If a boxer can work for months and months to get in
a ring for 15 rounds, what should a believer be able to do
for Jesus to gain a crown of glory? All Christians have
tremendous potential within them. The zoe life of God in
their spirits contains a unique substance the Bible calls
“the fruit of the spirit.” This fruit contains nine parts:
love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness and temperance.

The Bible considers these qualities a fruit because it
continually grows and produces. But it can also be compared
to an explosive, for it only releases its tremendous
power when ignited.

For example, the Bible says that faith will move mountains
and cast things into the sea. But we can carry faith
around with us forever and never move a mountain. To see
the power of faith, it must be ignited like a stick of dynamite.
The fuse that sets off this power is the spoken Word
of the living God.

This does not mean that we ignore the negative
circumstances when we speak His Word. It means we do
not live in them. We are deciding by what we say, the
kind of forces we release. We can either release the forces
of the kingdom of hell with all its demons or the forces
of the kingdom of God with all its angelic army. Both sides
are standing, waiting to see what we will say. In one sense,
we are like kings holding court.

Because we are made in the likeness of Jesus, our
words hold authority, as His do. Our words are the determining
factor. What we say is what we get.

Gloria Copeland

From Paul we can see that mercy is not only the
pattern we are to follow, but a spiritual force. At the new
birth, the Holy Spirit imparts to us what the English Bible
calls everlasting life. In Greek, it is called “zoe life” or the
life of God. “Zoe” is the element that makes God, God. It is
eternal because you cannot kill or stop it.

Jesus said, “I have come that they might have ‘zoe’ and
have it in abundance” (John 10:10). We are forever as God is
forever, because we have the substance of “zoe” life within us.

Receiving everlasting life is not the same thing as
living forever. You were created a spirit and a spirit can
never cease to exist. To a spirit, death is being separated
from the life of God. You will exist forever whether you
serve the devil or whether you serve God.

In the second resurrection, the graves will give up
the bodies of every person who has died without the Son
of God. Those who have died without obtaining God’s
everlasting life will manifest for eternity the presence
of sickness, disease and death just as they did in their
physical life.

When someone loses his soul, he loses control of it. A
person who goes into hell does not go blank. He has a better
memory and consciousness than he had when he was in his
body. Look at the rich man in Luke 16 who died and went
into hell. He lifted up his eyes and said, “Father Abraham.”
Not only did he recognize Abraham, but he knew his
brothers and Lazarus the beggar. He said, “Send Lazarus
down here with water to put on my tongue (v. 23-24).” He
was wiser in the spirit after he died than he was before.

One time God opened my eyes and allowed me to
see what people’s spirits looked like when they were not
attached to their physical bodies. I saw good Christian
people with undeveloped spirits that looked awful.
They had great big heads because they were mentally
developed and little, spindly, scrawny, spiritual bodies
caused by a lack of spiritual food. These people had fed
on religion, the junk food of the spiritual realm. It had
ruined their bodies.

Gloria Copeland

Many do not understand that they are a triune being—
spirit, soul and body. They have been so conscious of the
natural world they have assumed their physical bodies are
their true identity, but not so. Our physical bodies are just
our earth suits. My coat would be a good illustration of
this. I am the life of my coat. When I move, the coat moves.
If I were to die, it would be like taking my coat off because
dying is simply the laying aside of my natural body.

What I am saying is that we have majored in the minor,
which is the natural realm. We get disturbed over what we
are going to wear, what we are going to eat and what is
going to happen to us. Even preachers have emphasized
the minors. They have spent a lot of time preaching to
women about what they wear. The Bible says in 1 Peter
3:3-4 that a meek and quiet spirit is important and not the
plaiting of hair or the wearing of gold or apparel.

How women dress is a minor point. God is really talking
about the spiritual attitude of a woman and whether or
not she is trying to call attention to herself through her
dress. A woman who has a meek and quiet spirit will come
to church to worship God and to help others. She will not
come to try and show off her wardrobe.

