Salvation and Behavior

Salvation

The Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished complete salvation for those who believe what God says regarding Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

God intends all men to be saved, as Paul writes in I Timothy chapter 2:

I Timothy 2:4-6:

^.4Who intends all men to be saved and to come into full-knowledge of truth, ^.5for (there is) one God and one mediator of God and men – man Christ Jesus, ^.6the (one) having given himself a redemption on behalf of all-people...

God's will is for all men (everybody, all of mankind) to be made safe via the Lord Jesus Christ and to come into full, clear and exact personal knowledge of God’s truth. In fact there is…

one God (singular, one God – no other; He is not divided up into three parts)

...and...

one mediator of God and men (a “mediator” is a go-between, one who goes in the middle between two parties, one who mediates for peace and unity between differing parties; there is a singular mediator relative-to God and mankind – who?) –
- the man Christ Jesus (a man from among mankind who has been resurrected who is the Anointed-one named Jesus),
- the one having given himself a redemption on behalf of all-people (he is the one who willingly gave himself being the ransom, expiation, atonement money, the payment necessary to loosen, release, free, redeem mankind - instead of every person having to pay his/her own redemption price - and Christ Jesus did this in the interests of all people, everybody).

The Lord Jesus Christ has made redemption available to all people – but it is only the people who believe what God says about Himself and His son and do accordingly, who actually receive the benefit of redemption and salvation.

In Romans chapter 10, Paul explains how to become saved to God:

Romans 10:8b-10:

^.8bThis is the spoken-matter of the belief which we herald-forth
^.9that if-ever you may express-agreement in your mouth (regarding the) Lord Jesus Christ and you may believe in your heart that God raised him up out-from dead-people you will be saved;
^.10for in (the) heart it is believed into righteousness and in (the) mouth agreement-is-expressed into salvation.

The spoken matter (specific discourse) of...

the belief (the faith, the information that God makes known to people to have confidence-in, to believe, to have faith-in, to trust with assured certainty and surety),

...which Paul and the other holy-people (Christians) proclaim, is that...

if it should happen at any time that
- you (singular, individual) would express agreement in your mouth (speak agreement with, agree saying the same words, express your complete accord)
  - regarding/with the Lord Jesus Christ (that your Master is Jesus Who is the Anointed-one)
and
- you would believe in your heart (have faith, trust within the center/core of your being)
  - that God raised him up out from among those who still remain dead (Jesus is not dead anymore – he is alive because God raised him up giving him life; refer to Romans 1:4)
you will be saved (caused to be in safety, the standing and state of being saved, made-safe to God from sins and their consequences, from destruction).

In truth…

in the heart it is believed (a person believes it as being true to/for himself within the center/core of his being – this is the first part)
- into righteousness (with a view to, directed to and regarding God’s righteousness, the justness that God makes available to people, His justice, the standing and state of being and doing what is just/right from God’s viewpoint)
and
in the mouth agreement is expressed (a person declares his agreement with it as being true to/for himself within the words he speaks – this is the second/last part)
- into salvation (with a view to, directed to and regarding God’s salvation, the safety that God makes available to people, the standing and state of being saved, made-safe to God from sins and their consequences, from destruction).

In verse 9 some Greek texts do not include the word "Christ" – even so, it is very clear who is being referred to: the Lord Jesus who is the Christ.

Also, verse 9 contains one spoken-matter of the belief, which has two phrases or parts joined together. It is all-together one saying because a person cannot do one part of this saying without the other part to save himself or to force God into saving him or making him righteous, nor can a person become half-saved or half-righteous.

In order to be saved, a person must believe in his heart that God raised the Lord Jesus Christ up out-from dead-people (yes, I believe that God raised him up giving him eternal life) and express agreement in his mouth regarding the Lord Jesus Christ (yes, I agree to accept the resurrected Christ Jesus to be my new master, my Lord).

Verses 9 and 10 declare the only way that any human-being can be saved becoming righteous in God’s viewpoint today (refer to John 3:16 and 17; Acts 16:30 and 31; I Timothy 2:4).

God will save a person by means of the Lord Jesus Christ in accordance with what He has said, giving him/her eternal holy spirit-life – God's life in Christ's life in you (refer to Romans chapter 8).

