In our continuing study of the Personal Sense of Destiny, last time we took up a brief study of the sophisticated spiritual life. We saw that it is based on the believer's metabolization of Bible Doctrine into wisdom resulting in the capacity to conduct their life with metabolized doctrine that is wisdom. Eph 5:15;
This wisdom comes from the believer understanding and using the Divine power that God has provided for them at salvation.
Paul describes the dimensions of this provision from God for the spiritual life in Eph 3:18; "That you may utilize the divine power to understand with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth."
The Divine power we use is the filling of the Holy Spirit, that is direct power from God and metabolized Bible doctrine that is delegated power from God.
We see here that the spiritual life starts with comprehension and understanding. It starts with learning about all that God has provided for the believer in grace.
The width is the ten problem solving devices deployed on the FLOT line of the soul.
The length is the two power options that enable the formation of the ten problem solving devices.
The height is the execution of the protocol plan of God resulting in a winner believer or invisible hero.
The depth is the divine initiative of antecedent grace in eternity past providing every believer their very own portfolio of invisible assets.
The first five problem solving devices, rebound, the filling of the Holy Spirit, the three stages of the faith-rest drill, grace orientation, and doctrinal orientation) are the basic problem solving devices of spiritual childhood.
The consistent use of the basic solving devices advances the believer from spiritual childhood to spiritual adolescence and into the sixth problem solving device, a personal sense of destiny, that is the dividing line between spiritual childhood and spiritual adulthood.
The sophisticated spiritual life begins with a personal sense of destiny and becomes the landmark of the spiritual life. The advance involves the turning of the believer's focus away from people and their environment to TLJC and fellowship with God.
This occurs in three stages:
Spiritual self-esteem with it's cognitive self- confidence is entrance into the sophisticated spiritual life.
Spiritual autonomy with it's cognitive independence adds greater sophistication from greater cognition.
Spiritual maturity with it's cognitive invincibility provides maximum sophistication to the spiritual life.
The reason for the increased sophistication is the deployment of the advanced problem solving devices on the defensive perimeter of the soul. The advanced problem solving devices are personal love for God the Father, impersonal love for all mankind, sharing the happiness of God, and occupation with the person of Christ.
Spiritual self-esteem deploys personal love for God the Father and impersonal love for all mankind. This is where the believer understands God's love and begins to reciprocate. 1John 4:19;
Spiritual autonomy deploys the happiness of God. In this stage the believer has moved into a sophisticated sphere of the spiritual life which is exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or think, Eph 3:20; and can handle any problem of life. Phil 4:13;
Spiritual maturity deploys occupation with Christ. Heb 12:2; who established the pattern for the church age believer.
The believer's function in the sophisticated spiritual life is the offensive action that results in the winner believer and invisible hero glorifying God.
The only thing that can save a client nation is the sophisticated spiritual life of mature believers.
This whole process starts when the believer makes Bible doctrine their number one priority in life and the believer learns to function under the principle of thought before action because a right thing must be done in a right way for the right reason at the right time.
Thought before action is the consistent function of the filling of the Holy Spirit and metabolized doctrine circulating in the stream of consciousness resulting in the extrapolation of the ten problem solving devices that God provided in the portfolio of invisible assets.
The sophisticated spiritual life of the believer with a personal sense of destiny results in the believer shifting from the lower gears of spiritual childhood to the higher gears of spiritual adulthood. It is the source of the mental attitude described in Eph 4:22-24;
v22 "With reference to your former lifestyle (under the control of the OSN) you yourself lay aside the old man which is being corrupted on the basis of the lusts of deceit
v23 and become renewed or refreshed by means of the (Holy) Spirit by means of the way of your thinking,
v24 and put on the new man which on the basis of the will of God has been created by means of spiritual capacity righteousness and holiness toward God from doctrine."
The word translated "renewed" in the NASB is the Greek verb "ananoeo" that means to be refreshed or renewed.
The lusts of deceit are described in Gal 6:3; "For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself." The lusts of deceit have to do with the lust pattern of the old sin nature and self-deception, the second arrogance skill.
"By means of the way of your thinking" refers to a maximum amount of metabolized doctrine circulating in your stream of consciousness.
This new way of objective thinking results in a personal sense of destiny. The believer's life is determined by their thinking. Right thinking is a part of the spiritual life. This divine viewpoint mental attitude is the provision of the omnipotence of God for the execution of His plan.
In verse 24 the phrase "put on the new man" refers to the consistent function of the spiritual skills.
Eph 1:19-20; "and what is the surpassing greatness of the power given to us who have believed for the delegation of His superior power
v20 which He put into operation by means of Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places."
God has conveyed this divine power to every Church Age believer through the provision of the spiritual skills. This divine power comes from metabolized Bible doctrine that is circulating in the stream of consciousness.
1Cor 2:16; "But who has known the thinking of Christ that he should instruct him? We have the thinking of Christ."
The spiritual life is what is in the thinking, Right thinking results in right doing. The Bible doctrine circulating in the stream of consciousness is the power of the Word of God. The power of the Word of God is the mental attitude of divine viewpoint that is applied to life through the function of the problem solving devices.
Prov 23:7; "As a person thinks in his soul, that is what he is."
The believer's mental attitude and motivation from divine viewpoint becomes the major factor for their function in the spiritual life. This reaches its peak on entrance into a personal sense of destiny.
A personal sense of destiny is established when the metabolized doctrine in the believer's soul establishes their viewpoint of life. Heb 10:38;
Our priorities determine what we concentrate or focus on in life so all forms of worship are a reflection of our values and motives, our mental attitude in life and our spiritual status quo and as a result are a test of our concentration.