“So, God created human beings in his image. In the image of God, he created them: male and female he created them.”1 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”2“Jesus told them, Iam the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”3 “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”4“Put on your new nature, created to be like God -truly righteous and holy.”5 “The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”6“… the Holy Spirit produces this Kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control,”7“Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.”8
God is Spirit. He created human beings in His image in righteousness and true holiness as spiritual beings clothed with material substance, the body. In Jesus Christ, you become anew creature, inheriting a new nature, and becoming an heir of God, and “together with Christ we are heirsof God’s glory.”8At that moment of regeneration or being born again, 10 the Holy Spirit comes into your heart to dwell11 and produce the moral character traits of Christ:love, joy,peace,patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Your old sinful nature was nailed to the cross with Christ,12 andthrough yourfaith in the suffering, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you receive forgiveness and remission of sin, and God counts you righteous.13God adopts you into His family.14 You are complete in Christ. 15
Precisely stated, Spiritual Well-being is a state of absolute completion in Christ, where you arerestored to a holy and righteous life with profound change in yourcharacter, attitudes, and behaviors rooted in God’s word and sustained by the Holy Spiritthrough your faith in the death and resurrection of Christ. You begin tomanifest the fruit of the Holy Spirit,whichimpacts your physical, mental, emotional, and social life and the lives of others.
An individual with an experience of spiritual well-being is a light and salt to the family and communities. Spiritual well-beingis not simply an emotional peace, religious activity, and moral behavior, but a transformed state of the heart and mindfor a holy and righteous life, rooted in God’s word, maintained by the Holy Spirit, and expressed through the fruit of the Holy Spirit, for a purposeful life.
Corrupt Human Nature:“Behold, I was shaped in iniquity: And in sin did my mother conceive me… For I acknowledge my transgressions: And my sin is ever before me.”16The first step that you must take to experience spiritual well-being is to admit that you were conceived and born with a sinful nature and that you practice sinful actions.For detailed discussion, see “Corrupt human nature under God/humanity,” and “Your new nature is created to be like God.”
Confession and repentance:“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”17 Jesus said,“…I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall likewise perish.”18 Confessing of your sins and repenting of them are critical to experiencing spiritual well-being (see“Your new nature iscreated to be like God” under God/humanity for discussion)
Receiving Jesus into your life: “But as many as receive him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in his name.”19 Receiving Jesus into yourheart and living,moving, and having your being in Christ Jesus is all you need to experience spiritual well-being.(For detailed discussion, see Your new nature created to be like God under God/humanity)
Sustaining spiritual well-being:“Put on your new nature, created to be like God, truly righteous and holy.”20“That you put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lust.”21Spiritual well-being is both a stable and dynamic state.On one hand, spiritual well-being is a stable state because it is rooted in the suffering, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord, Savior, and Redeemer.Spiritual well-being, or being saved, isby grace “through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.”22 On the other hand, spiritual well-being is a dynamic state. God wants you to grow and develop in your spiritual well-being.You do this by practicing putting on your new nature, created to be like God, truly righteous and holy, and by putting off the older man, who is corrupt according to the deceitful lust.Both putting on and putting off are actions of an active faith after you are saved andexperience spiritual well-being by grace.“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”23( For detailed discussion, see“Put on and put off… under God/Humanity). Maintaining spiritual well-beinginvolves reading,studying, meditating on God’s word, praying, praising, and worshipping God with people of like mind.
Spiritual well-beingisa fundamental component of a healthy lifestyle. We define a healthy lifestyle as a way of living that individuals intentionally adopt, maintain, and continually practice daily healthy choices to prevent and control disease, improve their physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being, and enhance their quality of life.
Unlike other components of a healthy lifestyle, spiritual well-being is a transformed state of the heart and mind for a holy and righteous life, rooted in God’s word, sustained by the Holy Spirit, and expressed through the fruit of the Holy Spirit, benefiting both temporal and eternal life. In WLT,Spiritual well-being is the foundationthat providescompelling reasons for an individual to intentionally adopt, maintain, and continually practice daily healthy choices to prevent and control disease, improve their physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being, and enhance their quality of life.
Follow us on our website, blog, and social media, and at conferences, seminars, workshops, community forums, and community fellowships, as we use the truth rooted in the Word of God to empower you to experience spiritual well-being. We use evidence-based and evidence-informed health education and health promotion interventions to provide equitable opportunities to acquire the knowledge, attitudes, skills, and insights needed to adopt and sustain healthy lifestyles and lead purpose-driven, transformative lives.