It is not a case of a person confessing all the sins he/she can remember committing, nor is it a case of ‘believing to be righteous’ – but it is a case of believing what God says about Himself and His son and expressing agreement allowing the Lord Jesus Christ to be his/her Lord – then God saves that person and makes him/her righteous by means of the Lord Jesus Christ (refer to Romans 3:20-30).

Whatever type of background (including language, country, race, skin-color, ‘religion’, etc) that a person may have had before he/she believes the good-message does not matter. All that is required is that a person believes what God has given mankind to believe (the spoken-matter of the belief) regarding Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and do accordingly as detailed in Romans 10:9 and 10 - then he/she is saved becoming righteous before God.

The believing person receives God's gracious and free gift of holy spirit. This new holy-person (Christian, saint) now has the spirit of Christ within him/her (refer to I Corinthians chapter 12 and Colossians 1:27). This holy spirit cannot be taken away from anyone who receives it because God gives it by His grace (refer to Ephesians chapters 1, 2 and 3).

The gift of holy spirit was first made available on the day of Pentecost recorded in Acts chapter 2. In that chapter Peter gives a lot of information, which includes the following:

Acts 2:32 and 33:

^.32this Jesus God resurrected of whom we all are witnesses, ^.33therefore having been heightened to the right-side of God and having received the promise of the spirit, the holy (spirit), from the Father, he poured-out this which you observe and hear,

Peter says that this is the Jesus whom God resurrected, and also after...

he had been heightened to God’s right-side (exalted, lifted high, elevated to God’s right-hand side, His place of honor, authority, power, blessing, grace, approval, and excellence)
and having received (so as to use what is given to him)
- the promise of the spirit,
- emphatically and specifically the holy spirit,
  - from the Father,

...the resurrected Jesus poured-out (shed forth) this which the people could observe and hear.

All of those present in the temple saw and heard the twelve uttering-forth with tongues (refer to Acts 2:1-4). The twelve had spoken by way of the holy spirit-life which was now within them because they had been baptized in holy spirit!

This holy spirit-life is eternal life, meaning that it will not die. All who receive it cannot lose it while we are physically alive - and even if we die before Christ comes to gather the church of holy-people together with him, we will be raised from the dead when he comes for us and we will all receive our new spiritual bodies, the life of which will be holy spirit life (refer to I Corinthians chapter 15 and I Thessalonians 4:13-18).

All holy-people (Christians) are sons of God by birth and we cannot lose our salvation.

Let us read some more verses of Scripture:

Romans 8:14-17:

^.14for as-many-as are led by (the) spirit of God these-people are sons of God; ^.15for you did not receive a spirit of slavery again into fear, but you received a spirit of sonship – in which we shout, "Abba, Father";
^.16the Spirit Itself bears-witness-together with our spirit that we are children of God, ^.17and since children also inheritors, inheritors indeed of God and inheritors-together with Christ since-indeed we suffer-together with (him) in order that we may be glorified-together with (him).

If a person does not have holy spirit-life dwelling within him/her - then it would not be possible to be led by it. Also this verse does not say that the gift of holy spirit “forces” or “controls” any person, but it leads a holy-person (Christian) - and then it is up to the freedom of will of that holy-person whether or not to follow and do what the spirit within him/her communicates.

As many people as are led (being brought, conducted, being conveyed) by/with the spirit from God…

these people are sons of God (God’s sons; the word ‘son’ emphasizes origin, quality, and essence);

...for...

you did not receive
- a spirit of slavery again into fear (a spirit pertaining to bondage, servitude directed back to fright, with a view for you to be afraid at the consequences of your performance of any wrong behavior as though you could lose your holy spirit and revert back to being only flesh which would result in your death),

...but on the contrary...

you received (you holy-people have already taken from God Who gave to you for you to use)
- a spirit of sonship (a spirit pertaining to being put or placed as sons of God, a sonship spirit) –

…in which we shout (within the sphere of action of this spirit of sonship all of us cry out towards God)…

"Abba, Father"....

The word "Abba" is an Aramaic or Hebrew word meaning "Father." It was considered the language of the Scriptures because the old covenant was written in Hebrew. The reverential "Abba" is written plus the Greek which was the language Paul spoke and wrote to the Christians in Rome.

