Questions & Answers
Question:
Since I am operated by Christ or Satan but never a “just me,” does that mean I don’t exist somehow? Where is my responsibility to make moment-by-moment choices? That sounds like I don’t get to feel or do what I really want to do.
Answer:
First of all, it helps to know how I function as a human being. I am a spirit “made in the image of God” clothed in a soul (thoughts and emotions) and a body. My soul and body are channels through which I receive information from outside myself and how I express myself (my spirit) in everyday living.
Although I am thinking and feeling things all the time, it is in my spirit–he seat of my desire, choosing, and knowing–that I make the moment-by-moment choice of what I believe. I began life believing the lie that everyone believes: that I am “just me” with the power to carry out my desires. The truth is that I was always operated by another. According to Ephesians 2:1, 2 and I John 4:4, my human spirit was hooked up to Satan’s self-for-self spirit before I was born again. I thought I was “running the show” when all the time Satan was acting out his wicked and self-righteous deeds. Then by believing in Jesus Christ and His work on the cross, I was spiritually born-again–my spirit became united to His Holy Spirit. Jesus spoke of this union with His example of the vine and branches in John 15:5: “I am the Vine, you are the branches. He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” He also used several examples to explain that when I do not “abide” in Him–believe He is living through my human form through our spirit-union–m temporarily controlled by Satan, and become the vehicle for his selfish deeds (Romans 7 is a graphic description of this). I do, therefore, have an awesome responsibility as an individual. I must choose to believe the truth: I am a spirit operated by Jesus Christ, not an independent, self-operated person. M personality or uniqueness is not annihilated–I still have feelings and thoughts as part of my human makeup (soul). But I am not just my feelings, and I do not need to let them (or my thoughts) dictate what I believe. Even though I may feel scared, angry, etc. Christ through me can do what is right since He is joined to my spirit. I can also trust that my desires are His desires, as long as I understand that Christ (the Vine) is operating His life of other-love through me (a branch).
