Lam 3:21 -25; I recall this (doctrine) to my mind, and it gives me confidence. Because The Lord's mercy never fails; His grace provisions never cease, they are renewed every morning; Great is Your faithfulness... Therefore I have hope in Him. The Lord is good to those who wait silently on Him.
In our study of the doctrine of the winner believer. Heb 12:2; Rev 2:7; Winner believers are the unknown, unsung heroes of history. 2Cor 6:9; who are the targets of God's grace imputations and the reason that God continues to support the human race.
We are now in a segment where we are discussing the doctrine of church age spirituality that is based on the indwelling and filling ministries of God the Holy Spirit.
When we stopped last time we were noting that when believers are functioning under OSN control of the soul in cosmic one they are described as grieving the Spirit. Believers are commanded in Eph 4:30; not to "grieve the Spirit." Quenching the Spirit occurs in cosmic two. In 1Thes 5:19; believers are commanded not to "quench the Spirit."
So grieving or quenching the Spirit means being out of fellowship with God in the status quo of carnality. Persistent carnality results in loss of momentum in the spiritual life and as a result the believer reverts back the "old self" that is comprised of the trends, influences , and lust patterns of the OSN as the basis for decision making. Rom 6:6-7; Rom 6:12; Gal 5:16-17; James 1:14-16;
At any given moment in time you are either spiritual or carnal. Both are an absolute status or condition where the believer is either in fellowship with God or out of fellowship with God.
In other words spirituality is not relative its either 100 percent or zero percent, all or nothing.
The relative status of the function of the Christian life is the product of variances in various believers' doctrinal cognition, understanding and application of doctrine that establishes degrees of growth but there are never any degrees in spirituality.
The believer at any stage of spiritual growth is at any given moment spiritual or carnal. A new believer can be carnal or spiritual. An adolescent believer can be carnal or spiritual; a mature believer can be carnal or spiritual.
Because of metabolized doctrine the mature believer normally exhibits very little carnality. A new believer who is filled with the Spirit does not have the doctrinal capacity that a mature believer who is filled with the Spirit has so the new believer will sin with less pressure from the OSN, the world, or demonic influence.
The only difference between a new believer and a mature believer is that the mature believer has more doctrine for God the Holy Spirit to use in controlling the believer's thinking. Heb 10:38; Rom 10:17;
The power of the Spirit over the believer's decision making becomes evident once the believer reaches the cognitive doctrinal status of confidence or "hope" that is the product of spiritual self-esteem. Lam 3:21-26;
In spiritual self esteem confidence in doctrine or "hope" provides the spiritual believer with sufficient doctrinal capacity to resist most temptations to sin.
In the absolute status of carnality retrogression is also relative. So in Christianity there is a relative concept related to progression and retrogression. In retrogression, the believer is always carnal but in progression at any given moment the believer can be spiritual or carnal.
So there are three different categories of status for each believer: the filling of the Holy Spirit, grieving the Holy Spirit, and quenching the Holy Spirit. Each is the subject of mandates in God's Word of truth.
The misunderstanding of the concept of spirituality is a reason many believers do not advance to spiritual maturity. Apart from the filling of the Holy Spirit you cannot advance to maturity.
Consistent and persistent walking by means of the Spirit is the connection between the believer's advance from infancy at salvation to spiritual maturity. Gal 5:16;
A believer who is not controlled by the Holy Spirit cannot be distinguished from an unbeliever. When the old sin nature controls the soul, a believer can do anything an unbeliever can do because they are both functioning under the influence of the OSN.
There is a great danger in not rebounding immediately when you sin. Failure to rebound perpetuates carnality, entangles you in the Satan's cosmic system, and enters you into the retrogression of Christian degeneracy.
It is important to understand the difference between the enablement of the Holy Spirit during the Church Age and the enduement of the Holy Spirit in previous dispensations.
Enablement is the present ministry of God the Holy Spirit to Church Age believers. Enablement only functions when we are filled with the Spirit inside God's operational spiritual power system for the Church Age.
Enablement is the availability of the power of the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit to every believer.
The same power from God that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the power that is available to every Church Age believer. Eph 1:19-20; "And what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who have believed for the working of His superior power,
v20 which superior power He made operational by means of Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in heaven." Net note 59
To use this power of the Holy Spirit, the believer must consistently execute the mandate to " keep on being filled with the Spirit'' in Eph 5:18b;
Just as God's protocol plan for the Church Age supersedes ritual plan of God for the previous dispensations enablement supersedes enduement.