Conquering Human Nature

by Hermanus W. Smeenk




The Origin of Human Nature




         When
God created Adam and Eve, He created them free from influence by Satan. 
God created both Adam and Eve with the knowledge they needed which allowed
them to walk, talk and to make the necessary decisions required for everyday
living.  God also provided them with the ability to choose whether they should
obey Him or not.  As implied by the account in Genesis concerning Adam and
Eve being misled by the serpent, we can infer that they were both of an innocent
and naïve mind.  Neither Adam nor Eve even suspected the serpent of duplicity
when it tempted Eve, and through her Adam, to eat from the tree of the Knowledge
of Good and Evil.



         The
account in Genesis tells us that immediately upon partaking of the fruit,
their eyes were opened and they saw that they were naked.  At this point,
their innocence had been compromised and their human nature was linked directly
to Satan’s influences.  Ezekiel tells us that when God created Lucifer, He
created a perfect being, until iniquity was found in him (Ezekiel 28:15).
 Thereafter, God changed his name to Satan, meaning "Adversary".  When Jesus
Christ walked upon the earth, he said that Satan was a liar and a murderer
from the beginning (John 8:44).  Furthermore, we also learn that Satan will
attempt to overthrow God, but will not prevail but will be cast down to the
earth (Revelation 12:7-9).  Satan’s attitude of hate towards God and man
is mirrored in the mind of men and has been so ingrained in our minds that
we obey Satan’s influence in our lives automatically, without even so much
as giving it any thought.



The Nature of Human Nature



         Our
human nature, like the pull of gravity, exerts a downward pull on our character.
 Satan’s influences and temptations lead us to follow the road of greed and
selfishness, hate and anger towards those individuals whom we perceive to
stand in our way of fulfilling our pleasure.  James tells us that man is
tempted when he is drawn away and is enticed to follow his own lust which,
when it has conceived, brings forth sin and sin brings forth death.  Until
we received God’s Holy Spirit, we follow after the lust of our flesh and
our eyes.



         When
a thought comes into our minds to take a set course of action, we blindly
follow it until we complete the act that was conceived in our minds.  If
we want something and it is in our power to obtain it, we will go after it.
 If another individual speaks harshly of us, we will take revenge against
that person.  We think nothing of taking things that we can use from our
employers, we engage in adultery and fornication, and disobey any law that
prevents us from achieving the goal in our minds.  We speak evil of our neighbor
to put him down while elevating ourselves in our pride.  Violence is in our
hearts and our thoughts are evil continually.



         We
hardly ever consider the long-term effects of our action as long as the short-term
results of our actions bring us gain or pleasure.  Once we allow ourselves
to start on the road of greed, hate and selfishness, our human nature moves
us from one sinful act to another.  The acts we perform become progressively
worse until either the law of the land or death stops us.  We have no respect
for our neighbor and lie to his face.  A liar may first become covetous,
then a thief, then a murderer until in the end, human life has lost all value
to him.  Some individuals become so hardened in their evil ways that it may
be impossible for them to ever repent and turn from their ways.  For that
reason God may allow those individuals to be destroyed before they reach
that point.



What Does The Bible Reveal About Human Nature?



         Jeremiah
wrote, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked"
(Jeremiah 17:9), and he also admits "O Lord, I know the way of man is not
in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps" (10:23).
 In Genesis we also read "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was
great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5).  Paul also wrote "There is none righteous,
no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after
God; they have all gone out of the way; they have together become unprofitable;
there is none that does good, no, not one’" (Romans 3:10-12).  Paul explained
that the "natural" mind of man, is essentially hostile to God and His law:
"The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law
of God, nor indeed can be" (Romans 8:7).



The Nature of God’s Holy Spirit



         In
contrast to human nature stands God’s Holy Spirit.  Even as God’s nature
differs from Satan’s nature, so it also differs from human nature.  In contrast
to Satan’s and our nature, which are rebellious and hateful towards God,
exhibit greed and selfishness, utter lies and are full of deceit, and cause
man to follow in Satan’s ways which ultimately result in eternal death, God’s
nature is love, unselfishly giving, always speaking the truth, never tempting
anyone, and seeks to serve man and direct him in the paths of righteousness,
endows him with wisdom and knowledge, and results in eternal life, freely
given to man, on condition of obedience to God’s will.  Whereas human nature
exerts pressure downward towards greater evil, God’s Holy Spirit exerts pressure
upward towards righteousness and love towards God and fellow-man.



