How to Get Spiritually Fit - Part 1: Just Born That Way

INTRODUCTION
 
In a season where New Year’s resolutions are being made to start exercising, eating better, and getting in shape physically, I felt led for us to start spending some time focusing on what is by far more important than just getting physically fit.
 
You see, we live in a carnal world, and so one thing that this world will always tend towards focusing on is the things of the flesh. So, one of the most obvious things the world will place value on is how we look & feel in our body.
 
Now let me interject this – It’s not that these things aren’t important at all. We are going to learn in this series that there is some value to being physically fit, but that is absolutely not what is most important.  No, what is of much more importance is not the condition of our outward man, it’s the condition of our inward man.
 
You see, we are not just this physical body that we live in. We are a spirit, not just a body. We have an inward man, not just an outward man. And it’s this hidden man of the heart that is going to live forever. Therefore, our spiritual condition is of even more importance than our physical condition. 
 
Now most people don’t even realize that they are a spirit, much less know that it needs to be developed. But the fact is, the real us that lives on the inside of this flesh desperately needs to be nourished & exercised just like our body needs nourishment & exercise.
 
So for this reason, I felt led for us to have a little different New Year’s resolution, and that is to get into shape spiritually and becoming fit and healthy in our inward man.
 
Now let’s take a look at a passage of Scripture that describes to us how spiritual fitness is a real thing. These verses will be our golden text for this series …
 
“If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. But reject profane and old wives fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.”

• First Timothy 4:6-8

 
Now notice in these verses how we see the apostle Paul encouraging his son in the faith, Timothy, to be a good minister of Jesus Christ by being sure to teach the truth accurately. But what we see him then doing is showing him how to be this good minister, and that is through first, being properly “nourished” and then by “exercise.”
 
Now of course, we know he’s not talking about eating right & exercising physically. No, he is talking about being nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine as well as exercising ourselves toward godliness. So what Paul was referring to was eating right and exercising from a spiritual standpoint, which brings up an interesting question …
 
Is how we get in shape & fit physically and naturally the same way we get in shape & fit spiritually? It sure seems so, doesn’t it? Yes, in order to be strong & in shape in spirit is the same way we become strong & in shape physically.
 
And that is how we are going to tackle this subject of getting spiritually fit. We are going to look at how this works in the natural and see how it works the same way spiritually. Amen?
 
YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN
 
But before we get into any of this about getting spiritually fit, we have got to first deal with the necessity of being born. That might sound strange to you, but the fact is, if we have never been born again, we have nothing to exercise. Yes, you have to first become spiritual before you can become spiritually developed. 
 
It would be like saying that an unborn child needs to get fit and in shape. No one in their right mind would ever say that, right? Well, it’s just as ludicrous to assume that someone who hasn’t been born again can ever get in shape spiritually. It’s an impossibility.
 
So, in order to get fit spiritually we have to first become spiritual, and that is by being born again.
 
Now I know that phrase might be unusual to some of us, but it’s a Biblical phrase that is repeated throughout the New Testament. Jesus coined this terminology to describe one’s ability to enter the kingdom of God in John 3:1-8. So let’s look at how this phrase is used throughout the New Testament by beginning in John chapter 3 …
 
In this profound chapter, Jesus was having a conversation with one of the Pharisees, a man named Nicodemus. And this man came to Jesus by the cover of night saying, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him” (verse 2). So Jesus answered him in verse 3 by saying – “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
 
Now while some might think Jesus was speaking metaphorically, I don’t believe He was. I believe He literally was saying that one must be “born from above” (the literal rendering of “born again”) in order to both see and enter God’s kingdom.
 
One of the reasons we know this is true is because of Nicodemus’ response in verse 4 – “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” So Nicodemus thought that Jesus was being literal, albeit that He was talking about being born again physically.
 
But notice that Jesus didn’t correct anything other than this Pharisee’s misunderstanding about being physically reborn. No, Jesus simply explained that the new birth that He was referring to was spiritual in nature by saying that “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (See verse 5).
 
You see, both the being born of water and the Spirit can mean a couple of things:
 
Regarding the being born of water, Jesus might have been referring to how in physical birth that a woman’s water would break where the baby was being birthed from. The Hebrews used the term “water” to describe this process of physical birth. But Jesus might have also been referring to being born again through the waters of baptism – meaning, that when one repents and goes through the sacrament of being baptized in water, that is closely associated with the time one is born from above.
 
Either way, I believe there is truth to be found because, yes, one certainly has to first be born physically in order to be born again, but in order to experience this new birth, they also need to identify with the Lord in His death, burial, and resurrection, which is what water baptism is all about.
 
