The Rise and Fall of Self: (The Problem with Us Is Us)

Copyright © 2006 by William J. Landon

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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers unless otherwise noted.

Cover art—Martha Buchholtz, Untitled, Oil on Canvas

ISBN-13: 978-0-595-38151-7 (pbk)

ISBN-13: 978-0-595-82519-6 (ebk)

ISBN-10: 0-595-38151-0 (pbk)

ISBN-10: 0-595-82519-2 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

This book is lovingly and gratefully dedicated to Arthur Licursi. A man the Father has allowed me to walk with through many challenging and confusing times. He has taught me much about the importance of fellowship and family. I praise God that I can call him brother.

Contents

Introduction

1 The Origin of Self

2 The Nature of Self

3 The Function of Self

4 The Self, Master of Disguise

5 The Rule of Self

6 Religion, The Temple of Self

7 The Law and the Self

8 The Self and Control

9 The Self and the World

10 Christ as a Self

11 The Self and Christ

12 The Self and Life

13 Dying to Self

14 Reconciled with God

15 Epilogue

Afterword

APPENDIX Bible Verses Used by Chapter

About the Author

Endnotes

Introduction  

Christian Life

I doubt if there is anyone who has spent any time at all in the Christian faith who has not sensed and experienced struggles in this life. Indeed, the Bible notes that the presence of trouble in our life is an unconditional promise of the Lord: I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33) This is striking because unconditional promises such as this are rare in Scripture. I suspect that there are fewer than half a dozen of these blanket statements in all of the Old and New Testaments. Such statements as these are really not promises at all but are statements of fact from God. These truths require no action on our part for their fulfilment—they are simply the reality of life in this world. If we are honest with ourselves we must admit that one common aspect of Christianity is that it involves struggles. In reality, struggle at one level of intensity or another is a near constant companion of both the Christian and the non-Christian alike. No one has a life without trial. I single out Christians in this opening discussion because some groups in Christianity maintain that trouble-free living is possible or even expected for believers. This is a misguided understanding known as prosperity theology. The Christian life is not an idyllic, carefree romp through this world. Though many Christians try to project this image of a trouble-free life, it is really only a facade at best and at worst a deep deception.

Many Christians feel the need to project such a facade because of a mistaken view of the nature of the Christian life. We are taught in much of organized religion that accepting Christ is supposed to open a door to trouble-free living where all our problems are solved to our liking and material prosperity flows into our lives. Given this misconception it is understandable that many Christians feel the need to project the image of a perfect life. This need is fostered by organized religions that state outright or imply that if we are not living large as Christians it is because we are doing something wrong. It is incorrectly felt by many that the admission of struggles is an admission of failure as a Christian. Indeed, many non-Christians hold to a similar view. Namely, that an admission of struggle is an admission of failure in living.

The fact that we struggle in the Christian life is not an indication of our failure. We struggle as Christians because of the nature of our situation. Christians are, to some extent, out of place in this world. We are called to be aliens and strangers in this world: Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. (1 Peter 2:11) In this we share in Abraham’s calling to follow God and live as strangers in a strange land. Ours is a fallen world ruled by our Father’s enemy Satan (see Luke 4:5–7). This rule by Satan occurs for a season by the Father’s design and consent. It should be no surprise to any of us, therefore, that we have struggles in this life. This is why everyone, Christian and non-Christian, both experience hardships. Satan is the enemy of all humanity.

Few are they in the family of God who ever come to the understanding that our identity as Christians comes not from what we do, what we have or even from what happens to us. Many people can easily agree that superficialities such as what we own do not define us. It may seem strange, however, for me to make the assertion that the events we experience do not define us. To be most correct I should say that these experiences do not define us directly. Our worldview and character are, in part, developed by how we respond to the things that happen to us. So the definition of us as individuals as pertains to experiences comes from how we choose to respond to the events in our life and not directly from the events themselves. These choices are deeply impacted by the life we have operating in us as well as the degree of our surrender to that life. One key teaching in the Christian life that has been nearly lost is the understanding of the true source of our identity. We are the children of God. We are the children of God because of what the Father has put into us and not because of any of the external aspects of our lives. These external things are no more than incidental to our true identity.

