The Spiritual Dimension Of Life

 The Spiritual Dimension Of Life

“And whenever those possessed by evil spirits caught sight of him, the spirits would throw them to the ground in front of him shrieking, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus sternly commanded the spirits not to reveal who he was.” Mark 3:11‭-‬12 NLT

The healing and deliverance ministry of Jesus draws our attention to the reality of the spiritual dimension of life. Jesus did not use his healing and deliverance ministry for fame or personal gain. He healed the sick and delivered those who were demon possessed to demonstrate the power of God’s love that is in him. The gospel of Mark shows us what a human being can do when he is totally filled with the Spirit of God like Jesus. Adam was tempted to be like God and found himself alienated from God.  Jesus totally emptied himself of pride and the desire for control so that God’s perfect will can be done in his life:

“Although he was in the form of God and equal with God, he did not take advantage of this equality. Instead, he emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant, by becoming like other humans, by having a human appearance. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, death on a cross.” Philippians 2:6-8 GW

As we become more aware of the spiritual dimension of life, there is the temptation to focus and be distracted by the spiritual power of healing and deliverance. Perhaps this is why Jesus commanded the evil spirits not to reveal his spiritual identity as the Son of God. Instead of seeing the power of God in their midst, the teachers of religious law from Jerusalem declared that Jesus got his power to cast out demons because he was possessed by Satan, the prince of demons (Mark 3:22 NLT). Even his family thought he was mad:

“When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away. “He’s out of his mind,” they said.” Mark 3:21 NLT

It is so strange that the evil spirits recognize Jesus as the “Son of God” but the Pharisees and the family of Jesus were blind to his divine nature. The bad news is that there is evil in the world but the good news is that love always trump evil - Jesus lived, died and rose from the dead to give us the Holy Spirit:

“But I tell you I am going to do what is best for you. This is why I am going away. The Holy Spirit cannot come to help you until I leave. But after I am gone, I will send the Spirit to you.” John 16:7 CEV

Jesus appointed twelve disciples to follow him - to preach the good news and gave them authority to cast out demons. When Jesus was told that his mother and brothers were asking for him, he replied:

“Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”  Then he looked at those around him and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers.  Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Mark 3:33‭-‬35 NLT

This shows us the importance of discipleship and the need to be in a close relationship with Jesus. In fact each one of us is called to be a part of the body of Christ:

“Each person has only one body, but that body has many parts. All those different parts make only one body. It is like that with Christ too.” 1 Corinthians 12:12 EASY

To do so, we need prayer and meditation on the scripture. It is the Holy Spirit who binds us together as one body in Jesus Christ.  Hence, rejecting and repudiating the ministry of the Holy Spirit is an act that will condemn us to live in spiritual darkness. Eugene Petersen gives us a clearer picture of such an act:

“Listen to this carefully. I’m warning you. There’s nothing done or said that can’t be forgiven. But if you persist in your slanders against God’s Holy Spirit, you are repudiating the very One who forgives, sawing off the branch on which you’re sitting, severing by your own perversity all connection with the One who forgives.” He gave this warning because they were accusing him of being in league with Evil.” Mark 3:28‭-‬30 MSG

Unless and until we become aware and confess the perversity of our hearts, we cannot follow Jesus. We need to cultivate the mind of Christ - to take our thoughts captive to Christ so that the Holy Spirit can fill our minds with the thoughts of God. To follow Jesus it is critical to affirm our need for inner healing and for deliverance from our sinful desires in order to live the transformed life of a forgiven and forgiving child of God. And one way to do so is through silent meditation - to be aware of the thoughts and feelings going through our minds as we pray:

“Please God, look deep inside me. See what is there in my thoughts.  Show me if I am following any evil way. Lead me in the right way that has always been true.” Psalms 139:23‭-‬24 EASY