Salvation of the soul (part 4)

In the last article, we saw how the hot “wind” of God’s spirit blows across the face of our soul and causes the “grass” of our “old man” – the “flesh” – to wither and die. Once we understand this principle, we gain a new appreciation for God’s command to the prophet in Ezekiel 37:9: “Then He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, “Thus says the Lord GOD, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.’”

The Holy “wind” of God’s spirit will indeed bring life to us – the new life given to those who are born again in Christ. But in order for this new to grow, God must first bring about the death of our “old man.” Ultimately it is not until “Old things have passed away” that “all things have become new.” (2^nd Corinthians 5:17) God must first “Pluck up, break down, destroy and overthrow” before he can “build and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:10) And the same spirit that “renews the face of the ground” of our hearts (Psalm 104:30) must first bring about the death of the “Old man” that we were.

Once we understand this process, we begin to see it all over in scripture. Malachi 4:1, for example, describes it in this way: “‘The day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.’ ” At one level, this passage is clearly about the future “Day of the Lord” when God will Judge all mankind.

But it also refers to the affect that the Spirit of Jesus himself – The “Bright and morning star” has in our hearts. Seen in this light, the “arrogant” and “evildoer” in this verse are references to us all in our fallen state. Again notice that the ultimate result of this “Burning” day is that our old, sinful self will be left with “neither root nor branch” – that is neither the source (root) of sin (Which as we have already seen was the sprit of Satan himself) nor expression (Branch) of sin (The “works of the flesh.”).

In several other passages God applies this same principle to wicked nations, but his words have a direct application to everyone of us as well. Consider these examples:

Ezekiel 17:9

“Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers -- so that all its sprouting leaves wither?”

Amos 2:9

“Though his height was like the height of cedars and he was strong as the oaks; I even destroyed his fruit above and his root below.”

Again the clear statement of these passages is that God is both able and willing to destroy both the “root” and the “fruit” of sin in our lives. And as we have already seen, the way that God accomplishes this is through the burning “wind” of his Holy Sprit causing our flesh to wither and die under its scorching heat, and then restoring and renewing us as that same Holy spirit brings forth “The fruit of the Spirit” in our lives.

Hopefully you have gained some understanding with regard to this process of how God both destroys and renews us through the agency of his Holy Spirit within us. Unfortunately, understanding the process is not enough in itself. Ultimately it is only going through this process in its entirety that will bring about the result that our “old man” is left with neither “root nor branch,” – having become replaced entirely with the “new man” – a “Tree of righteousness,” whose “leaves will not wither” and whose “fruit will not fail.” (Ezekiel 47:12) And as we shall see in the next article, this is indeed a process, and one that can last many years.