By John Thiel, Godly Affections That Motivate Series, mp3

Scripture reading: 1 Peter 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 2 That he no longer should live the rest of [his] time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

What actually is this arousal of our affections, and how do we experience these affections when our human deranged nature is still active? If we want to overcome we have an example in Jesus who suffered in the flesh. And if we will, like Him, suffer in the flesh we will cease from sin. This is an amazing answer to our sin problem. I hope and pray that we will take this message, not just as an informative one, but as a message that will cause us to be determined to do what we are learning.

If we have been strongly affected by the love of God, how do we know that we have received conversion, that we have received a new heart?

When Jesus speaks of the new heart, He means the mind, the life, the whole being. To have a change of heart is to withdraw the affections from the world, and fasten them upon Christ. {AG 100.2}

Our new heart has to do with our affections. To have a new heart is to have the affections fastened upon Christ. Our affections have been stirred by the study of Jesus; He has illuminated us in reference to the truth, which is to set us free. How did He do it? Let us go through the process of gaining that new heart, so that we can then understand how to live with that affection-motivated life in a sinful body.

Lightening the Candle

How did Jesus stir my affections to cause me to give Him my heart?

Proverbs 20:27 The spirit of man [is] the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

This is interesting language. Your and my spirit, the human spirit, is the candle of the Lord that searches the inwards parts of our belly. The candle of the Lord is the spirit of man; so what does God do with regards to this spirit of man?

Psalm 18:28 For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

What is my candle? My spirit is the candle of the Lord. And the Lord will light my candle. He ignites it. But what is the process by which He does it?

Luke 11:34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when [thine eye] is evil, thy body also [is] full of darkness. 35 Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. 36 If thy whole body therefore [be] full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.

Jesus knew the Old Testament, and He knew that the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord that God ignites to illuminate the belly. It illuminates the whole being. This bright shining of a candle is illuminated by God through the light of the eye. What you look at, what you hear, what you feel – these are the nerve cells that communicate inwardly.

The brain nerves which communicate with the entire system are the only medium through which Heaven can communicate to man and affect his inmost life. {2T 347.2}

God gives us a new heart, the inmost life. How does He do it? Through the brain nerves. He sends messages for our spirit, our intelligent mind, to see it, to hear about it, to read it, to feel it in nature. And as we feel God, as we draw very close to Him and He draws very close to us, something sparks inside of us. It is God lighting the spirit of man from His light. And He stirs our affections by the things which we see and hear of Him.

What may these brain nerves pick up to light our candle? What is written regarding how this is done? The message of Jesus that is picked up by the brain nerves then penetrates into our inmost soul.

Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

Jesus said the light of the body is the eye. To the Galatians Apostle Paul was saying, Have you forgotten that Jesus was illuminated before your eyes, crucified among you? This has long puzzled me in the early years of my research. The Galatians never saw Jesus being crucified; they didn’t see Him hanging on the cross literally. They came into Christendom after all that. So Apostle Paul is here saying, “The truth was presented to you with such living force, with such an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, that the Spirit took of Jesus and showed it to you. Christ was crucified among you, set forth livingly. So your senses picked up the amazing story of Christ’s sacrifice.” And as the eye is the light of the body, Jesus was played before our mind’s eye, crucified, and it reaches the inmost parts of the body.

Jesus said that the light of the body is the eye, and if the eye is not single the whole body is dark. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t single at all times; we were in the darkness.

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

How did a new heart start with me? It was in listening to the message that illuminated my life. I listened to Jesus who is the light that shines in a dark place. The glory of the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ shines through our eyes, through our meditations. As we contemplate Jesus in this earthen vessel, we are enlightened. So the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord that He lights through the vision and the mental exercises of the brain nerves in contemplation of the realities of Jesus.

The moment the eye is turned from Jesus, darkness is seen, darkness is felt, {TMK 190.2}

Your eye must be single, as Jesus said. Don’t turn away from Jesus, because that is where your candle is lit up. But if you take your eyes off Jesus, darkness is seen and felt,

…for Jesus only is light and life and peace and assurance forever. “If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light” (Matthew 6:22). . . . What is it to have a single eye? It is to have a disposition to look upon Christ, for by beholding we become changed from glory to glory, from character to character. {Ibid.}

As we keep Christ in view, the bright rays of the Sun of Righteousness shine upon us and flood the chambers of the mind and heart and fill the soul temple with light. As the Light of the world shines upon us, we diffuse it to those around “as when the bright shining of a candle doth give . . . light.” {TMK 190.3}

When you have your affections stirred by beholding Jesus you become a missionary. And we have this candle burning inside of us, illuminating our earthen vessels from within. He enlightens the belly.

