Mark 7:21,
"For from within, out of the heart of
men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders."
MARK 7:17-23
These verses (21-23) further establish the fact that our heart includes more than just our spirit.
Even Christians still struggle with things like pride and foolishness, which Jesus said comes out of our hearts.
It's certain that our born again spirit is not the source of these sins; therefore, the heart includes more than our spirits.
The word "spirit" is used in different ways in scripture.
The most frequent use refers to either the Spirit of God or the spirit of man.
In that context, it refers the person of the Holy Spirit or identifies a part of our three-part being (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
But the word "spirit" can also describe a mental attitude.
In Ephesians 1:17, Paul is praying that what is already true in our spirit will become our "mental attitude."
He's praying for a release into the physical of what is already present in our spiritual being.
The Christian life is not an attempt to get more faith, or more anointing, or to get closer to the Lord.
We already have these things in their fullness.
We just need a revelation of what is already ours.
Understanding this takes a lot of frustration and doubt away.
It's much easier to release something you already have than to try and get something that you don't have.
And why would anyone doubt whether or not he could receive what he already has?
Through Christ, we are already blessed with all spiritual blessings.
All we have to do is appropriate what is already ours, through the renewing of our mind.
If we will change our thinking to believe what God says in His Word about who we are and what we have, then this agreement between our spirit and soul forms a majority, and our flesh will experience the life of God that has been deposited in our spirit.
