John Schuch: How Many Natures?

A BELIEVER HAS ONLY ONE NATURE

A few years ago as I was driving listening to the radio to a well know Christian program. A man was giving his testimony of how the Lord saved him. His testimony was very powerful of God’s saving grace. I was so thrilled hearing how the Lord came into His life that I wanted to lift both hands in praise as I was driving.

Then the moderator of the program spoke up and began speaking about our old nature and how we need to be on guard. To say the least it just dampened his testimony. I thought, he’s saying, “God had enough power to save him but not enough power to deliver him from Satan’s hold.”

I was always taught and believed that we have two natures. Often you hear believers referring to their two natures. Did Jesus death on the cross have enough power to forgive us our sins and give us eternal life and then leave us with Satan’s nature? If so then the cross ceases to have power to deliver us from Satan.

Let me illustrate it this way. During World War II both England and France were attacked by the Germans. France fell and the German government came and set up it’s rule and reign in their country. England was attacked over and over but the Germans were never able to establish their rule and reign in England. The same is true for a believer: he may be attacked by the enemy but the enemy does not have his enemy nature ruling in that life.

If a believer is taught he has two natures he will believe it. If he believes it then he has faith in it. His faith is what he will experience. His experience will be one of conflict thinking he has two natures and they are at war with each other. He will have as much faith in having an old sin nature as having a new nature. In reality a believer who is taught this and believes this sets himself up to sin. It is bad enough that Satan constantly attacks believers but why should we give him a place in our lives.

So, what does God’s Word teach about a believer having two natures? First, many think because we sin we have a sinful nature. Do we need a sinful nature to sin? We know there were three people who did not have a sinful nature. Adam, Eve and Jesus and all three were tempted and two of them sinned. It is possible to sin without a sinful nature.

Second, we must understand how God works in a life and how Satan works in a life. When one is born again his spirit is made alive to God. God told Adam that if sinned he would die. He didn’t die physically that day but he did die to God. His spirit man was no longer alive to God. Salvation causes our spirit man to be made alive to God. Eph. 2:4-5 “God who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ even when were dead in transgressions.”

When this happens in a life the spirit in man is made alive to God 100%. Now his mind needs to be renewed and his body brought under submission to the Lord but His spirit is completely made alive with God’s life.

Moving forward, God continues to work through man’s spirit. All that God does in any life will be through his spirit. Rom. 8:16 “The Spirit Himself (Holy Spirit) testifies with our spirit (human spirit) that we are God’s children.” God does not come to us through our flesh or mind but through our spirit. God does work in our minds and bodies but He comes through our spirit. If our spirit is by passed then our mind has knowledge of God but not His life. It is our spirit that has been made alive and the only way we can continue to receive God’s life is through our spirit.

Now Satan works through our flesh. He does not use love but bribes us through our flesh. As you read scripture you will see over and over that Satan attacked believers through their flesh. It is man’s sinful lust to please himself in this body. This was how he tempted Adam and Eve. “You will be as great as God.” He attacked Jesus through his flesh to satisfy His fleshly desires. “Turn these stones to bread.”

The word flesh is sarx; which means our flesh or body. Some Bible translations translate this word sarx as nature. It is not nature. It is our body of flesh and Satan attacks it. When it is translated nature instead of flesh it opens the door for teaching on the two natures. There is a big difference in Satan attacking our flesh or living in our lives with his nature.

Not only the word sarx but the word body which is soma is used speaking of our lives and how Satan attacks us. Read through Romans chapters 6-8 and note the times these two words sarx & soma are used in relation to sin. 6:12 “let not sin reign in your mortal body.”

The word for nature is plusis. It is used once speaking of our evil nature before salvation. Eph. 2:3, “and were by nature children of wrath.” It is then used once speaking of our new nature. II Pet. 1:4, “you might be partakers of the divine nature.” Neither of these passages mentions two natures; but that we had an old sinful nature and being born-again we have a new nature. This is why it says in II Cor. 5:17 if anyone is in Christ, He is a brand new man or a new creation the old has gone and the new has come. It does not say we still have part of the old and new.

