WALKING BY THE SPIRIT - THE DILEMMA

by Gary Carpenter

Preface: Neither the spirit nor the soul of man is a circle. The diagrams presented are
simply a way of graphically demonstrating the relationship between the spirit, soul and
body of man. The purpose is that we obtain clarity of understanding regarding how
mankind functions by the interrelationship between the three.
The Diagram:
The inner circle represents the spirit
of man. The outer circles represent
the soul of man, divided into
chambers to represent various
rooms of acquired knowledge.
The outer circle, the soul, is
comprised of a series of rooms, each
of them having a door that opens
inwardly from the hallway and a
window on the opposite wall. Those
windows represent the "sense gates"
through which input [information]
from the physical world enters the
chambers of the soul.

The Natural Man:

We know that the natural man is born with the Adamic nature, the spirit of the world, the spirit
of sin and death. In the vision, the inner circle representing the spirit of the natural man is black
as night. As an infant, man is born with the chambers of the soul virtually empty of content.
Through the sense gates, knowledge is gathered into the various chambers of the soul at an
extremely rapid pace as he gains knowledge of the world around him.
At first, it seems that all the inner doors are open to the spirit and the natural man makes
decisions in the soul that are heavily influenced by the "death nature" in his spirit. A typical
example would be a very young child playing with toys in a room with other small children.
Through the sense gate of the eyes, he sees another child enjoying himself while playing with a
toy that the first child does not have. Standing from the position of his darkened spirit, he looks
into the chamber of the soul where that data is accumulating and he comes to certain
conclusions:
Playing with that toy brings happiness.
I want happiness.
I want that toy.
I will take that toy.
Of course, this is what the bible describes as "covetousness," and is a natural outflow from the
spirit of sin and death. It is born in the natural man.
Continuing with the example, the youngster goes over to the other child and attempts to take the
toy from him. He resists, so the first child "bops" him on the head in order to force him to
relinquish the toy. [What we have just seen on a small scale is the same process that starts world
wars]. Mission accomplished! The child who now has the toy feels no compassion for the other
child who is crying over the loss of the toy. The nature of sin and death is totally self?serving.
If this young child continues to have such "success" via this method of forcibly plundering the
possessions of others, his feedback loop will continue to give positive reinforcement to his
methods. He will conclude, "This is the way to happiness." He will become an excellent thief
when he grows up, if not a dictator. It is for this reason that the bible admonishes us;
Prov 19:18 Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his
crying.
Prov 23:13-14 Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with
the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul
from hell.
Applying this truth to our example, let's say that there is an adult teacher in that same room
where the children were playing and that the teacher saw this whole episode. Her job is to come
over to the child who took the toy by force and "teach" him that his behavior was not acceptable.
If she is godly, she will not only remove the stolen toy and restore it to its true owner, but she
will also "spank" the child, providing input through the sense gates that will be more persuasive
than his previous conduct of covetousness. The goal is to provide sufficient sensory input via the
spanking to fill that chamber of the soul with thought processes that go something like this:
Forcibly removing another person's goods causes punishment.
The pain of punishment brings unhappiness.
The unhappiness produced by the pain of punishment is more unpleasant than the happiness
enjoyed by having the stolen toy.
Conclusion: "I shall not steal!" (Ex 20:15)
At this point it is imperative to take note that the spirit of sin and death within the child HAS NOT
CHANGED! No, a chamber of the "soul" has received sensory input that will cause him to make a
different decision from that which would come naturally from the spirit of sin and death.
"Covetousness" is still within his spirit. But "instruction" has now filled that chamber of his soul.
As he sojourns through life and encounters situations where he must once more make the choice
to either "steal or not steal," the man has learned to block the influence of his death nature upon
the soul in order to make decisions.
Through this ongoing process, man learns to live by his soul and not by his spirit. He learns by
the "reward and punishment" system that it is better for him NOT to walk by his fallen spirit, but
rather to walk by the information he has gathered into the chambers of his soul. In fact, he
learns that the better he becomes at walking by his soul instead of his spirit, the more society
lauds him as being a "good" man. But once more, it is imperative to understand that HIS SPIRIT
HAS NOT CHANGED! At his core, he still has the spirit of sin and death. He has simply become
expert at not walking by his spirit, but rather by the soul instead. See Figure 2.
For all practical purposes, he erects a
"barrier" between his spirit and his
soul. He wants to block the spirit of sin
and death from influencing his
decisions as much as possible. He
does his best to make decisions based
on the accumulated knowledge gained
from "civilization" that has been stored
in the various chambers of the soul.
But ultimately, even this process is still
the product of the fallen nature. Why
do I say that? He is choosing to live a
"good" [soulish] life because IT IS IN
"HIS" BEST INTEREST TO DO SO!
Even this decision to walk by the soul
instead of the fallen spirit is totally
"self" serving. There is no love of God
involved in this process. The man is
tying to be "good" because he has
learned through the reward and
punishment system of civilization that
he is personally "better off" if he does
so. His nature has not changed! He is
still spending his life serving "self!"
Note: The tree of the knowledge of good and evil has a single root. That root is "self." What
fallen man, as a society, calls "good" behavior and "evil" behavior stems from the motive of
preservation and personal benefit for "self" on the "society" level. The laws of every nation are
designed to protect man from man.
The Born Again Man's Dilemma:
For teaching purposes, let us say that the young man mentioned above does not get born again
until he is a full grown adult. He has spent a lifetime trying to be "good" by building a strong
barrier between his soul and his spirit. He has learned to never walk by his spirit at all costs, but
rather to make decisions based only on the information contained in the various chambers of the
soul.
In the vision I see some of the names on the doors that lead into the various chambers of the
soul. Some of the names on the doors are ETHICS, ECONOMICS, GOVERNMENT, FAMILY,
BUSINESS, DOCTRINE, PRAYER and so forth. The man has spent a lifetime developing the
practice of living by the information contained in these rooms rather than by the nature of his
fallen spirit. Society calls him "good" for his soulish discipline to restrain the fallen nature.
But now, as an adult, he hears the gospel of Jesus Christ. He understands the message and
receives Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He is "born again." His old spirit, the Adamic nature,
the spirit of sin and death is literally put to death. In its place is inserted a new spirit which is "of
God." We often call it the "new nature."
In the vision, the inner circle representing the spirit of this born again man is now filled with
light. This born again spirit is "of God" and is capable of understanding the things of the Kingdom
of God.
1 Cor 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is
of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
The goal for the born again man is to "walk in the spirit." That is, to walk according to the new
nature that God has placed on the inside of him.
Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
The problem is, the man has absolutely no idea HOW to do that! His lifelong pattern has
been to walk according to his soul. At all costs he has avoided walking by his spirit
because it was the spirit of sin and death before he was born again. His practical
experience consists of knowing how to walk by the soul, not by the spirit.

