There is nothing but evil in the body of sin that dwells in us. There is some good in our adamic personality, but then there is the horrible problem of self-will.

The Christian salvation, unlike all other religions and philosophies, does not attempt to reform our adamic personality. The Christian salvation assigns our entire adamic personality (our old man) to the cross with Christ. Our old personality is not salvageable.

The adamic personality cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. (I Corinthians 15:50)

The Christian redemption assigns the old man (the entire old man, the good and the bad of it) to the cross with Christ. Then the Divine redemption, the new covenant, gives birth to a new man, a new inner nature, and immediately lifts the new nature to the right hand of God.

The new nature is the Seed of God and cannot sin.

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. (I John 3:9)

The adamic nature must accept its death and, while waiting for the inner nature to gain strength, must seek to obey the teachings of the Apostles. One cannot enter the Kingdom of God unless the old man is faithful in accepting its death and in striving to obey the commandments of the Apostles.

But the new covenant, the Kingdom of God, is not found in the reformation of the old personality. The Kingdom of God is Christ Himself who is formed in the believer. Christ, the Day Star, rises in the heart. However, Christ can be formed in us only as we (sometimes, as in a new believer, the "we" consists mostly of the first, adamic personality) obey the Apostles, faithfully waiting on the Lord in every area of life.

The only way we can escape slavery to sin is by assigning our first personality—the good and the bad of it—to the cross with Christ.

Spiritual deliverance is available to the Body of Christ in our day. People can be delivered from murder, hatred, lust, covetousness, jealousy, drunkenness, and every other demonic chain.

However, if the individual is not faithfully following Christ in death and resurrection, the deliverance may prove to be partial and temporary.

Spiritual deliverance, if it is to be an eternal judgment on Satan and a permanent deliverance for us, must be accompanied by the forming of Christ in us. The correct procedure is for the growth of Christ to expose an area of sin. After the unclean spirit has been cast out, Christ is to grow into that area and secure it from further encroachments by the enemy.

If deliverance is practiced as a quick, easy solution to moral bondage, apart from an accompanying growth of Christ, the deliverance will likely be partial, as we have said, and not permanent. God's goal is not the deliverance of human beings, it is sons in His image who are abiding in Christ.

To be continued.