Now we said our spirit is 100% born again. It does not need to be crucified or renewed but it does need to grow and become strong. Speaking of John the Baptist it says, “the child grew and became strong in spirit.” Complete life is in a child of 2 or 12 but they need to grow. It is the same with our spirit when it is made alive to God it is completely alive to God but it needs to grow.

Next our minds need to be renewed. God does not set aside the mind but ministers to it through our spirit. It is vital that our minds are being renewed with the Word of God. The mind is not to be crucified but renewed. God’s intention is not to destroy the mind but to reprogram it according to heaven’s reign. This is what is meant by the renewing of the mind. Now both God and Satan want to control our minds. Satan comes to us through our flesh and God wants to renew our minds by ministering through our spirit.

So then, it is our flesh that needs to be crucified. Anything that we want in our lives that is not according to the reign of Jesus needs to be crucified. This is Satan’s area of attack and the only way to deal with him is crucifixion. We don’t crucify the mind nor do we crucify our nature but our fleshly desires and lust. Crucifixion is never pleasant. However, whenever God crucifies something in our life He wants to resurrect something much better in it’s place.

Not once in scripture do you read of Satan attacking us through our nature. It is always through our lust and desires to please the flesh. In Romans 6:11-12, “count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Two things God is telling us about sin in Rom. 6. First, don’t let it reign in your body. v 12 Second, don’t offer your body as instruments to sin. v13

So, would God then say to a believer, ‘Yet I have left the sinful nature in your life?’ In fact, when God tells us to count ourselves dead to sin and we turn around and say we have an evil nature…well… it seems impossible (irrational) to see something as dead in our lives if we believe it is alive.

Now many believe we have two natures because of what is said in Rom. 7. Paul testifies to the fact of wanting to do good yet he seems to do evil. Then the evil he does not want to do he does. He then cries out in v24, “what a wretched man I am.” Of course, in the first seven verses he speaks of the law and what grace has done. It is through the grace of Jesus Christ we died to the law being released from it so that we can serve in the new way of the Spirit.

Then from v7 on he is speaking of one who is under law and not knowing the grace of God. Paul knew God had given the law and that it was good and spiritual. He was a devout Pharisee trying to obey each part of the law. In fact the more he tried to keep the law the more sin seemed to be magnified in his life. It was then he cried out being a wretched man.

What Paul was experiencing was God’s purpose in giving the law. Man cannot save himself. He needs the grace of God. All the law could do was point out sin but it had no power to remove sin or to give victory over it.

Now this is the glorious work of grace that Jesus removes our sins and gives us power to overcome sin.

God forbid that a child of God who knows the love and power of Jesus to save him from sin and to give him victory over sin should ever cry, “what a wretched man that I am.” That cry is an insult to our Lord Jesus Christ and all that He has done for us. Once Paul experienced the grace of our Lord Jesus his cry is (Rom. 8:1), “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” V15 “we have received the Spirit of Sonship. And by Him we cry ‘Abba’ Father.” V37 “No in all these thing we are more then conquerors.”

I remember a few years ago I was driving and turned the radio on and heard a minister teaching. He was teaching on having the old nature. Much to my regret I listened to him for the whole half an hour. After I turned it off the Lord spoke to me, “Son why did you listen to that.” I knew what the Lord was pointing out to me that I don’t need faith in negative teaching. How many believers would hear it and believe that they had an evil nature in them. This does not build faith to overcome Satan’s attacks but only opens our lives to expect Satan to work. It is like saying Satan your nature is in me and I can’t help but sin.

Once a believer understands what scripture says about having one new nature, he then has faith that something solid is planted in his life. It is from this position of a new nature that he now lives his life. God’s salvation is not to keep us rooted in sin but to remove it and give us victory over it.