THE SHACKLING OF GRACE
The Wrong Manual
Greetings! Think about this...
Why then do so many Christians, perhaps the vast majority of the evangelical church, teach man is a two-part being?
My friend, author and movie producer, Greg Smith as well as Gene Edwards, well known Christian author, believe it happened as follows. Quoting Smith:
“The early Greek philosophers speculated that man had two parts, body and soul, the material and the immaterial. Socrates cemented that thought into his philosophy, as did Plato, his pupil, and Aristotle, Plato’s pupil. The philosophies of these three men, who lived centuries before Jesus’ birth, have formed the basis of Western thought for 2500 years.
All three men taught, ‘Man is body and soul.’ Their writings, until this very day, are held as almost sacred throughout the earth. Their influence on our lives is nothing less than staggering. It has been said, ‘A person born in the West cannot think unless he thinks Aristotle.’ “
Other men of influence still have an impact upon today’s Christian leaders including Origen, a Hebrew who incorporated much Greek philosophical thinking into his teaching. Augustine (A.D. 354-430) who, as an early church father, taught that man was only body and soul. The teachings of these men became part of early church tradition. Even after the Reformation traditions survived and outweighed the Scriptures in many instances. Augustine also elevated the intellect as the primary way to know God. Catholics, and some Protestants, gave supernatural credibility to Augustine’s teaching at the expense of Scripture. Further influence in church teaching came from Thomas Aquinas.
Finally, 500 years later, Jesse Penn-Lewis, Mary McDonough, T. Austin Sparks, and my personal hero, Watchman Nee, all challenged the two-part view of man and moved significant numbers in the church toward a three-part view of man. But how often do we hear the names of these people in teaching and preaching?
What Difference Does It Make?
Jesus needed a dwelling place in his new temple— his vessel called man. He needed a Holy of Holies! The body wouldn’t do, because it was in the process of decay. The soul, also known as the personality, wasn’t a proper place for Christ. It was forever changing and was often a vehicle for evil. The spirit, which died to God and became alive to God’s enemy in the Genesis fall also fell short of God’s holiness. However, what if the human spirit could be replaced? Replace it is what God did as prophesied by Ezekiel in Chapter 36:26-27, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you ....
Now, Christ has a dwelling place. Now, there is room in the Inn. Therefore the New Covenant reads, But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him (1 Corinthians 6:17). This is now the basis for becoming a new creation. God is no longer outside his temple, or symbolically confined to the Holy of Holies. The curtain to the Holy of Holies was rent in twain at the crucifixion in order that the Spirit of God could move from the Holy of Holies (in a building made with human hands) and move into a temple now made without human hands—you and me at the new birth. What is the difference? the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: ‘Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the Lord, Or what is the place of My rest? (Acts 7:48-49). His temple is the Christian believer!
Learn more in my next email, "The Wrong Manual."
-Lee LeFebre
