SUNESIS MINISTRIES

Written by Stuart Pattico

 

© 2007 Stuart Pattico.  All rights reserved.  No part of this document may be produced or transmitted in any form without permission from the author.

 

 

“...and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2v7 KJV)

 

Man is a living soul.  Man also has a spirit and a body.  Through man’s spirit, man is conscious of the spirit world, and through man’s body man is conscious of the physical world.  We can illustrate this as follows:

 

 

Physical World ßßß(body) SOUL(spirit) ààà Spirit World

 

 

Man only became a living soul when God breathed the spirit of life into him.

 

“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath (spirit) of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2v7 KJV)

 

A soul needs a spirit in order to be a living soul.  If the spirit were to leave the soul, the soul would die.  When a man physically dies, he (the soul) continues his existence through his spirit.  Although the soul is physically dead, the soul is spiritually alive.  Thus, our physical life is dependant upon our spirit being inside our body.  When our spirit leaves our body, the body dies.

 

“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2v26)

 

The Bible tells us that our old man was crucified with Christ Jesus (Romans 6v5).  We looked at this in the previous section.  But how did this happen?  We know that when we were born again we received a new spirit (Ezekiel 36v26).  Thus our old spirit was first removed and destroyed.  If our old spirit was removed and destroyed, what do you suppose happened to our body?  It died!  Our body and soul died.  The old man died.  But thanks be to God, for He gave us a new spirit which is anointed with the Holy Spirit.  Thus we have new life enabling our soul and body to live.  This new life was given to our spirit by the Holy Spirit who indwells it.  This life is the Holy Spirit Himself.  Thus the Bible says,

 

“And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Romans 8v10)

 

You are walking around with a dead body, being sustained by the Holy Spirit. You are physically sustained by the Holy Spirit Himself!  You must receive this by faith.  Consider what the Apostle Paul said:

 

“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8v11)

 

The Holy Spirit gives life to your mortal body.  It is important that we understand what happened to the old man when we gave our life to the Lord.  Through the death of our Lord Jesus, our souls and bodies died with Him.

 

“knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” (Romans 6v6)

 

Why did our soul and body die?  Our old spirit was taken away.  The moment our spirit goes, our soul and body die.  In that split second between the old spirit leaving and the new spirit coming, our body died.

 

“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2v26)

 

The only reason we can still live physically is because we have received a new spirit.  Only with a spirit can a body live.

 

“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath (spirit) of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2v7 KJV)

 

When the spirit leaves, the body dies.  The only reason you and I can walk about physically after our old man was crucified is because we have received a new spirit.  We thus became a living soul all over again.  We have not received a new body yet, for this will happen at the resurrection.  However, our present bodies are sustained by a new life, even eternal life, the life of the Spirit of God, which is in our spirits. 

 

Concerning the natural species, it is written,

 

“…the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Leviticus 17v11)

 

However, concerning the new man, it is written,

 

“But as many as received Him (Jesus), to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1v12-13)

 

The new man is not born of blood!  Your blood no longer sustains your physical existence.  The Holy Spirit does!  You have Divine Life flowing through your body.  The new man is not born of blood, and therefore the life of his flesh is not in his blood.  The life of Christ (which is in your spirit) sustains your mortal body.  Divine Life brings Divine healing (see Revelation 22v2). The new man thus abounds in health!  The old man died, and we were made alive by the Spirit of God injecting us with eternal life!  As soon as that eternal life hit our dead body we were healed of every sickness and disease!

 

“who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed.” (1 Peter 2v24)

 

Do you see the connection between the old man’s death, our new life, and our healing?  Because of the Divine Life that now sustains our body, Jesus spoke the following concerning the new man:

 

“they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16v18)

 

Indeed, if the life of the new man’s flesh is in his blood then these things (the serpents and deadly drinks) will do him harm!  However, the Divine Life we now possess is immune to snake bites and all manner of poison!  Such things cannot touch the Life of God.  Lo, that is the life that sustains you!  We must come to terms with the truth that our bodies are dead:

 

“And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Romans 8v10)

 

Our old man has been crucified!  The only reason we can walk about in our bodies is because we are being supernaturally sustained by the Holy Spirit, who indwells the new spirit given to us by God.  We must therefore ask ourselves, what can poison or the like do to the Divine Life in our bodies?  It cannot do a thing to God’s Life, and thus we are immune to these things.  Let us consider what happened to the Apostle Paul:

 

“But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, ‘No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.’ ⁵But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.” (Acts 28v3-6)

 

Paul was completely immune to the snake bite because of the divine life flowing through him.  This is all part of the salvation we have received from our Father:

 

“Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you” (1 Peter 1v10)

 

Part of this ‘grace’ was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah:

 

“And the inhabitant (of Zion) will not say, ‘I am sick’;
The people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.” (Isaiah 33v24)

 

Our salvation includes immunity from sickness and disease.  As long as the body is subject to the Holy Spirit (who gives life to the body) divine health will flow throughout the body.  This is a great and a mighty truth.

