Article of the Month of August 2008
"The Reality and Superiority of the Spiritual over the Material”
by Dr. John Williams
 

We are living in a materialistic world, in which people are crazy about material things, and value them more than they value spiritual things. It is important to note that the natural material things such as wood, metals, rock, chemicals etc., created and controlled by the spiritual, denotes the superiority of the spiritual over the material. God is a Spirit, and we are also spiritual beings, and we have been created by God, in the image and the likeness of God. We are actually created as the Children of God.

In the spiritual realm, there are Angelic Beings which were created even before Man was created, as Ministering Spirits. But subsequently man was created even above the angels, in the likeness and image of God himself, to love God and to have fellowship with him. Certainly some of the angelic beings were jealous of human beings, and made a plot to foil the plan of God, and the relationship between God and human beings. As we read in the Book of Genesis, Satan tempted man to eat the forbidden fruit in the tree, in the middle of the Garden of Eden, against the instruction of God, thereby brought a separation between man and God, and also death to man-kind instead of having an eternal life.

Man was created as a spiritual being, endowed with a human body and a soul, which consists of an emotion, mind and will. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit from the tree from the middle of the Garden of Eden, in violation of God’s instructions, God chased them out of the Garden, and put a curse on men, to work hard to make a living, and a curse on the women, to give birth to children excruciating pain.  This made a physical separation of Man from God, before that man had a daily walk and fellowship with God.

It should be pointed out that before the creation of the first man Adam, Lucifer, one of the Arch-Angels, rebelled against God, and because of pride, he tried to ascend even above God, when God cast him out of the heaven. Lucifer took along with him one third of the angelic force, and started working against the plans of God, and particularly because of their jealousy over the man, started interfering with the relationship with God and Man. Until today he is constantly trying to influence man and women to violate God's Laws so that  they will also end up in hell prepared for Satan and the Devils. Until today there is a battle going on in every individual as to whether they should do good and follow God’s Laws or to violate God’s laws by disobeying him and living in Sin, at the risk of facing the Judgment of God and being cast into the lake of fire.

As we know this is the atmosphere and the background in which all human beings are living today with a conscience which dictates what is good and evil. The Bible teaches that we should do good to all and even love our enemies and return good for evil. But the satanic influence is there to tempt men to live a sinful life, violating God’s laws, making themselves guilty for their own condemnation and separation from God forever by being cast into the lake of fire called hell, which has been prepared for Satan and the Devils only. There is a remedy for those who have committed sins by really regretting for the same and ask for forgiveness. Jesus Christ came in to this world, in the form of a man and died on the cross, and shed his blood for the remission of the sins of men.

There is a constant inner battle going on in every life of human being as to whether they should choose to follow God’s laws or live in sin according to their lust and sinful desires. Satan plays a very key role in tempting man in every way he can, to disobey God’s laws and to follow the sinful and wicked ways. We have to recognize the fact that when we use the term the Spirit, it includes God, the good spirit and Satan. Satan, which is the evil spirit is trying to attract and tempt human beings to sin and lust through the material substance and the fleshly lust. Not only God gave the written laws to his people, but he also endowed every human being with a moral conscience which dictates as to what is right and what is wrong. Therefore no one can plead ignorance of Spiritual Laws, because the moral conscience of every person dictates to every body what is right and wrong, in every situation.

All of us are living today in a world, which is basically controlled by two strong spiritual forces namely the laws and the influence of God, and the Satanic evil influence. In the materialistic world, that we live in, which is infested with immorality and materialism, it is very easy for any human being to be easily tempted and persuaded to be drifted away from the right to the wrong, through the temptation of the flesh and material things. These deceptive and the cunning ways of the Satan, are used to draw man away from God to himself, to live for ever and ever in the burning hell, being cut off from the fellowship and love of God, losing the privilege of living in fellowship with God, reigning and ruling with Him, for eternity.

It is hard to compress all essential information and truths concerning the spiritual and the material things in one small article like this. Therefore this topic will be continued in a series of articles, so that every important issue concerning the spiritual and the material substance and their values, will be dealt with practical and detailed manner. Before concluding this article, I would like to bring to the attention of the readers, at least one thing very powerfully and emphatically, that we are living on the planet earth, continuously facing a conflict between the influences of the material and the spiritual things, each one trying to influence and persuade the human beings or to be drawn towards its own values and glamour in a wide range of subtle ways and influences. One of the basic problems faced by men is not inability to distinguish the right from the wrong, but to overcome the temptation of the evil spirit in the realm of the desire for the material substance and indulgence in immoral behavior. 

The reality and superiority of the spiritual over the material substance will be slowly unfolded, explained and illustrated in practical ways to fully comprehend, accept and follow.

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