How Can We Overcome Human Nature...



         We
have been enslaved by Satan to live our lives according to his will and dictates.
 By ourselves, it is impossible to break away from that slavery and lead
a righteous life in accordance to God’s laws and statutes.  This was the
reason Jesus Christ had to suffer and die on the cross.  Having accomplished
that, He paid the ransom for our lives so that we could be reconciled back
to God for His guidance and direction in our lives.  This is what Adam and
Eve would have received had they not taken the fruit from the tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Having then become reconciled and put right
with God, the way was now opened for God to call us to a life of righteousness
and to receive the power from Him to overcome our human nature.  This we
can now do since Satan no longer has a hold over those of us whom God has
called and to whom He has imparted His Holy Spirit.



         Having
then been called by God and having been convicted of our sins by the Holy
Spirit, we can now repent from our unrighteous ways, be baptized, and receive
the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands (Acts 2:38).  We can now receive
power from on high to help us refuse to be led by our human nature and choose
to obey God.  However, we must remember that without the Holy Spirit, we
are unable to exhibit the fruits of the Holy Spirit.  Even Jesus Christ said
while in the human flesh, "I can of Myself do nothing" (John 5:19 and 30).
Jesus also told His disciples "without me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).
This tells us that we must look to the Father, not to ourselves.  We must
be among those "who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ, and have
no confidence in the flesh" (Philippians 2:3).


...And Then Live a Life of Overcoming?



[From The World-Ahead: Autumn 1997, Volume 7, Issue 2, Be an Overcomer]



         We
must follow John’s instruction, "Do not love the world or the things in the
world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For
all that is in the world the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world.  And the world
is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides
forever" (1 John 2:15-17).



         Paul
found that human nature was still a part of him even as a converted Christian,
as he wrote:  "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good
dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I
do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I
will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is
no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me" (Romans 7:18-20).  And
Paul further explained, "So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of
God, but with the flesh the law of sin" (Romans 7:25).  As John also cautioned,
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not
in us.  If we confess our sins, he [God] is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say that
we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us (1 John
1:8-10).



         Paul
also tells us in Romans 8, "For those who live according to the flesh set
their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the
Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but
to be spiritually minded is life and peace" (vv. 5-6). And Paul added, "You
are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God is in
you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (v.
9) that is, such a person is not a Christian.



         We
receive further encouragement from Paul when he adds "you are all sons of
God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into
Christ have put on Christ" (Galatians 3:26-27) that is, we have taken on
His very characteristics. Like Paul, each Christian should be able to say,
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of
the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).
 It is through the Holy Spirit that Christ actually lives His life in us.
And it’s what makes obedience to God’s commandments possible (cf. Romans
5:5; 1 John 5:3). If we do not have this Spirit, we are not true Christians
(Romans 8:9). The indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit is the only factor that
determines if someone is actually a Christian or not. Furthermore, to remain
a Christian we must be "led by the Spirit of God" (v. 14), growing in godly
character (cf. Hebrews 6:1; 2 Peter 3:18).



         Paul
also explains the increased spiritual understanding that God’s Holy Spirit
brings: "But the natural [carnal, unconverted] man does not receive the things
of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned. For ‘who has known the mind of the
Lord that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians
2:14-16). Paul elsewhere tells us, "Let this mind be in you, which was also
in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5).



Conclusion



         Only
through studying the Holy Scriptures and living by every word therein (Matthew
4:4) and by learning to walk daily with God in constant communion through
fervent prayer can we truly use the mind of Christ to overcome our human
nature, Satan and his sinful world.  We must "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians
5:17) and follow the biblical examples of godly individuals who fasted in
order to draw closer to God as did Christ (Matthew 4:2) and Paul (2 Corinthians
11:27).  By continual Bible study, fervent prayer and fasting to draw closer
to God  (Isaiah 58:5-11), we can learn to draw on His Spirit" (Philippians
1:19), thereby receiving the power from on high to overcome every problem
or obstacle that we will ever encounter (cf. Luke 24:49). The inner changes
brought about through the Holy Spirit will produce the visible "fruit" of
Christ’s character, which can be seen in our outward actions (Galatians 5:22-23).



 How can we acquire God’s nature and characteristics?  Continue to read the next chapter titled:  "God’s Will and Characteristics"














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