So by beholding Jesus, by having our eye single to Him, we are enlightened, not getting side-tracked and looking at other things from where we receive darkness. But as we have seen Jesus once and we love Him and our affections have been stirred, if we still have the memory of that but we’ve looked away and our affections have been darkened, we just look quickly to Jesus again and the affections are lit up again. The spirit of man is kindled by the beholding of Jesus. That is the only way the candle (the spirit of man) can be lit and remain alight. Don’t let your candle go out. There comes the story of the ten virgins. There is so much to think about here.

In the Belly

So it is a rightful understanding of ourselves that we will gain as our spirit is illuminated and lit by the Lord. But what does the belly comprehend? It says the candle of the Lord lightens up your belly. Does the Bible identify the meaning of this? We are here tracing the God-given avenues that we need to understand so that He can lighten our darkness. What is this belly that is to be lit up?

Proverbs 18:8 The words of a talebearer [are] as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.

Where do you feel grief? Where do you feel excitement? Where do you feel butterflies? It’s in the chest and the belly; especially when certain things really cause me to feel deeply about something – my whole belly trembles. I get this belly feeling. And this is what people say, isn’t it? “I’ve got a gut feeling.” This is what the Bible is talking about. The candle of the Lord is the spirit of man that lights the belly and gives you the understanding of what is going on inside of you. Our emotional feeling-components, when the real deep feelings strike, they go into the belly. The appetites, the passions, the lusts – where are they? In the belly.

Romans 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

What do these people who deceive do? They serve their belly. And that is not just what they eat and drink. This has to do with satisfying their passions, their lusts, to relieve the anxieties that are in their belly. This is why we are to be careful to avoid those who cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine. If you go along to hear false doctrine you will be affected, because these people affect the belly. They know how to reach the belly, how to reach your feelings and passions. You hear it in their sermons many times – they reach you by stories and anecdotes, instead of reaching your belly by the light that comes from God. This is so important for us to understand.

What will the light in the soul temple reveal? As the spirit of man, which is the candle of the Lord, is lit up, ignited by God, what will you feel and see inside of yourself, inside of your belly, where all the affections and the sinful passions dwell?

Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh, [in my belly]) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but [how] to perform that which is good I find not.

There is something inside of my flesh/my belly that needs to be illuminated, and Apostle Paul discovered it when Jesus came into his life. He said, Inside of my flesh I am seeing something; there is something that is pulsating through me that makes me do the opposite to what I’m really convicted of. That is the candle of the Lord illuminating the belly.

Our impulses and passions have their seat in the body, {COL 346.2}

What is an impulse? Something that triggers you and you go straight into action or you say something quickly without even thinking. When an impulse arises in me I feel it rising up from the flesh, from the belly. It is like an implosion. This is what the candle of the Lord, the spirit of man that God ignites, begins to help you see. These are the passions and impulses that the word of God illuminates. What are they? See whether you can connect with your belly these descriptive words:

Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like:

That is the flesh, the belly. And we feel it in the belly; we feel it in the torso. It arises from within, because the hormonal makeup that we have inherited stirs without our even thinking. These are the affections of the flesh. But we are trying to understand godly affections in sinful flesh. The light that lights the belly opens a field of experience that needs to be exercised in order for us to cease from sin. In the light of Jesus we will have the answer to this predicament. When our affections are stirred by Him, by what He has done for us and what it means to us, we see ourselves in a way that we have never seen, and then certain things happen inside of us; and when we have this affection that has been stirred by Jesus, what happens to the other affections that are illuminated in the belly?

The Christian will feel the promptings of sin, for the flesh lusteth against the Spirit; but the Spirit striveth against the flesh, keeping up a constant warfare. Here is where Christ’s help is needed. {SL 92.2}

Where is Christ’s help needed? When my flesh resists the Spirit and the Spirit illuminates and resists the flesh. So as the beauty of Christ’s sacrifice illuminates my spirit and shows me what is within my belly, it goes on, and it now shows me that I am to conquer the affections of the impulses and feelings of the flesh (adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, etc.), the things that are operating within our flesh. Where do our impulses and passions have their seat? How important to get this straight, because I hear false ministers telling me that your corrupt impulses and passions are in your mind. But the Spirit of inspiration tells us clearly that “our impulses and passions have their seat in the body.” We feel them pulsating through our flesh, our body, our belly. And this is where Christ’s help is needed.