Now the being born of “the Spirit” likely refers to the Holy Spirit’s role in the washing of regeneration and the renewing of our inward man (See Titus 3:5). But it also could refer to our spirit man and not necessarily to the Holy Spirit as it has to be determined by the translators whether the term “spirit” is to be capitalized or not. What that means is that the context of the verse is what determines whether we are talking about our spirit or the Holy Spirit.
 
Like the being born of water, both of these possibilities are consistent with the truth because we know that being born again is a work of the Holy Spirit and also that it is our spirit man that is being reborn. Amen?
 
In fact, the phrase being “born again” can be translated as “born from above.” And to me, this is consistent with the idea of this spiritual new birth because in order to be born again, you have to have parents that initiate the process, right?
 
Some will ask, “Well, that’s the part the Holy Spirit plays, right?” Yes, but He is simply carrying out the process of being born “from above” – meaning, when we are born again, we are born from our Heavenly Father and literally become His children. So technically, when we are born again, we are born from above – that is, from heaven where our Father resides. Amen?
 
So I say all of this to say that being born again is a prerequisite to being spiritually developed and fit.  
 
Now there are some who believe that just because you are born again, that you are already as spiritually developed as you are ever going to be. I don’t believe this is the case, and let me give you give one reason why …
 
How many of you know that Jesus was born “born again.” No, He had no need of being born again like every one of us. The reason being is because we were not born of man. No, He was born of a virgin, which means that the fallen nature of mankind is not where He came from. He was born of His Heavenly Father through His mother, Mary. Therefore, He was born spiritually alive because His Father was Life Himself.
 
But notice what we are told in Luke 2:40 concerning Jesus … It says, “And the child (Jesus) grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.”
 
Notice that even Jesus, who was born of God and had the life of God in Him, became strong in spirit. Now do you think that it’s going to be any different for us? Do you think that if the Christ Himself had to grow up spiritually, that we won’t? Absolutely not!
 
So what we can take from this is that even when we are born again and are made spiritually alive, we still need to be developed and made strong in spirit just like Jesus.
 
But again, it all starts with being born again. And if we haven’t been reborn spiritually, we cannot become strong spiritually.
 
EVERYTHING STARTS WITH A SEED
 
You see, church, everything starts with a seed! Everything, including our spiritual growth! You started with a seed. Each and every one of us started out as the seed from our father and then when that seed was “planted” in your mother, you were conceived.
 
It is the same spiritually—The new creation that we were born again as, started with a seed.
 
The apostle Peter elaborates on this in his first epistle: First Peter 1:23 says, “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.”
 
Notice that Peter addresses his readers, presuming they have been born again already. That’s why he said here, “having been born again …” But then notice how he goes on to give us some more specific information on what we were born again through …
 
He said that it was not of corruptible seed but incorruptible. This is really important because the Holy Spirit’s point here is that while we were born again the same way we were born physically, it was not the same seed.
 
Now it is important to realize that Peter is not referring to the seed of a plant, but to the seed of a man …
 
The Greek word used in this verse for “seed” is sperma—which is obviously where we get our word “sperm” from.  Peter was saying that just as we are physically born after the seed of a man is planted in the womb of a woman, likewise we are spiritually born again after the seed of God is planted in our hearts. Yes, the analogy is correct— When one is born again, he or she has received God’s spiritual seed!
 
You see, all of us were born physically by the seed of our earthly father. And that is why every one of us were born spiritually corrupted. Why? Because death was inherited through Adam’s seed. So every man’s seed is corrupted spiritually.
 
So what Peter’s point was is that when we were born again, that was not corruptible seed. Meaning it didn’t have death in it. It wasn’t cursed. No, the seed we were born again through was “incorruptible” – meaning, it didn’t have the death or curse that man’s seed possessed. No, God’s seed only has life & blessing. Therefore, it’s incorruptible.  
 
You see, we understand that the seed of a man is the carrier of all the nature and attributes of the man that it originated from. Therefore, it should not surprise us that the seed of God that we receive when we hear and receive the gospel contains the nature and attributes of our Heavenly Father! Wow! That is a powerful truth!
 
So this is the seed that we were born again by – His Word.
 
But then notice what the apostle Peter specifically describes that seed as – “… through the word of God which lives and abides forever.” So, the born-again experience occurs when we hear the Word concerning Jesus and that incorruptible seed is planted in our hearts.
 
So, I say all of this to say that everything from our physical birth to our spiritual rebirth began with a seed, and this is how all fruit begins—with a seed. Amen! Therefore, if these two awesome miracles originate with a seed, how much more will other miracles begin with a seed? Amen!
 
