In our souls, if we hear and understand God's will and yield ourselves to do it, we are fighting a battle, taking ground away from Satan, the enemy of our souls. This is the fruit of the Spirit; it is righteousness, and it is a free gift from God. Spiritual maturity is holding ground, which is the same thing as faithfulness, stability, and holiness. Holding ground requires a surge of power from above. The final victory is redemption. Redemption is eternal life for every part of our being.

The moment we are born again, we are seated with Christ in heavenly places, the the air. This is intimate knowledge of God (Romans 1:28). The air is a spiritual position, not high in altitude but high in authority. We obviously are not experiencing this level of redemption in our bodies, and our hearts aren't even aware of it, but we are having redemption in our spirits and we are seated with Christ in heavenly places at this level. Our minds are being transformed slowly (the main point of this article). This transformation of the mind is also redemption, and it is by the blood of the Lamb. Gradually, we are beginning to have discernment, provided that we are yielding to the Spirit of God. When we yield to the Spirit of God, we begin to know Him. (John 17:3) Eventually, not only our minds and hearts but even our bodies will be totally redeemed. Most people consider redemption to be the same thing as being born again, but think of this: the Romans 8:18-23 talks about the redemption of our bodies. It is obviously not talking about being born again.

Christ finished the work on the cross, and we have walked in some measure of what Jesus paid for. However, we walk well beneath the glory that Jesus died for. When the Bible speaks of the redemption of our bodies it also speaks of a day when all of creation will be set free from corruption.

Grace means unmerited favor or a free gift. Part of the free gift is wisdom, which is available for the asking (James 1:5-8). Wisdom is the principle thing (Proverbs 4:7). Contained in wisdom are righteousness, holiness, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). Righteousness is the battle or taking ground, holiness is holding the ground, and redemption is the complete victory we will have. All of these are available exclusively to those who have been born again. We start bearing fruit as soon as we are born again. As soon as we are born again, in our spirits, we are seated in heavenly places with Christ (Ephesians 2:4-6). Righteousness is a gift from God (Romans 5:17). We can start to stand against the enemy(Galatians 5:1). The fruit of the Spirit begins to grow right away (John 15:2).

The first step