The life, the power, the anointing of

God, however, flows into the earth
through the conduit of the reborn
human spirit. To ever see the "physics"
of the Kingdom of God manifested in
the earth, somehow the man must
learn to "walk in the spirit." By the
"physics" of the Kingdom of God, I am
talking about the same works that we
see being demonstrated through the
life of Jesus Christ; miracles, healings,
dominion over the forces of nature,
dominion over devils, and so forth. All
 of these are worked through the reborn "spirit" of man by the anointing of the Holy Ghost. They
do not originate in the soul. They originate with God and flow through the "spirit of Him" which is
inside the heart of every born again person.
Being conditioned to walk according to the soul, most Christians try to live their lives by the soul
even after their spirit has been quickened from death to life. For the Gospel Entrepreneur to
effectively co-labor with the leadership and anointing of the Holy Spirit, it is imperative that he
learns how to tear down the barrier that has been erected over a lifetime of endeavoring to walk
by the soul and not by the spirit. How to tear down that barrier will be the subject of the next
lesson in this series.

WALKING BY THE SPIRIT - THE SOLUTION

by Gary Carpenter

The number one way that the born again man receives direction is by the inner witness.
What is the inner witness? The conscience is the voice of the reborn human spirit. This
agrees with the scripture that says,
Heb 10:16 This is the covenant
that I will make with them after
those days, saith the Lord, I will
put my laws into their hearts, and
in their minds will I write them.
The freshly born again man does not
need a written law to tell him, "Thou
shalt not steal." It is no longer his
"nature" to steal. The new nature he
received when he was born again tells
him, through the voice of the
conscience, that he should not steal
from his neighbor. It is the same with
all the rest of the Ten
Commandments.
The Holy Spirit said to me,
"Those who habitually violate their conscience have great difficulty in discerning My voice."
Direction In The Affairs Of Life:
A man recently came to me with the complaint that he can't seem to hear the voice of the Holy
Spirit. I asked him, "When was the last time you violated your conscience?"
He thought for a moment and then said, "Well, I was about to go watch a movie with some
friends a few nights ago. Just as we were about to enter the theater, 'something' within me
seemed to say, 'Don't go in there. Go to the church and pray during this time instead."
I asked him, "Did you obey that instruction?" He said, "No. I ignored it and watched the movie
with my friends."
This man doesn't have a problem with hearing God. He has a problem with obeying God. The
Holy Spirit was speaking through the man's conscience, giving him precise instructions on what
to do. He has formed a lifestyle pattern of habitually overruling the voice of His conscience. The
conscience is the voice of our human spirit, the number one place where God speaks to us.
Habitually violating the "inner witness" (the conscience) is the surest path to becoming hardened
to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Direction For The Gospel Entrepreneur:
For the Gospel Entrepreneur, this is vitally important. We MUST be able to discern the leading, of
the Holy Spirit in the financial arena. It is the Holy Spirit who "shows us things to come." We
want DIRECTION! Notice how the Holy Spirit was giving this man direction, but by overruling the
voice of his conscience, he was also "deadening" his ability to be led by the Holy Ghost!
If all of us, from the day we were born again, would "instantly obey" the voice of our conscience,
then we would avoid many of the pitfalls of life that the enemy plans for us. The Holy Spirit
would be able to easily lead us through life. The problem is, however, most of us ignore many of
those promptings of the new nature. Over a period of time, we "deaden" our ability to hear the
voice of our conscience. We become "hard of hearing" when it comes to the voice of our new
nature. It's not that our new nature stops speaking to us through the voice of the conscience. We
simply learn to "tune it out," much like parents do with the sound of their children playing.
1 Tim 4: Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart
from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
1 Tim 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; HAVING THEIR CONSCIENCE SEARED WITH A
HOT IRON. [Emphasis mine]
From Strong's Dictionary, the Greek word translated "seared" is:
2743. kauteriazo, kow-tay-ree-ad'-zo; from a der. of G2545; to brand ("cauterize"), i.e. (by impl.)
