Divisions
Dividing our soul from our spirit is the working out of Heb. 4:12 . The word of God, the Spirit of God, gradually penetrates through the levels of our soul: the mind, the imagination, the memory, the emotions, the will, down to the innermost hidden depths. Here in the depths, we don't see those things that are in conflict with the Lord:
Our reason, our hopes, our affections, our views, our zeal, our culture, our creeds, our churchism, our senses, our religious experiences, and our spiritual comforts.
These are some of our belief systems that often feed our pride and our ego and our self-life and, thus, must be exposed and uprooted ( Jer. 17:9 ).
Values
Such habits and self-centered ways form our attitudes and perspectives and responses to life. This is the conditioning of our human nature which comes from our upbringing, from the influences of others in our life, from our preconceived value systems, from our habits, and from our self-oriented thought processes ( Luke 9:23-24 ).
Human Nature
Our 'humanness' will never go away, it will always be there. This is called the 'flesh'. This must be dealt with, exposed and crucified at the cross, before we can enter the Holy Place of our hearts where God is to dwell. Thus, the self and the sin must be continually dealt with on a daily basis in order to be filled with the 'fullness of God' and to bear much fruit for the Kingdom ( Eph. 3:14-19 ).
We are hindered from a life of freedom in the Spirit because of what we think and perceive down deep. What we 'believe' is what we will normally 'do'. If we want to change our behavior, we must discover what untruths we are believing ( John 8:32-36 ).
Roots
What we believe is based on our 'root systems', i.e., all of our preconceived belief systems, our secret habits, our hidden motives and all of our self-centered ways. In other words, this can be identified as our 'human nature' itself: our natural self-orientation, self-reliance and self-love and all our natural habits that do not reflect the Presence of God within. God wants to expose and eliminate these distortions because they often become the 'roots' of our sin ( Matt. 12:34-37 ; John 12:24-26 ).
Pure In Heart
( Matt. 5:8 ) "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God". Purity is the result of continued spiritual harmony with God, i.e., we have to grow in purity. This is reflected by our inner life as conditioned by life's experiences and nurturing, and our 'outer life', contact with other people and responses and reactions to the world, the flesh and the devil. These are to be dealt with by the constant renewing of the 'spirit of the mind' to remove the spots and stains of life. If the outer level of our spiritual life with God is impaired to the slightest degree, we must put everything aside until we make it right. Spiritual vision depends on our character. It is 'the pure in heart' who 'see God' and sees life as God perceives it.
Application
The principles of Luke 9:23-24 ; Eph. 4:22-24 ; Matt. 22:37-40 guide our lives to purify our hearts and direct our behavior. We die to our self-orientation by judging and evaluating a feeling-oriented life. And we respond to life on the basis of our will, and our will based on God's word. Our mind is the focal point as we change a self-focus to a God focus. The evidence of a godly focus is proved by our biblical responses to others and to the circumstances of life.
Accordingly, we place ourselves under the influence and domain of the Holy Spirit Who on the basis of our biblical responses to life changes our root and belief systems to conform to the image of Christ. Our soul is to be the same as the soul of Christ: His soul is to be our soul.
Specifics
Matt. 7:5 states that the process of change begins with developing an acute sensitivity to sin. We judge ourselves first, not others, to see if we are living as new creatures before God. As we do, we will place ourselves in the position to help restore others. Therefore, we examine ourselves according to God' s truth as revealed in Matt. 5:43-46 ; Rom. 2:1-10 ; Rom. 5:1-5 ; Rom. 12:1-21 ; Eph. 4:17-32 ; Col. 3:1-17 ; 1 Pet. 3:9-18 ; 2 Pet. 1:3:11 .
As we examine ourselves daily, putting-off the old man and putting-on the new man, a process of simple obedience to the word of God, the doing of the word of God, the Holy Spirit will change our root and belief systems to be in accord with the image of Christ.
This is a lifetime process. Our job is to be faithful on a daily basis putting-off and putting-on, the Holy Spirit will do the rest: enlighten, enable and empower us to love God with all our heart , mind, and soul, and our neighbor as our self ( Matt. 22:37-39 ).
( Rom. 6:3-11 ; Gal. 2:20 ; 1 Pet. 4:1-2 ; 2 Pet. 1:4 ) We are made "partakers of the divine nature" receiving and sharing God's own nature through His promises. Then we have to work that divine nature into our human nature by developing godly habits. Gradually we begin to view life, no longer from the fleshly or carnal perspective , but from the spiritual: being and doing God's will on earth .
Work Out Your Salvation (Phil. 2:12-13)
1 Cor. 2:12-13
Review Matt. 5:14-7:29 , make a list of your sins, and attitude distortions. Make plans to change attitudes and behavior via Section A.4, “Victory Over Sin Worksheet” . To help remove those sin barriers that keep you from developing the mind of Christ, here are some major areas to be considered:
( Matt. 5:21-26 ) Anger, Bitterness, Contempt . Unless this is dealt with, our Christian walk is crippled at the start. Jesus came to save not to condemn. We are to do the same.
( Matt. 5:27-32 ) Obsessive Lust . Keep your eyes single and pure. Women are the guardians of our culture. They are endowed with a natural reverence for that which is sacred. Make plans to break from the spirit of the world, the flesh, and the devil.
( Matt. 5:32-37 ) Verbal Manipulation . Don't force others to accept your opinions or position.
( Matt. 5:38-48 ) Payback/Revenge . Our job is to be reconciled to God, to self, and to others. Mercy is the postponement of judgment. As God does with us, do likewise. Restore and be reconciled to all of life, and be free.
( Matt. 6:1-18 ) Seeking Approval and Acceptance of Man . Develop the interior life, view life from God's perspective. You are already accepted and approved in Christ. Use self to seek to glorify God by exercising your talents and gifts for the benefit of others.
( Matt. 6:19-34 ) Wealth and Greed . Depending on and trusting in the externals of the world system (mind of the flesh) rather than trusting in God leads to frustration and despair. As a co-heir with Christ, a citizen of heaven, you already own the cattle on a thousand hills. Act accordingly, for we are to live by God's economy ( 2 Cor. 8:9 ).
( Matt. 7:1-12 ) Criticism/Condemnation . Our natural inclination is to judge and a penchant for condemnation engineering. Judge yourself first for condemning, then you will be in the position to help restore others. As God's ambassadors, we are here, not to compete, but to help complete one another.
( Matt. 7:13-26 ) Doing and Not Just Hearing . Active listening and doing of the word is the key. Severe warnings are issued to the passive, lazy and self-indulgent. Unless we develop the interior life, the heart level, daily practicing the Presence of the Lord, our house will crumble. Judge self daily to assure that you are living by the Kingdom rules of the beatitudes. Therefore, exercise dominion of self in, as, and through Christ: be on top in all of life's endeavors.