The spirit of the believer reaches out to God in prayer on many occasions, seeking to gain assistance in coping with the difficulty of living on the earth. Life in this world is not always pleasant. Our never-ending tribulations cause us to turn to God for mercy and for grace to help in our hour of need.

The first man has a natural, animal body. The second man has a body constructed on his original flesh and bones but now filled with eternal, incorruptible resurrection life, plus the capabilities necessary for the role and tasks of the particular individual.

The first man has a natural mind. The second man has the ability to reason, but his thinking originates in the mind of Christ. His judgments are based on what God is speaking to him rather than on his own ability to analyze and judge.

The first man has a natural soul. The second man is the temple of the Father and the Son.

The unsaved man has a spirit that is not part of God's Spirit. When he is forgiven, on the basis of the blood of the Lamb of God, his spirit becomes part of God's Spirit. He who is joined to the Lord is one Spirit with Him.

We can see at once that church activities and other religious work that are directed toward the forgiving and reforming of the first man, while they have value at the beginning of salvation, are not part of the eternal purpose of God. They are a temporary scaffolding erected so the true building can be constructed. When the building is finished the scaffolding will be removed. It is needed no longer.

This does not mean the scaffolding is not necessary or that it should be constructed carelessly. The scaffolding is necessary and is to be constructed with care. It is necessary that the first man be forgiven and that he be brought under the discipline of the Lord. If he is not forgiven or—as often is the case today—is not brought under the discipline of the Lord, the true building cannot be constructed.

If the adamic man does not have integrity, if he does not, with the help of the Spirit of God, obey the commandments of the Lord and His Apostles, the believer cannot make a success of the transition from the soulish man to the life-giving spirit.

We must be careful, however, not to confuse the temporary with the eternal. The Kingdom of God begins as the seed of a new man born in us. The heavenly seed will grow, if taken care of properly, until the second man has come to maturity.

The saints who participate in the first resurrection are a firstfruits (James 1:18; Revelation 14:4) of God's elect. As we understand it, the firstfruits will assist the remainder of the elect until all have successfully made the transition from the first man to the second man. It may be true also that as the members of the Church, the Bride of the Lamb, minister to the nations of the saved, that the nations also will become part of the process of change from the first man to the second man.

To be continued.