We are the children of God because we carry the life of God within us through Christ’s indwelling of our human spirit. I can only make this statement about born again believers. The Bible tells us plainly that only people who have accepted Christ have the life of God and can, therefore, be correctly called the children of God: He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son does not have life. (1 John 5:12) The true identity of every person on this earth whether Christian or not is an internal affair. Likewise, many of the struggles we encounter in this life are also primarily internal affairs.

The Nature of the Struggle

In truth, entering the Christian life is an entry into a series of struggles. In this regard the Christian life is no different from any other life path we may try. Where the difference lies in Christianity from other life choices is in the nature of the struggle. The difficulty that each child of God must confront is not what most Christians would imagine it to be. Our struggle is not with the physical world directly. We know this from the Scriptures: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12) What most Christians would find surprising is that our struggle is not even primarily with Satan or demons. No, our most fundamental and long-standing struggles are with our self.

In the sixth chapter of the letter to the Ephesians, Paul provides a delineation of the foes arrayed against us as we follow the Christian walk. This struggle is not what most people think it is or what the organized church often teaches that it is. The institutional church spends much time warning people against the dangers of physical pleasure and temptation. The reality of our situation is not in this area however. Many problems and struggles we endure are spiritual and not physical. It is only the physical manifestation of these struggles that we see in the world. For this reason, if we seek to improve the physical aspects of our lives without dealing with the internal issues of self and life we are treating the symptoms and not the disease.

Certainly the world provides a wealth of temptations, bad examples and negative circumstances. The evil one is also an ever-present force for trouble. Satan is always ready to tempt, to lie and to contest with Christ for the leading of our minds and emotions. In the end, however, we (as an independent self) are our own foremost and most consistent opponent. After all else is said, where we win or loose in our life struggle is in the area of our self-expression.

Both the world and the evil one are agencies for harm. Nonetheless, to have any effect on our inner person they must have some entrance into our lives. We can see through the life of Jesus that it is possible to withstand the temptations of the devil and the world. A most enduring lesson from the life of Jesus is that it is possible to overcome the world. We all have examples of this overcoming that are closer to our personal experience than Jesus. I am sure we all have known someone who seemed to be able to go through the most horrendous experiences and not be defeated by them. These are the people who have had crushing losses, painful injuries, debilitating illnesses or other disappointments. Through it all these people have not become hard or bitter but have maintained a hope and optimism about their life. What allows a person to do this? Overcoming the world includes not only rising above this physical existence but also being victorious over the prince of this world. There is probably no greater example of this overcoming in the recorded history of humanity than Jesus.

Unfortunately we usually see Jesus’ victory as one more reminder of our failures rather than the positive example it should be. This is yet another example of the harm done to us by seeing our identity and worth as defined by what we do rather than by the life that is in us. Jesus is the reminder that the forces for evil need not be victorious in our lives. Sadly, we assume that we can only achieve this victory by greater and greater effort in our own strength. If we look carefully at the story in Scripture we will see that Jesus shows us it is not personal effort that brings victory but surrender to the life of God operating as our life.

Not I but Christ

Jesus succeeded because He was totally given over to the Father’s working in and through Him. This was not first a victory over the world or even over the evil one. The victory we see in Jesus’ life was primarily a victory over the independently minded self: So Jesus said, When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on My own but speak just what the Father has taught Me." (John 8:28)

In the life of Jesus there was no room for anything except the words, works and will of the Father. Jesus never had His own ministry, His own work or His own reputation: Jesus answered, My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me." (John 7:16) For Jesus, the only everything was the Father: all the time, everywhere and in everything. Such a life of complete surrender can only come from a life that has died to the self. Dying to self is not necessarily some huge sacrifice of wealth, position or circumstance. The death or denial of self is definitely not about giving up our individual personality. This largely misunderstood act of self-denial is first and most importantly a change in attitude about our life. We die to self when we stop being slaved to our personal (that is to say self-centered) wants. We can only hope for such a life when we come to the place of knowing Christ as everything and in everything.

