The major hindrance to see God’s glory manifested in your life.
I’m greatly way down within my soul as I observed thousands and hundreds of thousands of Christian suffering greatly, going through never ending deserts, bearing sicknesses with no apparent relief and burdened by irrevocable curses. This suffering is caused me to intensely seek God’s face in order to find a solution to so many unanswerable questions.
For many years, God has raised me as a pioneer in a number of areas, spiritual warfare being one of them at the personal and territorial deliverance level. As I have invaded these terrains and stood against the powers of darkness, I realize that I need to comprehend God’s righteousness in a deeper way. The only force that destroys the power of the devil is righteousness manifested on the cross of Calvary, which is much greater than the simple justification by grace preached in most churches.
Through this study, God wants us to discover the wonderful treasures hidden in Jesus Christ, so as to enter the fullness of life found in the depths of the mystery of the cross alone. God wants us to understand iniquity as the great obstacle to possessing the riches of his glory. Our ignorance about iniquity binds us to curses from which we cannot escape.
In his word, God makes a specific distinction between sin and iniquity. The church is used to dealing with the topic of sin to some degree, but almost never touches the vast problem of iniquity. Most Christians are unaware of its existence, so they are unable to be freed from it. Nevertheless, iniquity is one of the most significant topics in the Bible. Ignorance, and a lack of understanding about iniquity result in the greatest source of failure, oppression, and defeat that gods people face.
What is iniquity?
Etymologically iniquity means twisted and distorted. It is, in fact, anything that turns away from God straighten perfect path. The origin of iniquity was found in the fall of Lucifer. It happened in the moment, this arch Angel, full of beauty and perfection, allowed a thought that was out of line with God and started to believe in something different and opposite to divine justice.
Now, just as faith is the substance of what is believed, that is, the power that activates the invisible world of heavens, this twisted thought derived by the arch angel produced a spiritual substance which was the origin of evil.
Ezekiel 28:15 – thou was perfect in thy ways from the day that thou was created, till iniquity was found in thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine evilness, by the iniquity of thy traffic.
The words iniquity and evil, are referenced numerous times in the Bible, and are fundamental to understanding the root of the vast majority of problems we suffer. Evil is the diabolical seed from which all wickedness originates. It is then transmitted to man in birth, impregnating his heart with thoughts and intentions opposed to righteousness, truth, love and everything God is. Iniquity is the sum of all twisted thoughts or the total of all that is evil in mankind.
Iniquity impregnates the soul of the human being at the moment of conception. In that very instance all of the spiritual data or the spiritual inheritance of evil is established in the person. Iniquity operates as a spiritual umbilical cord that transmits the spiritual DNA of evil from one generation to the next. This is how the twisted, sinful legacy of man is imprinted and passed on to his children. These children in turn will twist it further by their own sins, and thus pass it as a baton of influence and consequences to the subsequent generations.
Jeremiah 17:1 – the sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars.
Iniquity is what the Bible calls the body of sin. As we continue our study, we will see how iniquity has formed part of the body within man, affecting his behavior, the structure of his thoughts and even the health of his physical body. The body of sin originates in the spirit realm and invades the soul and body, like mud that soils everything it touches.
Iniquity is intrinsically tied to the spiritual world of darkness, and it is there the devil binds us with the curses from our ancestors. It is in this place the legal basis of sickness are rooted and transmitted from the parents to their children and from the children to their grandchildren. It is also here where Satan’s legal right is granted to Rob, to destroy and even to kill us. Our iniquity will constantly prevent us from receiving the fullness of the blessings of God.
This is the main door that the devil uses to affect a human being’s life, believer or unbeliever. It is through iniquity that the evil one permeates a man’s heart in order to inflict all kinds of perverse, sinful desires. This is called lust. The inheritance of evil has been transmitted, and it is going to corrupt the soul so that it will desire to do wrong. It becomes an irresistible force compelling good people to commit abominable sins. This is why sons of alcoholics, after reaching a certain age, have an uncontrollable desire to drink. Some of them may be sons of Christians or pastors whom, without any apparent reason, begin to develop these sinful inclinations. The reason is that iniquity has not been uprooted.