 

As with all the blessings contained in God’s Word, this must be received by faith.  You must believe it is so, for God’s Word is truth.

 

“For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” (Hebrews 4v2)

 

Let me now deal with the issue of why some Christians get sick:

 

“Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. ³⁰For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. ³¹For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. ³²But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.” (1 Corinthians 11:27-32)

 

In the Corinthian church, some believers were partaking of the Lord’s Supper unworthily.  The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul uses this specific problem at the church in Corinth to teach a general principle - when God’s children sin, they must be judged / chastened, so that they are not condemned with the world.  This chastening can come in many forms, sickness being one of them.  However, if we would judge ourselves, we would not need to be judged (v31).  Thus, we should examine ourselves regularly:

 

“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you are disqualified.” (2 Corinthians 13v5)

 

We should beseech the Lord to,

 

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139v23-24)

 

When we read the Bible, we should look not only for the blessings, but also for the reproof and the correction it is giving us:

 

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

 

The man or woman of God must receive Biblical doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness if he or she is to be properly equipped. 

 

Whenever we do not obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit we are sinning (this can include not resting when He tells you to!).  The more time we spend in the Word of God, and in prayer, the easier it will be to walk according to the Spirit.  The Spirit of God will be faithful to show us faults within our self that we cannot even see.  In fact, a purpose of trials that the Lord permits us to go through is to expose hidden issues within us.  A man named Job is a perfect example of this.  According to external actions, Job was a perfect and upright man (Job 1v1).  He did not do anything wrong.  However, God’s trials can expose deep things within us.  Job’s trial of sickness exposed deep inner issues within him of which he had to repent (Job 42v6).  The book of Job is very enlightening.  There is only one man in the entire book that is not criticized for talking nonsense – Elihu.  We learn from his words that it is not God’s desire that He should resort to sickness to expose our faults and inner issues.  The Lord warns us of these things in dreams and night visions.  It is when man does not perceive God’s warning that the sickness or trial must come, so that we are not condemned with the world.  Consider the words of Elihu:

 

“¹⁴For God may speak in one way, or in another,
Yet man does not perceive it.
¹⁵In a dream, in a vision of the night,
When deep sleep falls upon men,
While slumbering on their beds,
¹⁶Then He opens the ears of men,
And seals their instruction.
¹⁷In order to turn man from his deed,
And conceal pride from man,
¹⁸He keeps back his soul from the Pit,
And his life from perishing by the sword.

¹⁹"Man is also chastened with pain on his bed,
And with strong pain in many of his bones,
²⁰So that his life abhors bread,
And his soul succulent food.
²¹His flesh wastes away from sight,
And his bones stick out which once were not seen.
 ²²Yes, his soul draws near the Pit,
And his life to the executioners.”  (Job 33v14-22)

 

In the above passage, Elihu is basically saying that God speaks a warning to man (v14).  Because man does not perceive what God is saying, man is chastened upon his bed (v19-22).  It is only when Job repented and saw his true state that he received healing (Job 42v6). Have you ever had a dream wherein you did something or had unclean thoughts that seem way out of your character?  Take heed and be careful to perceive what the Lord may be showing you.  The Lord may be showing you the sin that is in you, even if you were previously ignorant of it.  We must remain humble before God, and turn at His correction.  The Lord is more than willing to cleanse us and forgive us of our secret faults if we but confess and forsake them:

 

“The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.

Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of great transgression.

 

From the passage we read in 1 Corinthians 11, it is interesting to note that Paul had to give a ‘reason’ why many at the church were sick.  This language seems to imply that Paul expected them to be in health!  This is not surprising considering what we have discovered about the effect of the new birth on the human body.  Paul also would have been very aware of the many promises God gives in the Scriptures to heal His people:

 

“Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases” (Psalm 103v2-3)

 

“And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you.” (Deuteronomy 7v15)

 

“and said, "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.” (Exodus 15v26)

 

It is so important to note that the Holy Spirit is a Person.  Yes, He is Life, and He is our Divine Health (Romans 8v11).  However, He is a Person.  We are to be led by Him.  If we are led by our flesh and not by the Spirit, we cannot walk in divine health.  Why is this?  It is because the Spirit and the flesh are contrary to one another (see Galatians 5v17).  The Spirit is our health, and therefore we must be walking in the Spirit if we are to walk in diving health.

 

“For he who sows to the flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” (Galatians 6v8)

 

We know we are being led by the flesh when the following is manifest in our life:

 

Adultery

Fornication (sexual activity outside of marriage)

Uncleanness (anything opposite to purity)

Lewdness

Idolatry

Sorcery (including control and manipulation)

Hatred

Contentions

Jealousies

Outbursts of wrath

Selfish ambitions

Dissensions (stirring up strife)

Heresies (views at variance with the truth)

Envy

Murders

Drunkenness

Revelries (wild partying)

And other similar things.

 

 

The above is known as the “works of the flesh” (Galatians 5v18-19).

