A Divine Person
The Holy Spirit is equal in power, glory and understanding to the Father and the Son. He is fully a Person – a Divine person with a perfect will – emotions and intellect. We actually have Deity living inside us to lead and to guide – to help and to comfort. The Creator of the universe has chosen to make you and me His personal residence.
Guide and Helper
Never let us forget Who we have dwelling within our heart, teaching and training us. Never mistake Him for a mere a power or force – nor a kind of energy or influence. A force or influence does not have reasoning ability – nor make choices or decisions. An energy doesn’t have emotions, and a mere power cannot be grieved or insulted – but when we do not yield to His guiding voice, we can hurt or even quench the Spirit.
Fluctuating Feelings
Feelings can fluctuate and are a totally false gauge our assured salvation. Emotions can oscillate and are no criteria on which to rest our security in Christ.
Feelings and emotions are God-given but they are not the source of salvation truth.
Believers should never allow feelings and emotions to dictate scriptural doctrine.
They may from time to time have a sense of attainment and success, with much resultant gladness, but with fluctuating emotions of the soul, things seem to collapse and go all wrong.
The spurious spiritual mysticism of pseudo-religiosity crept in with God’s truth and as a result some lived by emotions and a false spirituality instead of scripture.
Spiritual Foolishness
We are not to rely on signs and wonders; feeling and emotions. We are not to rely on experience or visions; manifestations, dreams or our senses. We are not to rely on our self; our abilities or intelligence; our knowledge or our mind. We are not to rely on people’s predictions or calculations; assessments or forecasts.
And day by day and moment by moment, as you turn your aching heart toward His, You will grow more and more into a deeper consciousness of His indwelling. It is not a ‘feeling‘ or an ‘emotion‘, for feelings and emotions often lie.
Pleasing Grace
In this world, physical senses hold so much sway – yet we must live by faith, not by sight. Emotions can drastically influence our being – yet we must live by faith, not sight. All the norms of human trust are diametrically opposite to this life of faith. Sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, signs – all contribute to the way we believe things to be – yet we are to live by faith and not by sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, signs – for without faith it is impossible to please God – and I do so want to please Him Heb.11:6
I blunder, until I start to see with spiritual eyes of His understanding/ (as did Job). So I must seek His reason, His judgments, His divine guidance – not my own. I must be humble of heart; teachable in spirit; gentle in my dealings. I must seek to have my emotions; desires; thoughts and reason aligned to Him.
And even my emotions are God-given spices to enhance my life, and others – but the pains, wounds and disappointments of life, so often distort rational thought, and we flood our conversations and bury our actions in false imaginings that we consider as truth. Yes I do desire to reason with the Lord… but it must be on His terms and not mine. For my own reason will sink my boat. My own reason will bite my own hand. My own reason will bury my desired hope.
That secret abode that houses all the deepest desires of your longing heart, with its affections and emotions; its passion and plans – that private place that buries all the deepest lacerations that life can throw at it; its failures and disappointments – its wounds and its pains – blameless. (note – the new life in Christ and not the old sinful Adamic nature).
Trial and Difficulties
Thanksgiving is not always a sentiment accompanying a life of trial and difficulties. Praise and worship is not the first behaviour displayed in times of desperate need. Grateful thanks are hardly an emotion we adopt when we are in deep pain or trouble.
Finally He made man in His own image. Man was created a tripartite being – with a spirit; a soul and a body. He was given attributes and characteristics that reflected his Creator God – a mind to think – a will to choose and a range of beautiful emotions to feel.
Free Gift
This was not to be the norm for the entire human race for every man was endowed with: a mind to think, a will to choose and a range of God-given emotions to feel. The new heavenly order was not to be imposed on all humanity but given as a free and everlasting gift of grace — to all who received God’s chosen, anointed federal-Head: for as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become… children of God – even to those who believe in His name.
Perfect Person
He has every component of personality including intellect, will and emotion. He has perfect wisdom; gives perfect counsel and has perfect strength and power. He is the Spirit of God that indwells every believer from the moment they believe.
