Salvation and spiritual growth come through faith in Jesus and the Holy Spirit's regeneration.

In the beginning, God created man with a spirit to commune with Him, a soul of intellect and emotions, and a body. Man had free will to obey or disobey God. But man fell into sin by eating the forbidden fruit, seeking independence and knowledge apart from God. This caused spiritual death as man's spirit could no longer commune with God. Sin and death then spread to all humanity, as all were represented by Adam. So God sent Jesus Christ to suffer and die on the cross, judging sinful humanity in His sinless humanity. His death provides salvation to all who believe into Him, uniting them with Christ in His death and resurrection. Those who believe are born again, receiving new life by the Holy Spirit regenerating their dead spirits. This imparts God's eternal life into man's spirit to commune with Him again. The believer is freed from sin and condemnation. But the new life must grow to maturity. A spiritual Christian allows the Holy Spirit to govern their whole being. A carnal Christian has God's life but is still dominated by their fleshly desires. God graciously provides victory, but it must be applied through faith.

Salvation from our innate corruption requires spiritual regeneration, not fleshly reform.

The flesh refers to the unregenerated person. All people are born fleshly, following the desires of the body and mind. The flesh is corrupted and hostile to God. It cannot please Him or be justified by works. God's salvation is through the death of His Son Jesus Christ. On the cross, Jesus bore our sins so we could be freed from sin's penalty. By being crucified in the flesh, Jesus condemned sin so we could be freed from its power. To experience this salvation, we must be regenerated and receive new life. But new believers are still fleshly as they learn to reckon their old self crucified with Christ and obey the Holy Spirit instead of the flesh. Many remain fleshly, committing sins like strife and jealousy. God uses struggle to lead us to seek His full victory. The way out is realizing the flesh is irredeemable. It must die on the cross. Then we can live by the Spirit, overcoming the flesh daily through denying self. God's purpose is not to reform the flesh but to give us new life to overcome it.

Believers must consistently deny fleshly desires, relying on the Holy Spirit to embrace Christ's victory.

The flesh produces lusts and desires contrary to God's will. Though believers are saved, the flesh remains and must be dealt with. The flesh produces obvious sins, but also self-righteousness and boasting when trying to please God in one's own strength. Both are futile before God. The believer must maintain an attitude of denying the flesh, relying on the Holy Spirit, and boasting only in Christ. Through the cross, the believer's flesh has been crucified with Christ. By faith, the believer must appropriate this, allowing the Holy Spirit to apply the cross to put sins to death. This is a continual process of deeper death and resurrection. The believer must never cease exercising humility and self-judgment, recognizing the flesh profits nothing. God hates the righteousness of the flesh as much as its sin. The believer must make no provision for the flesh, but continually purify himself from its pollutions through the cross. Though the battle remains, the believer can walk in consistent victory by the Spirit's power. The foundation is death; resurrection life springs forth. Our boast is in Christ alone.

Soulish believers prioritize self over spirituality, craving knowledge and prominence for personal glory.

The life of a soulish believer is centered around the self rather than God. They are often curious, seeking knowledge for its own sake rather than to know God more deeply. They tend to be proud, making much of their own opinions and looking down on others. Soulish believers rely on their feelings, being happy when things go well and despondent when they don't. They are often talkative, not exercising self-control in speech. Soulish believers are talented and gifted, but they use their abilities for their own glory rather than God's. They are ambitious, seeking prominence and desiring to be great. Overall, the soulish life is governed by self - thoughts, feelings, and abilities - rather than being surrendered to God. Deliverance from both sin and self is needed for true spirituality.

Spiritual growth demands daily self-denial and spirit-led living.

The spirit is the innermost part that can commune with God, while the soul includes the mind, will and emotions. Though good, the soul can operate independently of God. The soul's natural tendencies are self-preservation, self-exaltation, and independence. This "soul life" must be denied daily through the cross of Christ, so that the spirit can be liberated to fully depend on and be led by the Holy Spirit. As the cross puts the soul life to death, the curtain separating the spirit and soul is torn, just as the curtain in the temple was torn when Jesus died. The divided spirit and soul are then reunited, with the soul surrendering its independence and coming under the spirit's authority. The organs of the soul still function, but now by the power of the Holy Spirit instead of the natural life. This brings rest, trust in God's provision, focus on God's kingdom, and selfless love. The key is daily dying to self and living by the spirit.