It is true that some women are dressing to get attention
out of pride, but if you major in the spirit, you will settle
this matter with God and begin to dress to please Him.
Likewise, if you will do the same with mercy and major
in it, then the minor of God’s wrath will take care of itself.
In short, if you will concentrate on the quality of life your
spirit is living, you will have no trouble with your body.

Gloria Copeland

But with God all things are possible! There
are no limitations in the kingdom of God! It
knows no impossibilities! So what we need
to do is obey the instructions Jesus gave in
Matthew 6:

Take no thought for your life, what
ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink;
nor yet for your body, what ye shall
put on…. (For after all these things
do the Gentiles seek:) for your
heavenly Father knoweth that ye
have need of all these things. But
seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you
(verses 25, 32-33).

The Amplified Bible clarifies that last
verse even more. It says, “seek (aim at and
strive after) first of all His kingdom and His
righteousness (His way of doing and being
right).” In other words, if we want to operate
in the dominion of God, we have to find out
His way of doing things and then do things
His way. We’ll have to change the way we
think. We’ll have to start thinking and acting
like He does instead of thinking and acting
like the world.

We’ll have to seek Him and His principles,
put our dependence first and foremost on
Him, and then He’ll see to it that our natural
needs are met.

You see, the principles of the kingdom of
God always work. God has spoken and set
them into motion by His Word. They will
work for anyone who will put them to work.

For example, one of those principles, the
primary one, is the law of sowing and reaping.
Galatians 6:7-8 states that law very simply:
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also
reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the
flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the
Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”

Actually, the law of sowing and reaping
works in both the kingdom of God and the
kingdom of this world. If you sow into the
kingdom of darkness, you reap the harvest
of that kingdom––death in all its forms.
If you invest your time and money in the
concerns of the world, you’ll end up on drugs,
pornography and alcohol. You’ll end up sick
and unhappy.

On the other hand, if you sow to the
kingdom of God, you’ll reap the harvest of
that kingdom––abundant life in all its forms.
As Romans 8:6 says, “For to be carnally
minded [to think like the world thinks] is
death; but to be spiritually minded [to think
like God thinks] is life and peace.”

Gloria Copeland

“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:13-14).

We have studied about suffering. The same suffering Jesus endured when He was crucified, we are to bear in our own bodies. We are to crucify our flesh, to mortify the deeds of the body, to be in command of our flesh as we follow after the Lord. We have the power to overcome sin in the flesh because of what Jesus did on the cross.

For God has done what the Law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh [the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit]. Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh [subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice] (Romans 8:3, amp).

Verse 18 says, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” This suffering crucifying of the flesh and mortifying its deeds is connected in the Scriptures with the glory of God. Why? Because God cannot manifest Himself in His people if they follow after the flesh instead of after the Spirit of God.

God works in the spirit realm. As we follow after the Spirit, He works in us. We must lay aside natural things in the natural life, and take up the things of the spiritual life. As we walk in the spirit, the glory of God that’s in the face of Jesus Christ will begin to be reflected in us. Crucifying the flesh and the glory of God being revealed in us are connected, scripture after scripture!

God wants us to come to a place where we walk and live in this earth in the glorious liberty that has been prepared for us from the foundation of the world. Romans 8:21 says, “Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” God made man to live in His glory. He crowned Adam with glory and honor (Psalm 8:5). Adam had the glory of God on him. He looked just like God. He wore a garment of light and had the same power, authority and appearance as God Himself. He was in God’s image His exact likeness.

That’s why he had no realization of being naked until after he sinned. When he sinned against God, spiritual life departed and spiritual death came. The glory that was his covering disappeared. Notice, that all God’s creatures, except man, have their own covering. Birds are covered with feathers that are produced from within. Animals are covered with fur, produced from within.

Adam and Eve’s bodies were covered with an enswathement of glory which was produced from within their beings (Word Studies in the Greek New Testament, Volume III). The life of God in Adam radiated the glory of God through Adam’s flesh.

