I took a psychology class when I was in college and the one thing that the instructor wanted to drill into us was the definition of behavior. To this day I can recite the exact definition I learned. Sometimes I wonder if it was the instructor that wanted to make sure I knew it or God. It was a seed that would help me to have understanding some twenty years later.
BEHAVIOR: the outward manifestation of thoughts and emotions.
Pretty simple right? We have a thought; it partners with an emotion and produces a behavior – a manifestation. A visible appearance of what that thought/emotion looks like. But what generates the thought? We all have patterns of thought, or mindsets, that we operate from. Where did those mindsets originate from? Did we learn them? Did we inherit them? Are they just who we are?
What I have learned all these years later is this: the thoughts that inspire emotions and produce behavior may not be my own thoughts. So, if my behavior is an outward manifestation of thoughts and emotions, but some thoughts may not belong to me, just whose thoughts are manifesting through me?
Genesis 3:1-5 “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’”
Something spoke to Eve. Something inspired thoughts of doubt towards God. Thoughts questioning what God really said. Thoughts that God was maybe holding out on her, maybe keeping something from her. Thoughts that she could be elevated, and God was just trying to keep her under His control. She didn’t come to these conclusions on her own, something spoke to her and led her thoughts away from truth.
Genesis 3:6 “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”
When the serpent spoke to Eve and led her thoughts into doubt, she became enticed by the desire for wisdom. Her thoughts of doubt in God and her desire for wisdom produced a behavior of disobedience and she ate of the fruit.
Genesis 3:7-8 “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.””
Just a few verses earlier the Bible says that Adam and his wife were naked and were not ashamed (Genesis 2:25). Now they suddenly “know” that they are naked, and they feel the need to cover themselves. The behavior that manifested through the initial thought has now produced a knew string of thoughts – shame, guilt, fear. And this new thought string is now producing a new string of behaviors – cover ourselves, blame someone else, hide from God.
Genesis 3:9-11 “Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ So he said, ‘I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself.’ And He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?’”
“WHO” TOLD YOU?
God asks Adam, “Who told you that you were naked?” They didn’t know naked to be a bad thing until they felt shame. Where did shame come from? They didn’t hide from God until they felt fear. Where did fear come from? They never felt these emotions before because they only knew God, God’s nature, and God’s voice. But now they know a different voice. And that voice began to train them in new thoughts that were contrary to God. Thoughts that were a distortion of truth that crippled what they believed and how they saw everything from that moment on. See, at first the serpent was used to speak to Eve from the outside, but now sin has permission to speak to them from within, disguised as their own thoughts and feelings.
Adam and Eve’s choice to partner with sin brought separation between them and God, between them and themselves, and between them and each other. They also brought themselves under submission to sin, they became slaves to sin. By that I mean sin now had influence in their life and they were powerless against it because man cannot discern truth on his own. Proverbs 14:12 says “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” And it all started with a simple thought. A thought inspired by a being in rebellion against God.
James 1:14-15 says, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”
There is a lot in the Bible about how we are to treat our thoughts, guard our hearts, protect our minds, turn from unrighteousness, think differently. Paul says things like “take every thought captive” (2 Corinthians 10:5) and “be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. (Romans 12:2) He understood that there are sources of thoughts that are within us but are not us. That is why our weapons of warfare are not carnal. That is why we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. We all have these invisible enemies of God speaking to us. We also have God speaking to us. We also have our own human reasoning.
Regardless of the source of the thought, it is thoughts that open the door to sin in our lives. They are the temptation that elicits desire which draws us away and lures us into sinful behaviors. Sin gives permission for spirits of darkness to have access and influence in our lives. And if we can identify where that thought is coming from, we can close that door before anything ever comes through it. So how do we know who is saying what?
1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
John says we are to test every spirit. In 1 Corinthians 12:10 Paul names discerning of spirits as a manifestation of the Holy Spirit that is given to us through His nature. When we are filled with the Spirit of God, we have a gift to discern different spirits. To discern means basically to recognize, perceive, or understand something. Especially something that is not obvious. This gift needs to be exercised to be strengthened just like any muscle, but we do have it.
Colossians 2:8 “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the traditions of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”
Philosophy, traditions of men, basic principles of this world are cheating us through empty deceit. Why? Because they are not according to Christ. They are ideas that are contrary to Truth. In my blog about Butterflies, I talk about the need to empty our minds of all the thoughts, ideologies, and opinions that we learned from the world so that we could learn to think according to Christ, according to Truth. The ideas and opinions of the world, the traditions of man, philosophies of “thinkers”, religions of all kinds all came from thoughts inspired by beings that were in rebellion against God. What is their purpose? To cheat us, deceive us, and lead us away from God.
Colossians 1:21-23 “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight – if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard…”
Enemies in our mind by wicked works – wow. That means there are thoughts in my mind that are the wicked work of a wicked spirit that made me an enemy to God by its nature. Those thoughts do not define me or who I am. They are the work of beings of a fallen kingdom that want to manifest their fallen nature through me. But if I can learn to recognize, or discern what thoughts are from that fallen kingdom, then I can choose to put them to death right then and there. Because Jesus has reconciled me through His death, to make me holy, blameless, and above reproach in the Father’s site. I have become a temple for the Holy Spirit, a vessel to carry His Truth and light in this world. And it is His nature that I want to manifest through me.
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.”
What does it mean to bring every thought into captivity? We analyze every thought and compare it with God’s Word. We look at God’s nature and we see how that thought measures up. Is it how God speaks? Or is it how evil speaks? Is it loving? Does it bring life? Is it condemning? Does it bring me into sin? Jesus demonstrated living in Truth: He only did what He saw His Father doing. He only said what He heard His Father say. He did the will of His Father. Most of us do what we see a spirit of Bitterness do. We say what we hear a spirit of Fear say. We do the will of the Father of lies and deceit instead of the Father of Lights.
It isn’t always obvious, that is why we need the Holy Spirit to help us. He is our guide into all Truth. It was Jesus who said He came to reveal the Father. Jesus said He would go away, and the Father would send “another” helper. One just like Him. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17) The Holy Spirit continues to be a revelation of the Father to us. And the more revelation of God the Father that we have, the more aligned with Truth we will become.
Paul said we have weapons of warfare; we are well equipped for this battle. But we do have to actually fight. Ignorance will not save us. Whether you know it or not, you are being used as a vessel. You can either be a vessel for light or a vessel for darkness. But there is no in between. We have everything we need to win. In fact, Jesus has already won. The Bible says he has disarmed principalities and powers and made a spectacle of them. But if we don’t know that, if we don’t reinforce that, we can be misled into believing a lie and relinquishing our power, authority, and victory over to that other kingdom and in so doing, we give place to sin and all its consequences in our lives.
Ephesians 6:11-13 “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
There is a battle for your life. The battle is not with yourself or with other people. The battle is with an invisible kingdom. We cannot see it, but we must apprehend it. God has plans for you. The enemy has plans for you. God has made every provision for you to have victory. Seek Truth. Know Truth. Be armed with Truth. Stand on Truth.
