A Christian World View
T, F
I.O.G
Holy Spirit (reshapes I.O.G. upon redemption |
Explanation of the inner most circle:
The Bible explains that humans are created in the "image of God". We are all image bearers. Genesis 1:27 says, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them." We are created in God's likeness. We have creativity, a sense if intimacy, and the ability for holiness. It is the ability to express in thought, words, attitude, and actions, God's desire to be seen through us. The image of God empowers us to imitate God's fruits of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. All humans carry the image of God, and can reflect Him. Calvin referred to this as the "seed of religion." Every human being has great value due to the image of God being within him or her. God added life and a soul to his image by breathing into man the breath of life. Genesis 2:7 says, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." This is a soul/spirit complex where the spirit gives life to the soul. The two cannot be separated, but they operate separately. Our human spirit has life and light. Our identity and free action is found in God. God sends His Holy Spirit into our inner circle to invade our spirit and life. The Holy Spirit becomes part of our personality. This component cannot sin. It is an awesome thought to know that God indwells within us. Psalm 139:14 declares, "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knowth right well." The Bible teaches that when a person accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior, He sends His Holy Spirit takes up a permanent residence within us. I Corinthians 6:19-29 declares this truth, "What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."
The second circle is the seat of T. F. V/C:
V/C
The "T" stands for our thinking process. The "F" stands for our emotions, and the "V/C" stands for our actions. Our inner self cries out to God to worship, commune, and form an intimate relationship with Him. God said this aspect of our personality needs closeness to God the Father in order to be complete in our entirety. God created the Sabbath rest so we can develop this relationship to its highest level. God said in Exodus 20:8, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Our minds grow in respect and obedience to God when we seek His righteous. An intentionally structured Sabbath day puts us in a position to hear from God. The Apostle Paul taught the importance of a clean mind in Romans 12:1-2, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
The Sabbath day relationship with God will order every aspect of living. It will add faith to our prayer life. It will strengthen our interactions with people. It will add recreation and joy to lifestyle. The Sabbath day time with God not only emphasizes the mind (T), but it involves the yielding of ourselves (V), the ecstasy or joy we receive from being in God's presence (F), our specific behaviors (A), our environments (E), and our restoration of relationships. The Sabbath day touches all areas of our life.
The Sin Nature:
The darkened area around the second circle of the diagram represents the fallen nature of man. Death and darkness covers our ability to imitate God (I.O.G.). This death and darkness enter humankind after Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3: 8 explains the separation that was created by their sin, "And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden." Man has a sin nature due to the fall. We try to hide from God unless God's Holy Spirit has reshaped His image within us through the act of salvation. The sin of the first two people causes a battleground to rage within man, a battle for the ?high ground' in our life. The high ground is defined as that place from which we make our decisions in life. It is important is remember this definition. Also, the concept ?sinkhole' will play an important part in the growth and development of personality. It is defined as an enemy to placing truth on our high ground. Think of quick sand and you will have a good understanding of the concept. I will refer to these terms often. The battle involves the mind of man. God wants Truth on the high ground, and Satan wants lies, destruction, and death on our high ground. He uses sinkholes to replace Truth.
The old model presented by Dr. Hawkins in our graduate work describes this battle best. He explained our inner being as having a T (thinking), F (feeling), and A (acting) firing order. To put truth, which is God's Word, on our high ground we must be a TFA person. The Word of God molds our thinking. The truth should be our motivator, but our emotions war against this concept. Our emotions serve as indicators that can motivate us to some form of action, either right or wrong. Decisions based on feelings are not wise decisions, because they do not come from high ground truth. The emotion can be traced back to their starting point, the mind. Therefore, a wrong action came from bad thinking.
It is important to realize that it is what we think that is vital to good behavior, not what we feel.