With Jesus illuminating the battle that I am having, I am going to have my affections stirred to be willing to fight this battle, instead of just saying, “Well, it’s too bad; that’s me, I can’t overcome it anyway. I get these strong belly feelings and they just keep on ruining me. I’m never going to make it.” Look upon Jesus now, and let your mind be illuminated.

What do we see in the battle that we have to fight, where we need the help of Jesus? When the Spirit and the flesh are fighting, what do we do? Reflect in your own life what makes you fail. What makes us go astray? What makes us little monsters? What makes us lose our control? What is it? Why do we have this? Let us pay attention to the answers we are getting here, that we may be able to conquer this.

Suffering in the Flesh

1 Peter 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 2 That he no longer should live the rest of [his] time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

As I study this I see how important it is that I repeat this many times over our life expectancy before Jesus comes, so that we can actually get answers and not forget them when we have to fight. What is it that is going to give us the victory, that we may no longer live the rest of our time in the flesh to the lusts of men? If we will let the sufferings of Jesus illuminate us, if our spirit will pick up the further detail. I have been given a new heart, I love Jesus, He loves me, and we have a precious communion; but there is something else inside of me that needs Jesus more. I can’t just have Him once in a lifetime and think back on what a wonderful Saviour He is. I need Him every moment. I need answers from Him. I need to have my spirit illuminated by Him. And when I am struggling between the Spirit and the flesh, with the belly and its content, I can see answers from Jesus. If I am going to conquer I must look to Jesus who suffered in the flesh. What in reality is this suffering in the flesh?

Colossians 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection,

Here are the affections of the flesh, of the belly.

Colossians 3:5 …evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

The appetites and desires.

Colossians 3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

Now what are we to do with the things that are in the belly? We are to suffer as Christ suffered. What does it mean? Mortify those things which are naturally in the belly. As there is an impulse arising in the belly that you can feel (whether it has to do with appetites or passions, or whatever it is), if we will mortify those things we will see that this is where Jesus’ help is needed, because Jesus suffered in the flesh. What did He do? As He suffered the impulses and passions that arise in sinful flesh, what did He do? He suffered. He didn’t enjoy it; He mortified it. Is it something enjoyable to mortify something? It actually kills you. It is putting down something that comes up naturally in the flesh. It deals with the impulses. Instead of indulging the impulses that say, “I want you to enjoy this, I want you to scratch my belly,” they are not to be satisfied. It is to be mortified. We are to suffer in the flesh.

Romans 8:13 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.

So every time the body (the impulses and passions) wants to be cosseted and comforted, you mortify it. You know what it’s like, I can feel this anger arising and I’m going to release myself. How do we release ourselves with anger? We let the people have it. We express ourselves in frustrated ways. And now we feel better. The flesh wants to be released. What do you do? If you are going to deal with this problem the way God wants you to, you will look to Jesus who suffered in the flesh. What did He do?

Romans 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and as a sacrifice for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

He suffered in the flesh. He did not permit the human sinful flesh to be a pleasure. And the people who do not understand this, but who deceive others, are actually hanging on to their flesh, whether they know it or not. Pride is sinful flesh. They claim that they are God’s church, and they make themselves feel good, when really they are not preaching the pure truth of Jesus.

The lower passions have their seat in the body and work through it. The words “flesh” or “fleshly” or “carnal lusts” embrace the lower, corrupt nature; the flesh of itself cannot act contrary to the will of God. {AH 127.2}

Many people read that last clause, but they don’t really understand what is written here. It says that “the flesh of itself cannot act contrary to the will of God.” It will want you to act, but it can’t if you heed this:

We are commanded to crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts. How shall we do it? Shall we inflict pain on the body? {Ibid.}

This is what Martin Luther was doing. But he discovered something, I’m hitting my body, but it’s something else that has to be struck. Shall we inflict pain on the body?

