Spirit, Flesh, and Sin

Man has a spiritual *nature* but it is disconnected from God until receiving the Holy Spirit though faith in Jesus.

The consciousness of sin separates us from God.

When Adam and Eve were in a state of innocence, they had no consciousness of sin. When their eyes were opened, knowing good and evil, they became conscious of their sin.

The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin and unrighteousness, both by means of cleansing our conscience (Hebrews 10:22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.) but also by means of Jesus literally defeating sin and death through His mortal body. The Lord God became a man of flesh and experienced separation. The sins of the world were placed on Him as He hung on the cross, which is why He exclaimed "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?". Jesus was quoting from David's Psalm 22 which described the crucifixion in detail, but also was telling the world that He was experiencing the state of separation from the Father, having become sin for us all.

Is 25:8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.

So it is important for us who have been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus to REJECT the temptation to live under the consciousness of sin. Understand that it doesn't make you holy to beat yourself up. Only faith in the redemption Christ paid for with His Own blood can do that. It is not virtuous to consider yourself unworthy of forgiveness; that is actually lack of faith! That is unbelief masquerading as humility. Condemnation is of the enemy, who is called "the accuser."

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins. Now that our conscience has been cleansed, we must stand firm in our assurance before God of His total acceptance of us in the Beloved. Our confidence before God is our greatest strength. We are no longer to be tossed to and fro on the winds and waves of doubt and uncertainty. We stand firm on the rock of Christ Jesus and the assurance of our faith, because Jesus is the author and perfector of our faith.