James 1:14 – but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust has conceived, it bring it forth sin: in sin, when it is finished, bringing forth death.
Not only does the devil interfere in man’s life through iniquity, but iniquity opposes divine justice by being a twisted form of it; therefore, a constant friction with God’s righteousness will occur. Part of the essence of righteousness is that it judges all that opposes it. The purpose of God’s judgments is to bring order to everything according to his will and his righteousness. Therefore, whenever paths in a person’s life are twisted, judgment will come as a continuous divine actions or trials, tribulations, deserts and others, so as to pull the person back to his divine order.
Exodus 20:5 – For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generations of them that hate me
Please note that God is not talking unbelievers, but to his own people. He is not visiting sin, but iniquity. Sin is just the fruit of iniquity. It is the superficial, visible part of something deeply rooted in the human being. Our sins are the branches of a large tree that grows stronger from generation to generation. Iniquity is the real root from which all evil inside us merges, and it is there that we must cut it away.
Most believers confess their sins to God, but have never asked him to blot out their iniquities. For this reason, they continue suffering the terrible consequences of financial curses, incurable family sicknesses, divorces, accidents, and tragedies that would never occur with the protection of an omnipotent God.
As I said before, the fruit is not the same as the root, nor is the origin the same as when something has been given birth. Jesus not only came to defeat sin in our lives, but also to destroy all the works of the devil. When Moses cried out to see his glory, the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: and the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third into the fourth generation. Exodus 34:6
A principle we must understand as a source of great release in our life, is that God does not deal with evil in a generic manner. He is extremely specific, and so we must respond to the kingdom of darkness. One of the tremendous tragedies I see in the body of Christ is how people feel satisfied with general and simple prayers. Something like: Lord, forgive all my sins or Lord forgive me for anything that I’ve done in the past or perhaps Lord, forgive me for all sexual sins. Although God hears the intention of our heart and forgives us as far as our eternal salvation is concerned, the legal bases in operation are unaffected with generic prayers
God wants us to examine our hearts, as well as to understand evil and its consequences in the same dimension he does. He does not want the devil to have something to use against us. Jesus died for our complete deliverance, and every part of the cross and his passion is related to the different areas where he paid the price for us, so that we might enter into a complete fulfillment in him. We did not receive forgiveness for our sins alone. The cross also represents a comprehensive work in which each part of our spirit, soul and body are redeemed.
Isaiah 53:4 – surely he had borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Yet it please the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the travail of the soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shell my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
In this passage of Isaiah, we see how his sacrifice on the cross touches several areas in which we must be set free and redeemed. A great part of the body of Christ restricts itself to receiving salvation from their sins, but live their lives overwhelmed with emotional and physical pain. They are trapped in prisons of the soul and the spirit, and above all, suffer the continuous burden of caring their iniquity.
Jesus did a complete work so that we may live a life of fullness in him. However, we will never see his total triumph in our lives if we do not understand how we have settled for less in our spirit, soul and physical being and how the Victory of the cross applies to each one of these areas.
God differentiates between iniquity and sin.
We clearly see that God differentiates between iniquity and sin in the ceremony of expiation described in the Old Testament, a type and shadow of what was to come for Jesus at Calvary:
Leviticus 16:21 – and Erin shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the go, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness.
Once again we see God specifically cleansing his people through a detailed confession of these 3 corrupt forms of the human condition.
Types of iniquity.
Voluntary iniquity.
This is the voluntary practice of evil and of someone fully cognizant and desirous to do evil.
Conscious iniquity.
This is the conscience evil in operation, which produces an inner struggle that leads to either falling into sin or practicing it. It is the root of all sins we have committed and which still tempts us.