Therefore, when we receive the truth of God’s Word, we become born again. This is when God’s divine nature is placed within us—when we receive God’s “seed.” This means that we have received His divine DNA! (Quick little nugget: Did you know they say DNA actually forms letters and words? We are created by His Word!)
 
When we were born again, we received a new nature that will compel us to grow up to be like our Daddy. Just like we grew up to resemble our natural parents in appearance and personality, likewise we will grow up to resemble our Heavenly Father in spiritual appearance and personality. It is in our spiritual DNA!
 
And this seed of God has no death abiding in it—only life everlasting! Therefore, we are born again of an incorruptible seed because the Word of God lives and abides forever! Hallelujah! We now have eternal life and, therefore, have the capability of growing up to become more and more like our Heavenly Father.
 
THE FATHER’S SEED
 
Let’s look at another verse that further describes this truth of the new birth …
 
In First John 3:9, the apostle John says, “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and He cannot sin because He has been born of God.”
 
Now when it comes to this verse, most people get hung up on the “cannot sin” part. Of course, this does not mean that someone who has been born again cannot commit a sin and miss it occasionally. This would not be consistent with this First Epistle of John itself because he said in the first chapter that if we say that we have no sin, we are a liar, and the truth is not in us. He went on to say that if we do sin, that we can confess our sins and be cleansed from all unrighteousness. So, from these Scriptures we can see that John is not saying if we are a Christian, then we will live spotless lives. So, what is he saying?
 
The first thing we need to understand is that when this verse words things like “does not sin” or “cannot sin” it is not to be read like we talk today. If I were to say, “I do not sin” or “I cannot sin” you would hear that I’m saying that I never commit a sin. But in the Greek language, words have different tenses. Therefore, when the Bible uses a phrase like “does not sin” you have to look at the tense that is used in the verb because that will indicate whether the writer was talking about “having done, doing, or continue to do the sin.
 
And in this particular situation, the tense indicates that we will not continue to do (or, practice) sin. Therefore, we can see that John is not referring to a Christian avoiding every specific act of sin; he is referring to how a believer does not continue a lifestyle of sin after he or she has come to know the Lord. 
 
And what is the reason that the apostle John gives that whoever has been born of God does not continue in sin? He says that whoever has been born of God does not sin because God’s seed remains in him!
 
So what does John mean when he said that God’s seed remains in us? Well, just like in First Peter 1:23, the word “seed’ comes from the Greek word sperma which is obviously where we get the word “sperm” from. So, what we can begin to see now is that when the Bible speaks of being born again, it is not some symbolic term of having a new beginning or something else like that (although the new birth does provide a new beginning).
 
No, when we are “born again” we literally are reborn in our spirits. How? Because God’s very own “seed” is placed in us and remains!
 
Now let’s look at this from a natural and physical perspective again: What is inherent in the seed of a man? A man’s sperm carries in it the DNA of the father! So, when we are physically born, we are born with the DNA of our earthly father. This means that we have his nature and will grow up to look and act like him in certain ways (Of course, the mother determines part of this as well).  
 
So, now apply this to being born again: When God’s seed is placed in us and we are born again spiritually, the same thing occurs: We essentially receive the spiritual DNA of Almighty of God! In other words, we receive His genes and His nature! God is love, so love becomes our nature. This is why John went on to say that we know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. This is also why peace and joy are immediately experienced. It is because He is the God of peace and He is joyful God, so joy and peace are products of His nature. And, yes, all of the rest of the fruit of the Spirit – patience, kindness, goodness, self-control, etc. are all resident in that new nature that is within us!
 
Let’s look at the Amplified Bible’s classic translation of First John 3:9 because I believe it perfectly illustrates what this verse is saying: It says, “No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, for God’s nature abides within Him [His principle of life, the divine sperm, remains permanently within Him]; and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God.”
 
Church, because we have been born of God, we have the LORD’s principle of life and His divine nature within our spirit. This changes our behavior and propels us to being godly and sharing in His characteristics.
 
THE DIVINE NATURE
 
Let’s look over at a passage of Scripture in Second Peter chapter one that goes along these same lines:
 
Second Peter 1:3-4 says that “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
 
These verses start by saying that it was “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness …” So it was His divine power (or His godly ability) that has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness. That means it was Him who gave us the opportunity and capability to experience His life and to be godly. Thank You, LORD!
 
You see, church, we don’t give ourselves these things. We were begotten again to life and godliness because, in His divine ability, He gave us all these things! Yes, this is how you and I were made partakers of God’s divine nature—through His exceedingly great and precious promises! 
 
