To be continued was the intention of TBC, so I will pick up where I left of yesterday. As before, reading yesterday’s devotional will give you context.

The Spirit is given by God, breathed into us, is quickened at the moment we are born again. It is perfect and this too is beyond our control. We do not control Spirit, it is perfect in oneness with God. That leaves us with our soul to deal with.

The soul is in fact connected to and part of the body. The mind is the primary facilitator of the soul. Without the mind, we are brain dead, whether the body remains with a beating heart or not. So there is a tenuous connect of the body and soul but the body does not control the soul and only has influence upon it.

So also is the Spirit a tenuous connection to the body and the soul. His influence is far greater because He is of God, is powered by God who can and does exert His will over both body and soul. So where does the problem exist if God is in control? The answer to that comes into play in the nature of Who God is, His character, His will, and His plans for us.

1 John 3:2c when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

This transformative life we live has to be one of cooperation. The reason that forgiveness is paramount in approaching perfection is that we cannot approach perfection without it. We are a failed creation that can only approach perfection by cooperating with God.

Therein lies the problem. What is God asking of us?

1 John 3:2b “it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that”

I left off with this quote yesterday. If you have not read “Perfection” then perhaps this would make more sense to you if you would go to that devotional for continuities sake. It is not always easy to pick out thoughts in the middle of a conversation.

The issue at hand is striving for perfection. This quote today will always be a part of that striving effort. We know what we are. We know what we were. Some will be satisfied with their progress, others will not. While I would love to give each and every one of you comfort in your position, it is not my place to do so. That responsibility is not my burden to bear and belongs to another.

John 14:26, 15:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

There is a great reason that one of His titles is Comforter. He knows the condition of your heart with perfection for He is the Spirit of Truth. He knows what you need, He knows when you need it and He knows how you will receive it.

Strife or striving exists within us because we are in fact triune beings. We are body, we are soul and we are spirit. The body is a thing unique in design and function. It is perfect yet susceptible to decay. That is its fallen state. It became something other than its intended purpose and we long for the day when the decay is removed. This is beyond our control.

TBC