We shout with reverence, not fear of death, to God within the holy spirit-life we have: "Abba, Father" – and it does not matter what language a person speaks in the flesh category. The only true God is Father of the holy spirit-life which He placed within holy-people (Christians). God is our Father in the spirit category, not the flesh realm.

Paul continues:

The Spirit Itself (in Greek the word "Spirit" is neuter, it is neither male nor female – here referring to God emphasizing His spirit essence – God Himself Who is Spirit)…

bears witness together with our spirit (is jointly witnessing, attesting with information, declaring knowledge, stating and confirming it on the strength of His own authority in conjunction with the spirit within us; both God and the gift of holy spirit witness the same thing - which is) that
- we are children of God (we are born to/from/by God; the word “God” emphasizes that God is the First, Superior or Ultimate One, the One Who has power, executes judgment, and emanates what He is, His power and light – we are God’s children by birth having His seed within us, which is the spirit of Christ),

…and since/if we are children then we are also inheritors (heirs, people who have the inheritance, the assigned lot, the allotted-portion)…

inheritors indeed of God (on the one hand we are God’s heirs)
and inheritors together with Christ (on the other hand we are people who inherit together, joint heirs, co-heirs, heirs in conjunction with the Anointed-one, the Messiah)
- since it is a fact that we suffer together with Christ (we experience, we are affected by the same things in conjunction with Christ; what affects us affects Christ and vice versa; everything that the resurrected Christ has already experienced and is presently experiencing is also true of us; whatever Christ was or is affected by also affects our spirit)
for the purpose and result that we would be glorified (given the importance, splendor, renown)
- together with Christ.

Galatians 3:26 and 27:

^.26for you are all sons of God by means of belief of Christ Jesus, ^.27for as-many (of) you were baptized into Christ you clothed-yourselves-with Christ;

You holy-people (both of the Judean/Israeli background and of the Gentile/other nation or ethnic group background) are all God's sons by means of belief of Christ Jesus, for as many of you were baptized into Christ - you clothed yourselves with Christ.

You were baptized into Christ, not into physical water (H₂0). This baptism is the baptism in holy spirit which is not 'with' nor is it 'by' anything like the water baptism which is only temporary because once a person comes out of the water and the water dries off of him/her then the water is gone.

But the baptism in holy spirit is a complete immersion and surrounding whereby once holy spirit is "in" or "within" a person it never leaves that person - it can never "dry off"! This baptism in holy spirit is permanent. It gives you holy spirit-life within you, which is the spirit of Christ in you, and you are now limbs of the one spiritual body of Christ, similar to arms or legs or lungs, etc, being in the physical body.

You are all sons of God by means of (through) belief of Christ Jesus, for you have already been baptized into Christ and therefore you have clothed yourselves with Christ (you have put-on the spirit of Christ as a garment by going inside of it, enveloped yourselves with Christ).

You have the same sonship as the Lord Jesus Christ because you have received the spirit of Christ in you – Christ who is God's promised seed.

All holy-people and the Lord Jesus Christ are brothers and God is our Father in the spirit category.

Verses 28 and 29:

^.28there is not in (you) a Judean nor a Greek, there is not in (you) a slave nor a freeman, there is not in (you) a male and a female, for you all are of Christ Jesus, ^.29but since you (are) of Christ consequently you are seed of Abraham, inheritors according to promise.

You holy-people (Christians) are all sons of God by means of belief of Christ Jesus, for as many of you were baptized into Christ you clothed yourselves with Christ –

there is not within you a Judean person
- nor is there within you a Greek person (a Gentile),
there is not within you a slave (a person who is in bondage or servitude to other men)
- nor is there within you a freeman (a person who is at liberty from bondage or service to other men),
there is not within you a male and a female (a person of the male sex and a person of the female sex).

In truth, you all are of Christ Jesus. All of you holy-people belong to the resurrected Christ Jesus. You are limbs of his body. There cannot be any separation between you and Christ or between one-another.

The gift of holy spirit which all holy-people have received is not Judean nor Greek, not a slave nor a freeman, not a male and a female (there is no sexual differentiation, no diversity because it is spirit, one spirit, the spirit of Christ).

Christ Jesus' line of descent is also your line of descent – you do not have your own race, family, tribe, class, status, sex! Christ Jesus is your spiritual brother and your Lord. You holy-people are to view yourselves as God views you – you are God's sons because you have the spirit of Christ within you.

