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(Acts 3:11–16; John 3:22–33) We have two lives, carnal and spiritual. Our spirit seems to be buried in the flesh. When, having been revived by the grace of God, he begins to remove himself from co-dissolution with the flesh and appear in his spiritual purity, then he is resurrected or resurrects himself part by part. When he tears himself entirely out of this coherence, then he emerges as if from a grave in renewed life, and thus the spirit becomes alive and active in itself; and the coffin of the flesh itself is dead and inactive, although both are in one and the same person. And this is the mystery of what the apostle says: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:17). This is freedom from the corruption that surrounds our imperishable spirit or from passions that corrupt our nature. This spirit, having entered into the freedom of the children of God, is the same as an attractively colored moth fluttering out of its ball. Here is its rainbow coloring: “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23). Isn’t such beauty of perfection strong enough to arouse competition in us? You might be interested in: