To be continued was the intention of TBC, so I will pick up where I left of yesterday. As before, reading yesterday’s devotional will give you context.

The Spirit is given by God, breathed into us, is quickened at the moment we are born again. It is perfect and this too is beyond our control. We do not control Spirit, it is perfect in oneness with God. That leaves us with our soul to deal with.

The soul is in fact connected to and part of the body. The mind is the primary facilitator of the soul. Without the mind, we are brain dead, whether the body remains with a beating heart or not. So there is a tenuous connect of the body and soul but the body does not control the soul and only has influence upon it.

So also is the Spirit a tenuous connection to the body and the soul. His influence is far greater because He is of God, is powered by God who can and does exert His will over both body and soul. So where does the problem exist if God is in control? The answer to that comes into play in the nature of Who God is, His character, His will, and His plans for us.

1 John 3:2c when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

This transformative life we live has to be one of cooperation. The reason that forgiveness is paramount in approaching perfection is that we cannot approach perfection without it. We are a failed creation that can only approach perfection by cooperating with God.

Therein lies the problem. What is God asking of us?