Spirit and Truth: a two-sided coin

There is a special relationship between the spiritual and the corporeal that most people simply don’t understand. The spirit exists in relation to the corporeal. The mind of God exists in relation to man’s physical state. We must (though most do not) keep in mind that the relationship between spirit and truth is mutually inclusive; and non static. Even in matters of salvation, it must be noted, not all Christians are ‘current’. We should, perhaps, take the next step and admit that we all stand somewhere in the middle: having something yet to be communicated. It’s not ignorance, so much, nor is ‘need’ the best name for it. It is simply the looming of our next great leap. We stand upon a peak, but the zenith rises up and up. Witness the uncommunicated Christian in Acts 19:2, "He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost."
We exist in a two-sided reality: spiritual reality, and corporeality. To most, these seem to be at odds. Yet, both are traveling in a direction that will bring them into perfect amalgamation. The future union of the seeming opposites is a thing predicted, and an issue that we must come to terms with. What hinders an individual’s ability to assimilate the new mind is our old language: a thing that places spirituality and corporeality at a distance. Even when we think of them as the two sides of a single coin, our language calls those sides opposite. But we seekers fight language with language. We like to say that those two opposite sides are joined in the middle. Language is the seeker’s ally, and here is some of the science of it. One name for Christ is ‘the Truth’; you can look that up for yourselves, but then, that is no news to the seasoned seeker. To continue, all of creation was made by the Truth. It was created by and for Truth. Truth is before all things, and by Truth all things consist. We may say, then, that Christ made all things, and that all things consist of Christ, and that one of Christ’s names is Truth. Conclusion: truth is every thing that is. To the natural man (which includes some people who call themselves Christian) this is foolishness, but to the seeker, this is a way of spiritually understanding the spiritual. When Christ used the expression "spirit and truth," He was, I believe, indicating the two complimentary sides of existence. Let me ask this, if God calls man, who is corporeal, to worship only spiritually, what hope does he have? God is a spirit, but man is not. However, everything that is, consists of Truth - is truth. Read John 4:23-24, "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." This meant, of course, an upgrade from the purely ceremonial. We will call that ceremony ‘truth’, for it was the corporeal half of the issue. When a man lifts his hands to God; or when a man makes a sacrifice; lights a candle; marches in procession; fasts; counts beads, or any other such thing - it’s all cool with God, but it is only half of the matter. These are only corporeal movements; God wants the spiritual added to all such worship. That, we have found, is mentality. That is when the human organ of thought is in concert with the angelic other’s organ of thought. In other words, God desires that we put ‘heart’ and ‘soul’ into worship.
We already acknowledge that each side is affected by the other side, but for our part we ask, which side shoulders the lion’s share of the burden? Proverbs 18:14, gives us an indication. "The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?" This work does not propose to convince; we already believe. In fact, we merely build upon the works of our predecessors. Seekers who have gone before us have discovered that our very nature as man has a spiritual component that is exposed to the spiritual eye. Just look at 1 Samuel 16:7, "The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart (mind)." The ‘heart’ references human mentality, and thoughts are spiritual. God is a mind reader. It cannot be helped; the very act of having a thought is to parade that thought before God. Think about Ezekiel 11:5, "The Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the Lord; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them." Therefore God has called for the addition of the spiritual mind to His worship, for as Nahum 1:7 says, "He knoweth them that trust in Him."
One cannot climb a mountain by taking the downward path. One cannot climb to greater heights by crossing the valley floor. A man may walk the length and breadth of the valley, but in doing so, he remains on the same level. The valley dweller can tell you anything you want to know about the valley: he is a valley expert, but none of his expertise can explain the loftier climes. We seekers come with spiked boots and roped shoulders. It has already been pointed out to man that only a new mind can grasp new thoughts. See 1 Corinthians 2:11 & 14, "For what man knoweth the things of a man, save (but by) the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but (by) the Spirit of God. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." Certain thoughts may only be thought by the mind of God, but the mind of God is only obtained by the thinking of such thoughts. Sounds like a conundrum, but valley preconception and dogma have limitations beyond which one must simply start climbing. Some Christians will ever preach salvation to the saved, and never rise up to meet the mind of God.
Preconception and dogma.
Misunderstanding and misinterpretation.
If truth is placed just out of man’s reach, it was intended all along that he climb up and grab it. The mountain climber finds a suitable peek from which to proclaim: "This rare and lofty zenith is one with the valley floor." The valley dweller finds a suitable spot from which to preach: "This is the mountain top; it is flat and green." Following is an example of a concept that must be held in the present tense to be of any application, yet contemporary Christian thinking has not climbed above the physical past. Read this until it sinks in, then you will know that the communication imparts the nature of the communicator. Read and know 1 John 4:2, "Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God." This submission is my own paraphrase: this is me climbing and reaching: "This is how we obtain the mind of God: every mind that confesses that Jesus Christ is now in the flesh is of God."