Regeneration through the Holy Spirit realigns the human spirit with God, enabling spiritual growth and sanctification.

The human spirit is an important part of our inner being, but it can become darkened and separated from God through sin. Regeneration is the process by which God gives new life to our deadened spirit, restoring our relationship with Him. The Holy Spirit plays a key role in conviction, repentance, and regeneration. At the moment of salvation, He comes to dwell in our newly regenerated spirit. Though regenerated, believers may still live according to the flesh if the soul and body rule over the spirit. To become fully spiritual, there must be a dividing of soul and spirit, freeing the spirit from the influence of the soul. The spirit can then be united with and empowered by the Holy Spirit. As the believer's spirit is strengthened, it gains increasing authority over the soul and body. Walking according to the spirit means living by intuitive guidance rather than natural inclinations. It requires reliance on the Spirit's power rather than self-effort. The mind, emotions, and will are not eliminated but brought into cooperation with the spirit. A spiritual person retains a body and soul, but is fully surrendered to the direction of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Every part is sanctified and blameless before God. The aim is not to be a disembodied spirit, but a spiritual man.

True spirituality lies in serving others and confronting darkness through prayer and guided intuition.

The spiritual life of a believer is a journey of gradually realizing that living for oneself is sinful, and that true spirituality is not about seeking personal fulfillment but about doing God's will. All believers receive gifts from God to serve others in the church, not to hoard spiritual life for themselves. Spiritual food is accomplishing God's work, not just meeting one's own spiritual needs. The aim of spiritual work is to give life to people's spirits by communicating God's life, not just ideas that stir the mind or emotions. This can only be done through the power of the Holy Spirit working through the believer's spirit. Believers should not initiate spiritual work by themselves, but wait for God's calling and guidance through intuition. They should also discern when a work is no longer spirit-led and stop or adjust it to stay in tune with God's leading. Prayer is communicating God's will, not just human wishes. It should be in the spirit, according to God's guidance intuited in the spirit, not fleshly desires. Through much prayer, the spirit is strengthened and prepared for spiritual warfare. After being baptized in the Holy Spirit, a believer becomes aware of the spiritual realm and the reality of Satan. A spiritual battle ensues between the believer's spirit and the forces of darkness. Resisting the enemy in the spirit through prayer is key. Believers must keep their spirits active, not passive, fully yielded to the Holy Spirit yet vigorously opposing Satan's works. Regularly attacking the enemy prevents being attacked and assures victory.

Spiritual life hinges on intuition, communion, and conscience guided by God's spirit.

Spiritual life requires following the spirit - its intuition, communion, and conscience. - Intuition allows us to know God's will directly in our spirit. We must learn to discern it from our own thoughts and follow it. Intuition is where the anointing of the Holy Spirit teaches us. - Communion with God happens in the spirit, not through the mind or emotions. We receive revelation from God in our spirit and communicate spiritual truths with spiritual words taught by the Holy Spirit. Developing our spirit's communion through prayer and obedience is foundational. - Conscience convicts us of sin and shows us where we are falling short of God's glory. A clear conscience gives boldness before God. We must keep short accounts with God by promptly dealing with any sins the conscience exposes so fellowship with God is unhindered.

Maintaining spiritual health requires recognizing its state and constant communion with God.

The spiritual life is vital for the Christian, but it comes with dangers. The spirit can be weighed down by oppression from the enemy, which must be resisted. It can also be blocked from expressing itself, poisoned by negative attitudes, submerged in the soul's desires, or burdened beyond capacity. The spirit's power ebbs and flows, but must keep flowing through constant communion with God. An irresponsible spirit disconnected from God loses its light. By recognizing the condition of the spirit - oppressed, overactive, defiled or tranquil - and taking steps to restore it, the believer can maintain a spirit in tune with the Holy Spirit. Walking daily by the spirit, with knowledge of its laws and cooperation with God, brings victory and enables one to fulfill His will.

Managing emotions under spiritual control fosters undistracted devotion and divine satisfaction.

