Tag: Christian identity

469. Developing Your Spirit | Its Function in Relation to the Soul

Mike Parsons

If you do not see the video above, you can find it here.

The spirit needs to be developed—and we need to understand how it operates. The functions of the spirit are often experienced through gateways such as reverence, the fear of the Lord, worship, and so on. There are several gateways, all designed to work in harmony with the soul and body, rather than independently. However, because the spirit and soul have become somewhat disconnected, we haven’t learned to function as a unified whole.

When some people discover spirituality and develop their relationship with God, their spirit begins to function, but since we haven’t generally been taught how to operate in this way, generally we need to learn how. I found it helpful to engage with the different gateways of the spirit by walking through them with Jesus and asking Him to show me how they work and what capabilities my spirit possesses. We refer to them as gateways because they serve as entry points, but in reality, they represent spiritual abilities or function of the spirit that need to be activated.

These abilities are activated as the Holy Spirit flows through us, and when our spirit is joined with the Holy Spirit. However, because we haven’t been used to living this way, we need to intentionally build up our spirit. Some people seem to operate in this instinctively, but most do not, so it becomes a learning journey. The more we focus on developing our spirit, the stronger our spiritual abilities become; we learn to sense and feel through the spirit—not merely through the physical senses or emotions. As our spirit becomes more active, it expands, grows, and increases in its ability to function, and as we become more whole, the spirit, soul and body work together seamlessly.

Separating and reintegrating soul and spirit

There is often a process required, where the spirit and soul need separating and reintegrating. Typically, the soul draws life from the spirit but has not been truly subject to it. Without the spirit, we wouldn’t be alive. Before discovering our identity in Christ, we often live as though we do not even have a spirit—the soul predominates, learning from everything outside ourselves. The soul is shaped by experiences and operates independently of the spirit and of God. However, when we become Christians, our spirit and soul are reconnected, and that’s when a ‘wrestling’ tends to begin, as the soul is used to being in control—protecting and providing for itself through various coping and defence mechanisms.

Suddenly, when the spirit enters the scene, the soul resists surrendering control, usually out of fear. As the spirit grows, this struggle continues, but the sooner we surrender, relinquish control and allow the spirit to lead, the better. With our spirit joined to the Holy Spirit, our lives can be directed far better than by the soul alone. Once Jesus separates and reintegrates the soul and spirit, the spirit connects to the soul from the inside out, allowing everything to flow outwardly from that unity. We then discern what is happening in the world around us first through our spiritual senses, rather than through physical senses or emotions. We’re no longer operating from memory, but from spiritual instinct—enabling us to know, feel, and sense what’s happening.

It is important to go through this process and surrender the soul’s control, so that spirit and soul can become integrated, functioning together to operate in a completely different manner.

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All Mike’s books, including Into the Dark Cloud and Unconditional Love, are available to order from online and local booksellers; or you can buy them as ebooks and download them instantly from our website.
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274. Separating and reintegrating soul and spirit (1)

275. Separating and reintegrating soul and spirit (2)

 

 

 

431. Breaking Free from Deceptive Teaching | Rediscovering God’s Love

Mike Parsons

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When people get drawn into deceptive teachings, it can completely distort their understanding of God. But the truth is, the very nature of God is love. Just think about it—some claim that if someone uses a different name for Jesus, or a Hebrew version, they’re going to hell. It’s absurd. But that’s the level of deception and depth of religious programming some people fall into.

Take the Hebrew Roots movement, for example. It’s just as deceptive as the Judaizers in the first century, who tried to pull followers of Jesus back under the law of Moses. Jesus warned us about the leaven of Herod and the Pharisees—the political and religious spirits. And sadly, that same spirit has infiltrated some mystical Christian groups today.

There’s a growing narrative that says you must understand Hebrew, take Hebrew classes or grasp the Hebrew language to understand God. But God is not Hebrew—God is God. Hebrew was simply the language of a people He chose for a time to demonstrate His desire for relationship. That doesn’t make it the one true language of divine understanding. In fact, many of the religious leaders in Jesus’ day—Pharisees, Sadducees, and others—had a deeply flawed understanding of God, and Jesus came to correct that.

Much of that misunderstanding came from syncretism. When the Jewish people were exiled in Babylon, they began to incorporate foreign beliefs and customs into their system. The same happened later under Greek influence. This led to writings like the Talmud—an oral tradition passed down and eventually written. Some of its content is shockingly harsh, treating non-Jews as lesser beings. It became equal in status to the Torah for many, yet it’s a book that contains things Jesus clearly came to oppose.

Jesus came to reveal who God truly is—a God of love. The Hebrew Roots movement, though, seeks to drag people back into a law-based, old covenant mindset. When people get into it, you often notice a lack of love in their attitudes. They become harsh, critical and defensive—clear signs of deception. Paul addressed this in his letter to the Galatians when he said, “Who has bewitched you?” They started with grace and were being tempted to go back under the law. But no one could keep that law, and that was the whole point.

Christianity is not Judaism plus Jesus. Jesus didn’t come to start a religion—He came to invite us into a new covenant relationship. He is the fulfilment of every old covenant promise and every feast that pointed to something greater. So why go backwards? Why follow the Jewish calendar or wear religious garments like kippahs or prayer shawls to seem more spiritual? It’s just mixing covenants and returning to bondage. And again, it often shows in how little love these teachings produce in people.

Some insist we must use the Hebrew name for Jesus. But God speaks to us in our own language. He’s spoken to me about Jesus using that name, because He meets us where we are. I’m not Hebrew—why should I feel compelled to use a Hebrew name? Unfortunately, many who fall into this movement become zealous, dogmatic and, sadly, unloving. They act as if God will condemn people for using the “wrong” name, which is utterly absurd. But that’s indoctrination. There’s a religious spirit behind it, trying to pull people out of the freedom found in Christ and back into bondage through law-keeping.

The Hebrew Roots movement, at its core, aims to reintroduce legalism. There’s even a wider agenda pushing something called the Noahide laws, attempting to bring the whole world under a religious legal system. But we’ve been called to freedom—not to religious control.

Mike’s latest book, Unconditional Love, is out now as an ebook on our website and will soon be available to order in paperback from your local or online bookseller.

More details at eg.freedomarc.org/books

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