Toward a more fluid approach, I submit that the word ‘spirit’ may be of more personal edification when read as the word ‘mind’. Men have sought the fountain of youth, but I present a fountain of a different magnitude. To drink from this fountain will turn your brain into a fountain. Imagine that you suddenly had greater mental powers. Not only could you see the invisible; know the unknowable, but you could simply ‘breathe’ on your friends and they could have the same powers. Let us call this fountain the ‘mind of God’. To have that mind would mean that you could know what is in the minds of other people as per Ezekiel 11:5. You could instantly recognize your peers as per Nahum 1:7. Your existence would be a balance between spirit and truth. We would no longer be alone in our heads for we would be of one and the same mind. Check out 1 Corinthians 12:13, "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit."
I, having written so much in these studies, might give the impression that I am the type to just say anything; that I sit and spew out whatever comes to mind, like a fool, or, like a child with an active imagination. I am not that type. I have communicated recently that God intends to work in each of us one and the same mind: the mind of God. I have indicated that this new spirit is a present tense combination of Jesus Christ and us: "is come." But, what does God communicate of His intention? I turn to His own word. Ezekiel 11:19, "I will give them one heart (one mind), and I will put a new spirit (new mind) within you; and I will take the stony heart (tablets of formula and preconception) out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh (spirit and truth)." In our coin of existence there are two sides. There is the physical, and there is the spiritual. The spiritual involves mental capabilities; written and verbal communication. The heart is the mind of man. The law is a communicated quality. The law of the Hebrews was communicated in stone. I believe that I speak from a heart of flesh. In contemporary thought, the spirit thwarts the flesh. Contemporary belief holds spirit and flesh at a distance, and sets spiritual growth at the expense of corporeality. But, the preceding verse plainly states that God’s intention is to combine flesh to the new mind. It is necessary that God remove legalistic thinking, "the stony heart," in order to transplant into man the "heart of flesh," which is the "new spirit." Just as with the old mind, the new mind is communicated through the spoken and written word, for the spirit is communication imparting communication.
Even the belief systems of other cultures recognized that spiritual attributes were manifested in man in the qualities of mental attributes. See Daniel 4:9, "O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof." Admittedly, the statement of faith in that verse is a generalization. Be that as it may, the ambiguity of "the spirit of the holy gods" is given the crisp outline of mentality in Daniel 5:12, "Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation."
We speak of the mind, of mental qualities. We call this list of mental attributes ‘spirit’. It might be argued still that we speak of spirit vaguely, as of some incidental property. But, we think not, we seekers of truth and spirit. We have replaced our stone, bronze, and iron implements with the very best of cutting tools. Our new implements cut with surgical precision. When we speak of mentality, we speak of the spirit of God. Of course, we are not yet brain surgeons. Our claim is the claim of God. For the list in God’s own words, read Exodus 31:2-3, "See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship." And for those who will argue against anything that is Old Testament, let’s just add the communicated mind of the New Testament authors. See Ephesians 1:17-18, "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints."
It bears repeating that the spirit of God; the mind of God, is a communicated quality that is passed from the one to the other to the next. Our cognitive abilities are spiritual. Scripture abounds with reference after reference to that effect. Read these: Deuteronomy 34:9, "Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him." Exodus 31:3, "I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship." Hebrews 10:15-16, "Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us . . . This is the covenant that I will make with them . . . I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them." Exodus 28:3, "Thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom."
When God pours out His spirit, He communicates His mind. See Proverbs 1:23, "Turn you at My reproof: behold, I will pour out My spirit unto you, I will make known My words unto you." Then, like a tiered fountain, we communicate the same to others. Remembering 1 Corinthians 2:11, we know that man has a mind that knows the things of man. It is the corporeal mind. God is combining His spirit with ours in harmonious agreement. Only by the mind of God may we know that we are of God. See Romans 8:16, "The Spirit Itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." See also 1 Corinthians 2:12, "Now we have received, not the spirit (mind) of the world, but the spirit (mind) which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." God freely and liberally communicates His mind into ours: the communicator communicating His own nature of communication. We in turn, through and like Christ, also communicate. See John 3:34, "For (H)he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto (H)him."
When a man, near death, finds and drinks from a well, much goes on. He takes in water, yes, but also refreshment. More than refreshment is communicated; life is communicated. When a man takes refreshment into himself, he speaks praise rather than curse, for he speaks from that refreshing. Read 1 Corinthians 12:3, "No man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and . . . no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." I will say it again, our cognitive abilities are spiritual. What does the spirit communicate but the spirit? The spirit is communication; the communication is life. John 6:63, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."