On certain occasions the believer tries to fall God with all his heart, but there is a hindrance he is conscious about. However, he does not know how to fight against it. At the very best he may be able to suppress it, but he knows that it may become a problem in the future.
Unconscious iniquity.
There is some iniquity that comes from our past generations which is Latent in our spiritual inheritance, and is not easy to detect. This kind of iniquity is a time bomb that sooner or later may cause either a sudden downfall, or some sort of calamity. This is why we see God’s servants who began their ministry with a great love towards the Lord, and then unexpectedly become involved in unspeakable sins.
Unconscious iniquity can be the cause of many problems, illnesses or disasters in a person’s life. In some cases we attribute the problems to the devil’s attacks or to some inexplicable causes. In order to detect this kind of iniquity, it is important to analyze as far back as possible what kind of sins and situations that our ancestors were involved in. It is also recommendable to pay close attention to our dreams and see how the culture we were raised in is rooted in our life.
The human being is like a living machinery, extremely complex and wonderful at the same time. A study of the systems and organs of our body will be enough to realize the amazing and detailed work of God. Of the 3 parts comprising our being, spirit, soul and body, the easiest to understand is the body, for it is visible and tangible. However, it is taken hundreds of years for medical science to decipher and understand it, and even now, there still remain many unsolved mysteries.
Man must be understood as a whole, combining the 3 parts that comprise him. Ignoring one of his parts will lead us into a mistake. That is why science cannot put the body in the spirit together, for they are totally ignorant about it.
As we know, the body is comprised of innumerable components so as to function properly. Likewise, the soul and the spirit are extremely complex and visible bodies we must know and understand in order to receive the victory Jesus one for us. Millions of Christians have failed due to the limited knowledge they have concerning the 2 fundamental parts of man.
Some theologies teach that the soul is comprised of the mind, will and emotions. Others say that the spirit consists of communion, intuition and conscience. Both beliefs are so deep that most people ignore them so as to not make life difficult for themselves. Unfortunately, this choice keeps millions of people bound to deserts and tribulations from which they cannot escape.
Others more versed in the study of these areas, in an attempt to explain believer’s demonic oppression, have compared the triune man with the tabernacle Moses. They allude to the body as the outer court, the soul is the holy place and the spirit as the holy holies, were God’s presence dwelt in the ark of the covenant. Using this model, they explain how a Christian can be attacked or oppressed by demons in his body, and also how the spirits of sickness afflict the physical body.
They argue that the soul is the holy place, where Levites and priests entered. It is also assessable to demons such as fear, depression, wrath, etc., that are free to afflict it. They add that the spirit of man can only be possessed by God’s Holy Spirit or the devil, but there is no mixing. Once stamped in the spirit by the Holy Spirit, he is absolutely pure, and, from that point on, the problem lies only in the soul and body. Although I share this theology, I believe God is taking us to a deeper investigation of the places in the spirit not yet revealed in the latter centuries. If it was done, it was not spread en masse. Considering the spirit as a combination of 3 parts only, communion, intuition and conscience, it would be the same as teaching that the human body is only the head, trunk and extremities.
Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, mentions that there is a natural body and a spiritual body – first Corinthians 15:44. Both are made of a complexity of organs and systems connecting one another, and allowing one another to function in its own dimension.
The physical body in the material world, and the spiritual body in the spiritual arena, even though they are linked together. Understanding this point makes me differ from the belief that the spirit is pure because God dwells there. Let me cite a few texts from the Bible to support my belief:
2 Corinthians 7:1 – having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 and the very got a piece sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless onto the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
These verses contend that there is a spiritual contamination from which we must be cleansed, and God demands sanctification in all 3 parts of our being.
Without an exhaustive study of what the spirit is, which would take an entire book, let’s observe our spirits make up and some of its different parts:
B – parts of the spirit
Communion
This part of our spirit is united with God through the seed of his son implanted within us. This is the organ that determines of a spirit is alive or dead in relation to God.