But since it is true that you are of Christ then (in correspondence to that) you are seed of Abraham, and being seed of Abraham you are inheritors (heirs, people who have the inheritance, the assigned-lot) in accordance with promise (God's proclamation or declaration of the message of His own intention to Abraham and Abraham's seed).

All holy-people have the spirit of Christ within us, and we are viewed as one seed because it is the one and the same seed: Christ, who is within each and every holy-person (every true Christian). There is no difference from one to the other spiritually from God's point of view. With the spirit of Christ in us all, we therefore are people who are receiving the inheritance according to God's promise that He originally made to Abraham and to his seed many, many years ago!

Christ Jesus himself has already received his spiritual body. We holy-people have the same holy spirit-life within us (I Corinthians 12:12-14) and in the future we too will receive our spiritual bodies.

Throughout all the new covenant writings, all holy-people (Christians) are told by God and our Lord Jesus Christ regarding...

who we are (as described above)
and how to behave ourselves (as described below).

Behavior

Not only is it God's intention of all men to be saved - but it is also His intention that people come to a full knowledge of the truth so that we would live our lives accordingly.

Let us read some passages of Scripture where Paul explains the relationship between salvation and behavior.

He shows that our behavior is not automatic nor is it controlled by God or by the Lord Jesus Christ or by the gift of holy spirit - but that it is up to the freedom of will of each one of us to behave correctly.

Romans 12:1 and 2:

^12:1Therefore I encourage you, brothers, by means of the pities of God, to present your bodies (as) a living sacrifice, holy, well-pleasing to God (which is) your logical rendering-of-service, ^.2and you must not outwardly-figure-yourselves-together with this age but you must transform-yourselves by the newing-up of the mind with-a-view-for you to prove what the intention of God (is) – the good and well-pleasing and complete (intention of God).

In Romans chapter 12, Paul follows-on from the previous chapters by writing:

I encourage you (I exhort you, call you beside me, as a concerned father or mother would call/invite their children close to them under their arms so as to help them to do what is right in the walk/behavior category)
- brothers (all holy-people are brothers in the holy spirit category because all of us have received the same gift of holy spirit and we are therefore all children of God our Father; refer to Romans 1:13, 7:1 and 4, 8:12, 10:1, 11:25, and chapter 8),
by means of the pities of God (not through my own feelings but through God's tender feeling of unhappiness or distress on seeing the ills being experienced by any of us; the word “pities” is in the plural form to give emphasis to God's great pity towards His children),

…to present your bodies (to cause your bodies to stand-beside or near-by God) as…

a living sacrifice (a sacrifice that is presently and actively alive, not dead or about to be killed, but as one united sacrifice in service, now living because you have received the same spirit within you as Christ received when God raised him up alive from death accepting his sacrifice of himself),
- holy (sanctified, separated, set-apart from the state of being common, defiled or unclean against God - holy, corresponding to the essence of God),
- well-pleasing (goodly agreeable, acceptable and gratifying)
  - to/for/with God
which is your logical rendering-of-service (your performance of service to/for God that pertains to reason, the correct calculation of service; the word “logical” has the same root as the Greek word logos which is usually translated “word”),

…and you must not outwardly figure yourselves (don't cause your external-figure, including your demeanor, deportment, expressed-personality in the walk/behavior category to be)

in conjunction with this age (the present duration of life, the time during which you currently live your everyday lives) –

...but on the contrary...

you must transform yourselves (continue changing your form, all of your being, metamorphosis, your whole form, not only your outward-appearance)
- by/with the newing-up of the mind....

The word translated as "newing-up" is a noun referring to a newness, as in that-which is made new with an upward motion, including the action and process of newing upwards. Here it is the newing-upwards of the mind, the mind-set, the organ of mental perception, the mentality.

You already had a mind before you received the gift of holy spirit, but now you have available the mind of your holy spirit-life – the spirit of Christ in you – this is newly-made and different from what you had before you received holy spirit.

In this context, it is the input or communication from your holy spirit to your mind which is the newing-up of your mind - the information is new compared to what was previously in effect, to what was available to/in your mind-set formerly. This communication is the action and process that replaces your old flesh-oriented mentality.