When I say that the truth is everything that is, am I asking you to only see the birds and the bees; the trees and corn fields; the physical world? Absolutely not. I am asking you to step out, and be big, bold, and brave. I am asking you to see everything physical in its proper relationship to everything spiritual. Look not at the truth without the spirit; see not the spirit without truth. See neither as static. In a circuit, when a communication reaches its conclusion, it recommences its journey in a bigger way. Whatever goes around, comes back around. The mind that has seen the end can, on its trip back around, seem to impart the future. Yet, the mind communicates only the mind. See John 16:13, "Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself (on His own); but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak (communicate): and He will shew you things to come." It could be that Christ’s statement on the cross was based on the template of David’s statement in Psalms 31:5, "Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed (transformed) me, O Lord God of truth." On the other hand, Christ’s passage through, and triumph over, His crucifixion could have been the true template upon which the unsalvaged David was recovered upon the next circuit. The new mind imparted might well have expressed redemption through the spirit of Him that is all in all; His mind being the communication of everything that is.
Accordingly, this fledgling theory of the ‘circuit’ is under pressure to shed new light on some old, dark abstractions. Our old saying is this: ‘what goes around comes around’. The mind of God has gone from the beginning to the end, and has come back around again. How many times? Who knows? But, it should come as no surprise that the mind that knows all languages will communicate those same mental abilities. See Acts 2:4, "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Along with language of any kind is the mind that language issues from. The things we think are the things we communicate. We daily demonstrate our thinking in our talk, and in our walk. What we say and do are communications of what we believe. The old mind can be seen in how we walk and talk: our conversation: our face. The new mind can be seen not only in the new things we say, but also in the new things we do. See the fruit we bear in Ezekiel 36:27, "I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them." According to another of our rather proliferus sayings, the individual with the new mind will ‘walk the talk’. The following verse not only shows us that the mind that has seen the end can communicate the same through our mentality; it also shows by exact wording that the new mind (the spirit) has a real relationship with our physical being. That verse is Joel 2:28, "I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions."
The book of Proverbs is excellent reading. It deals with the new mind; it also deals with the old mind. In it, we see contrasts between ‘men’ and the ‘sons of men’. In it, we see the differences between the wise man and the fool. One may note, in reading the book of Proverbs, the abundance of expressions dealing with mentality and communication. One should see that such terms as ‘understanding’, ‘knowledge’, ‘wisdom’, as well the ability to communicate such, as found in such terms as ‘law’, ‘instruction’, and ‘words’ are always presented in their relationship to the ‘spirit’. See Proverbs 17:27, "He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit." Recall, if you will, the excellent spirit found in the prophet Daniel. Job 32:8, tells us that "There is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding." This verse suggests that, along with the communication, there is a medium that may be communicated to. It suggests that the union of the spirit in man and the spirit of God produces the offspring of ‘knowledge’. No such union would be possible if the spirit of man was totally alien to God. The insemination of inspiration would not occur unless some part of our nature opened to receive it. Let us remember that we were created in God’s image. The mind of man was made to receive the mind of God. See the romance in Proverbs 20:27, "The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly."
That the union of the two natures cannot be a union of mutual exclusion - we look at concepts that have been around the block. The things communicated by men of old came from the mind of God. Of old, the Holy Ghost has been recognized as above and beyond Testament divisions. See 2 Peter 1:21, "The prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." These communications will not seem antiquated to the seeker. The seeker knows that the mind of God has been to the future; that it was that mind from which the men of old communicated. Those qualities that are imparted to us come from the mind that has seen the future; a mind that has gone to the very limit, having been magnified by all. When that mind shall return again to rest upon us, we shall be known by the attributes of that mind. See Isaiah 11:2, "The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord." Communication imparts communication; receptivity enables receptivity. The two are joined at the hip. The relationship is dynamic; living; growing. See the ongoing process in Colossians 1:9, "Filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." If water is communicated to us, shall we in turn communicate sand? I think not. Our old minds are consumed, as a candle is consumed by the flame. But the old is replaced by the new - such as will bear up under a brighter, hotter fire. We are receptive to the hot intrusions of the spirit; those communications impart the nature of the communicator. We speak not of ourselves anymore, as Exodus 4:12 informs us, "Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say." If we in turn communicate what we have taken in of the mind of God (a communication that has reworked our old mind after the pattern of the new), what are we passing on but the inspiration (the inspirited mind) of the Almighty; the pattern of our recreated mentality? See 1 Chronicles 28:11-12, "Then David gave to Solomon his son . . . the pattern of all that he had by the spirit." Furthermore, if God is a consuming fire, and His communication imparts to us His nature, is it any wonder that we may use incendiary words? Our minds are set on fire; nay, our minds are fire. Let our speech, then, be fiery; let our words burn and brand; let us never return to a cooler flame. See the new, hot mind in 1 Thessalonians 5:19, "Quench not the Spirit."