 

We know we are being led by the Spirit of God when the following is manifest in our life:

 

Love

Joy

Peace

Longsuffering (patient endurance)

Kindness

Goodness

Faithfulness

Gentleness

Self-control

 

The above is known as the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5v22-23).  Because there is no law against these fruit, by following the Spirit of God, we are liberated from the law.  In the first place, the law was not intended for the righteous, but for the unrighteous (1 Timothy 1v9).  We who have been made righteous through faith (which is the blessing of Abraham) are not to be led by the law but by the Spirit of God.  The question then becomes, how can one be led by the Spirit? 

 

Firstly, we must know that the Spirit of God lives in us.  We must live our every day with this awareness.  We should be consciously aware of Him throughout every day.  Paul wrote,

 

“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5v16)

 

The Greek for ‘walk’ is the word used for physical walking.  We must physically walk ‘in the Spirit’.  As we do our day to day activities we must be aware that we are ‘in the Spirit’.  This zone is called living in the Spirit.

 

Secondly, we must crucify the flesh.  Paul wrote,

 

“And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5v24)

 

Why is this necessary?  This is necessary because the Spirit and flesh contradict each other.  They are opposed to one another.  We must remember that the law of sin operates in the members of the human body:

 

“For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” (Romans 7v22-23)

 

We must therefore mortify (put to death) the deeds of our body through the Spirit of God within us (Romans 8v13).  We do this by reckoning our body to be dead.  If as far as we are concerned, our body is dead, we will not heed its instructions!

 

This brings me on to the third step.  Not only are we to reckon our body to be dead, but we are also to reckon the Spirit of be our life!  In other words, we are to follow the Spirit instead of our flesh.  This is what Paul meant when he wrote the following:

 

“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5v25)

 

The Greek for walk in this verse means to “walk in line with”.  It is a different word than the “walk” in verse 16 in the same chapter, which simply meant physical walking.  We are to actively seek to follow the promptings of the Spirit of God.  Whereas the flesh will have a desire to do evil, the Spirit of God will prompt us with His desire to do good.  When we disobey His promptings our conscience will be troubled and there will be an absence of peace in our heart (Colossians 3v15).  In this manner we will know that we have disobeyed His prompting.  However, if we continuously ignore this lack of peace our heart will soon become hard and unable to discern the leading of the Spirit.  Such a situation can only be healed by genuine repentance.  As we are obedient to His promptings to do good, we will reap the benefits of eternal life:

 

“For he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.  And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6v8-10).

 

The three steps are again repeated below:

 

1. Be aware of the Spirit’s daily Presence
2. Crucify the flesh
3. Follow the Spirit.

 

These steps must be done in the above order.  You will find it hard to do step 3 without first doing steps 1 and 2. 

 

When we follow the Spirit, we are in actual fact walking in wisdom.  The Holy Spirit will guide and prompt us in many areas of our life, including health.  He will lead us in what to eat.  We must remember that He is not an abstract force that sustains our physical health.  Rather, he is a Person, who when we follow, we reap His benefits.  Only as we obey His promptings will we reap the benefits. Wisdom therefore, is to be led by the Spirit of God.   I will show you why wisdom is essential for us to walk in diving health:

 

“My son, give attention to my words; Incline you ear to my sayings.  Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your hear;  For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh” (Proverbs 4v20-22).

 

The book of Proverbs was written by Solomon, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  He wrote it primarily as a book of wisdom for those who would hear.  Earlier in the same chapter he says,

 

“Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, and the years of your life will be many.  I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths” (Proverbs 4v10-11).

 

Therefore, the words and sayings spoken of in verses 20-22 are words and sayings of wisdom.  It is this wisdom that will be health to the flesh of them that heed it.  However, Solomon later shows us that wisdom is not only ink written in his book, but is also crying out to us.  In other words, it has a voice!

 

“Does not wisdom cry out, and understanding life up her voice?” (Proverbs 8v1).

 

This is none other than the spirit of wisdom.  One benefits of being led by the spirit of wisdom is that we are able to enjoy great health.

 

Now, we know that we are healed by the stripes of Jesus.  The word “stripes” refers to the bruises and blows He received whilst being beaten before He went to the cross (compare Luke 12v47).  Why was He beaten?  Proverbs 19v29 tells says,

 

“Judgements are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools” (KJV)

 

Even as all our sin was placed upon Jesus on the cross, all of our foolishness was placed upon Jesus before He went to the cross!  He received the punishment for our foolishness!   Even and Jesus bore our sin, so that we might receive God’s righteousness; Jesus bore our foolishness, so that we might receive God’s wisdom!   This why Paul says the following:

 

“But of His (God) you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God – and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1v30).

 

Notice, that wisdom is mentioned first; before righteousness, sanctification and redemption.  This is because Jesus was beaten before He went to the cross, and it is by these stripes that we are healed!

 

I will leave you the following interpretation that came to me as I was singing in tongues:

 

“The Christ-life is in me,

No more sickness or infirmities,

And if I drink any poisonous thing,

It shall by no means hurt me.”

 

Let us endeavour to walk in this reality!  Amen.