The Body:
Sin/Fall Influences
This old sin nature wars against all godliness. All humans inherited this sin nature due to the original sin. The "image of God", the soul/spirit, and the life of man are housed in a fleshly body. The firing order (TFA) of a person is engaged in war. This body, because of our sin nature, is subject to many different appetites. These appetites create an interaction between all the elements of our inner self-creating lust. Lust is another way of defining the battle for our mind. The flesh would have us put the sins of the flesh on the high ground. The desire to continue disobeying God is fed through the selfish demands of our body. The body tells the mind to ignore the truth of Scripture and enjoy life. Satan says, "You will feel great." The Holy Spirit of God tells us to flee from fleshly desire and preserve our intimacy with the Father. The Scripture describes this war. James 4: 1-10, "From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is at enmity with God?
Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the Scripture said in vain, The Spirit that dwells in us lusteth to envy? But He giveth grace. Wherefore He said, God resisteth the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your heart, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up." Our personality can be enhanced as the Holy Spirit reshapes our opinions of our developmental history coupled with our environment. The flesh is pushed aside when the Holy Spirit empowers our high ground truth with the Word of God. He enables us to exercise the fruit of the Spirit that is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. When we decide to put truth on the high ground of our life, the Holy Spirit rewards us with joy, empowerment, and His image to be reflected to the world we touch.
The Temporal System:
The temporal system consists of our family systems and the philosophy of the world systems. I see it as a stage for life's drama to unfold. The actors in this drama are people, the Holy Spirit, and the devil. I will develop this concept in the discussion of the Inside-Out and Outside-In Dynamics of our sanctification and development process.
The Supernatural Realm:
The outside circle of this model represents the supernatural components involved in our development. There are many players in this circle of influence. They are God, Holy Spirit, Satan, ministering angels, and fallen angels (demons). This is the area referred to in Scripture by the Apostle Paul. Ephesians 6:10-12, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." I will discuss this in more detail in the Inside-Out and Outside-In Dynamics of personality development.
The etiology of temperament and becoming an image-bearer:
My temperament came from God who created me. The Bible tells me that I am "wonderfully and fearfully made (Psalms 139:14)". As quoted earlier, it says I am made in God's image (Genesis 1:27). Job declared, "The Spirit of God made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life (Job 33:4)." I like who I am because God made me in His image. God invested in my success as one who is a reflection of Him. It is my highest calling in life, to be an imitator of God. Psalm 139:17 says, "How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum total of them." The core of my personality was given to me at birth. The development of my personality is dependent on my willingness to allow God to mold me through the sanctification ministry of the Holy Spirit. Constantly I ask God to produce in me a willingness to be like Him. Psalm 139: 23-24 expresses my desire, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." I want God to strengthen my positive elements of my temperament, and to remove the harmful aspects of my personality.
The Inside-Out dynamic:
The Inside-Out dynamic is the work of the Holy Spirit within my will to develop me into a godly individual, who is an image-bearer of God. This Holy Spirit's work will produce the "fruit of the Spirit" in me. He helps me to overcome my old sin nature. The Holy Spirit helps me to see my sinful attitudes. He grabs them and pushes this old nature, with all of its hurtful characteristics, out of my soul and under the waterfall. (Refer to the diagram.) The waterfall is a metaphor for the "washing by the Word of God." This waterfall is the blood and grace of God. My sinful desires lose their power. They are overwhelmed by the love, peace, and joy of God in my life. God has given to me the principle of "freedom of choice". I can make my decisions in life as I choose. God will not take away this freedom from the saved or unsaved person. The Apostle Paul referred to this battle in Romans 7:19-20, "For the good that I would do I do not: but the evil that I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me." Therefore, I can limit the power of the divine in my life. I can hinder the work of the Holy Spirit within me, but I cannot stop His work for me. I can put the wrong forces on my high ground, and I make awful decisions. God will continue to work on my outside circumstances in order to bring change on my inside. He will help me to reorder the rooms of my life (The Safest Place On Earth, pages 59-120). The battle is for control of my mind. My growth is dependent on the Holy Spirit applying the Scripture to my development. I cannot emphasize this truth enough.