This is one of the components in which God’s voice is clearly heard and when he manifests his glorious intimacy which allows us to feel we are one with the Holy Spirit. It is in this area that the Lordship of Jesus Christ is established, directing and reigning in our lives. This is also the place where the visions and revelations from the spirit of God come to us, and where the Lord manifests in visible form to the ones who love him and who have developed a life in the spirit.
Communion is a central part of the spiritual body, and is the holy of holies of our Temple. This place is possessed by the Prince of darkness, whenever someone has not come to Christ. This is what the word says regarding this topic:
Acts 26:18 – to open their eyes, and the turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Heaven and earth converge in the spirit of man becoming one in Jesus Christ and setting his kingdom in our midst. It is through communion that we can see and penetrate the spiritual world and the hidden treasures of God, where we can experience his glory and be transformed into his image.
The life of God is conceived in this region, beginning with the new birth and eventually a new creature. Regeneration starts here, and makes us alive by the spirit of resurrection.
Communion is connected to all other parts of our spirit, and functions as the governing place of our spiritual being, like the heart is the very marrow of the inner man. Communion is also the part that communicates man spirit with his soul, specifically with his heart which is the store of his emotions and character. The Bible says:
Proverbs 4:23 – keeping guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it. Springs of life.
Intuition
Although this word is not biblical, it is recognized by the dictionary and by some theologians as part of the spirit. Intuition represents the antenna connecting the natural world to the spiritual world. It makes us aware of a demonic presence, and angelic presence or a human spirit. It alerts us when we feel observed or followed for it is like a cosmic radar detecting the spiritual world around us, letting us know how things are with no logical explanation.
An example of this may be a strong feeling that we will receive a phone call providing us the answer we are waiting for. We can simply know a loved one far away is all right or, on the contrary, something is going wrong. In my experience organizing events for the ministry, I can sense formation of hindrances taking place in the spiritual realm trying to prevent the success of our planning. It is my spirit detecting what is happening in the invisible world and, as a result, I bow down on my knees and seek the Lord for an answer or directive.
Sometimes we know the results of an interview before it happens or, we detect someone has the intention of betraying us. Perhaps the words and actions of a person have the appearance of righteousness, but something in our spirit warns us about the danger. Through intuition, we receive revelation from God. Many prophetic words emanate from the ability of this part of our spirit to receive information about people. Gifts of the Holy Spirit such as words of knowledge, as well as prophecy are manifested from this part of our spirit.
Consciousness
This is the part of our spirit where the fear of God and the wisdom of God reside. It is the place where our being knows the difference between right and wrong without ever having read the Bible.
Romans 2:14 – for when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: which show the work it’ll all written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and her thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
Consciousness, just as communion and other parts of the spirit, are intimately tied to the heart of man. This is why, on several occasions, the reasoning of the heart differs from that of the mind when it has not been renewed and it is conformed to this world. This part of the spirit awakened when man ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. When man continually sins, that part of God connected to his conscience, called the fear of God, moves away from him. This causes the conscience to harden, becoming more insensitive to the will of God and ultimately producing thick veils that make their conscience to be seared.
1 Timothy 4:1 – now the spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
The mind of the Spirit
The mind of the spirit consists of various parts: understanding, spiritual intelligence and wisdom of God. The mind of the Spirit is where the knowledge of God rests. It is where we supernaturally received from him knowledge that is never been taught by anyone. This is the part of our spirit that receives the mind of Christ, and illuminates us to understand something we cannot understand before. This is the place where God reveals the great mysteries of science either to the righteous or the unjust. It is here were Paul prays for the eyes of their spiritual understanding to be open for us to understand the riches of his glory.
Ephesians 1:17 – that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your imagination being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us word who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he rotten Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.
In this Scripture we can see different parts of our spirit and soul. Paul is praying for them to be awakened and activated in us. We can see the knowledge of God penetrating our intuition, the eyes of our understanding bringing light to the mind of our spirit, and the area of our spiritual inheritance, which is the location of our spiritual genetics. We will discuss this later on. Another part of the spirit is the area of the power of God which receives the power of resurrection. It is in this part of the understanding where the light of God is established and where we may continue to grow in the light.
