Body, Soul and Sin

John Bunyan writes in “Grace Abounding the Chief of Sinners” that he saw his walk with Christ in a vision so to speak.

He saw a wall which constituted the word of God, a bright light on the other side which signified the gospel and fellowship with the Father, and a narrow gap in the wall barely wide enough for him to squeeze through. This gap he said represented Christ as the narrow way into fellowship with the Father.

The gap he saw was wide enough for body and soul but not body, soul and sin. As I pondered this God spoke to me about the peace found in Christ and the sustaining power of Christ. Namely it is this, the power to sustain us is found in Christ, and the narrowness to the Father is found in Christ. He and He alone makes provision and allowance for the one who comes unto Him.

It is not for me to make the way more narrow nor to make it more broad, but for Christ. This in no way broadens the way to the Father for the Son knows all those who are His. He knows all those who come to Him aright, that is with their whole heart. It is for the Vine Dresser to prune out the idols in our life. It is merely for us to say He will. It is for the Gardener to maintain the longevity of the saints, it is merely for us to say He will.

In our effort to not allow Christ to be taken advantage of we narrow the passage and place additions on the gospel. In an effort to magnify His grace we broaden the way and make for a wide path unto the Father. But none of these are our burdens to bear.

It is true that the word thus says, “those who walk in the Spirit are the sons of God”. But this is as much a statement of fact as it is a command to the saints. God will not be mocked, all those who walk according to the flesh will fall away as they will be revealed to not be found in the Fathers garden. Furthermore all those who seek their passage through the narrow way will find themselves stripped of idols and sin or else be weighed down and prevented from entering, for God knows the heart.

No one seeking to enter into rest will be capable of doing so body, soul and sin. But only body, soul and Spirit. He needs not for us to defend the way unto Him but rather to merely announce the truth of it and allow Him to do the work He has set out to do. Whether reveal a man to be a son of God or reveal him to be a son of this world.