In our last article, “God’s Method for Giving Us a New Nature” we saw that God gives man a new theocentric nature in order to be the CENTER of his life.
But why does God want to be the center of man’s life?
God wants to be the center of man’s life so that He can reestablish COMMUNICATION with him.
We understand how this works and why it is necessary when we look at the composition of man.
The Bible says that man is made up of three parts: body, soul, and spirit. He looks like this:
At the center of man is his soul. His soul consists of mind, will and emotions.
Before the fall, man communicated in two realms— the physical realm and the spiritual realm.
The SOUL of man used its physical body to communicate with other men in the physical realm. The soul of man used its heavenly body (spirit) to communicate with God in the spiritual realm.
The following illustration shows how man’s soul and spirit were LINKED so that he could communicate with God.
But then the first man, Adam, sinned and his SPIRIT DIED. He could no longer communicate with God. The link between his soul and spirit were broken.
Today people are born without the capacity to communicate with God. They are born in the image of fallen Adam, not God. This is what the composition of man looks like today:
Without the ability to communicate with God, man’s soul can only feed on the things he SEES with his physical eyes. He is the product of what the world makes him. He is missing the spiritual element of his composition. As a result he is LIMITED in his ability to ascertain truth.
Restoration of Man’s Spirit
But when God regenerates man’s spirit, his ability to experience transcendent truth is restored. He gets his eyes back. His spirit is regenerated (is made perfect) and he can SEE into the spiritual realm.
But WHAT does man see when he looks into heaven through the eyes of a regenerated spirit?
He sees himself as a reflection of Christ, since it’s through Christ that he was reborn. Whereas on earth, looking through the eyes of his physical body, he sees himself as limited and inferior. In heaven, looking through the eyes of Christ, he sees himself as unlimited and superior to his former self.
Based on what he understands of himself in the Bible, he knows that both perspectives of himself are true, but he is at a loss to explain it.
Contributing to the problem is his inability to enter the spirit realm as he once had. Prior to the fall, man’s spirit was hardwired to heaven. He came and went as he pleased. But now he can only enter the spirit realm when the Holy Spirit guides him. He can’t enter at leisure. There are good reasons for this.
Man has not been completely restored. Though his spirit has been regenerated (the Bible calls this JUSTIFICATION), his body and soul are still fallen. If God allowed man free access into the spirit realm without completely restoring him, the soul of man, influenced by the lust of his body, would be tempted to cooperate with evil spirits that also exist in this realm. So God limits his approach. God only gives man access as the Holy Spirit allows.
This illustration represents the new relationship God has with man though the Holy Spirit:
The link is only activated as God allows it. Through this link the Holy Spirit:
- Gives us the MIND of Christ.
- Illuminates scripture.
- Establishes relationship.
Of course God’s goal is to complete the restoration process of man. He wants to restore man’s soul and body as well.
Restoration of Man’s Soul
God’s PROCESS for rectifying the relationship between the old self (the self he sees on earth) and the new self (the self he sees in heaven) is called SANCTIFICATION. God unifies the two by TRANSFERRING who you are in heaven (a reflection of Christ) to who you are on earth (egocentric and limited).
God works with you to help you transform your THINKING so that your soul (which is mind, will and emotions) only responds to what it sees of itself in heaven vs. what it sees of itself on earth.
In our next article, I will show you exactly how this is done. I will show you how to transfer heaven to earth in your own SOUL.
Restoration of Man’s Body
Finally, God wants to restore your physical body. God’s completed plan to restore your body happens when Jesus comes to earth a second time. At that time your body will be instantly restored. The Bible calls this GLORIFICATION.
It’s interesting to note WHY God restores our bodies at this time. Of course God’s motivation for giving you a theocentric nature was to reestablish communication and then use your renewed spirit to restore your soul. But God has also been working to complete the transformation of His fallen Kingdom on earth. His plan is to restore you and then to work through you to restore His fallen Kingdom on earth.
That is why the scripture says that God’s kingdom is in you. God transfers his Kingdom INTERNALLY through you first, then completes the process by setting up His EXTERNAL Kingdom on earth. This internal-external process is how God completes the restoration of the earth making it visible for all to see.
At that time our fallen bodies will be changed and we will participate with Christ in God’s Kingdom on earth.
Brothers, I tell you this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and corruption cannot inherit incorruption. Listen! I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be CHANGED, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.
1 Corinthians 15:50-52
In this article we have learned WHY God wants us to have a theocentric nature. We have seen that through this nature God allows us to SEE into heaven and gain a new identity. Now God wants to transfer who we are in heaven to who we are on earth. In the next article, I will show you how this is done.
