BECOMING A COMPLETE PERSON

In the last entries we have considered how many parts make up one body and also how the natural and spiritual must make up one body as well. Parts must become one and human nature and spirit nature must become one. How do divisions and separations happen to us?

My theory is that under the system of the Old Covenant Law, the Lord was exterior and exclusive to a single location apart from humans. By direction of the Lord, tabernacles and temples were specified and built to house the presence, priesthood and practices of early religion. The people needed to go to the Temple to meet God, bring sacrifices to God, worship God and be in the presence of God. It remained this way until Jesus came to earth and established a New Covenant by ‘a new and living way’ (Hebrews 10:20) by the work of the Cross. What was once exterior and exclusive to the temple, priesthood and practices was changed to an interior and personal temple, priesthood, sacrifice and practice in every individual believer. The place was replaced by persons. By baptism in/with/by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11) we humans become the location for the presence and purposes of God. We are the temples that house the Lord.

So, I conclude in my theory that if we find difficulty in becoming one with other parts of the body, one with nature and one with one another, it is because we still use a temple model that is exterior and our faith is based on ‘going to the exclusive temple’ to be with God and it has nothing to do with our human nature, we are very apt to be under Law though using New Covenant vocabulary.

This is no plea for animism but is a plea for combining the natural self with the spiritual self. Our soul is carried in the interior of each person. The Lord goes where the temple goes… over to other side of the Pond right now.

“And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” Jesus