Emotion plays a major role in the life of a believer. Though necessary, uncontrolled emotion can hinder spiritual growth. The key is to bring emotion under the control of the spirit. Affection, desire, and feeling are three aspects of emotion that need to be surrendered to God. Natural affection is selfish and fickle. It must be offered wholly to God who demands undivided love. Soulish love seeks pleasure while spiritual love seeks God himself. Desire is linked to self and rebels against God's will. It must be denied so that God's desire becomes our own. Impatience, ambition, self-love and other expressions of desire reveal a soul not fully surrendered. As we accept the cross, our desires are crucified and we find satisfaction in God alone. By maintaining inward calm and looking to the spirit's guidance, emotion can become a willing instrument for expressing divine life. The cross delivers us from slavery to feeling so we can walk according to the spirit and glorify God.

Christian spirituality matures from emotional attachment to steady faith in God's will, irrespective of feelings.

The Christian life is a journey of faith, not of feeling. In the early stages, believers often become emotionally attached to God and base their spirituality on pleasurable sensations. But this life of feeling is unstable, going up and down with one's emotions. God uses these feelings to draw believers closer to Him initially. But He wants them to move beyond seeking emotional highs and instead live by faith in obedience to His will, even when they don't "feel" His presence. This requires dying to self and one's dependence on feelings. It leads to a steadier life focused on God rather than self. Walking by faith means doing God's will regardless of how one feels - in times of joy or sorrow, passion or dryness. It is learning to find satisfaction in God Himself, not just the happiness He can bring. This is a purer, more mature spirituality. Faith also enables believers to fulfill their duties and serve God effectively despite hardships.

Renewing the mind offers protection from demonic deception and allows effective Christian service.

The mind is a battlefield between good and evil. Before regeneration, Satan blinds people's minds to the gospel. After being born again, Christians must renew their minds and take every thought captive to Christ. An unrenewed mind is vulnerable to demonic attack. Evil spirits attack the mind by injecting thoughts, conjuring images, influencing dreams, causing insomnia, forgetfulness and lack of concentration. This leads to inactivity, vacillation, talkativeness and obstinacy. The eyes reveal a passive, assaulted mind. Christians must recognize independent thoughts as demonic and resist them. They should test thoughts against Scripture and use reasoning to discern their source. Submitting the mind to God's truth protects it from demonic deception and manipulation. Renewing the mind is vital for living a balanced Christian life and serving God effectively.

Harmonizing our will with God's is the summit of the spiritual walk.

A believer's will is their decision-making organ. It represents their real self and controls their actions. Before salvation, the will is rebellious against God. Salvation involves the will being brought into obedience to God. Though the will is renewed at salvation, it takes time for it to become fully united with God's will. God uses trials and hardships to subdue the believer's self-will. Complete union with God's will requires the activities of our will to be curtailed and its inner tendency transformed. Obedience is stopping our own activity, but harmony means having the same heart as God. Attaining harmony requires denying our own strength and pleasure, and doing nothing for self. As our soul life is broken, resistance to God's will fades. Walking this narrow path leads to the abundant life. Though difficult, harmonizing our will with God's is the summit of the spiritual walk.

Christian vigilance against spiritual passivity prevents susceptibility to deceptive forces.

Christians must watch out for the harmful effects of inactivity and ignorance, which can trigger deception and distress. It is vital for them to commit to actively working with God, leveraging their willpower, intellect and capabilities. The danger is succumbing to a stagnant state, not thinking or acting independently. Misconstruing biblical teachings such as co-death with Christ, the underlying Spirit of God, guidance from the Holy Spirit, and more can often lead to this state of passiveness. Distortion of these vital truths can encourage a loss of self-regulation and cease active willpower, making one susceptible to the control and trickery of malicious spirits.

Spiritual freedom, rooted in truth and active will, requires disciplined union with God.

The path to spiritual freedom begins with gaining knowledge of the truth. Deception leads to passivity and bondage, but truth illuminates the way to freedom. We must be willing to examine our experiences in the light of God's Word, humbly admitting where we have been deceived. The key to recovering surrendered ground is actively exercising our will. Our will gradually became passive, allowing the enemy to gain footholds. Regaining freedom requires resolutely opposing the enemy, refusing further ground, and resisting his influence through God's power. This is a process requiring patience and perseverance as we reclaim each area little by little. True guidance from God involves our active cooperation, not passive following. As we align our will with His, He strengthens us to choose and obey His will. The fruit of the Spirit includes self-control. A mature believer has his body, mind and spirit under the control of his will submitted to God. Walking in freedom requires both union with God and discipline of self.

