In Matthew chapter 16 Peter had a revelation that Jesus was the Christ. It was on this revelation that the church will be built, people set free and lives eternally transformed.
Christ means the anointed one and this concept has many Old Testament references and meanings. Isaiah 10:27 tells us that burdens will be removed and yokes destroyed because of the anointing.
Jesus came to set us free in every area of our lives. I believe to be truly free and to bring freedom to others then salvation must be viewed applied in a holistic way.
Paul reminds us in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 that God is at work to sanctify us spirit, soul and body.
Now here is what I see as the “big challenge” for so many believers.
We experience salvation, our spirit is cleansed but and I say “but” there still remains much residue in our souls from our past.
A damaged soul can relegate our alive spirit to a life without expression.
The function of the soul is to give expression. It articulates the mind of the spirit within us through the colour of our unique personality. The soul that is damaged, that is twisted by rejection, anger or lust will overpower or misinterpret what God is saying or doing through our spirit. So instead of the soul functioning as the vehicle of expression of our renewed spirit it instead bows down to the strongholds and destructive forces created by the devil.
For the Kingdom of God to reign within me (Luke 17:21) I must be free spirit, soul and body.
Hidden in types and shadows are many biblical examples of God’s intention to bring freedom to us in both our spirit and soul.
Here are a few examples to consider;
1/ Jesus prays for a blind man who eyes were healed yet not able to focus. Our souls left untouched hinder us seeing what God is doing. So Jesus prays a second time.
Mark 8:22:23 So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.
24 And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.”
25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.
2/ Lazurus comes out from the grave yet still bound with grave clothes. The grave represents the old life, the dead spirit. When we hear Jesus call us we leave the old life and are transferred into the Kingdom of His Son. However Jesus wants Lazurus not only to live but to move and express the life given to him. So a second time Jesus moves and commands the grave clothes to be removed.
John 11:43 43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
3/ Elisha lays on a dead boy. Life comes to the boy but with that Elisha is not satisfied. Elisha gets up then returns to the boy who sneezes 7 times and opens his eyes.
2 Kings 4 32 When Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead on his bed. 33 He went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD. 34 And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and he stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm. 35 He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up and stretched himself out on him; then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.
This act is a prophetic demonstration as also is the sprinkling of the blood 7 times in the holy of holies in Lev 13. They both reveal how Jesus will set us free.
Stay tuned for part 4 as I reveal the 7 places where Jesus shed His blood and how the revelation of this sets us free, in spirit, soul and body.
Andrew