The Love of God
The love of God was love in deed and in truth. It did not materialise from an inward emotion. It was not based on selfish need. The love of God was expressed in a way that we can never doubt:-
When circumstances seem impossible, when all signs of grace in you seem at their lowest ebb, when temptation is fiercest, when love and joy and hope seem well nigh extinguished in your heart, then rest, without feeling and without emotion, in the Father's faithfulness; abide in the fact that He loves you infinitely, and even now is working in you faithfully; and honor Him, and put the enemy to flight by taking to yourself the words of Job: Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.' I have prayed for thee' (says the One who ever lives to make intercession for us) that thy faith fail not.' -D.T.
When the ecstasies and the emotions and all the more superficial elements in our salvation are brought under the stress of terrific opposition; when in addition to that the enemy lays on his accusations, then the foundations are discovered, and many, many breakdown.
Day of Redemption
The Spirit was active in the work He did in you and you were completely passive. Every aspect of His work was done at a moment in time by the Spirit – you did nothing. But His work is also non-experiential and has nothing to do with emotion or feeling. And nothing can break His seal or interfere with His sealing work in you..
All are of the soul.... Spiritual death marks that realm, and while there may be intense emotions which make for resolves, high thoughts and desires, there is no genuine change in the nature of those concerned, and repeated doses of this must be taken to maintain any measure of soul-self-satisfaction which makes them feel good.
For instance, the only test as to whether we ought to allow an emotion to have its way is to see what the outcome of the emotion will be.
But if it be an emotion kindled by the Spirit of God and you do not let that emotion have its right issue in your life, it will react on a lower level.
The higher the emotion is, the deeper the degradation will be, if it is not worked out on its proper level.
The result is that in the work of God all the world over you have people serving the Lord in the energy of the flesh, in the reasoning of the flesh, in the emotions of the flesh.
Do you see what a havoc the enemy can make in that which is called the church, because people with best intentions and purest motives have come to serve the Lord with all their own intelligence, their own strength, and their own emotion?
FEAR NOT. Fear was the first sin-soaked emotion felt by the first fallen sin-soaked man. And Adam said, I heard Thy voice … and I was afraid.” I was fearful..”I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself” behind a fig apron.
Christ’s Humanity
But Christ was also fully Man – and as such he had a human nature – yet without sin. He was a man with a mind and emotions and He had a human body, a soul and spirit. As Man He grew weary and could legitimately say, I thirst – give me to drink… and as Man He could rightfully say to the High Priest at His trial – you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.
Oscillating Faith
And faith in God fluctuates between good and bad circumstances. And trust in God ping-pongs as emotions rise and then tumble. And life has no stability because we have not fixed God’s Word in our heart.
Ping-Pong Emotions
Throughout Scripture “God” is Elohim..
the Strong One – the Powerful God ping-pongs, as emotions rise and then tumble.
He may be full of religious knowledge, emotions or feelings, and activities, but if the Bible thunders more than speaks on any matter, it is this: that such can be the most mistaken and deceived.
The vision Paul had on the road to Damascus was no passing emotion, but a vision that had very clear and emphatic directions for him, and he says, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.
It seems that in the case of the Galatians it was again the natural man, but this time in the realm of natural emotions.
Because they lived on their emotions, on their feelings, and these were changeable.
We respond to an appeal, come under the power of a great emotion, and then slack off.
So it is that the love of Christ should hold or grip us, conquering our natural emotions by the mighty power of the Spirit.
The answer is, You ran in the strength of your own emotions, you ran as your enthusiastic response to God's call because it affected your feelings for the time.
work that is often couched in the terms of ‘Vocation’; ‘Calling’; ‘Evangelism’… service that is often dependent on senses; intellect; emotions – the external appeal – labor designed to satiates the tickled ear, the straying eye, the emotional high.
