MAN’S FIRST DIMENTION – THE SPIRIT

Kenneth E. Hagin

Man is a spirit who possesses a soul and lives in a body. Man’s spirit is that part of him that knows God. He is in the same class with God because God is a Spirit and God made man to fellowship with him. God made man for His own pleasure. Man is not an animal. In order to fellowship with God, man must be in the same category with God. Therefore, just as God is a Spirit, so man is a spirit.

We can’t fellowship with animals because they are in a different kingdom , a different class than we are. But we can fellowship with one another, and we can fellowship with God because we are the same type of being.

Jesus told the woman at the well in Samaria,

• “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth,” John 4:24. We cannot know God or touch Him physically. He is not a man. He is a Spirit. We cannot communicate with Him mentally, for He is not a mind. He is a Spirit. But we can reach Him with our spirit, and it is through our spirit that we come to know God.

So we know that God is a Spirit. And yet God, who is a Spirit, took upon Himself a man’s body. Jesus was God manifested in the flesh.

• “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made… And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…,” John 1:1-3, 14.

When God took upon Himself human form, He was no less God than when He didn’t have a body. Man, at physical death, leaves his body. Yet he is no less man than when he had a body. We see this in Christ’s account of Lazarus and the rich man at death,

• Luke 16:19-31, There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.

In Paul’s epistle to the church at Thessalonica we see a glimpse of man’s three-fold nature.

• “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,” I Thessalonians 5:23.

Another version translates this verse, “I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This three-fold man is to be preserved “entire,” without blame at the coming of the Lord. That will be a great day, for when the Lord comes, this whole man – spirit, soul and body – salvation, new birth,  will be preserved “entire.”

We have a new spirit now, for our spirits are born of God. But we will have a new body “at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.” We have a new life now, but we will have a new body then.

• The Bible talks about salvation in the past, present and future tense. When it talks about salvation in the past tense, its connected to the “new birth.” When it speaks of salvation in the present tense, its connected to the “renewed mind” Romans 12:2. When it speaks of salvation in the future tense, its connected to the redemption of our bodies.

More than one Old Testament prophet prophesied concerning Israel that God would establish a new covenant with the house of Israel. This new covenant is the New Testament as we know it. Through the prophet Ezekiel God said,

• “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and you shall keep My judgments, and do them” Ezekiel 36:26-27.

Ezekiel was prophesying the new birth. When a man is born again, the spirit (which is the real man) is born again and the old man is gone. The old hard, stony heart is gone. He is a new creature, as Paul said in II Corinthians 5:17,

• “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

The words “heart” and “spirit” are used interchangeably in the scriptures. Your heart is your spirit. When the Word of God speaks about the heart of man, it is speaking of the spirit of man.

Peter talked about the “hidden man of the heart.” He was telling us not merely to be concerned with outward adorning,

• “But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and a quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price,”   I Peter 3:4. This is the real man. It is not the outward man, the man of flesh and bones; it is not the body. It is the inward man.

Paul referred to the “hidden man of the heart” – man’s spirit – as the inward man.

• “…Though our outward man perish (another version says ‘is decaying’), yet the inward man is renewed day by day,” II Corinthians 4:16. The outward man, or the body, is growing older and “is decaying,” just as the house you live in is decaying and needs constant upkeep and repairs. But the real you is not getting older, for Paul said, “…yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”

You will never be any older than what you are right now. You are no older now than you were a few years ago. You know more now than you did then, but you are not any older. Your hair may become grayer and you may get a few more wrinkles, but the real you will never become old. For the inward man is renewed day by day.

Then Paul went on to say,

• “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things that are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal,” II Corinthians 4:17-18. You may be going through some kind of trial which is making your life miserable from the natural standpoint. But remember, it is just for a moment. For we look forward to something far more wonderful which will last, not for a moment, but for eternity.

“While we look not at the things which are see, but at the things which are not seen…” The outward man is seen, but the inward man is that hidden, unseen man. Too many people are defeated in life because they are looking at the wrong things. All they ever see is physical. Smith Wigglesworth once said “I’m not moved by what I see. I’m not moved by what I feel. I’m moved only by what I believe.” The only way we can look at the unseen is by faith.

The first verse of the next chapter is a continuation of what Paul was saying here. When Paul wrote this epistle it was all one long letter to the church at Corinth. Man has divided it into chapters for easier reference. Talking about things that are not seen and about the inward man, Paul said,

• “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens,” II Corinthians 5:1.

The “earthly house” that Paul talks about here is, of course our physical body. He says that if our body is “dissolved…” if it dies and is placed in a grave, decays and goes back to dust, that is not the end. “…We have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens…” He is referring to the spirit of man, the inward man, that is eternal.

