there will be distribution of these with concentration of the righteous around and near God and concentration of unrighteous away from God. A polarization has taken place. We can replace this hazy field of distributed + and - by two centers of masses; + which is God and - which we may designate as - and call Satan.

1John 5:19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

Thus Satan is an apparent personality- not real. It is really of title. It is the title of a being who becomes the center of mass or center of attraction of the evil beings. It is a power source of all evil. A better definition can be made in the terminology of dynamics as the sink. Where God is the source and the generator of righteousness, Satan is the sink of righteousness. He is the source of evil but not the only generator of it. In practice the evilest may be termed as such. This apparent negative charge cloud provided by the negative charges by polarization is called the spirit of the world.

The Spirits that are in this World

Polarization of Righteous and Unrighteous Spirits

Fig. 9

Eph. 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Notice the plural used in these - rulers, authorities, powers etc. The power of these lie in hollow and deceptive philosophy, and human traditions:

Col. 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

Col. 2:20 Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world,

1John 4:3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

1John 4:4-5 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. (Plural indicates who is a plurality personified as he in the previous sentence.)

2John 7 Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.

If we now consider a being placed in this field three vectors will be acting. These are:

1. Attraction to God (Spirit of God because of the induced Spirit within him.)

2. Attraction to Evil (Spirit that is in the world. This is because he is part of the field)

3. Self - Ego or self will (Spirit of Man)

The human spirit's force may be weak or strong and may direct in any direction. It is these that make the position of the particular person. The ultimate aim of every man is to be like Jesus.

Eph. 4:13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

In our model it means that man should reach ultimately the +. It is the trajectory of man that is determined by the three forces in this space. The dynamics of the motion is totally controlled by the spirit of the man concerned. The freedom and the responsibility is totally his. To steer himself through to reach the ultimate source he need to change directions, he needs to change the magnitude of his force depending on the position he finds. Human realization is a dynamic process and not static. That is what makes life interesting.

Fig 10

Three Forces on man

 These three spirits are related to the three offices ordained by God, viz. Prophet, Priest and King. These offices were ordained in a fallen world as a method of redemption process.

The function of the Priest is

1. to act as a conservative force and

2. to act as judge in the society to impose justice,

3. to propitiate for the sins of the world, and

4. to act as a healers.

Leviticus provides detailed functions of the Priests. Basically we consider Priests as those who offer regular ceremonial services and provide a stable system. As such they offer atonement and sacrifices for the sins and pronounce pardon. But Priests judged between people, and acted as medicine men. The conservative function provided by the secular component of the spirit of Man and the execution of judgment, healing, and atonement are provided by the components that are along the spirit opposing the spirit of the World and those along the direction of the Spirit from God. Thus Man's spirit represents the Priest. We should note that since man is a free agent the spirit can act as an anti-Priest in unrighteous spirits. In an unrighteous spirit the conservative component is still there. But it will judge against Godly principles and introduce injustice, nullify atonement and introduce sickness, faster decay and death.

The function of the Prophet on the other hand is :

1. to reveal the nature of God through history as it is unfolded. He is the voice of God, the declarer and the announcer for God.

2. to interpret the principles of righteousness in the context of the state of man and society- a watchman one who shows the transgressions and sins. He is the interpreter and expositor of the Law.

3. to bring Man nearer to God - an exhorter

4. to reveal the future. This arises only as a natural consequence of the actions. But the prophet is not really a fortune teller.

Evidently this is done by the Spirit from God. In the Old Testament Period, the Holy Spirit came on the prophets and they prophesied. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit abides within man once he is saved by the cross.

Kingship relies on Power and Lordship. Thus the Spirit of this world is described by Paul as Principalities and Powers. This is what is represented in the Spirit of this world. Human Kingship is a perversion or reversion of the Kingship concept of God. Power and authority in the Kingdom of God is directly related to Servant hood. In Jesus' concept the greatest in the Kingdom of God is to be the servant of all. When Father gave all power into his hands Jesus took water and began to wash the feet of his disciples. Earthly kingship is the negation of the Kingship of God. That is what God told Samuel when Israel asked for a King like other nations.

As long as the Spirit of Man vector is in the side towards God , he i.e. a righteous man will perform three functions: The component opposing the Spirit of World will provide:

1. Opposition to the Spirit of the World - i.e. Kingship of the World

2. Atonement for the sins of the world

The Secular component will provide

3. The conservation so that he may not change too fast under any force making it impossible to adjust for the variations.

However when the vector component opposing the Spirit of this world is more than what is required for the atonement of sins he will miss the target of God. This case is shown in fig.11 This is because he will be then acting as God. For this reason, every High Priest was required to make an atonement for himself before he took the sin offering for others.

The model offers several interesting features:

1. In this case for example

 One important result is that the best way to reach God is by

1. Neutralize the spirit in the world with human spirit. Oppose the devil. Stronger reaction will make you to miss the target. Weaker self will make you move away.

2. Yield to the Spirit of God completely them.

James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Eph. 4:27 and do not give the devil a foothold.

1Pet. 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour

The following vector diagram illustrates this fact.

If the spirit pulls against the spirit of the world more than neutralization it will be as in fig. 11 leading to miss the mark i.e. to sin. That is why Paul warns against the excessive Puritanism.

Col. 2:21-23 "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

Here again notice that as he moves, he need to readjust both the direction and magnitude of his spirit force, and this is a continuous process.

3. A person may be far away from God, living in the midst of sinners, yet he may be counted righteous. If he persevere he will find Christ.

 

4. Similarly a man may be very near to God and may be unrighteous. He will eventually fall away from Christ.

What other deductions can we make from this?
What are their missiological implications?
What is the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian ?
Who is a Christian?
Can we expect good from non-Christians? Can we call them Christians?
What is our responsibility in this world?