The Plan of God for man is made up of three parts. Salvation is the point where man gains entrance into God*s Plan. Following Salvation is the Christian way of life in time. This second phase continues until death or the Rapture and involves growth and exercise of spiritual muscle. The final segment is Eternity and involves God*s provision for our Eternal well being. In Salvation, in Time and in Eternity, God has provided the assets necessary to function and He has avoided any dependence on the work of man. Salvation was accomplished by Christ and provided in Grace, provision in time is through the power of the Holy Spirit, and Eternity is provided by God the Father.

The Christian way of life is supernatural and can only be accomplished through the power of God the Holy Spirit. Man is imperfect and cannot have fellowship with God unless compatibility is established. It is through Regeneration (Spiritual Birth) and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that man can fellowship with God. The Holy Spirit is provided at the moment of Salvation to indwell and empower every Believer. Therefore, Spirituality is a relationship with the Holy Spirit whereby God controls the Believer*s life. This empowerment is called the filling of the Spirit. While every Believer is indwelt by the Spirit, every Believer is not always controlled or filled by the Holy Spirit. It is through this relationship with the Holy Spirit that Divinely motivated behavior and production can result. Exterior behavior is of little value. If the Holy Spirit does not control your life the result is empty production (wood, hay & stubble).

(1 Cor. 3:12-14) Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

Every Believer gets the Holy Spirit as the result of Salvation.

(1 Cor. 3:16)Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

(Rom. 8:9) But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

(1 Cor. 6:19) What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Believers are Commanded to be filled with the Spirit.

It is to our benefit to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. Our growth depends on the Holy Spirit. We cannot function Spiritually without Divine Power.

(Galations 5:16) This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

(Rom. 8:4) That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

(1 John 1:7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Fellowship with God is only possible through the Spirit filled life.

The Character of God demands Perfect Holiness. If fellowship is to exist with God, we must be free of sin. Without the control of the Holy Spirit in the Believer*s life, Spiritual fellowship with God is impossible. God*s Standard can only be met or achieved through the power of the Holy Spirit.

(Rom. 8:8) So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

(Isaiah 59:2) But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

Christians still sin after they are Saved.

The Christian way of life is a continuous battle between Human Viewpoint and Divine Viewpoint, between Carnality and Spirituality, and between the Old Sin Nature and the Power of the Holy Spirit. Salvation is an accomplished fact through faith and is Eternally settled, but Spirituality is a moment by moment battle that requires constant vigilance and provision through the Holy Spirit. Much confusion exists for Christians if these two concepts are not properly understood.

(1 John 2:1) My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

(1 John 1:10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Christians must recognize their sin and rebound.

Spirituality can only function in a spiritually sanitary environment. Because sin destroys the spiritual status of the Believer, self examination must be continuous. If we acknowledge our condition to God, restitution is assured and spirituality resumes. Failure to recognize a state of carnality only compounds the situation and results in lost production and discipline for the Believer.

(1 Cor. 11:31) For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

(1 John 1:9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

(Psalms 51:10) Create in me a clean heart, 0 God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Spirituality is absolute.

At any one moment you are either spiritual or carnal. Spirituality is not a relative process. Either you are controlled by the Spirit or you are operating under the power of the flesh (the old sin nature).

(Galations 5:17) For the flesh lust eth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

(Matthew 6:24) No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

(Rom. 8:8) So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Personal sin grieves the Spirit and neutralizes the Believer*s power.

If we are to operate by the power of the Holy Spirit, we must recognize that any sin will interrupt the spiritual state necessary for Spiritual control.

(Heb. 12:1) Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

(Rom. 8:4-6) That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

The filling of the Spirit produces Spiritual Growth.

While the filling of the Spirit is absolute, spiritual growth comes in degrees. You start out as a baby and desirably you reach adulthood or spiritual maturity. Being filled or controlled by the Holy Spirit makes your spiritual at any given moment but does not necessarily mean that your are a mature Believer. Maturity results from a maximum amount of time spent under the control of the Holy Spirit studying and taking in the Word of God. Any studying apart from the guidance of the Holy Spirit results in confusion and frustration. Maturing is a growing process that requires time and study, but most of all requires the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

(Galatians 4:19) My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,

(Phil. 2:2) Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

(Eph. 5:15-17) See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

(1 Cor. 3:1) And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

Doctrine can only be understood through the filling of the Spirit.

(John 16:13) Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.

(John 14:2 6) But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

(1 John 2:27) But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

(1 Cor. 2:14-1 6) But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

(Proverbs 1:23) Turn you at my reproof behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

Sin brings temporal Spiritual Death or Spiritual Sleep.

Since sin breaks any continuity our human spirit has with the Holy Spirit, our spiritual life becomes dormant until we recover by confessing (acknowledgment) of our sins and regaining our spiritual standing.

(Eph. 5:14,1 5) Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

(Rom. 8:6) For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

(1 Thess. 5:19) Quench not the Spirit.

(Eph. 4:30) And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

Discipline can be reversed or become beneficial through the power of the Spirit.

For the Believer there is no activity in life that does not factor into our spiritual growth. Even discipline is directed our way for our benefit. Discipline from God is designed to turn us around. When we allow the Holy Spirit to regain control of our life through acknowledgment of our sins, the Holy Spirit takes suffering and turns it into blessing or may remove it according to God*s desire.

(1 John 1:9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

(Rom. 8:28) And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

(Heb. 12:5-7) And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

(Proverbs 1:23) Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

(1 Cor 10:13) There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

(1 Peter 1:7) That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Prayer is ineffective with sin in the life.

Communication with God is broken when we are in a carnal state. God*s character will not interface with carnality. Harmony with God only exists in a state of Spirituality. All prayer offered while a Believer is in sin is without power. The only prayer that becomes appropriate is the confession of sin which reestablishes a Spiritual status.

(Psalms 66:18)If 1 regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

(Isaiah 59:2) But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

(Psalms 51:10) Create in me a clean heart, 0 God; and renew a right spirit within me.

All legitimate Christian service must be done through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Man*s efforts no matter how noble fall short of God*s standards. If we are to produce behavior acceptable to God, we must be controlled by God the Holy Spirit.

(Rom. 7:18) For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

(Rom. 8:4) That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

(2 Cor. 3.3) Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart.

(Galatians 5:22,23) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

(2 Cor. 4:6,7) For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

(Zech. 4:6).... Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

Spirituality is not what you do, it is how you think or are motivated.

Whether we worship, give, witness or pray, it is our attitude or motivation which determines the profitability of such activities. If we are motivated by the Holy Spirit we are spiritual. If we are falsely motivated we are carnal. Even unbelievers can put on a good show, but only Believers can be filled with the Spirit. Spiritual warfare is fought in the mind and it is only through the filling or control of the Spirit that a Believer can be spiritual.

(Proverbs 23:7) For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:...

(2 Cor. 9. 7) Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

(Phil. 2:5) Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.

(Heb. 4.12) For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

(Psalms 139:23,24) Search me, 0 God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

(Rom. 12.2) And be not conformed to this world. but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

(2 Cor. 10) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

(2 Tim. 1:7) For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

(Isa. 26.3) Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee. because he trusteth in thee.

(2 Cor. 10:5) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

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