Personal “ME”
It is in the sphere of the soul that the main work of the Spirit is undertaken today. The personal ME:- my reason, my will, my thoughts, my decisions, my emotions. I have the ability and choice to muster my person to concentrate on God or to focus on me, but only concentration on Him will result in a willing transformation of my soul – while concentration on my will results in self-will over-riding the Spirit’s will.
We do not set the statements of Jesus in front of us as a standard; but when The Spirit is having His way with us, we live according to His standard with out knowing it, and on looking back we are amazed at the disinterestedness of a particular emotion, which is the evidence that the spontaneity of real love was there.
It has to be something more than emotion, and more than glorious doctrine; yes, more than a truth to which we give some assent.... If it is true that we are one with a risen, enthroned Lord, it ought to have tremendous repercussions.
that God made man in His own image and likeness, with a mind to think, emotions to feel and a will to make choices - and the man that God created was destined to rule and reign as His appointed regent over all the whole earth, in total dependence upon his God and in willing submission to his gracious Creator.
Nebuchadnezzar's fluctuating emotions demonstrate the folly of a double-minded man and the importance of knowing the truth; standing firm in the faith and honouring the Lord in all we are.
Our unbelief looks at the overwhelming circumstances in our own lives and the tremendous troubles raging in the wider world and we cry “hopeless' and our emotions ebb and flow as we fluctuate between two opinions and question God's goodness - depending upon our feelings or our fortune.
When He walked by the way He was hungry and tired, and our Great High Priest was not exempt from the human emotions of hope and fear, of joy and pain, of anger and grief, nor was He free from suffering and sorrow but lived a life of humble obedience to the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Let us not be drunk with wine or controlled by any other substance or emotion that discredits our heavenly Father but let us go on being filled day by day, with the Holy Spirit of God..
and Satan's prime objective is to turn the human race against the One Who made them in His own image:- with a mind to think, emotions to express feeling and a free-will to choose between the evil and the good.
May we 'keep short accounts' when dealing with anger and be ready to address issues immediately so that we honour the Lord in thought, word, deed, motive and emotions.
Like his Creator, Adam was made with a mind to think, emotions to feel and a freewill to make choices - and Adam was created with a spirit, a soul and a body.
God is Spirit and He is invisible while man is flesh and is clothed with a physical form and yet like his Creator, man was given the ability to communicate through speech; the power to reason with his mind; the freewill to make wise choices; the capacity to work and the privilege to expresses his inner feeling through a variety of God-given emotions.
For the man or woman who chooses to take God at His word and live their Christian life trusting all He says – no matter how much their emotions, feelings or circumstances seem to scream the opposite - is the man or woman that will be taught by the Spirit of God and come to a deeper understanding as He gently guides us into all truth.
He promised that He would garrison our heart; our mind; our emotions and our innermost thoughts as we focus our prayers and praises on Him - with thanksgiving!
Love must be defined by its context, and when we are talking of divine love - it is a love that cannot be produced by man, nor whipped up by human emotions.
Love is not the outworking of our human emotions, although emotion may accompany biblical love.
In the Bible, the heart is often linked with the emotions, while the mind is associated with one’s inner motives, and in his heart and mind, David is convinced that he has walked righteously before the Lord and is claiming God’s promises to come to his defence when opposed by evil. David knew that God’s loving-kindness was ever before his eyes, for he was a man of faith, who trusts God’s word – and we have His same promise – that He will also fight for us when we are surrounded by ungodly accusers.
The circumstances of the day; the emotions of the heart; the imagination of the mind and a lack of faith caused these followers of Christ to have a selective memory of His Word.
We are predisposed to allow emotions and imagination rule our heart rather than standing on the truth of God's unchangeable and inerrant WORD.
While this entire section begins with suffering and pain it touches on many emotions as David remembers the covenant God made with Abraham and his descendents.
David believed that the Lord his God, Who examines the inner thoughts of the heart, and the deep emotions of men would not forget His people - but would lift up His hand against those that do evil.
David knew that: the One Who examines the thoughts of men's mind and the emotions of a man's heart..
