We are presently examining just what is the precedence for the spiritual life of the church age believer and we are making the case that the precedence was established by TLJC in his unglorified humanity during his life on this earth at the beginning of the hypostatic union.
We saw that Precedence is defined as: (1) an earlier occurrence of something similar; (2) something done or said that may serve as an example or rule to authorize or justify a subsequent act of the same or an analogous kind (3) a verdict that had no precedent (4) the convention established by such a precedent or by long practice or (5) a person or thing that serves as a model.
We have seen that the Church age believer's spiritual life revolves around the power of God the Holy Spirit and God's word just as TLJC did in his unglorified humanity while on this earth during his first advent.
Last time we ran out of time when we were discussing the results of being filled with the Spirit that include imitating Christ, Gal 4:19; perception of the Word, John 14:26; John 16:12-14; 1Cor 2:9-14; witnessing, Acts 1:8; divine guidance, Rom 8:14; assurance, Gal 4:5,6; worship, John 4:24; Phil 3:3; and effective prayer, Eph 6:18;
Believers can only know they are spiritual by means of doctrine there is no emotion or ecstatics related to one's spirituality during the Church Age.
Emotion is actually described as restraining, retarding and preventing spiritual advance in 2Cor 6:11-12; Rom 16:17-18.
The believer is placed into God's power system at salvation where the power of the Holy Spirit enables the believer to function in God's plan for their life.
Sin takes the believer out of God's power system and places the believer into the kosmic system where satan rules.
Spirituality consists of the believer's residence in God's system and their function within God's system when they utilize the power of the Holy Spirit under the mentorship of God the Holy Spirit.
When the Bible refers to the believer as being "spiritual", depending on the context, it is either referring to the believer who is filled with the Spirit or to a believer who has advanced to spiritual adulthood.
Since the believer is filled with the Spirit at salvation, why are they commanded in Eph 5:18 to "keep on being filled with the Spirit"?
Because the first time the believer sins after salvation, they lose the filling of the Holy Spirit and are no longer in God's power system.
When the believer is in the status of post salvation sin, God the Holy Spirit still indwells the believer's body, but He does not control their life.
The filling of the Holy Spirit is recovered through the function of acknowledging known sin per, 1 John 1:9.
When the believer is restored fellowship with God the Holy Spirit it means the believer is restored to their position of impeccability and life inside God's power system where there production is divine good rather than sin, human good and evil.
The believer is restored to life inside God's power system.
The believer recovers the filling of the Holy Spirit.
The believer loses the filling of the Spirit through post salvation sinning.
The purpose of the filling of the Holy Spirit is for the perception of Bible doctrine, execution of the protocol plan of God, and the glorification of God as an invisible hero.
The Holy Spirit given to every believer for the purpose of cognition of Bible doctrine and the execution of the protocol plan is impossible with human IQ, even though a person may be genius.
No one can understand Bible doctrine apart from the filling of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit provides the divine omnipotence, the divine IQ, the enabling power to understand Bible doctrine.
The filling of the Spirit is an absolute state. The believer is either filled with the Spirit or carnal. The filling of the Spirit and carnality are mutually exclusive.
The relative concept related to spirituality is related to the cognition and inculcation of Bible doctrine that results in the various stages of the believer's spiritual growth.
The carnal believer or believer in Christian degeneracy does not lose their salvation. The forty grace gifts that God gives to every believer at salvation can never be cancelled by the failure of the believer.
Once recovering their place in the position of impeccability and the filling of the spirit because of acknowledgement of any known sin, what the believer chooses to imitate becomes the factor in their Spiritual Life, 2Cor 3:3.
The spiritual believer imitates the humanity of Christ in the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union. Spirituality is imitating God, 2Pet 1:4. Eph 5:1, "Therefore, become imitators of God as beloved children."