Paul continues on this subject further in this same chapter.

• “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord,” II Corinthians 5:6-8. In v.6 Paul said, “we are always confident;” then again in v.8 he said, “we are confident…” Paul knew what he was talking about. He was confident that while “we (the inward man) are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord.” But when we (the inward man, the real man) are “absent from the body,” we are “present with the Lord.”

Living in the natural, physical world as we do, it is difficult to realize that the spirit world is far more real than this natural world. We think of people as existing only in their physical bodies, and when they are dead as no longer existing. However, the scriptures tell us that the real man is the inward man, the hidden man of the heart, that he is an eternal being. He will live on long after his “earthly house” has returned to dust.

Death in the scriptures does not mean the cessation of life as we understand it. It means separation from God.

Prophetic Words for 2010-2013

John L. Moore is a cattle rancher, novelist, journalist and prophetic voice from Montana. He is probably best known to Elijah List readers as the friend and mentor of Ching Co Ten. (Only the Lord could put a Montana cowboy and a Chinese prophetess living in the Philippines together.)

Fourteen months ago the Spirit visited me for eleven days beginning on January 11th. It seems it is only now I am beginning to understand some of what I was shown. One of the words spoken to me during this time was “Delta.” I also got the phrase “delta dawn.”

Delta has many meanings, but primarily represents the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet (dalet) and is used symbolically in the Hebrew language to represent a door. In mathematical terms, it represents change or transition.

At the end of the 11 days my friend Ching Co sent me the prophetic word below. It seemed to sum up much of what the Spirit was saying, but I still had unanswered questions. I knew “Delta” was significant, that it represented massive doors opening, a change or season or epoch taking place, but nothing in my world changed at all through 2010.

Then just recently, during a phone conversation with a friend, the pieces fell into place. I was slow on the uptake. My experiences began on the 11th and lasted 11 days. The implied message that I had missed was to prepare for 2011.

As my friend talked, I saw a brief flash of a map of the United States, and the state of Alabama was swinging like a door. The “delta dawn,” I realized, would be a door opening to the Spirit in the Mississippi Delta region. Alabama was the key, but I sensed it was meant to be a double door and the state of Mississippi was to be included.

“Delta,” I believe, represents a radical change of season or epoch. Things were set in motion in 2010 that we are beginning to see manifested this year and will continue to see manifested over the next two years, as Ching’s word from January 22, 2010 points out.

The Lord impressed one other thing to me during this experience: We must sacrifice to go through the door, but there is a higher calling yet. We can go through the keyhole. It is good if we go through the door for we will reach the other side. Being dragged through the keyhole will be painful, but it will transform us into the shape of the key.

2010-2013 Are Crucial Years of God’s Calling, Training & Choosing

For more than 10 years now, the Lord has been impressing to me these following verses and the Holy Spirit has been leading me to meditate and ponder them for interpretation and practical application.

These past few days, I felt the leading to share them to the Body of Christ. As always, my prayer is that you will put them to the test and to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your hearts concerning your part in this grand vision.

Rhema Verses

As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy human wisdom and discard their most brilliant ideas”… Instead, God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And He chose those who are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important, so that no one can ever boast in the presence of God… That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 1:19, 27-29, 2:9 NLT

So now the Lord says, “Stop right where you are! Look for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls…” Jeremiah 6:16 NLT

Watch, Work & Walk in His Way
(God’s instructions to His children)

Watch:

· Remember that our enemy the devil is a great deceiver, counterfeiter and copycat. He will try to imitate all that God is planning to do before they happen. These are the areas to watch for:

· There will be a resurgence in the occult. The entertainment world (books, TV, movies, games, reality shows, magic performances) will escalate with these subjects, which will become very popular with the people.

· Natural calamities and disaster will abound. Earthquakes, floods, unusual weather patterns will just be a few of them. What had happened in Haiti is just the birth pangs of things to come.

All these things are wake up calls and warning signs from God. He is calling the attention specially of His people around the world that NOW IS THE TIME TO WAKE UP FROM OUR SLUMBER AND COMPLACENCY, AND WE CANNOT AFFORD NOT TO TAKE ACTION.

Like in the past, He will not continue to put up with human abuse of His creation. He has observed the extent of the peoples’ wickedness and this has greatly pained His heart. Just like the time of Noah, and like the time of Lot when God warned him about His plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, so today God is also revealing to us His plans and warning us His children about what will happen in the coming days so that we will not be caught unprepared.

Work:

God is looking for people who are willing to obey Him even when they don’t understand what He is asking from them, just like Abraham when he was asked to sacrifice his own son; people who are willing to follow His instructions even when they sound foolish and stupid, just like when Noah was asked to build the ark.

