Ever since the sinful turn from God’s guidance in the Garden of Eden, we are inclined to look just to the wisdom gained from natural experience. (a) [see endnotes for Scriptures] We tend to believe and accept what our natural senses see and hear while we discount the insight our spiritual senses bring. (b)
What is the good news? Well, scripture says we can overcome our deathly attitudes and rise into better ways of living in our day. “Christ was raised from the dead…so we too might walk in newness of life.” (c) So, how do we arise and walk in new life?
Learning To Arise
The spirit of life, which comes from our Eternal Father, is in every living person and enables us to sense what the Spirit of God is saying and doing. God invites us to stop falling for the Garden’s lie and repentively rise into the fresh awareness and understanding He makes available.
Like resurrection (a standing up into fresh awareness), we can arise and advance into improving life experiences. While our circumstances may not immediately change, our improved attitude will produce an inner peace and levels of calming confidence to get up each day and do better.
We understand our physical body eventually declines and wears out and returns to dust, while our spirit (breath of life) returns to its source – God. (d) It is our conscious soul (mind, will and emotion) that can understand God’s guidance, arise daily into a spiritual awareness and be renewed. (e)
When we acknowledge our need for God’s insightful wisdom and guidance, a repentant attitude restores us into God’s fellowship where we can partake of the Tree of Life – our source of spiritual (zoe) life. As we see and hear more clearly, we arise to become better expressions of God’s heart. (f)
While our physical health and well-being is always important to us, and to God, more than our natural body, God is after the salvation of our conscious soul. (g) This is because what we think and feel in this life tends to infect our attitude and affect our actions, for good and for bad.
Jesus lived ‘in’ resurrection life (fellowship with Father) and displayed the peace that passes natural understanding. (h) When Peter was released from his restrictive attitude toward non-Jews, he began to live above the separating mindset of his religion. (i) The biblical examples are endless of people learning to arise, live, and walk with God’s abiding and enabling presence.
God is after the salvation of our conscious soul.
Understanding Spiritual Consciousness
The King James translators rendered 11 different Greek words into English as “life,” hiding much meaning. Three of the Greek words specifically identify and address different aspects of our life.
One Greek word is bios. It appears 11 times to address the temporal issues of natural life. Examples are: “That prayers… made on behalf of all…that we may lead a tranquil and quite (natural) life.” (j) “The seed (of God’s life-giving word)…are chocked with the worries, riches and pleasures of this (natural) life.” (k)
Another Greek word is psuche. This is used 101 times to speak to the issues of our soul’s conscious mind, will and emotion. Examples are: “They are seeking my (conscious) life.” (l) “Whoever wishes to save his (conscious) life shall lose it, but whoever loses his (conscious) life…shall save it.” (m) Ideally, our conscious perceptions of this life are “transformed by the renewing of our mind.” (n)
The Greek word zoe occurs 135 times 
to address the activity and quality of spiritual life. Examples are: “Jesus…brought (spirit) life and immortality to light.” (o) “I came that they might have (spirit) life and have it more abundantly” (p) “We have passed out of death into (spirit) life, because we love the brethren.” (q) The abundant use of zoe in Scripture amplifies the importance of our spiritual life and activity. When we interact with God, our spiritually led life tends to improve.
The influence of our natural life (bios) is temporal and as all things natural, will pass away. The influence of our spiritual life (zoe) however is an ongoing factor. (r) It is our natural and spiritual experiences that feed and lend to developing our soul’s conscious perceptions (psuche). While we appear to be more conscious of physical activity than spiritual, no one is totally void of a spiritual consciousness. We just tend to ignore it.
When we interact with God, our spiritually led life tends to improve.
Planting Seeds
Everyone is invited to be “born from above.” (s) What an amazing gift! We can rise out of our deathly slumber. A rebirth is to activate a resurrection in this life into intimate interactions with our Eternal Father. Our communion with God allows us to receive eternal insights so we can consciously live above many of this life’s restricting temporal perceptions.
Some of these life-improving insights are listed in Scripture as Fruit of the Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (t)
In nature, fruits are the sweet and fleshly products of a tree or other plants. Fruit is edible and usually quite pleasant. They contain a seed or several seeds that can reproduce more fruit. Scripture encourages us to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” (u) For, “as Christ was raised from the dead…we too might walk in newness of (zoe-spirit) life.” (v)
Additionally: “that we might bear fruit for God… that we serve in newness of the spirit and not in oldness of the letter.” (w) Jesus prayed for those who arise into intimate fellowship with his Eternal Father; “As Thou didst send me into the word, I also have sent them.” (x)
As we arise and consciously walk in this better way of living, we partake of the productive benefits of resurrection life. The Fruit of the Spirit that we adopt as part of our demeanor are then displayed to others by our heavenly attitude and actions.
As we receive these Fruits of the Spirit, they become in us pleasant expressions that can plant seeds in others. In time these seeds can produce the same fruit in their life.
Let’s arise and just like resurrection life, share our enlightened way of living with others.
Everyone is invited to be “born from above.”
a) Genesis 3:6; 1 John 2:16-17; Romans 5:12; b) Psalms 34:8; Matthew 11:4-5; 13:16-17; c) Romans 6:4; 7:6; d) Ecclesiastes 12:7; e) John 10:10; f) John 17:3, 18; 3:16; g) Psalm 6:4; 119;81;1 Peter 1:9; h) John 1:4; Philippians 4:7-8; i) Acts 11:2-18; j) 1 Timothy 2:1-2; k) Luke 8:14; l) Romans 11:3-7; m) Matthew 16:25; 10:39; Luke 17:33; Mark 8:35; John 12:25; n) Romans 12:2; o) 2 Timothy 1:10; p) John 10:10; 5:40; q) 1 John 3:14 r) Ecclesiastes 12:7; s) John 3:3, 7-8, 15; t) Galatians 5:22-23; u) Psalm 34:8; v) Romans 6:4; w) Romans 7:4-6; x) John 17:18;
Keith Carroll, “The Relationship Guy”
Relational Gospel Founder
Created To Relate author