Growing Spiritually By Carl Marshall

The key to growing one's faith is to understand faith and how it works: How Faith Works, by Dr. Frederick K. C. Price, is a book I strongly recommend. Visit www.faithdome.org for more information.

Over the past several years, I have been reading the Bible in-depth and was quoting Psalms, not knowing for what reason they were written, but the more I understand faith, the more I understand David's faith. Psalms illustrates the confidence and boldness of David in expressing God's love. He does not fear his enemies nor give place to the evil one. Whenever someone can be as bold as David in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then they are ready to commit their life to Jesus Christ, our Lord whom God his Father rose from the dead.

Attaining this victory can be a struggle because of the things we were taught to believe. One has to choose life or death; that is, God may either be obeyed to give life or disobeyed to allow death. The human souls make the decisions. The evil one knows this and works overtime for the decision to be in his favour (Luke 21:19), but there is a consolation from our Heavenly Father, and that is salvation. Eternal life is our consolation after death. We live in hope to achieve eternal life, but first, we must have and grow our faith to the satisfaction of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 6:17-19). Salvation cannot be destroyed (1 Peter 1:4); therefore, the evil one uses worldly temptations to entice us away from the life of Jesus Christ. I pray for all who believe in Jesus Christ that we become strong in faith and resist the temptations of the evil one.

If one wishes is to understand the Word of God for the purpose of obedience (Matthew 5:6), then consider time a major factor. Within a twenty-four hour time span, we use this time to rest, work, and study. It requires strong determination to use our time wisely. The distractions that one encounter will lead to two decisions: One decision is about what is right and what is wrong, and we each decide that for ourselves (1 Timothy 5:24-25). The other is one in which you have no clue so a prayer of dedication becomes the prayer of choice. The flip side is also true. There are those who choose not to understand the Word of God, develop a taste for unrighteousness, and thus, hinder their growth in faith. The thoughts that follow are thoughts that lead them back into the world. These thoughts characterize covetousness, jealousy, grudges, and persecution, which lead to ignorance, a characteristic of the evil one. However, for those who have the fruit of the spirit, understanding the Kingdom of God is natural. All that is needed is our willingness to follow Jesus Christ.

We must understand our spirits if we are to grow in Jesus Christ. The human spirit cannot be harmed physically. Emotionally, it is harmed because of our disobedience to the Word of God (Lamentations 1:3). The spirit definitely has our characteristics by which we will live in eternal life and on that day of the coming of Jesus Christ, life will once again enter our bodies. On the Day of Judgment, the bodies in which the spirits exit will be the unsaved souls that enter hell. The decision to communicate with God, the Father of Jesus Christ, will not be in our control anymore. Therefore, death will be inevitable for those who have lost their spirits (Revelation 21:8), but for us whose spirits remain in the body, death has already been removed because of our fellowship with Jesus Christ. This death I speak of is not the death of our body, but rather, the reality that one has lost his or her soul and in so doing has no hope to be with God, the Father, and his son Jesus Christ. We who are saved will not be affected by this death (Revelation 20:6). The proof lies with the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ because as death approached him, his spirit exited his body (Matthew 27:50; Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46). On the third day, his Spirit reentered his body (Matthew 12:40). God, the Father, made it possible for all to achieve eternal life. Jesus Christ is eternal life; he lives in both body and spirit, but our spirits live only in the body until the time of death, when God, the Father of Abraham and Moses, will receive those whose names are written in the Book of Life (Ecclesiastes 12:7) and send those whose names are not written in this book to a place where they will wait on Judgment Day.

Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God in whom he is well pleased. If we join in the new covenant with him, our responsibility will be to act on the Word of God. Only then will we be able to please God. The full control of the Holy Spirit has been given to Jesus Christ; thus, the Holy Spirit has been made to be "our comforter" until the time of Jesus Christ's next coming. The Holy Spirit is the head of all spirits; Jesus Christ is the "King of kings" and "Lord of lords." I am truly comforted knowing that this same Jesus is our righteousness and the answer to all our needs.

I highly recommend Ephesians 6:11-18 as an in-depth study to protect your spirit and Matthew 4:2-4, 6-7, 9-11 as references for your understanding. These verses are referring to the human spirit.

I grew up in a respected community in Jamaica where I attended church regularly on Sunday mornings. After I watched and listened to the many faces and voices that have preached and taught the gospel of Jesus Christ, I began a self study of the Bible. I started this about the year 1997 or 98; the result is my book: The Light of Innocence. You may read more about my experience on Amazon or my website at http://www.outskirtspress.com/thelightofinnocence.