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Exploring  the Spiritual Dimensions of Life
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KingdomLife

 In the third chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus told Nicodemus that in order for him to see and enter the Kingdom of Heaven (which exists in the spiritual realm), he had to be spirit-birthed. Later in John we learn that once a person is spirit-birthed, the Holy Spirit will come and dwell in the newly born human spirit. Such people are body-soul-spirit humans, just as described in 1 Thessalonians 5:23:


Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.


In part 1 of this teaching (you can find it here), we saw that Jesus operated simultaneously in the physical realm and the spiritual realm. In Ephesians 2:4-6, we discover something very interesting about spirit-born humans:


But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.


We who were at one time dead in our trespasses, flesh bound to a body-soul human existence with our human spirit dead. Because of sin, trespasses, we were unable to change this reality, but instead we were dead. Not just messed up, DEAD. Not just corrupted, DEAD. Not just captive to and demonic powers, DEAD. We were dead and we didn’t know it and could do nothing about it. DEAD is DEAD.


But then JESUS changed it all … made us alive (past tense)… provides us with the spirit birth so that we become fully human: body, soul, and human spirit.

He raised us UP and made us to sit together in the heavenlies (past tense).


WOW! This is a mind-blowing truth …. pause for a moment and consider this …. those of us who  are spirit-birthed, are sitting in two places at the same time … right now. Sitting somewhere on planet Earth reading this web page and sitting in the Kingdom of Heaven. TWO PLACES AT THE SAME TIME!

We are no longer 3 dimensional beings. We are dual-realm beings …. a whole new species of humanity. We are not just sinners saved by grace, we are not just like all of the other people in the world … we truly are a totally different type of humanity; existing simultaneously in the physical realm and the spirit realm. The Holy Spirit comes to live within out newborn human spirit and we become one with the Holy Spirit, one with the ascended Jesus, one with the Father. We are a different type of human altogether, foreigners and aliens to the world where humans are spiritual dead and bound to the physical realm.

John 17:18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

We are a new creation, body-soul-spirit humans, and we have been raised up and now exist in the heavenlies. So when Jesus sends us into our mission into the world, He sends us the same way that the Father sent Him … from heaven to earth, while remaining in heaven.

PAUSE HERE FOR A MOMENT … THIS IS ONE OF THE SPIRITUAL THINGS THAT JESUS MENTIONED TO NICODEMUS BUT HE COULD NOT EVEN UNDERSTAND THE EARTHLY THINGS.

It is very important that we comprehend this as TRUTH IN REALITY … not just some religious or theological concept. This is not just something that you underline in your Bible and hope to find more detail in some Commentary. You are a dual-realm being. You are here in the physical realm and you are here in the spiritual realm.

This has such powerful consequences in the way we do ministry. So please pause for a moment and try to grasp the significance of this TRUTH IN REALITY …

Because you are operating in both realms at the same time, Your ministry can operate from the heavenlies and move the things of heaven to earth, according to the will of the Father. The Holy Spirit dwelling in your newborn human spirit will reveal to you all that is needed. You can operate in a new awareness of His will because you are THERE with Jesus and with the Father in the Kingdom of Heaven. You can see what the Father is doing and hear what He is saying and then do and say THAT …. Just like Jesus does. When we are operating this way, we can confidently say to those that we minister to “THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AMONG YOU.”

SEATED WITH CHRIST IN THE HEAVENLIES …. HOLY, ROYAL

1 Peter 2:4-5 - Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.


This is a description of the true church, a royal priesthood, as living (no longer dead) stones, built UP together into a spiritual house IN THE SPIRITUAL KINGDOM. This is reality, this is what the true church is!


So when we take a group of spirit-birthed believers and bring them together as a manifestation of the church, which is a spiritual house. That assembly is also a dual-realm assembly and what people “see” when they look at the church in the physical realm is only a representation of what truly exists … a copy and shadow of the heavenly thing (Hebrews 8:5).


Some may be mature in their capacity as dual-realm followers of Jesus, and some may be just newly born again, spiritual babies who are just learning to take their first steps in walking in the Spirit. Unfortunately many in the church remain spiritual babies because they never grab hold to this reality. They operate their ministries only in the physical realm doing the best that they can without even knowing how to operate as a spiritual house. Oh how I long for the people of God to step into the reality of 1 Peter 2:4-5. Only dual realm humans are capable of this but we more often than not labor from a physical realm perspective with little of no understanding of what it means to operate in the heavenlies.


Now if we take that spiritual/physical house and add to it some body-soul humans; (a) some of which are seeking the truth, (b) some of which are seeking a touch from God, healing, deliverance, and wholeness, (c) some of which want to practice a religion, (d) and some who are just curious …. you have what most today would call “the church” but really is the church plus a surrounding community of people. Within that extended community are Living stones, a holy priesthood that do ministry as spirit-born, Holy Spirit filled, dual realm human followers of Jesus.


I want to encourage each of you who have experienced the spirit-birth, to step into your inheritance and begin to live a dual-realm life. Learn to operate your ministry from the heavenlies and learn to bring the things of heaven to earth. Be a true disciple of our Living Lord. Don’t be satisfied with the way others operate. Success is not measured by anything in the physical realm. Success is doing the will of the Father from the reality of a true spiritual relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ….. PLEASE DON’T SETTLE FOR PHYSICAL REALM FORM OF CHRISTIANITY THAT OFFERS NO REAL EXPERIENCE LIKE THAT DESCRIBED IN JOHN 3, EPHESIANS 2:4-6, AND 1 PETER 2:4-5. IF YOU ARE NOT EXPERIENCING THE REALITY THAT IS DESCRIBED IN THESE PASSAGES THEN SEEK THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, THE ONE THAT IS NOT OF THIS WORLD .. HUNGER AND THIRST FOR IT …. DON’T SETTLE FOR A PHYSICAL REALM COPY AND SHADOW.


There is more to say about this, and we will continue in the near future with Part 3.

 The Need for Supernatural and Spiritual Leadership in the Church

 - part 2