“Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married;....So they said,”Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?....Now the man Moses was very humble....”. Numbers 12:1-3.
When the renewal of the Spirit swept through the Body of Christ in the last century of the previous millennium, the dichotomy of “spirit” and “flesh” was conjured up to contrast openness and resistance to the work of Third Person of the Trinity.
If one spoke in tongues, lifted hands and was enraptured in loud ecstasy during worship and prayer then such a person was said to be “in the Spirit”. On the other hand, if one was less expressive or even tried to evaluate such manifestations, then you would be called “fleshly”. Never mind, if the Biblical usage of such words was never quite in the same vein.
Read Paul’s Epistles to the Galatian and Corinthian congregations. The Apostle says that these churches were in the flesh because they entertained divisiveness, jealousies, insecurities, pride and human performance. To be sure, the “manifestations of the Spirit” were in full demonstration in both congregations. Yet, they were still labelled as being fleshly, childish and lacking in maturity.
RESTORING THE BIBLICAL MEANING
It is time for us to restore the Biblical meaning to the words ‘flesh’ and ‘spirit’. The flesh is evident when we expressly make use of outward exhibition to suppress and mask the need to face up to inner realities. When we aim for the fruit without nurturing the roots, we are walking in the flesh. Being in the spirit means the right motives, attitudes and character become as important, if not more, than being in ‘the right place with the right person at the right time’. Walking in the spirit means the level of our human relationships become a key barometer of our walk with God.
Living in the spirit requires us to continuously challenge ourselves to be renewed in our thinking and temperament, in any circumstance. To be spiritual means that the inner tone of our actions determine the complexion of what we do. Pure values, honest belief systems and a scrupulous conscience - these are the road signs that guide us as we journey in the spirit.
MIRIAM AND AARON VS MOSES: DRESSED-UP FLESH VS NAKED SPIRITUALITY
These ideas of ‘spirit’ and ‘flesh’ are well encapsulated in the high-sounding challenge that Miriam and Aaron posed to Moses. The issue at stake was spiritual: Hearing the voice of God. Miriam and Aaron took a reasonable position: Surely God does not only speak to one person. Outwardly, Miriam and Aaron looked spiritual. But in actual fact, they were masking inner deficiencies. The real issue was a personal one, concerning racial prejudice and, at most, a family dispute. But Miriam and Aaron had deceitfully clothed the matter with spiritual fineries, hoping to undermine Moses’ public leadership and stature.
Scripture does not dispute the spiritual prowess of the likes of Miriam and Aaron but what was lacking was their quality of spirit. Moses’ inner spiritual quality of humility put in the shade his siblings’ fleshly pretense of the high moral ground.
HOW MUCH OF US DOES THE SPIRIT HAVE
If we are concerned about living in the Spirit, then we should focus on the qualities within our spirit more than just the power attributes of the Holy Spirit. Our minds should not be enamoured with just spewing out high-sounding revelation (persuasive words of wisdom) but more of turning truth into practice (demonstration of God’s power). For, to be in the Spirit means not how much of the Spirit we have but how much of us does the Spirit have.
|