Sin brings man short of the glory of God. When Adam disobeyed God, he lost the power from within to produce and bring forth this glory. He had no life within him to manifest this covering. Spiritual death entered into him and only darkness could emanate. There was no longer any glory in Adam to be revealed.

What a devastating blow to God’s man whom God created in His own image. God told Moses, “As truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord” (Numbers 14:21). That is still God’s plan today—for His glory to fill the earth. And His glory is revealed in us, the Church of Jesus Christ.

God has glorious liberty for us. This liberty is in walking after the spirit and not after the flesh. It’s in the spirit realm. You and I are spirit beings, though we live in flesh bodies. We are strange and peculiar creatures spirits in natural bodies. God is calling us to be dominated by His Spirit and to bring our bodies of flesh under His control.

The Church will come to a place where we’ll walk with God. We’ll be like Enoch. The Bible says, “Enoch walked with God and he was not….” And Hebrews says Enoch was translated by faith because he had the testimony that he pleased God. One day Enoch just went so far in the spirit, he didn’t come back. The Bible says he didn’t see death.

Isn’t that what is going to happen with the Church that is looking for His appearance? We’re going to be caught up with Him in the air. We’re not going to see death. Paul said, “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51).

I believe the day of His appearing is at hand. We read in Ephesians what the Church will look like when Jesus comes to receive us: “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:26-27).

A glorious Church! A Church full of the glory of God! A Church with no spots or wrinkles, but a holy Church without blemish. God wants us to learn how to listen to His Spirit so He can lead us into all truth and teach us how to remove the spots and wrinkles. He wants to be able to reveal His glory in us.

The Russian believers (prior to more recent changes in Eastern Europe) had to rely on the Spirit more than we do now, because of adverse circumstances. The underground church met in secret.

Church members met out in the woods and in different places. (It had to be a secret or they would be raided.) Someone who had been ministering in the underground church told me about one instance when it was realized that there was a spy in the camp because everywhere they went the KGB (secret police) would show up.

They decided, “Well, all right, if you’re going to come to the meeting, you’ll have to get the information from the Spirit of God.” They would have to pray and listen to God to know where to meet. At the next meeting, every person in that group showed up except one. They knew who the guilty party was.

Walking in the spirit is real. Listening to the Holy Spirit is a way of life we must develop in order to fulfill what we are called to do in these last days.

We have the same ability to listen to our spirits, but instead we rely on a newsletter we receive every month that tells us where to meet. We have not had to depend on the Holy Spirit’s direction the way our Russian brothers and sisters had to. Nevertheless, it’s just as available to us! Many of them didn’t have Bibles. They had to be led by their spirits.

The people in the New Testament didn’t have Bibles to read, either. They also had to be led by their spirits. Paul told them to pray in the spirit so they would get the mind of the Spirit. Those people in Russia had to have the mind of the Spirit or they couldn’t go to church!

Thank God, we live in a free land. But we must learn to walk in obedience to the Spirit while we live in liberty, not being forced into it, but rather, choosing the things of the spirit over the things of the world.

God is raising up a people called the “Glorious Church,” who can hear the voice of His Spirit and obey Him in whatever we are told to do. How can you know what the mind of the Spirit is? By renewing your mind with the Word of God, praying in the spirit, being sensitive to Him and by yielding your life, thoughts and direction to Him.

If you don’t pull aside and take time to listen to God, you’ll not know the direction of the Holy Spirit. You’ll miss the great things God has for your life. The time for being cold is over. The time for being lukewarm is over. It’s time to rise up and become on fire and stay that way!

Purpose in your heart that you will not be lazy, that you will not draw back, hold back or sit down. But purpose in your heart that you will rise up and march forward and become on fire.

Gloria Copeland

We know the beginning and the end of God’s plan for earth. We have to learn the “how to” from the Spirit of God. We have to learn to walk in the spirit one step at a time, just like we learned to walk in the natural. When we spend time praying in the spirit, we give the Holy Spirit opportunity to pray the perfect will of God for our lives.

We may not have any idea what the perfect will of God is and therefore cannot pray effectively with our understanding. But the Holy Spirit knows exactly what to pray in order to get God’s will done in our lives.

