Lower Nature.htm

LOWER NATURE.

"Make no mistake about this: God is not to be fooled; a man reaps what he sows. If he sows seed in the field of his lower nature, he will reap from it a harvest of corruption, but if he sows in the field of the Spirit, the Spirit will bring him a harvest of eternal life. So let us never tire of doing good, for if we do not slacken our efforts we shall in due time reap our harvest." (Gal 6:7 9 NEB).

"For were you not told of him, were you not as Christians taught the truth as it is in Jesus? that, leaving your former way of life, you must lay aside that old human nature which, deluded by its lusts, is sinking towards death. You must be made new in mind and spirit, and put on the new nature of God's creating, which shows itself in the just and devout life called for by the truth." (Eph 4:21-24 NEB).

"Those who live on the level of our lower nature have their outlook formed by it, and that spells death; but those who live on the level of the Spirit have the spiritual outlook, and that is life and peace. For the outlook of the lower nature is enmity with God; it is not subject to the Law of God; indeed it cannot be: those who live on such a level cannot possibly please God... It follows, my friends, that our lower nature has no claim upon us; we are not obliged to live on that level. If you do so, you must die. But if by the Spirit you put to death all the base pursuits of the body, then you will live." (Rom 8:5-8 & 12,13 NEB).

"You, my friends, were called to be free men; only do not turn your freedom into licence (1) for your lower nature, but be servants to one another in love." (Gal 5:13 NEB).

"Anyone can see the kind of behaviour that belongs to the lower nature: fornication, impurity, and indecency; idolatry and sorcery; quarrels, a contentious temper, envy, fits of rage, selfish ambitions, dissensions, party intrigues, and jealousies; drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who behave in such ways will never inherit the Kingdom of God." (Gal 5:19-21 NEB).

"Time was when you were dead in your sins and wickedness, when you followed the evil ways of this present age, when you obeyed the commander of the spiritual powers of the air, the spirit now at work among God's rebel subjects. We too were once of their number: we all lived our lives in sensuality, and obeyed the promptings of our own instincts and notions. In our natural condition we, like the rest, lay under the dreadful Judgement of God." (Eph 2:1-3 NEB).

"Then put to death those parts of you which belong to the earth fornication, indecency, lust, foul cravings, and the ruthless greed which is nothing less than idolatry. Because of these, God's dreadful Judgement is impending; and in the life you once lived these are the ways you yourself followed. But now you must yourselves lay aside all anger, passion, malice, cursing, filthy talk have done with them! Stop lying to one another, now that you have discarded the old nature with its deeds and have put on the new nature, which is being constantly renewed in the image of its Creator and brought to know God." (Col 3:5-10 NEB).

"...Let us therefore cleanse ourselves from all that can defile flesh or spirit, and in the fear of God complete our consecration." (From 2 Cor 7:1 NEB).

(1) LICENCE: Self-authorized abuse of freedom.