True Spirituality

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Since the fall man is divided from himself, and so since the fall there is that which I am which is below the surface – in psychological terms, there is the unconscious, subconscious aspect of our humanity. Just as Christ’s death was central to our redemp-tion, so also is our continuing death by choice central to our spiritual growth in Christ. The Christian pursues sanctification by rehearsing the historic life of Christ in his or her own life.

But when I know the real guilt is really met by Christ, so that I do not need to fear to look at the basic questions deep inside myself, then I can see that the feeling of guilt that is left is really just “psychological guilt,” and only that. Colin Beckley, director of the Meditation Trust, says the only true spiritual experience is silence. From the earliest writings of the New Testament, the principle of integrated and authentic faith and action has been taught as essential to Christian spirituality. Substantial healing touches all of Christian life because of the finished work of Christ, though the healing is not yet complete.Paul draws two factors together here: 1) we will be with Christ when we die, and 2) we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. It is not, for example, a matter of waiting until we no longer have strong sexual desires, but rather than in the midst of the movement of life, surrounded by a world that grabs everything in rebellion first against God and then against its fellow man, we are to understand what Jesus means when He talks about denying ourselves and renouncing ourselves in regard to that which is not rightfully ours. But there is reality here – the reality of sins forgiven; the reality of a certainty that when a specific sin is brought under the blood of Christ – it is forgiven. The Holy Spirit serves to lead us into all truth (John 16:13), gives joy (Ephesians 5:18), and convicts when we sin (Ephesians 4:30).

and God graciously applies this to the whole, and gradually the Holy Spirit helps us see deeper into ourselves. Dedication to God or a higher power translated into less stress reactivity, greater feelings of well-being, and ultimately even a decreased fear of death. As Schaeffer says: There are “oceans of grace” awaiting the believer – if they do not flow through the Christian’s life, it is only because the instrumentality of “faith” is not being used. The first promise of the coming of the Messiah (Gen 3:15), tells us that He wouldbe bruised – how else is “sinful man” to be clothed except with skins requiring the shedding of blood? And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw – “and behold the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kg 6:16-17).At some level of consciousness man cannot forget the fact that he is “finite man” – surely at some point there will be a cry within him, that there must be a real answer in this life to the “separation from himself. The Last Commandment, “Thou shalt not covet,” shows us that these negatives are not related just to outward behavior, but to inward attitudes.