No; but put to death the temptation to sin. {Ibid.}

So every time a temptation stirs through your belly (because we are tempted from the flesh, as well as from the devil and the world), what are you to do with the flesh? We are to suffer in the flesh; we are to mortify it. We are commanded to crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts. How will we do it? Not by inflicting pain on the body, but by putting to death the temptation.

The corrupt thought is to be expelled. {Ibid.}

Where does the thought come from?

There are thoughts and feelings suggested and aroused by Satan that annoy even the best of men; {2MCP 432.2}

How does Satan arouse them? Through what is in our belly/our flesh. That is temptation – thoughts and feelings. What are we to do as these thoughts and feelings are aroused? Put them to death. The corrupt thought is to be expelled. So as you are under a high pressure to let go of your temper, to let go of your feelings that are being stirred, as you are under that temptation, you are to expel that thought or that feeling.

Every thought is to be brought into captivity to Jesus Christ. All animal propensities are to be subjected to the higher powers of the soul. The love of God must reign supreme; {AH 127.2}

The godly affections to Him are to reign supreme. He is to be the supreme object of our affections.

Christ must occupy an undivided throne. Our bodies are to be regarded as His purchased possession. The members of the body are to become the instruments of righteousness. {Ibid.}

So when our affections are bound up with Jesus we will understand, because the light has illuminated my belly, and I now understand that it is the affections of my flesh that cause me to fall into sin, and I have to look to Jesus in this battle to overcome as He overcame.

The body is the only medium through which the mind and the soul are developed for the upbuilding of character. Hence it is that the adversary of souls directs his temptations to the enfeebling and degrading of the physical powers. His success here means the surrender to evil of the whole being. {MH 130.1}

If my flesh is weakened and I haven’t any stamina to conquer it, what hope do I have?

The tendencies of our physical nature, unless under the dominion of a higher power, will surely work ruin and death. {Ibid.}

The body is to be brought into subjection. {MH 130.2}

Does the body scream? Does the body cry out, “I want attention!”? Yes, that is a suffering. But the body is to be brought into subjection.

The higher powers of the being are to rule. The passions are to be controlled by the will, which is itself to be under the control of God. The kingly power of reason, sanctified by divine grace, is to bear sway in our lives. {MH 130.2}

If we will overcome sin we will suffer in the flesh. Oh but the flesh cries out and says, “But it’s not fair! Why do I have to suffer like this?” Because Jesus suffered for me, so that I can overcome sin. I can’t blame anyone else for my loss of control, for my behaviour. I can’t. The flesh of itself can’t do anything. It’s me choosing to indulge it. But it comes with great force, and we have to suffer in the flesh if we will resist it.

Christ . . . took man’s human nature upon Him that He might come right down to man in the temptation wherewith man is beset. The pitiful Redeemer knows just how to help us in every one of our strivings. {HP 263.6}

In each of our strivings He will know how to help us, as we study Him and as we look to Him.

Christ’s Sufferings

We want to look to Jesus so that our affections will stir us to conquer and be willing to suffer. We need to comprehend Christ’s sufferings in every respect. We have to look upon Him, not only knowing that He died on the cross for us and what He went through as He lived on this earth.

Hebrews 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto [his] brethren,

Why? Why should He be made in all things like unto us?

Hebrews 2:17 …that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things [pertaining] to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

Deep inside I need succor. When my belly stirs within I need the picture of Jesus that ignites me to conquer. Apostle Paul comprehended this suffering and he loved what he was learning. This is what he was all about – getting those precious answers from Jesus.

Philippians 3:4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: 5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, [of] the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

Can you imagine what is going on? He was there against the Christians, and his belly was filled with anger against them because he was so full of himself. And he felt justified in going to slay them. According to the flesh he had plenty to be proud of; but what happened when he met Jesus?

Philippians 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

They were gain to me, but I gave them up; I suffered.

Philippians 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things [but] loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them [but] dung, that I may win Christ, 9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Not faith in Christ, but the faith of Christ. I look to Him and I see Him suffering in the flesh, and it wins me.

