One of the biggest tragedies of contemporary Christianity is that the notion of spirituality is almost an alien one to the vast majority of those who profess to be called by the name of the Lord.
The subject of spirituality is one of the least understood partly because it is better transmitted by personal experience than by intellectual explanation. To claim to be “spiritual” or to canvass deeply spiritual positions or options these days is tantamount to courting the scorns and jests of so-called Christians. Such statements as “don’t spiritualise this now” or “don’t sound so spiritual and let’s get practical” are some of the examples of the abject level of ignorance many so-called believers demonstrate concerning the spiritual life.
It may be true that a lot of abuse has attended what true spirituality is all about, it must also be stated for emphasis that true spiritual life exists; indeed it is not an option for anyone who comes to and desires true fulfilment in Christ. However a good number of professed church leaders (usually pretenders to genuine spiritual leadership), having little or no clue themselves about the spiritual life, have been guilty of being the transmitting vehicles of a lot the prevailing half-truths to the people. Much of the teachings in churches these days have been an unhealthy admixture of biblical truths, human psychology, management ideas and notions, and a whole lot of other humanistic stuff. Professed church leaders pass off plain intellectual ideas for spiritual initiatives simply because the terrain of spirituality is still a little murky to them too.
We need to realize that as we are progressively being saved, an important turning point for everyone is to become a truly spiritual being. The question then is: who can we describe as a spiritual person?
It is important to say that the spiritual life is one into which a person evolves or grows. As a process, it is not a static Christian life (there actually are many people in churches today who are not growing or evolving into this life form and may not attain it and its potential in this present life; they have no notion of the journey or have abandoned it altogether). It has very important turning points in the life of a man, and it continues to get better till the attainment of literal immortality. Also, some others, for certain reasons, may attain a higher level of spiritual stature than others.
It is important however to state that while the spiritual life itself is a transitory means to an ultimate immortal/celestial destination, and that not all spiritual people are necessarily immortal yet, it is not possible to become an immortal or celestial man without being at the same time a spiritual man.
The Holy Spirit of God is the One who supervises this orientation programme. It is important to emphasize that there is no absolutely perfect state of spirituality on this side of eternity; everyone is a work in progress. There is constant room for a progressive improvement in anyone’s spiritual state and stature. “But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day” (Proverbs 4:18).
Therefore, in describing rather than defining the reality of what spirituality is, we shall attempt to highlight certain qualities which an ideal spiritual human being possesses and which mark him or her apart from others:
- the spiritual life is not a religious life. It has nothing to do with our frequency of praying or with our level of devotion to local church activities. The number of years a person has been a believer or the position a person holds in a religious organisation is not always a factor in determining whether such a person is spiritual or not.
- the spiritual person is not one who squeezes his face or speak in strange tongues all the time in order to appear more serious that others; he’s not a spook.
- he is simply a God-centred person, not natural or carnal in his thinking and actions. He sees the whole of life in terms of God. Life to him is not about differing compartments – spiritual, secular, etc. Nothing in the whole of his life can assume any independent relevance; the entire activities of his life from the most important to the most mundane of things, must derive from the imperative of the purpose or the will of God.
- he is one who has totally given himself to the demands of the life of faith in the Lord Jesus. In other words, he accepts fully the constraints and the weight of the rule of God by His Spirit (i.e. the Kingdom) upon his life.
- the spiritual person is one who has been enabled or empowered to do things God’s way; he sees, reckons all things and passes judgment through the divine window alone (John 5: 30; Isaiah 11:1-3).
- he is one who is controlled and ruled more by the Spirit of God than by the passions of the flesh; things that generally appeal to the lower nature of man (the works of the flesh or of the sin nature) do not command his attention.
- the spiritual man is a broken person who has attained a high degree of death to the self-life. He is dead to the flesh or nature of sin and its entire works. He has come to understand the secret of walking in the Spirit (i.e. sensitivity to and following the leadings of the Holy Spirit) as the only means of not fulfilling (gratifying or pandering to) the lusts (the pulls, desires, demands) of the flesh (the nature of sin, Galatians 5:16-18). He is alive to God alone, having been largely delivered from all forms of self-consciousness. The nature of God dwells in him richly as evidenced by his involuntary, almost unconscious manifestation of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. He is hardly plagued anymore by such carnal propensities as pride or boastfulness for instance; his confidence is no more in his own personal abilities; he is not given anymore to sudden bursts of anger and other forms of emotional outbursts. He is a controlled person, very much under divine government and authority. His actions and reactions are not controlled by things that happen no matter how provocative, alluring or inducing, rather they are dictated strictly by the Holy Spirit.
- to a very great extent, he has stopped being ruled and dominated by his soul faculties of the intellect or reason, the will, and the emotions or feelings. A lot of the times, due to the total influence of the Spirit on him, he cannot predict what he will do (but that is only within the confines of righteous actions) (John 3:8). His choices and priorities in life are totally regimented by the Holy Spirit according to God’s Kingdom demands.
- the spiritual man is a man empowered to live under or by the express will of God (and this is God’s definition of a real, a total and a successful man as against all the other definitions being touted in our world today). Spiritual wholeness has been restored to the totality of the being of such a man. He is very well-structured in his inside. He has stopped being fussy in any way.
- the reality of his life amounts to total renunciation of the exercise of the power of personal choice and all forms of independence of actions. This he is able to do, not by the exertion of his will or in his own strength, but by the power which now acts through him (“you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will become the visible evidence of my nature and character, i.e. witness”). (To be continued).
Olushina Adisa sent in this write up from London, where he resides with his family