Navigating sickness demands understanding its roots and submission to divine interplay.

In understanding the interplay between health and spirituality, it is important to consider the origins of sickness which entered the world as a consequence of sin. However, this doesn’t suggest that everyone who falls sick is paying for their personal sins. Sickness can be attributed to sin but it may also play a part in God's broader plan. A demonstration of this concept is seen in how Jesus, during His time, healed the ailing. He absorbed the suffering of people but did not eliminate sickness in entirety like he did with sin. When sickness comes, an introspection - checking whether it's a consequence of sin and confessing if so - can be a way forward. Alternatively, God might use sickness as a tool for discipline to bring about spiritual growth or it may be a strike from Satan. In the pursuit of good health, understanding the root cause should be the first step before one anxiously chases after a remedy. Ultimately, navigating through sickness requires maintaining a balanced perspective, accepting God's power to heal but also submitting to His divine will.

Living in faith and resisting sin allows believers to experience victory over death before Jesus' return.

God desires believers to experience victory over death now, just as Jesus conquered sin and death on the cross. Though our bodies remain mortal, we can resist sickness and disease by faith, finish the work God has given us, and not die before our appointed time. We need not fear death, for its sting is removed. And we can hope to be raptured alive when Jesus returns, completely delivered from death's power. To do this, we must avoid sin, draw daily on Christ's resurrection life, and exercise faith to lay hold of God's promises. The Holy Spirit is given as a guarantee that one day "what is mortal will be swallowed up by life." As we actively cooperate with God's will and resist the enemy, we can experience the powers of the coming age even now. The goal is to glorify God and be prepared for Jesus' return. Though victory is not yet fully realized, we can foretaste the triumph Christ has won and live in resurrection power.

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The Spiritual Man - Book Summary (2024)

Watchman Nee

The Spiritual Man is a comprehensive guide on spirituality that explores the nature of man's spirit and the importance of inner life. The book delves into the significance of intuitive knowledge, communion with God, and the influence of the soul and body on man's spirituality. The author features a blend of theology, personal insight, and scriptural investigation to offer guidance on living a spiritual life.

Key Ideas

Spirit, soul and body are the three parts that make up human beings. The spirit is the innermost part that communes with God. The body is the outermost part that interacts with the material world. The soul is in between, connecting spirit and body. It contains intellect, emotions and will, and is the seat of personality.

Originally, the spirit was meant to rule over the whole being through the soul. But after the fall, the soul often takes control through its will and intellect. For the spirit to govern again, the soul must choose to let it. The soul is pivotal because it has free will to follow God's will or not.

The temple illustrates this well. The spirit is the hidden Holy of Holies where God's presence dwells. The soul is the illuminated Holy Place where priests serve. The outer court is the visible body interacting with the world. God intends the spirit to lead, then the soul, then the body. Proper order is spirit first, then soul, then body.

Final Summary: "The Spiritual Man" by Watchman Nee is a comprehensive guide encouraging Christians towards a deeper and more meaningful journey of spirituality. Nee meticulously discusses various facets of spirituality, highlighting the significance of the spirit, mind, and body in a Christian's life.

10 Actions for Implementation:

Strive to distinguish and prioritize spiritual intuition over intellectual understanding to better comprehend God's will.
Aim to live not merely based on spiritual knowledge but exercise that knowledge by offering spiritual services to others.
Develop a constant and intimate communion with God, dedicating time for prayer and meditation.
Develop a sensitivity to your conscience, using it as an immediate guide in daily decisions and actions.
Be conscious about the state of your spirit, ensuring it remains free, unburdened, and open to God's guidance.
Continually aspire to be under the control of the spirit, persistently denying the desires of the flesh.
Transform your knowledge into action, using your spiritual understanding to bear fruit in every good work.
Understand and respect the laws of your spirit, preparing yourself to discern spiritual movements.
Refrain from initiating work based purely on need, profit, or merit. Instead, seek to align all actions with God's will.
Regularly reflect upon your personal spiritual growth, evaluating if you are recognizing and utilizing the divine revelation in your decisions and deeds.

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