The all-inclusive nature and position of Christ is the only possible true fulfillment and proper standing of a being that is described as all in all (see Colossians 3:11). When we speak of one who is all this leaves no room for anything else. We speak of the all-encompassing nature of God and Christ but we find it difficult to live this out in our lives. The self tries all manner of tactics to gain some inclusion with Christ. We look for ministries and works and callings. Ironically, often the more we try to work for Christ the more slaved to our self we become. We seek God’s using of our life for His work but what is our true motivation?

All too often the motivation of our works and the desire to do God’s work is the glorification or recognition of the self. We desire to do God’s work, yes, but we also look for the gain of position or reputation for ourselves. I speak this to all but primarily I speak this to myself. There is no one anywhere who desired to be somebody more than I have. As much as the raw truth of this repulses me, I desired it nonetheless. I wait patiently for the Father to deal with me in this area and praise God He has and is.

Free Will

It is not against flesh and blood that we struggle: Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? (Micah 6:7b) We struggle against non-physical (spiritual) forces. Due to the spiritual nature of our struggle, we need to look to the non-physical components of our makeup to understand this issue. Christians need not take time to examine their spirits because Christ already indwells the spirits of the born again and therefore in spirit we are perfect (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). The children of God cannot possibly get into any trouble from their spirits. It is my belief that even the unsaved are not misled by their incomplete human spirit. The incomplete nature of the unredeemed human spirit only limits the amount and type of help for living that can come from this (spiritual) part of our makeup. I find no scriptural evidence that Satan is ever allowed to infest our human spirit. Prior to salvation the human spirit is incomplete—not corrupt. This leaves only our bodies and souls as the possible players in the corruption of human living.

The struggle of the Christian centers on our dealing with our free will. In truth, this is the center of the struggle facing every human being on the face of this earth. As a result of our having a free will we can choose between courses of action. These choices are most fundamentally the options we exercise between good and evil. It is the free will that Paul speaks of in Ephesians in the word powers (…the powers of this dark world…). The Greek word translated powers is the word exousia {ex-oo-see’-ah} which means: 1) power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases, 1a) leave or permission, 2) physical and mental power, 2a) the ability or strength with which one is endued, which he either possesses or exercises…¹ These are not some distant, dark forces that we battle. Rather, they are forces that are first and most basically from within each of us.

Paul’s description of this problem is in keeping with Jesus’ teaching on the self: Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’ (Mark 8:34) The word translated deny is aparneomai [ap-ar-neh’-om-ahee] and refers to: 1) to deny, 1a) to affirm that one has no acquaintance or connection with someone, 1b) to forget one’s self, lose sight of one’s self and one’s own interests.² Again, this is not a call for the destruction of us as unique individuals. What we are challenged with is to trust our well-being and the course of our life to God.

Each human being carries an independent will, and this makes each of us is a free moral agent. This applies to both Christians and non-Christians. If any person is to exercise their free will to choose the good (God) they must be open to His help in making that choice. The will is amoral. Our will selects between options but it must be guided. This guidance is always available but we must choose to accept or reject it. The guidance from both good (God) and evil (Satan) is always present but we must choose which of them we will follow.

Physical or Spiritual

What the Father seeks to create in His children is a proper view of reality so we may exercise our free will to choose Him. The two views we may have of our world and lives are either physically/psychologically based or spiritually based. This issue of our point of view is foundational to how we see our choices. When we view things physically or selfishly, we choose to advantage our selves. The only way we can let God grow us to be other centered is by letting the Father move us to a Christ-centered view or orientation of life.