God is looking for ordinary people (men, women, young ones, older ones) so that He can pour out His Spirit in a mighty way and manifest His power once again through them.

All God is asking from His chosen ones is a willing heart to obey Him, work with Him and walk in His ways.

The years from 2010–2013 will be His years of calling, training and choosing, and those who are willing to follow Him will be known as people whose righteousness will be like a garden in early spring, filled with young plants springing up everywhere (Isaiah 61:11).

Walk in His Way:

These are the instructions that God has impressed that we must remember as we walk where He will lead us:

· Waste not, want not. Be a good steward of everything that God has given to you (time, talent, people, resources). Pay special attention to His cycle of life and apply them in your daily living. What that means is that you must respect God’s order and learn from it. Especially on the personal and household level, learn not to waste anything. Even though the value is insignificant, it is the HABIT that He wants us to LEARN.

Go back to the old ways, where people learned the habits of composting, using it to fertilize the land, then planting their own garden. Learn of ways how to improve use of water and electricity. In short, learn TO LIVE the mantra of REDUCE, RE-USE, RECYCLE. WASTE NOT, WANT NOT.

· Do not despise small beginnings. God will test us with the little things He will impress on us to do. If we cannot be faithful in these small tasks, then we cannot be promoted to do greater things for Him. Learn to be faithful in the SMALL THINGS that you felt led to do. These are your STEPPING STONES to a higher call in the future.

Vision of the Future

This was the vision the Lord showed me more than 10 years ago: I saw gardens with plants everywhere. On empty lots beside high rise buildings. On rooftops, balconies and the ground. Every place where plants can be planted and every container that can be use for planting were all filled with plants.

Then I noticed that aside from the regular fruits and flowers that it produced, every month, every plant, regardless of its type, will produce a UNIQUE KIND of fruit. The fruit was something that we have not seen before.

I noticed that when people partook of the fruit, it brought healing to their bodies. But just like the manna in the past, this fruit cannot be stored, nor sold, nor profited from. It is a heavenly fruit given by God for His people, and no one will profit from them.

After that, the Lord reminded me of these verses:

And the angel showed me a pure river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb, coursing down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing 12 crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations. Revelation 22:1-2 NLT

A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches. One of these branches is the Pishon, which flows around the entire land of Havilah, where gold is found…the second branch is the Gihon, which flows around the entire land of Cush. The third branch is the Tigris, which flows to the east of Asshur. The fourth branch is the Euphrates. Genesis 2:10-14 NLT

The Interpretation to the Vision

The fruits that I saw were not just meant to be symbolic, but one day God will do a work of supernatural intervention in nature. Fruits will indeed blossom, but there will be conditions where and how they will blossom.

God is currently looking for people who love the land and are willing to work with Him in restoring it to natural health. And He will choose four nations, and will choose a people group or families who will become the steward of these heavenly seeds. They will become the source of these seeds that will be distributed to all nations in the world.

However, just like the manna from Heaven, these heavenly seeds will not profit anybody. And if anybody does try to misuse them, worms will also eat them up just like the manna that people tried to store for tomorrow when God’s instructions were to collect it every day.

The people that God will choose will be those who love His creation, love to take care of it, respect His ways, and are willing to learn from Him. God will indeed choose the simple people to do significant things that will confound the world. Everybody is a potential candidate. God will show no favoritism. He is looking for willing, yielded vessels that He can work with.

The years 2010–2013 will be the years of calling, training and choosing. People will begin to feel a new love for His land and His ways. DON’T IGNORE THAT NUDGE. It may be as simple as finding ways to conserve water, light or food. Or taking better care of trash so it doesn’t contaminate God’s creation. Little things will mean much for God. It is in these areas that He will be testing us.

When the day of choosing is over, God will then pour out His mighty power over what these chosen ones are doing and it will awe the world. God will use these events to draw many nations and people to these places, and once again He will exalt Himself because all people will know that THESE ARE THE WORKS OF GOD ALONE AND NO MAN CAN DUPLICATE THEM EVER.

Prayer for Discernment:

Almighty God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, send the Holy Spirit to breathe life into these words, if indeed these are coming from You. Let every reader sense the quickening of their spirit as they read them and confirm them to Your people. Let Your will be done once again in the world. And let the nations and all its people bow down before You again. Show Thyself to be strong and mighty on our behalf. All these we speak by faith and ask by grace in Your Son Jesus Christ, the most powerful and precious name. Amen.

Ching Co
Cebu City, Philippines
Email: Chingten_co@yahoo.com

Ching Co currently resides in the Philippines, in Cebu City. Ching and her husband, Harry, are accountants by profession, they have four children and attend Word of the World Christian Fellowship.