Spiritual senses
Our body comprises of different senses that allow us to be in contact with the material world in a variety of forms. Likewise our spirit has different senses to perceive the invisible world. These senses help us to detect the origin of the things we perceive, either if it is from God or the darkness. This is what we know as spiritual discernment.
Hebrews 5:14 – but strong meat belonged to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Next paragraph every human spirit has got eyes, ears, taste, touch and smell. Visions and ecstasies are observed through our spiritual eyes. The voice of God, angels or demons is heard to our spiritual ears. We can also experience taste, just as John did in the book of revelations, when he ate the little book he received from an angel which was sweet in his mouth and bitterness stomach.
Revelation 10:9 – and I went on to the angel, and sent on them, give me the little book. Any set on the me, take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly better, but it shall be and I’m all sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was better.
Spiritual touch is perhaps the most developed sense within us. It is the sensations of the Holy Spirit or the feeling of God embracing us. Many times during spiritual warfare, one can feel the spirit of death as coldness throughout their body even though the climate may be warm. Sometimes, a developed spirit will perceive spiritual fragrances, such as aromas coming from the presence of God, or the stench of unclean spirits. The senses of the spirit are connected to the senses of the soul, and complement one another.
The seat of power
Our spirit possesses an area where the power of God resides. It is through this part of our spirit that the gifts of miracles, healing and wonders of God are manifested. It is like the engine of the spirit. It is the place where Samson received his strength. the Same way this power came out of Moses’s hand and later staff to depart the Red Sea. This is how we become the extension of God’s hands.
As the prophet Habakkuk said:
Habakkuk 3:4 – and his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.
Or, as Paul said:
Ephesians 3:20 – now and to him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us
The apostles received the spirit of God when Jesus blew on them before his ascension. However, he told them:
Acts 1:8 – but you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses on the me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
This illustrates how the Holy Spirit can fill different areas of the spirit, activating them one by one, until arriving as spiritual fullness. That is why we observe believers in whom one part of their spirit is much more developed than others. Certain believers have developed a great intuition, or they move in the prophetic without any problems, but they are ineffective in the areas of power. The truth is that the gifts of the Spirit come through different parts of our being and develop in the corresponding area.
There is a principle that states: what is done in the natural realm is also done in the spiritual realm. Just as in our physical existence, we have natural gifts that are manifest in different areas of the soul and body, so it is with the spiritual body. Some people develop their mental gifts, in science, language and other professions. Many others are inclined towards the arts and sports; and, others develop a combination of them all.
Inheritance
Our material body stores genetic information in the chromosomes of the cell, which formed a cord called DNA, or all the data of our physical inheritance is kept. It is similar to a microchip in a computer, were all the information is stored.
DNA determines if we are born with features resembling our grandfathers eyes, mother’s eyes, hair color of our great-grandfather, or the height of our father. All this information is transmitted physically from generation to generation. When the cells of the embryo multiply within the mother’s womb, a body is created and designed according to this information.
This same model is found in the spiritual body: a spiritual tangible DNA, were all the information proceeding from generation to generation is recorded with the name of iniquity. God provided us with a redeemed inheritance, founded in the spirit of Christ, which must replace our cursed inheritance. Unfortunately, the church continues suffering the consequences derived from this terrible part of the spirit, because it is ignorant about it.
Look how God himself attributes the responsibility of man’s own evil to his spirit:
Malachi 2:16 – for the Lord, the God of Israel, say at that he hated putting away: for one cover the violence with his garment, saith the Lord of host: therefore take heed to your spirit, that you deal not treacherously.
Although this book does not pretend to make an exhaustive study in all the areas of the spirit, it is important to break them down, so that we may understand as much as possible, how this essential part of our being works.
I want to dedicate the following pages to the study of inheritance, so that we may obtain the wonderful freedom we have in Christ, and truly possess it.