Notice that the apostle Peter said in verse 4 that through these great promises of the gospel, we have been made partakers of God’s divine nature! So this is just another way of saying what First Peter 1:23 said – that we are born again by the Word of God.
 
The word “partakers” is important. It literally means that we have become “sharers” of something. Sharers of what? Of His “divine nature.” The word “divine” describes “divinity” and thus what is “godly.” The term “nature” comes from the Greek word where we get our English word “physical” from, and describes one’s “physical origin” – thus, our innate nature or characteristics.
 
So when you put the words “divine nature” together, we see that we have become sharers in His “godly characteristics”!
 
And let me remind you that “sharing” is when someone gives of their own to someone else, letting them partake of it as well. That’s what God did: He shared with us His godly nature, His divine characteristics. And, no, this does not make us “God,” but it does show that He made us to share in His nature by the new birth. Hallelujah!
 
Now let’s look at Ephesians chapter 4 and see a couple of the specific “divine characteristics”—the image and likeness of God Himself—that the apostle Paul said we have been given …
 
Ephesians 4:24 says, “and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
 
Notice that Paul said that this “new man which was created according to God” was created “in true righteousness and holiness.” Wow! Did you know that this was in your Bible!?! What Paul is describing this image and likeness of God that we’ve been created in as, is “true righteousness and holiness.” Therefore, saints, our new nature that we inherited from Christ through the new birth is created in God’s true image of holiness and according to His true likeness of righteousness. Amen!
 
And notice that He calls this holiness and righteousness—true righteousness and holiness. That is opposite of false righteousness and holiness—because if there is a true kind, there must also be a false one. So, what is the false kind of righteousness and holiness? That would be the man-made kind, and that is what we must strip ourselves of—that self-righteousness and man-made kind of holiness that puts its confidence in the flesh!    
 
Church, this true righteousness and holiness is something that has been given by grace and not something we grow into or something that eventually will be created in us through our own self-effort! This is how we were created at the new birth! We are not trying to become righteous or holy; we already have been created righteous and holy! Our only job now is to start putting on this new nature and spiritual identity and wearing it in our everyday lives!
 
So, this would be Trey’s Translation of Ephesians 4:24: “and dress your outer lives with the new nature you have been clothed with on the inside, which was created in God’s very own image and likeness—absolutely righteous and thoroughly holy!” Amen! 
 
 
WE’RE JUST BORN THAT WAY!
 
So what does all of this have to do with getting spiritually fit, you ask? Well, like I said, in order to get fit, strong, healthy, and in shape, you first have to be born & alive. A dead person can do nothing! Likewise, a spiritually dead person can do nothing to be spiritually fit either.
 
But the cool part of all of this is, when you are born again, you’ve got all the spiritual genes that you need to be fit, in shape, and strong in your spirit!  
 
You know, in the natural, some of us were born of parents that maybe didn’t have a lot of athletic ability and we were born with other physical disadvantages. In other words, not everyone has the same advantages as others when it comes to physical abilities. Now, on the other hand, those same people who were born with physical disadvantages might have been born with a higher IQ or other soulish qualities that give them an advantage over others in other areas.
 
My point is – not everyone is born on the same playing field. That’s because we inherit whatever our parents inherited. Some of us are gifted in certain areas, while others are gifted in other areas. So in this case, some of us sure got the short end of the stick when it came to some of these physical things.
 
And here’s the kicker: We didn’t do anything to deserve it either. It was a gift of grace from daddy & mama – meaning we were just born this way, and we didn’t have to do something right or wrong to turn out the way we did physically! That’s just how it works.
 
Well, the same is true for all of us who have been born again: We have received by grace all of the qualities, nature, characteristics, genes, and DNA of our Heavenly Father. No, we didn’t do anything to deserve it; we were just born again that way! Amen!
 
And the good news is that your Heavenly Father that you’ve been born of has ALL of the characteristics & qualities that you need to be strong and fit in the spirit. No, there are no disadvantages here! In Him, we are capable of both developing into His image and according to His likeness (Genesis 1:26)!
 
So there is no excuse for any of us who have been born from above to not become as good looking, smart, and successful as we can possibly be because the genes of our Heavenly Father are all extraordinary! There are no disadvantages to being born of God’s seed, only advantages!
 
Yes, you’ve got God’s divine nature, my friend! Spiritually speaking, you’ve got His eyes, You’ve got His hair! You’ve got His physique! You’ve got His giftings & His capabilities!  So we’ve got the foundation for being as fit & developed spiritually as we can possibly be. We all do! IF (and that’s a big IF) we’ve been born again!