Philippians 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

Here is our exercise, our concentration upon Jesus. So whatever happens to me I will be conformable to His death; I will suffer; and I will not look for anything that could alleviate my suffering in the flesh. I am seeking to practise this many times through the weeks myself. Something annoys me, something arouses me, and I feel justified, “Why did this person say such and such a thing?? Why did this person do such and such a thing, when I don’t like it?? Why do I have to give up all the time??” Yes, die to self. Die to self all the time. And I will cease from sinning. This is the mind activity that will give us power to conquer; because I will see Jesus who suffered and was crucified for all that He did to conquer His flesh, my flesh which He inherited.

Do you love suffering? Do you like that? or do you squeal when your flesh rises up? Do you squeal to release yourself? Do you let go and then think, Ah, now I feel better? This is why as we will look to Jesus we will not do this anymore. When someone treads on my psychological corns I will not squeal; I will be calm, quiet. We have to learn this by looking to Jesus.

Suffering in Silence

The world will never know the work secretly going on between the soul and God, nor the inward bitterness of spirit, the self-loathing, and the constant efforts to control self; {GW 323.1}

The world will never know what’s going on inside of you. But you want them to know, don’t you? As the story goes from those Jungle Doctor’s lessons, there is Boohoo and he’s really suffering; and he was moaning and carrying on. Then the elephant says to him, Oh, Boohoo, can’t you suffer in silence? And he answers, Yeah, alright, as long as everybody else knows that I’m suffering in silence. Isn’t that a true story? We want other people to know that I’m suffering, instead of doing it quietly. And nobody knows – the world will never know the work secretly going on between the soul and God,

…but many of the world will be able to appreciate the result of these efforts. {Ibid.}

Oh yes, when we become like Jesus, they will appreciate that; because they will be nasty and horrible but you are kind and courteous to them. This is what Jesus came to show, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. What a beautiful spirit. Can we say that under every circumstance?

The highest evidence of nobility in a Christian is self-control. We should copy the example of Jesus, for when He was reviled, He reviled not again, but “committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.” Our Redeemer met insult and mockery with uncomplaining silence. {TMK 139.2}

This is why we have to study Him, because He didn’t complain, so we have to study what is actually going on inside of Him. You can read it in the Psalms (Ch. 22, 40 and 69) and the Proverbs, and in the prophecies.

All the cruel taunts of the murderous throng who exulted in His humiliation and trial in the judgment hall could not bring from Him one look or word of resentment or impatience. {Ibid.}

Not even a look.

He was the Majesty of heaven, and in His pure breast there dwelt no room for the spirit of retaliation, but only for pity and love. {Ibid.}

This is the affection that is godly. Although the belly wants to stir there is self-control.

Do not give the lie to your profession of faith by impatience, fretfulness, and repining. Let the graces of the Spirit be manifested in kindness, meekness, forbearance, cheerfulness, and love. {TMK 167.2}

You have to suffer in the flesh to be cheerful when you feel like bursting out, don’t you? Jesus did all that. He was suffering in the flesh. And as I am looking at Jesus I see things that tell me that what is rising up in my belly is corruption – I loathe myself – and I learn that He had exactly the same struggles that I have. We realise, He had the same, and look how He suffered; and I will suffer willingly with Him. This is the answer. If we will suffer in the flesh we will cease from sin.

With your human spirit illuminated like that, with the love of God pulsating inside of me and my affections drawn out to Him even more because I see Him suffering just like me, the inward battles that we have go through are relished. We say, Bring it on. I look to Jesus and I say, That’s good, I am going through Christ’s experience. So, like Apostle Paul, we say, I want to know Him, to enjoy this, because I am going to conquer against sin. And because we will enjoy the glorious intimacy of the love in Jesus becoming one with us in the atonement, battling with us as He did, we will enter into the intimacy of the affectionate bonding that exists in the Godhead. We can rejoice together in the suffering.

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Those words do not mean much to us, but it meant lots to the Greeks. What is Abba? It means, Daddy. We cry to God, You’re my Dad! The loving Father, Abba, Daddy.

Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified together.

Thank God for the suffering that Jesus came to show us. And however much it may hurt, if it kills me even, that’s fine! The passions of the flesh want to strive. But we have this beautiful answer here, and this is where we need help from Christ. “The Christian will feel the promptings of sin, for the flesh lusteth against the Spirit; but the Spirit striveth against the flesh, keeping up a constant warfare. Here is where Christ’s help is needed.” Praise God, if we will keep our eyes fastened upon Him, we will confess our sins, and we will recognise that we don’t have to satisfy our belly anymore. May this be our experience.

Amen.