The One who examines the thoughts and emotions is indeed a righteous God and He will one day establish the righteous and judge the wicked.
It suggests an inner calm that is not adversely affected by the fluctuating emotions of other people and identifies one who demonstrates an understanding and peaceable spirit, when maligned or misunderstood.
This internal battle for supremacy of our soul is between these two opposing agents which are warring against our emotions, our choices, our mentality - our conscience.
Saul painted a picture of a proud man, who allowed his fleshly emotions to rule his life, and permitted hatred to fester within his heart, while David demonstrated a man whose heart was right before the Lord.
David was a man whose emotions fluctuated from ecstatic joy to despondent disquiet, for although he acknowledged the faithfulness of God to finish the good work that He had started in his life, and to fulfil all that He had promised to this man after God's own heart.
but many have chosen to disbelieve to use their mind, will and emotion to disbelieve the clear evidences of His internal witness and external testimony.
But whatever value we place on bodily senses or emotional awareness to stimulate and inform us, God's greater commendation and His divine approbation is given to the one who is not influenced by physical senses, human emotions or life's circumstances but who simply trusts His Word.
Although God knows that trust may be triggered by our senses, emotions and daily living He also knows it can as easily be shattered into a thousand tiny fragments and sifted like wheat by Satan if it is not securely anchored to Christ by faith.
Human love is influenced by emotions, whereas divine love is a matter of the will - a will that is guided by the indwelling Spirit of God and a heart that is content to say, 'Thy will not mine be done in my life'.
Man was the only part of God's creation that was made in His image and likeness, for he was endued with a mind to think, emotions to enjoy and a freewill, with which to make choices.
When the enemy seeks to instil worry in our heart or to whip-up our frantic emotions - it is the Shield-of-Faith that is our protection - for God's Word is sure and we must stand firm on His truth, however fragile life's circumstances may have become.
The love of Christ that was demonstrated in the life of Paul is not a love that can be fired up through the emotions; achieved through training or developed by strictly following man-made rules.
It is good to fly to him in prayer to confess any foolish sin or when we find our emotions and feeling are causing fear to rise in our hearts and doubts to fill our minds.
We are saved by grace through faith in Christ and we are to walk by faith and not by sight, nor by what we imagine or what we feel. But sadly, many Christians are diverted away from this path of faith to living by sight; by signs; by senses and emotions - by feelings; by worldly philosophies or extra-biblical revelations - especially when they see life's stormy seas and the mountains of difficult circumstances rising up to block their path.
There is an intensity and urgency in this earnest pleading to guard your heart about all else, and in scripture the heart is the seat of the thoughts, the will, the conscience and the emotions.
We have been endowed with reason and choices, with emotions and a will, which is bound up in our hearts – and we have been given them by God to glorify Him and to enrich our lives.
But they should never be given free rein to rule our lives and dictate our decisions for unguarded feeling can fluctuate; unguarded emotions can twist and turn on a whim; unguarded thoughts can toss to and for like the wave of the sea and an unguarded will can lead you away from the path of peace.
Days of caring for the physical necessities of 5000 hungry people, preceded by Christ's rejection at Nazareth and the shock of Herod's bloody murder of the Lord's own fore-runner, had taken its toll on both the bodies and emotions of this little group.
Having created man in His own image and likeness on the sixth day, with a intellect; emotions; a moral nature; the ability to communicate and a free-will to make wise choices, God blessed them - and gave His first set of instruction to Adam and Eve..
And having formed and fashioned the man that He had made, God breathed His own breath-of-life in to Adam's lifeless form, and Adam became a living being - made in the image and likeness of God - with a mind to think, emotions to feel and a will to make freewill choices.
Fear is a dangerous emotion that entangles man in deep, dark problems, and fear is also a favourite tool that is used by the enemy, who not only seeks to bring saved men down into the slough of despond and the pit of despair, but can cause a believer to doubt the veracity of God's Word and the truth of Scripture.
