A Call to Spirituality and a Better Appreciation of Its Reality
I mentioned in a recent article that we, believers, were falling behind in fulfilling our mandate as “salt of the earth” and “light of the world.” I associated the situation with the dominant global culture of rationalism and materialism, which has rubbed off on the people of God. The materialism we are concerned with here is not the obsession with material possessions, but philosophical materialism. It is the worldview that requires all things to be examined and understood entirely in terms of the material, or physical. The existence of the spiritual is denied.
While some of us continue to believe in the spiritual, the prevalence of materialism has impacted us more than we realize. We confess the spiritual, but we have relegated it and seldom explore its realities beyond superficial “feelings” and motions. And the less we invest in a thing, the less we enjoy its benefits and bear its fruits.
Spiritual formation is essential to the Christian life and requires conscious resistance to the materialist influences of the world around us. It calls for a willingness to be different, a determination to be heavenly minded and sensitive to the dealings of God’s Spirit. Indeed, our possession of the Spirit of God and the ability to live according to its directions are the stamp of our belonging to God. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:14; also Romans 8:9–11). We are either the children of God, sensitive and responsive to his Spirit, or we are not.
Breaking away from materialism may cost the believer something, but such will only be part of the spiritual investment necessary to enjoy the infinitely greater benefits of the Spirit-led life we have been called to in Christ (Romans 8:18). That which is seen (the physical) is temporary, but that which is unseen (the spiritual) is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18), and so are its benefits. Also, while the spiritual cannot be seen with physical eyes, it is attested to by its effects or what it does in those who experience it. This is similar to the nature of energy in science. For example, we cannot see heat energy with the naked eye, but we can confirms its presence by what it does, such as causing a material to glow or increasing its temperature.
Indeed, when we begin to better appreciate the nature and order of God’s created universe, we will realize that what we call spirit is actually the personification of a kind of intelligent energy. Here, personification means taking on attributes of a person or human. It is comparable to what we see in Proverbs 2, where wisdom, an intangible ability or power, is personified.
Think of it: we talk about the power and works of God, but what are these things? Scientifically, power is the rate of the production or use of energy, and energy is the ability to do work, which makes work the expression of power. God is the energy source of the universe (Romans 11:36), and all the diverse activities of the universe are his works, the intelligent expression of his power (see Jeremiah 10:12; Romans 1:20). But we also know that “God is Spirit” (John 4:24), which confirms that spirit is actually a form of intelligent energy.
So, how do we develop our spirituality, the ability to experience and use God’s energy productively? The key is the Word of Life. “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Moreover, the Scriptures, which were written through divine inspiration, the working of God’s energy (2 Timothy 3:16–17), contain the most universally available and reliable Word of life. Much like a gold mine, they contain enough to cause the self-righteous and proudful to stumble (Romans 9:32–33; 1 Corinthians 1:22–25), but much more of great value to spiritually energize the humble and sincere seeker (2 Corinthians 3:5–6; James 1:21).
Investment in a heavy biblical diet, including through personal study and the teaching of faithful ministers, is the key to breaking off the shackles of materialism and experiencing spiritual transformation (Romans 12:1–2). The results are maximized when the biblical investment is supplemented with spiritual disciplines such as earnest prayer, solitude, meditation, personal worship, fasting, and interaction with Spirit-filled believers (see Acts 4:13).
Patient and diligent effort is required to correctly process the diverse resources we encounter in our quest for spirituality, and to produce things that are profitable to ourselves, the kingdom of God, and the world at large. As Christ said, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old” (Matthew 13:52).
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