And in like manner also the Spirit lends us a helping hand with reference to our weakness, for the particular thing that we should pray for according to what is necessary in the nature of the case, we do not know with an absolute knowledge (Romans 8:26, wuest).

The Holy Spirit gives us utterance that is founded on absolute knowledge. He goes right to the root of the problem.

And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God’s will (Romans 8:27, amp).

With our limited understanding of spiritual things, often we only know the result of something wrong in our lives. The best way to explain this is with an example: You might be asking God to heal your body.

You think sickness is the problem, when sometimes it is a result of something more serious. The Holy Spirit may be prompting you in your spirit, saying, You should forgive your sister-in-law. But you pay no
attention to that prompting because the sickness in your body is so important, and your sister-in-law is far down on your list of priorities.

The Holy Spirit is going to the root. He is endeavoring to stop the problem at the source of the trouble. If you receive healing but continue in that sin, then another problem will occur. Unforgiveness is sin. To God, the first priority is that we walk in love. To walk in love is God’s commandment to the Church.

The Holy Spirit will continue to lead you to forgive. If you determine to walk in the spirit and spend time praying in the spirit and seeking God’s will for your life, then you’ll pay attention to that leading. You’ll obey, not even realizing your own healing is contingent on your obedience. If you’ll go after God and His will, you’ll learn to make adjustments quickly and cause your will to agree with His.

Every day as you believe God for the healing of your body, you also pray in the Holy Spirit, giving Him place and control in your life. While you have been asking for healing, which is merely a side issue, He has been praying the perfect will of God through you in this matter—that you walk in love with your sister-in-law! With your cooperation, He overcomes your weakness. You hear His voice and obey it. You forgive. Now, you’re back in agreement with God. Sickness loses its foothold. You have victory, and the Holy Spirit has you!

Gloria Copeland

For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries (1 Corinthians 14:2).

A mystery is something we can’t know with our intellect something beyond our knowledge. Mysteries are in the realm described in Ephesians 3:20 a realm beyond what we can ask or think. The Bible says we know in part and prophesy in part. We are not nearly as smart as we think we are.

When you pray in the spirit, the Holy Spirit brings the mysteries of the Father into the earth. Praying in the spirit is not “praying in part,” but causing the Father’s perfect will to overwhelm the course of this earth. In this hour it is so critical we pray and intercede in the spirit, because God wants to do things in the earth we’ve never even thought of, much less asked for.

Let your spirit speak by the Holy Spirit to bring into this earth the magnificent era of God’s plan that He desires to manifest in these last days.

God doesn’t do anything in the earth unless man gives Him opportunity. If people don’t pray and ask God for answers, then nothing will happen. The Spirit of God doesn’t move in the natura realm unless people pray and use their authority in the earth. In Exodus 3:7-8 God said, “I…have heard their cry…and I am come down to deliver them.”

First Corinthians 2:6-7 says, “Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory.”

Now read verse 7 in The Amplified Bible: But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden [from the human understanding] and now revealed to us by God—[that wisdom] which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification [to lift us into the glory of His presence].

Verse 8 continues: “Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

God has a plan. He has always had a plan. He began working His plan before the foundation of the world, and has never deviated from it (Ephesians 1:4). He has a way to bring this earth back into fellowship with Him. The Bible says God knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation (2 Peter 2:9).

He has the way for the Church of Jesus Christ to rise up as the glorious Church without spot or wrinkle. He reveals His plan to us as we get in the spirit. There are some things we know about His plan (Ephesians 1-2), but often we lack knowledge of how to fulfill the day-to-day details. The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth and shows us things to come, but only by obeying Him one day at a time, can we accomplish His will in our lives.

The Holy Spirit reveals the wisdom of God to us the “hidden wisdom” which God ordained before the foundation of the world (1 Corinthians 2:7). When we the Church hear and obey that wisdom, it will remove the spots and wrinkles, so that this glorious Church will be holy and without blemish.

Gloria Copeland