The Chastening of the Lord

The scripture instructs the church to reckon ourselves as dead to sin. However, to say such a thing to the sons of God, without instruction in the knowledge of Christ and the establishing of the boundaries of the faith, is unfruitful. Therefore, it is necessary for the Father to chasten (train) and scourge (discipline) all who are born into the family of God.

Hebrews 12:5-10

5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

Chastening is designed to destroy the influence of temptation in the flesh; so that it will have no authority in our walk. Therefore, we can conclude that chastening is intended to be restrictive and if necessary very abrasive to the flesh. It’s not going to feel good to the flesh. Our children will never say that spankings feel good. When God has to correct or train us to walk in the Spirit, His objective is to get us to walk in this world without lust of the flesh being an issue. To be born again is to be birthed a new creature. We are spiritual beings who have become partakers of the divine nature of our Father. We are no longer natural men and women; we are in this world but not of the world. God is our Father and He is a Spirit; therefore it stands to reason that His children would be spiritual beings as well. However, we have allowed ourselves to be deceived regarding sin. Because the new creature resides in a fleshy body, we concluded sin was inevitable. But this body is going back to the dust one day. The spirit (soul) will remain alive to give an account as to the things it did in the body.

As new creatures, we are supposed to be dead to the flesh and give control of this flesh to Jesus. He resides in this flesh which is the temple of the Holy Ghost. In the past we have placed a lot of blame for sin on the flesh. But the flesh is not to blame. The new creature (the spirit or soul which was placed in the Holy Ghost at salvation), allows the flesh to think the way it thinks. He, the new creature, initiates the pursuit for the things of this world. He is not held in captivity; so he has the power of choice to execute righteousness or unrighteousness. Our soul (which is the spirit of the mind), has the power to give control of the body to the Holy Ghost or choose to defy the laws of God. It can tell the brain what to think, and it tells the brain what to think. It is our thinking that genders emotions. So when we think outside the boundaries of the faith, we create an emotion that is forbidden. So what is God saying to us in the scriptures above? The Lord is saying chastisement is designed to teach us as spiritual beings how to walk in this hostile environment without sin, or without sin being a temptation. The bottom line: when we walk in the Spirit, sin is not an issue. It is necessary to insert here that the gospel of salvation is ministered to us from the position of the Spirit. It is written to the church, which is a spiritual body. It is not written to people who are trying to be spiritual; but to those who were made spiritual by the workmanship of our Heavenly Father. Therefore, it is a mis-conception to believe that the chastening of the Lord is a device put in place strictly for the punishment of sin. But in the passages below, we see more clearly as to how the Father intends to chasten or train the sons.

2 Timothy 3:14-17

14. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

15. And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

It is clear that God will use scripture to instruct, correct and reprove. In the next chapters we will go into more detail as to the nature of His instruction, but for now it suffices to know that. Chastisement produces a manifestation of the spiritual, mental and physical revelation of sin. It is an identification of those things that are not of the truth. It is also a revelation of the consequences of residing outside the boundaries of the faith. When all these facts are accomplished in the heart of the believer, then and only then will the Father have a manifested son of God.