Paul continues:

for the purpose of you proving what the intention of God is (putting to the test, proving by examination, and thus approving God’s will, His active volition and desire) –
emphatically and specifically…
- the good (good from God’s viewpoint; God is the One Who issues His goodness and He sets the standard of/for what is good to be conformed to by others)
- and well-pleasing (as verse 1 above)
- and complete (perfect by the ultimate arrival of the state of completeness, reaching God’s fulfilling ending-issue)
  - intention of God.

God's will is good and well-pleasing and complete - and we can prove it during the everyday living of our lives in the walk (behavior, conduct) category when we transform ourselves by the newing-up of the mind - we put God's will for us into practice - we act on it - we do it.

Ephesians 2:8-10:

^.8for with grace you are having been saved by means of belief, and this (free-gift is) not out-from you (but) the free-gift (is out-from) God, ^.9not out-from works in order that someone may not boast – ^.10for we are His made-product, having been created in Christ Jesus on good works which God prepared-beforehand in order that we may walk in them.

In Ephesians chapter 2, Paul writes:

In truth, you are in the spiritual-standing of having already been saved with/by grace (bestowed unmerited or undeserved favor) by means of belief (through faith, trust of what God says regarding Himself and the Lord Jesus Christ).

This free-gift (present) is voluntarily given to you from God and it is to be used for His service. This free-gift is definitely not out-from works (things that are wrought, deeds, effects-produced having acted expending your energy). It is not from any works you may have done which you may have labeled 'good' or 'bad' – why not? For the purpose and result that...

some person would not boast (may not speak loudly as though it were a justifiable claim)
- that somehow he/she had forced God into doing what He did because this person had "worked so long and hard" and so it was deserved.

Not even the Lord Jesus Christ could justifiably claim that he did what he did all by himself! This free-gift is out-from God. God is the One from Whom this gift originated. We holy-people are dedicated to God and we are to live our lives in/for His service.

We (all of us) are God's made-product. God made us who we are now in Christ Jesus. We are God's production, the result of what He did/made. All of us together collectively (not separate entities one from another) are God's made-product in the holy spirit category.

How did God do this? We have already been created (brought into being, established and still in progress)...

within Christ Jesus
- resting or based upon good works (works that issue from God Who is good, deeds, effects-produced by expending energy in accordance with what is perfectly admirable from God's viewpoint),
- which God prepared beforehand (previously made-ready).

Who prepared these good-works beforehand? God. Why? For the purpose and result that...

we would actively walk (literally "walk" means to move the feet around, to go on foot; but figuratively this means to behave, to conduct ourselves during the everyday living of our lives)
- within the sphere of action of these good works (refer to II Timothy 1:9 and 10; Titus 3:5).

We did not cause ourselves to be saved, and we could not walk in these good works if God had not created us in Christ Jesus making us His production. God gave us the gift of holy spirit by means of the Lord Jesus Christ when we believed His belief, and it is in Christ that we are able to walk within these good works. This is not referring to any work or action that mankind may label as a 'good cause' or a 'charitable work.'

We holy-people can walk within the good works that God previously made-ready and which were carried-out by Jesus Christ.

Now we, who have been created in Christ Jesus, may walk within the sphere of action of these good works.

Romans 6:4:

^.4Therefore we were buried-together with him by means of the baptism into death, in order that wholly-as Christ was raised-up out-from dead-people by means of the glory of the Father, thus also let us walk in newness of life.

Jesus Christ was crucified, died, and was buried in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights (72 hours). Because we now have the spirit of Christ within us, this means that everything that he accomplished by his death we have also accomplished. Why?

For the purpose and result that...

entirely as Christ was caused to rise up alive out from being among the rest of the dead-people (he is the only one who has been resurrected and given his new spiritual body, but everyone else who has died still remains dead in the grave)
- by means of the glory of the Father (through the importance, splendor, renown of the God Who is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ and of all holy-people),
in this manner also emphatically let us walk (let us behave ourselves during the everyday living of our lives)
- within the cause and sphere of action of newness of life.

This word "newness" means that this life is recent, newly-made, and it is different from the old life previously in effect, new compared to what was there before, new because it replaces the former life. This new "life" is the spiritual life of the resurrected Christ as discussed in Romans 1:4.

The newness of life for every holy-person (Christian) is the holy spirit-life that all of us have received (Romans 5:5). This holy spirit-life is the new and completing part of us. It is different to the soul/breath-life and different to the body which we already had before becoming holy-people. Now we have three parts: two life-forms (holy spirit life and soul life) and a body.

