REDEFINING SPIRITUAL WARFARE SERIES

Continuation of part one

Your mind, the battlefield of the last day spiritual warfare

Primary spiritual knowledge in engaging the complexity of the soul’s faculty

By Isaiah-Phillips Akintola

The subjection of the unregenerated human thought pattern and the process of the transformed mind have been fascinating to me. Ever since I discovered that one’s initial confession of Christ as his Savior does not automatically overwrite the whole issue of the corrupt and degenerated state of the soul’s faculty.

Old, imbibed habits, attitude and ideological beliefs locked within the soul realm, still to an exceptionally large degree, influence the view and decisions made even after the acceptance of the Lord. While the new life received at the foot of the cross did reawaken the dead human spirit, the transformation and restoration of the sensory and emotional faculties of man through the power of the word needs to kick starts the required change within the mind, so that there can be a synchronized lifestyle into one new man, reflecting the life and character nature of Christ in its fullness.

“For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:14-16‬ ‭NKJV‬

A positive change in human character is hugely determined by the reformation and transformation of the thought and perception of man. Lasting change is initiated through the inner working of the spirit of salvation within man’s faculty. This salvation further proceeds to the seat of the soul, the realm of self-awareness and behavior.

The soul houses a sensory, cognitive novel system and other human behavioral science, which defines emotion, feelings, thoughts, imagination, attitudes, ideas and desire, intellect, creativity, and other human actions.

Traditions, beliefs, and other human cultural identities are all parts of what forms within the frame of the human soul. This is basically the realm where fallen human identity and personality are formed or shaped. Indeed, the salvation of the spirit-man kick-starts the process of the rebirth of the self-centered inherent nature of the soul until the entire faculties of the soul life become consumed in the light and glory of Christ’s image, already in existence within the spirit-man.

As simple as this truth may sound, it remains one of the most difficult principles for many in the Body of Christ to understand, accept and practice. There is absolutely no way the culture and life of the kingdom of God can fully manifest through a mindset easily influenced by the ideas and suggestions of human and satanic ideological beliefs.

This has been an ancient battle that has almost destroyed humans, and of course, weakens the church from exhibiting her governmental authority. The enemy strategically established a foreign rebellious way of thinking to the first man and his wife when he suggested eating the forbidden fruit will open their eyes and they will be like God.

It was important that we clearly understand the whole concept of spiritual battle from a precise and broad biblical definition, so we don’t find ourselves like the person who is beating the air, according to Paul’s description in 1 Cor 9:26. This is a topic many have spoken and written about with great insight.

However, the Lord is shedding lighter and broadening the spiritual insight of the church as it relates to the current position of the church in the place of kingdom advance. The light of divine truth is fast moving from the outer reality she has camped for a prolonged period. The second day journey of truth requires that we understand the present phases of the Spirit in terms of the progression of our salvation into the preferred place in God.

The salvation of the soul paves the way for man’s total reformation. It is at this point that the nature and image of the last Adam become fully manifest in and through man. Both the life and mind of Christ flow through this regenerated spirit, soul, and body. Every aspect of the sleeping man from the fall in the garden is completely awakened through the power and glory of Christ.

The nature of the mind we are made of plays a key role in shaping and determining the kind of life and future we will experience both from a personal level to a more corporate global reality.

The fact that it is an open declaration in the word of God that the regenerated Mind is the (temple) habitation of God makes it even more challenging for every true follower of our Lord Jesus Christ to maintain a quality life of thinking that does not give in to challenge and assault of the enemy bent on corrupting the thought process and imagination of all men.

The enemy’s chief mission is to ensure that believers don’t live up to the standard value set in God’s word. We shall further look into the scheme of the enemy as it relates to the condition of human thought pattern. Suffice to say, by divine construct, man is designed in three corporal departments, which are his spirit, soul, and body. Two of these parts cannot be seen with the carnal eyes, while the last, which is man’s biological part gives covering and expression to the rest.

Our Lord Jesus Christ gave an insightful example to differentiate the function of man’s tripartite reality, according to Mark7:15. What goes into a man, meaning, that which enters through the stomach as in relating to food, is not what defiles a man.

He went further to explain that what comes out of the man, the meaning of his spirit or soul, is what makes him clean. Man’s defilement is based on the state or condition of his frame of mind, which is housed by his soul. The soul houses all the psychological and emotional realities of a man’s world. We shall further examine this important principle.

Let us, however, understand this basic but critical protocol of human regeneration. The spirit, at the point of salvation, is reawakened from spiritual death, while the soul remains unsolved, but can be influenced to follow the direction and leadership of the regenerated spirit if it’s properly built and disciplined.

This, however, is impossible until the life energizes the spirit man and light of God’s truth, until it regains full authority and dominion over the total man. This is what Paul was trying to communicate to the Church in Rome, according to Romans chapter 12:1-3. The faculty of the three personalities of man is patterned to function in harmony, so their victory can be assured against the assault of darkness.