The higher life is walking in the spirit, walking with God and walking in victory and power. It is walking and being ruled by our new reborn nature, filled with the Holy Ghost, even though we are still living in a natural body.

In Luke 18 Jesus tried to get the rich young ruler to follow Him into a higher life, but the man was unable to do it. Now Jesus did not tell everyone He met to sell what they had and give it to the poor, but He said that to the rich young ruler for some reason. The reason probably was the rich young ruler was trusting in his riches instead of God. When put to the test, he cared more for the riches.

It was of prime importance to Jesus to obey whatever the Father asked. When He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, His soul was crying out, knowing He was going to have to endure separation from God. He was so pulled by what was going to happen to Him, He prayed:

Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground (Luke 22:42, 44).

God may be telling you what to do. He may be saying, “I want you to spend more time in prayer.” Perhaps you have been hearing that for weeks or months and thinking, I really ought to do that.

He may be prompting you in your spirit and saying, “I want you to spend more time in My Word.” You have thought, I ought to do that. Don’t put it off. Do what God is telling you. Lay down your natural desires and obey the higher calling of God.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

In Matthew 28, Jesus told His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel:

“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you…” (verse 20).

In Mark 8, we read one of the most important things that He told them. Read it carefully and receive it in your heart:

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it (Mark 8:34-35).

In The Amplified Bible Jesus said it this way:

If any one intends to come after Me, let him deny himself—forget, ignore, disown, lose sight of himself and his own interests—and take up his cross, and…follow with Me—continually, [that is,] cleave steadfastly to Me. For whoever wants to save his…life, will lose [the lower, natural, temporal life...]; and whoever gives up his life [which is lived (only) on earth], for My sake and the Gospel’s, will save [his higher, spiritual life in the eternal kingdom of God].

Now Jesus not only was talking about our going to heaven, although that is included. He also was talking about our living for Him while in the earth. To live for Him, we cannot cling to our natural lives, or the things our souls desire in the natural realm—ambition, money, recognition, or any other desires of the flesh—things that natural man seeks after with his whole heart.

He was saying, “If you will lay down your natural desires, lose sight of yourself and your own interests, you will lose that lower life. Take up your cross. Do what you are told. Follow Me and you will find that higher life.”

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

God is searching our hearts to see what is inside us. He is searching for a people who will do what He says and be dedicated to Him. Jesus is loyal to God. He lives His life for God. This same Jesus lives in us. We are His Body. He is endeavoring to get us to live totally for God. He does it. We are to do it, too.

Jesus said, “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6:38). When He was on the earth, He did not live His life for Himself. He lived it loving God with His whole heart, soul and might.

Keeping the Word and obeying God’s voice, Jesus also said, “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29). Don’t you know it was a delight to the Father’s heart to see a man in the earth keep His Word, obey His voice and live life totally for Him? Likewise, our Father wants this to be the word of the Church today: “I do always those things that please Him.”

But we need to change. And change starts with individuals—with you and me. We are members of the Body, but members in particular. God wants us to be able to honestly say, “I do always the things that please Him.”

It is important to understand that Jesus laid down His life before He ever went to the cross. During His time on earth He continually laid down His life to please God. Do you think He lived an unhappy life? Did He miss out on very much because He did not seek His own will or His own interests? Did He pay too great a price to walk pleasing to God as far as the rewards of this life are concerned? Of course not!

Did He fail at anything? Yes! He never got around to committing a sin, never experienced sickness, never knew defeat. Just think how much He missed! Would you miss much if you walked the earth as Jesus did with such power, anointing and glory? No, you wouldn’t miss a thing. You would walk in that same high life. God is trying to get blessings to you, and this is the way they will come to you unhindered, and in full measure—by your being obedient to the Lord and by doing what you are told to do.

Jesus walked in total victory. He put Satan down at every turn. Satan could not touch Him because Jesus was allowing God to be God in His life. The Father was an enemy to His enemy, and a friend to His friend.

Because Jesus kept God’s Word and obeyed His voice, God could manifest His power through Him without measure. Jesus did not even speak His own words. Everywhere He went, if they would receive Him, He made the blind to see, the lame to walk, the deaf to hear. He delivered those who were demon possessed. The wind and the sea obeyed His voice. Every need He had was met by God’s power and action.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

You and I not only have the written Word, but we have the guidance of the Holy Spirit within us. The Word has been given to us to teach us and train us in God’s ways and precepts, but also we need answers in our individual lives: “What am I supposed to do about this problem? What am I supposed to do today? What can I do today, Lord, to please You?”

Jesus knew the written Word of God, and He operated by the voice of God. The two always agree.

In John 5:46 Jesus said, “For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.” If He had been dealing with the people who knew the books of Moses, they would have believed Jesus when He came, because Moses wrote of Jesus. But He said, “If ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?” (John 5:47).

Unless we believe the written Word of God, we won’t follow the voice of the Holy Spirit telling us what to do. We won’t believe the Spirit of God as He speaks to us, unless by the written Word we know His ways. God’s ways are so high above our natural ways.

We must have the written Word in our hearts so we can learn to discipline ourselves to make the right choices and live our lives according to the Word of God. Then when the Spirit of God tells us to do something, we will be quick to recognize it as God leading us because we already know how God thinks.

When we walk with God, we must totally learn to rethink our lives because the world’s way—the way we first learned to think—is foolishness to God. The world is in darkness and is backward compared to what God says and knows. The Amplified Bible says that the whole world around us is under the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19).

Because of this, you and I are faced with a decision. We can live in either of the two realms—the natural or the supernatural. We are born again in the spirit, so we can walk in the spirit, or we can walk after our soul (mind, will, emotions—or natural thinking). We can acknowledge God in all our ways and lean not to our own understanding, or we can continue to live like the rest of the world in permanent defeat until we leave this earth. But why choose what the world chooses when we can walk with God?

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

“Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise” (John 5:19).

Jesus said He could do nothing of Himself. He did not try. He did not even want to do anything of Himself. He did only what He saw the Father do.

In John 5:30 Jesus said it again:

I am able to do nothing from Myself—independently, of My own accord—but as I am taught by God and as I get His orders. [I decide as I am bidden to decide. As the voice comes to Me, so I give a decision.] Even as I hear, I judge and My judgment is right (just, righteous), because I do not seek or consult My own will—I have no desire to do what is pleasing to Myself, My own aim, My own purpose—but only the will and pleasure of the Father Who sent Me (The Amplified Bible).

Jesus obeyed the Father. He did not make His own decisions, but lived absolutely obedient to the voice of God. He was totally submitted to His Father.

You see, Jesus understood the difference between following after the soul (mind, will, emotions) and following after the spirit. He could have followed after His soul, but He counted that as nothing. Compared to walking after the spirit, that is exactly what walking after the soul is—nothing. You and I just do not know enough to walk after our natural thinking. That is why God gave us His Holy Spirit—to teach us to think like He thinks, to reveal His Word to us (Isaiah 55:7-11; John 14:26).

Jesus knew the written statutes and ordinances of the scriptures, but He also knew and operated by the voice of the Lord. He spent time in prayer with the Father: “What shall I do? What shall I say?” He always obeyed the Father’s direction. “Not my will be done but yours, O Lord.”

Kenneth Copeland Ministries