“What is man that You think of him? Or the son of man that you are concerned about him? You have made him for a little while lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor; You have put everything in subjection under his feet.” (Heb. 2:6-8 NAS).
This scripture speaks of God Himself taking on a human form. For a while, He took on a form that was created lower than the angels. After He had suffered and tasted death, He arose victorious. The first mystery is that God took on the form of His creation to raise it up in Himself. The second mystery is that man, who was created lower than angels, is raised up with Christ to rule with Him over all the works of His hands. The third mystery is that the final state of man was planned from the beginning. “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” (Eph. 1:4,5).
The first Adam was created a “living soul”, with a spirit, and a physical body (Gen. 2:7). God’s order for man is first the spirit, then the soul, and then the body (1Thess. 5:23). When the spirit comes into man, it gains an entirely new dimension of expression. The soul is essential for the spirit to function in a body. In the new creation his spirit is renewed, his soul is transformed, and he obtains a new spiritual body. This renewed spirit will obtain an entirely new expression in a spiritual body that is greater than what was possible in a physical body. A transformed soul is essential for the spirit to function through this new spiritual body.
All of this is possible if our salvation is complete. We often think of it as a past event, but it only begins with the new birth. Salvation should come to every part of man, but it is possible for us to receive only some of it. I believe we have presented the gospel too simply. There is a salvation of the spirit, a salvation of the soul, and a salvation of the body. The spirit is saved through the new birth, but the resurrection of the body is the “hope of our salvation”. We will attain this if we overcome this world.
There is more to salvation than just going to heaven. We are called to reign with Christ as His Bride. Only those who overcome will reign with Him. Jesus made this clear in His messages to the seven churches of Revelation. “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” (Rev. 3:21).
How can we be overcomers? We face a lot of issues in life, but to be an overcomer we must go to the root of our problems. The key is found in what happened to us in the fall. We were deceived to partake of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and as a result we became like God. What is so wrong with becoming like God? I certainly want to be like God in character, but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil does not produce character. Instead, it gives one the ability to be a judge. Partaking of this fruit outside of the will of God resulted in the independent nature found in man. This nature has been dealt with on the cross, but the old thinking remains in our soul. In Christ, we are no longer bound to live by the old nature; we are free to choose which thoughts to obey. “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Rom. 8:6).
The independent spirit is the spirit of pride. We can tell by the fruit in our lives if we still have issues with independence. Fear and anxiety are symptoms of independence. So is a lack of grace to overcome sinful habits. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (Jas. 4:6). One of the most overlooked results of independence, however, is judging others or ourselves. Only God has the right to judge. Paul said, “In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.” (1Cor. 4:3,4).
Jesus overcame this world and has made a way for us to do the same. The key was His humility. The devil tried to tempt Him to walk independently from God (Matt. 4:1-11). He even offered Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory” without having to go to the cross. “And being found in the appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil. 2:8).
Even though He overcame as a man, He did not rely on human strength. Before going into the wilderness, He was filled with the Holy Spirit. Before the devil came to test Him (Lu. 4:2,3), He spent forty days strengthening Himself in the Spirit through fasting and prayer,. Then He came out the wilderness “in the power of the Spirit” (Lu. 4:14); not just because He overcame the devil, but because He had been with the Father.
The advice Jesus gave His disciples in Gethsemane still applies for us today: “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matt. 26:41). We do not overcome the enemy by looking at him or our problems. We overcome by keeping our eyes on the Lord. First, we draw near to God, then we resist the devil (Jas. 4:7,8). As we commune with God, the light of His presence surrounds us. We see more clearly when the devil or sin gets in the way of our fellowship. If we know our authority and if we are quick to repent and believe, we can maintain unbroken communion with our Lord.
What is man that God thinks of us? It really is not about us; it is about His Son. God is preparing a Bride, a companion suitable for Him. “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” (Rev. 19:9).
Highway in the Wilderness 