When our basis of seeing things is spiritual as a result of our surrender to the influence of Christ’s life operating in our human spirit we begin to allow our spirit to gain ascendancy over our soul. This is the path that leads to the eventual death to self. It is by repeated practice and persisting in the Father’s training that we move more and more into being spirit-directed rather than flesh-directed. It is as Paul says: The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; (Romans 8:6)

Two Key Understandings

There are two key truths or realities that are needed to begin unraveling the problem of finding our proper place in the creation. I hope to expand on these truths as we go through this book. For now let me merely state these two points of truth as simple facts. I understand that no one should consider for an instant accepting these ideas without proof and without seeking to confirm or deny the correctness of my position. The truth and our lives are too precious for anyone to blindly accept any understanding about them without careful scrutiny.

The first truth is the fact that, as human beings, we are made up of three major component parts—a body, a soul and a spirit. If you have read any of my other works you will know that I go through this truth in some detail in each of them. As I have noted before, I feel the need to do this because this is a foundational understanding needed to make any sense out of any other aspect of our living. I have come to the understanding that this three-part makeup of people is shown in the Bible and is a key element of God’s design for His creation. This truth is important to this discussion because we need to have a correct appreciation of where our personality resides and the functions contained in it if we are to gain a deeper understanding of self. It is also important to this discussion of self to understand how our personality relates to the other parts of our being.

The second truth is that we have two possible manifestations of our personality or self. Throughout this book I will use two references for these possible expressions of our personalities: the independent self and the individual self. The independent self is the representation of our personality when we choose to live independently from God’s influence and authority. The individual self is our personality that comes from living as the person God intends us to be. This is to say, when we operate as people being directed by the life of God in our human spirit. The Father created us to be unique individuals who are also His dependent children. When we choose to submit to this plan of the Lord for our lives we are living as individual selves.

What’s Wrong With Self?

Through all of this, we may be tempted to ask: What is it that God finds so offensive about the self? At first glance it appears that God has set us up to fail. First the Lord creates us as unique individuals (a self) and then He says that the self must go. What’s the story here? This is a common misunderstanding associated with this issue. This error in perception persists both inside and outside Christianity. In reality, it is not the self that the Father has an issue with. The problem comes in with the use we put our self-hood to.

The answer to the question about the problem with self is easy. There is nothing wrong with the individual self. There is, however, a great deal wrong with the independent self. God created us as individual selves. That is, beings with bodies, souls (personalities) and spirits. This was God’s intent and He saw (and sees) this as being very good: God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31) Remember, on days one through five during the creation God declared His creation good. It is only after the day when humanity is created, the sixth day, when the Father pronounces the creation very good. We must understand that in our original creation we are perfectly suited for the Father’s plan. God has never created anything that was substandard or defective.

Where humanity went wrong was in choosing to try to live independently from God. This is the self that has to die. The independent self is more correctly seen as an attribute of the self than what constitutes being a true self. The independent self is a mutilated version of the self that has no permanent place in the Father’s design for His creation. Throughout this work the reader should realize that when self is spoken of as an entity displeasing to God that it is the independent self that is referred to. The struggle within our self is the struggle with the Father over who will be the god of our life. The part of the self that wants to be god is the part of the self that must die. By referring to the death of the independent self I am not calling for our annihilation as individuals. I am talking about the end of the influence of the part of us that wants to be the god of its own life. Please keep this in mind as we go through this work—we are always to be individuals. This pleases God and is a central part of His plan for the creation. This is an issue of control, not one of individual identity.

The Death to Self

The issue of overcoming the self is one that brings a fair degree of discomfort to most people in Christianity. Nonetheless, our discomfort as Christians with this issue is nothing to the reaction of non-Christians. This subject is a huge stumbling block to those who contemplate accepting Christ. Most of this aversion stems from misunderstanding what God is asking of us and a misunderstanding of what the true natures of self and