VALUE OF SPIRITUAL CONSTRUCTION
You also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
—Ephesians 2:22, ESV
There is a value in us as the dwelling place for the special spirit. This value is that our inner being can be constructed into the sole habitat of the spiritual realm. Like play dough being molded into castles, so is our inward being. Play dough feels moist, which makes the putty easy to form. This is similar to our inner being. When we are soft, tender, and moist within ourselves, we are flexible. And being pliable is the starting process of the spirit’s construction. Within, the spiritual realm is constructing our inner being through our flexibility. This construction will result in our body being the home of the spirit.
The spiritual realm owns our inner being, which gives the human body worth, in the same way that a mortgage holder owns an earthly home. The mortgage holder can construct the home in any fashion chosen. In the same way, the special spirit within us will construct our inner being in a way that is suitable for the spirit. When we believe that the spiritual realm lives within us, we will understand the construction process. When we feel changes within us, we will believe that these feelings are of the special spirit. Because we believe we are under construction, we will respond accordingly. We will respond with thankfulness, prayer, and rejoicing.
The living spirit is making real changes to us physically, beginning from the inside. The result of this construction is physiological changes.
The tastes we have for what we consume will change. Where we once drank soda pop excessively, the spirit gives us self-control and a new taste. Now, we may prefer a fruit juice. Where we once ate pizza and chips excessively, the spirit gives us moderation and a new taste. Now, we prefer to eat nutritional foods. Where we once smoked excessively, the spirit gives us an appreciation for fresh air.
This construction process is creating a new birth in us. We are becoming a different person. And most importantly, there are going to be emotional changes that are evident to everyone. This is because the fruits of the spirit are beginning to blossom in us. We now feel full of goodness, loving. We feel comfort, joy, patience, empowerment. Now we have new emotions, interwoven with fresh tastes in life. We are a brand-new person because of the spirit’s construction in us.
We value the spirit’s construction of our inner being because we feel more secure. We value our safety and security, and many emotions could cause insecurities.
We could fear our fate if we had no shelter to live in. Alternatively, we could feel insecure about our only clothing being worn and unappealing. In addition, we might fear harm may come to us, or fear unemployment. Furthermore, there is the insecurity of losing everything we ever earned or separation from our loved ones. Feeling these emotions of fear and insecurities are terrible, ugly, and fruitless experiences.
The good news is that there is an owner of our inner being. This also includes being the owner of our emotions and all the feelings of insecurity. The feelings of emotional insecurity are of the human body. The construction of our body is of the spiritual realm. This means that our emotional insecurities are also under construction by the special spirit within us. Our body, the home of the spirit, is being remodeled moment by moment. The emotions of the human realm are being remodeled moment by moment, giving us the ability to feel less fear and less insecure. Instead of fear, we feel peace; instead of insecurity, we feel comfort.
This is because the constructor uses the spiritual fruits as construction-grade paste and glue. The newly constructed home comes equipped with love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control.
As the spirit reforms our inner being, the construction also reshapes our relationships. The spirit owns our inward selves and owns our relationships. A carpenter constructs a home by adding supplies that contribute to the home and setting aside supplies that do not. In the same way, the spirit constructs our inner being so that things that belong to the spirit’s home are included, and there is no value for things that do not.
This includes our relationships as well. Before we can love someone else, we must first love the spirit’s home within us. Any relationship that is different than the construction that the spirit is doing will not be included. In essence, when we love the spiritual realm within us, then all other relationships will follow. And these relationships will be loving, gentle, and faithful because the spirit loves us gently, and faithfully.
We have moms and dads, brothers and sisters, wives and husbands, friends, relatives, boyfriends and girlfriends, work relationships, and church relationships. Every relationship in our life has to mold into the construction that the spirit is designing within us. This is the only way to have successful relationships. The glue of the fruits of the spirit will keep our relationships built together. And this is according to the construction that the spirit is doing within us.
The construction that the spirit is doing within us also remodels the value we feel for ourselves. Furthermore, it remodels the value that we hold for others. Why do we feel more value for ourselves? That is because the human body is becoming the home of a very special spirit of the heavenly realm. As the spirit constructs our home, the value we feel for ourselves increases in the same way that remodeling a home adds value to real estate. Except that the value of the human body has supernatural worth because the spirit lives there.
The feelings we receive from the spirit’s construction of our inner being are multiple. A few of those feelings are comfort, joy, love, peace, empowerment, meekness, gentleness. The spirit massages our inner being with feelings that make us feel cozy, warm, and good about ourselves. The spirit builds our esteem with the bonding materials of love.