to render unsensitive (fig.):--sear with a hot iron.
When you cauterize a flesh wound, a scar is formed making that area insensitive to feeling.
When we ignore the voice or our reborn human spirit (the conscience) we thicken the barrier
between our soul and our spirit, making ourselves more and more insensitive to the leadership
and direction provided by the Holy Spirit through our new nature.
Direction in "righteousness" and direction in your "call" both come through the same channel …
your reborn human spirit! The voice of your reborn human spirit is your conscience. If you want
precise direction and leadership in your "call" as a Gospel Entrepreneur, you must be very tender
and sensitive to the voice of your reborn human spirit.
It is folly indeed to try and be sensitive to the voice of your conscience only in the areas of your
"call" and at the same time try to deaden your ability to hear that voice in your daily "walk" in
areas of righteousness. You are either tender and sensitive to the voice of your conscience or you
are not.
The new nature, your reborn human spirit, is still alive within you. Your new nature receives
leadership and direction from the Holy Spirit. God IS speaking to you through the conduit of your
reborn human spirit … the new nature. The "voice" of that new nature is the conscience.
Why are you not hearing? Here is a good prayer:
"Father, in the name of Jesus, restore unto me a pure, undefiled conscience. Awaken my
conscience in those areas where I have seared it."
Rom 9:1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in
the Holy Ghost.
One thing I know for sure; the more time a believer allows his reborn human spirit to fellowship
with the Holy Spirit through meditation of the Word and praying in other tongues, the more
tender and sensitive that believer becomes to the voice of his conscience. Referring back to the
diagram at the beginning of this lesson, as a person spends hours of time in fellowship with the
Holy Spirit, the "barrier" between the new nature and the soul is being torn down. Little by little,
the light of righteousness from the born again human spirit begins to shine in all of those
darkened chambers of the soul again. The conscience comes "alive" once more … even in areas
where we have seared it for many years.
In the plainest language I know how to speak, nobody can continue to habitually spend lots of
time in the Word and praying in other tongues without becoming sensitive again to the voice of
the new nature … the conscience. The Holy Spirit is like a refiner's fire, and He will begin
 exposing those areas where we have been violating our conscience for many years. John the
Baptist said,
Mat 3:11-12 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh
after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize
you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will
thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up
the chaff with unquenchable fire.
One by one, the believer will come face to face with habits, thought patterns, unforgiveness, and
many other forms of unrighteousness that he has allowed in his soul for years. As he comes face
to face with each one he will be faced with a decision: Repent or quit praying in tongues. Most
people quit somewhere along the way, and then they wonder why they have so much difficulty
"hearing" the leadership of the Holy Spirit in their "calling."
Once more, the number one way that we receive the leadership of the Holy Spirit is through the
inner witness. The conscience of a believer is the conduit by which that leadership comes. If we
have seared our conscience regarding leadership in "righteousness," we have unknowingly also
seared our conscience regarding leadership in our "calling." For the Gospel Entrepreneur, it is
imperative that the conduit of his conscience be clean, righteous, and holy in order that the
leadership of the Holy Spirit may flow through it unhindered.

WALKING BY THE SPIRIT - THE FLOW

by Gary Carpenter
"Father, Thy Will Be Done In Earth, Just As It Is In Heaven!"
As we spend time in fellowship with the Father, He sends His own love, faith and hope into us via
the conduit of the reborn spirit within us. His "will" is made known to us . . . first in our spirit. As
we progressively comprehend the Father's will regarding any given situation, our spirit begins
projecting the "image of hope" onto the screen of our soul. We begin to "see what our Father is
doing." We then begin speaking the will of the Father and apply corresponding actions. This
speaking and acting "in the name of Jesus" releases the authority for the Holy Spirit to manifest
the will of the Father in earth, just as it is in heaven.