The resurrected Christ Jesus is now living spiritually and he is walking (behaving) in accordance with his newness of life. In the same manner also we holy-people are to live and walk (behave) in accordance with the same newness of life which is our holy spirit-life.

II Corinthians 10:3-5:

^.3for (though we are) walking in flesh, we do not serve-as-soldiers according to flesh – ^.4for the arms of our soldiery (are) not fleshly but (they are) able by God towards (the) pulling-down of strongholds – (we are) pulling-down calculations ^.5and every high-thing lifting-itself-up against the knowledge of God, and (we are) taking-captive every mindful-device with-a-view-to the obedience of Christ,

In truth, though we are physically and literally walking in flesh (it is a fact that we have fleshy bodies), we do not serve as soldiers in accordance with flesh (we have not put ourselves in service soldiering during battle/war moving in conformity or proportion with/to flesh - our flesh or some other fleshy person).

The usage of military terminology draws attention to the truth that holy-people (Christians) are in a battle/war against the opposing side. Paul explains:

In truth, the arms (weapons, implements) of our soldiery (military service during a battle or war)…

are not fleshly (they are not belonging-to, proceeding-from, relating-to, characterized-by flesh, they do not have the appetites of the flesh),
but on the contrary,
the arms of our soldiery are able (capable, they have able-power)
- by/with/from God
for the purpose of the pulling-down of strongholds (the forceful taking-down, the demolition of fortresses from a higher to a lower position).

Paul did not say that there was no battle going on so who cared how they were behaving themselves as they traveled among people, did he? No! He was well aware that it was not a fleshly battle, but that it was a spiritual battle. He and those with him had received holy spirit-life from God by means of the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore they were God's sons spiritually. The spiritual force that is in opposition to God and the things of God is led by the devil/satan with the lower-ranking devil-spirits (demons) under his command.

The arms of soldiery which Paul and those with him had were not fleshly but they were able by God towards the pulling-down of strongholds. Paul and those with him were not relying on their intelligence, their physical strength, or on guns, etc, but they were relying on God's ability.

Paul continues:

We are pulling down (taking down, demolishing)…

calculations (reckonings, countings, computations of the mind, logistics)
and all/every high-thing (that-which is occupying a high position, elevation)
- lifting itself upwards (the opposite of 'pulling-down') into a high position
  - against (in hostile and downward motion opposing)
  - the knowledge of God (God’s personal knowledge that He makes known to His people; this knowledge is a truly active and relative knowing of God and the things of God, and includes receiving knowledge from Him via the gift of holy spirit regarding different specific situations during the everyday living of our lives).

And we are taking captive (making a prisoner-of-war, taking by the spear during the battle)…

all/every mindful-device (every contrivance or product of the mind's thinking, the plan issuing from the action of the mind)
- with-a-view-to the obedience of Christ (into, directed-to, for the purpose of hearing, listening attentively-to the resurrected Christ via our holy spirit-life which is the spirit of Christ within us, and then the action carried-out in accordance with and resulting from believing what is heard is the obedience of Christ).

Galatians 5:16:

^.16But I say: you must walk by spirit, and let you never complete (the) intense-yearning of flesh,

Paul writes in Galatians that...

you must walk (during the everyday living of life holy-people should walk around, behave or conduct yourselves)
- by/with/in spirit (be receptive to your holy spirit-life, listening and believing what it communicates to you and obeying it)
and you ought never (not-not, double negative for emphasizes - not at any time)
- bring to its ending-issue
  - the intense-yearning of flesh (the strong-desire fixed or attached upon certain objects other-than God and the things of God, lust that belongs-to, pertains-to, issues or proceeds from flesh).

It is not a case of "doing whatever I want to do" or "I feel like it"! Whatever things you may intend to do you ought to be aware whether these-things are emanating from your flesh or from your holy spirit-life – is this intention according to God or not?

All holy-people (Christians) are free, at liberty to walk and talk with God and the Lord Jesus Christ manifesting Godly-love towards them, and towards ourselves, and towards one-another. The spirit of Christ in us communicates God's will to us – and then it is up to our own freedom of will whether each of us behaves in accordance with our holy spirit or in accordance with our flesh.