Being aware that the spirit is doing construction within the human body makes us value others differently as well. We view the body as a building where spiritual construction is in a process. And this is why we respect others with meekness, gentleness, love, patience, and self-control. Like when we see a new home being built, we value this construction enough to respect the materials and allow the construction to continue. As we gently approach others, we anticipate with patience the fruits that are to come. We value ourselves as the home of something special, and we value others as the home of something special. We are being built together as homes of the supernatural realm.
We should express ourselves in a way that reflects our awareness that the human body is being built by the spirit. We realize that every day our inner being is under construction by the spirit. Therefore, we remain flexible to this construction process and realize that nothing is already made. Our faith will also become a part of the construction process. We realize that some of our inner-self is yet to be built, yet we express our faith that tomorrow will be better. And this expresses our faith in the constructor within the spiritual realm.
For example, we may desire better relations among different cultures today. Even so, we have faith that tomorrow we will live together through the fruit of the spirit. We realize that every human body around the world is under construction by the spiritual realm. Accordingly, we may desire better clothes for today, but because the spirit constructs something new every day, we feel hopeful for tomorrow.
The way we express ourselves should be according to the construction happening in us. The spirit is supplying love into our words and deeds. Therefore, wearing clothing, using words, or behaving in ways that express hate would be a tumultuous thing to do. That is because peace and comfort come to us when we express ourselves according to the construction process. A piece of the puzzle that fits perfectly into the right place brings a smile and a blessing of accomplishment. A piece of a puzzle in the wrong place, which will never fit no matter how hard we try, is aggravating and grievous.
The fruits of the spirit are comfort, peace, and joy. When we express ourselves in a way that makes us feel comfort, peace, and joy, we know we are contributing to the construction within us. The fruits of the spirit are the glue that bonds the house together.
Some will deny that there is a spiritual construction process at work within us. These people want us to believe that we are already “made” and nothing more needs to be done. These people become angry when things said to have been “made'” become “unmade" through the construction process of the spirit. Depression will set in. Depression sets in because “making” personalities stifle the spiritual fruits. Inhumanities are committed when the fruits of love, goodwill, and kindness are absent. These people will try to bargain in a way that clears them of any wrongdoing. These are the people who will say, “It wasn’t me!” and the bargaining for forgiveness begins there. Even then, these people cannot accept the changes that blossom through spiritual construction. Acceptance of the inner changes pleases the spirit. This brings the blossoms of the fruits within us.
What are the pathogens that infect the construction process? These pathogens are the belief that we are already “made.” This belief stifles the construction of our inner being and stifles the blossoms of spiritual fruit. These fruits are the keys to living together in love, gentleness, and kindness.
Where are the reservoirs of these beliefs found? They are found where people do not want change. They are resistant to the fruits of the spirit and hardened in the construction process.
How do these beliefs exit the reservoirs? These beliefs exit the reservoirs through hostile behavior. People who are so resistant to the inner construction of the spirit that they use hate and cruelty to stifle the fruits of the spirit from blossoming. The fruits are a sure sign that construction is under way.
How are these beliefs transmitted? People who are terrorized by hate and cruelty become fearful of trying to change. They say, “we are already made” except will have no signs of the spiritual fruits. These people are spiteful and cruel to those who possess the fruits within their lives. They are hostile to those who live in newness of the spirit each day.
How do these beliefs enter mainstream society? People who feel a little value for themselves want to feel accepted by others. They will feel a sense of worth by having others praise them for already achieving being “made” and will feel security by having their own cruelty to others accepted. The ones who receive the cruel treatment are those displaying the fruits of the spirit. Because the spiritual realm brings newness and refreshment every day, these people are considered “unmade.”
Who are susceptible to these beliefs? People who, somewhere in their life, have had the spiritual fruits stifled. These are people who believe the natural process is praise from others. People who believe security come by not trying to change “who we are.” They believe the healthy thing to do is to follow the status quo. In addition, they have always belonged with others without having the fruits, and had no desire for lifestyle changes.
How do we interrupt the cycle of the “already made” belief? By realizing that a spiritual realm exists within us to reconstruct the human inner being. This construction is a continual process of renewal. Every day something new is made resulting in spiritual growth. And this newness is evident through the fruits of the spirit. The fruits bring love and kindness to others. And we are being built together to be a dwelling place of the spirit.
What assessment can we make? We can assess that within our body, construction is in a process through a very special spirit. We can make the diagnosis that if we assume that we are already “made,” or complete, we will become stagnant within ourselves. We plan to live in a way that allows the spirit to construct our inner being moment by moment by being open to changes within our body. We implement this plan by encouraging changes, self-awareness, new healing, and rebirth in social areas. We can evaluate our attitude to the construction process through the fruits of the spirit. The fruits are evident that we are in the presence of a very special spirit. In this presence is the constructor of our inner being.