Do You Have Any Misconceptions?

“Mis-conception” is a term used to describe the result of a mental process: listening to wrong information or “mis-information” and believing it. Some common childhood misconceptions are:

1. The moon is made out of green cheese
2. Santa Claus is a real man that lives at the North Pole
3. There is a tooth fairy and an Easter Bunny
4. The boogey man might get you
5. The stork delivers babies
6. “…and they both lived happily ever after”

Spirit Realm Conception

Now let’s look at the scriptures and see how the word “conceived” is also used to refer to part of a mental process.

ISA 59:13 In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.

Here words are “conceived.” Since words are conceived, and words are spirit (see Joh.6:63), then the conception is also spiritual. As in natural conception, these words were not already in the heart (mind); they came from an outside source and were spoken to these people who then conceived them in their own mind.

JER 49:30 Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the LORD; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.

Here, a purpose is “conceived.” A purpose is made of words or thoughts, which are spirit. So this also is a spiritual “conception,” one that
takes place in the mind. In order for a purpose (idea) to be conceived, the idea had to come from someone else. We are not born with ideas or purposes in our mind. Starting with the ABC’s, all words, ideas, etc. are taught to us.

PSA 7:14 Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.
ISA 59:4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

People “conceive” mischief. Mischief is not something tangible; it’s made up of words. So mischief is spiritual (words) and the conception here is spiritual also. Thus, mischief consists of ideas that come to people from an outside source. When they believe these ideas and think on them, the ideas are “conceived” in their mind and bring forth mischief.

ISA 33:11 Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you.

There is no way this scripture can be applied in the natural! No physical woman can conceive physical chaff. This must be applied spiritually (in the mind). The chaff (Jer.23:28) is symbolic of lies. When someone speaks lies to another person, and the other person believes the lies, then spiritual conception takes place and a lie (chaff) is conceived.

HOS 2:5 For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.

This scripture is symbolic. The “woman” is symbolic, for she is married to God and God has never married a physical woman. The woman is symbolic of the children of Israel’s faith (a spiritual thing) which should have been faith in God. Since the woman is spirit, the “conception” is spiritual and the children (= offspring = thoughts produced) are spiritual. The context of these scriptures also show this spirit to be perverted, for the mother is playing the harlot. The minds of the children of Israel are a spiritual womb. They took in and believed (conceived) false doctrines and ideas; not God’s seeds, but evil, strange seeds. This spiritual conception produced Satan’s offspring (thoughts) in their minds, not God’s offspring (thoughts) (1Jo.3:12).

PSA 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

The same understanding applies here with King David. His spiritual Father was God, his spiritual mother was the holy spirit in his mind that should have been intercoursing with God’s seeds (laws). When David looked on another man’s wife (Bathsheba) he was enticed by an adulterous thought. Instead of blocking the thought with God’s true seeds (Thou shalt not commit adultery! Thou shalt not covet!), the holy spirit in his mind played the harlot and conceived the adulterous thought and it brought forth sin in his mind. He then acted on the thought by physically having sex with her. Then his holy spirit was enticed with another evil thought to have her husband killed. Instead of fighting it off with God’s true seeds (Thou shalt not kill! Thou shalt not steal!) his holy spirit also conceived this evil idea and produced another sin in his mind and he caused the death of Bathsheba’s husband. These are the two sins David is pleading to God to cover with mercy.

ACT 5:4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

A lie was conceived in Ananias’ mind. Lies consist of words or thoughts. Since the lie (the “thing”) is spiritual, then the “conception” is
also spiritual. The lie was conceived; it was not always in Ananias’ mind. It had to come from an outside source and be spoken to him or deposited into his mind by an evil being. In verse 3 Peter had said, “Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the holy ghost?” This shows the source of the evil seeds was Satan. Instead of fighting Satan with God’s true seeds (Thou shalt not bear false witness! Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain!), Ananias took in Satan’s seeds; they conceived and brought forth sin (a transgression of God’s law, 1Jo.3;4).

JAM 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin,when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

Lust is conceived. Since lust is mental desire (and therefore spiritual), the conception referred to in this verse is also spiritual. When wrong words “conceive” in our mind, sin occurs, which results in spiritual death (Eph.2:1; 1Ti.5:6). For words to be “conceived”, they must come to us from an outside source. God gave us a visible picture to help us understand this concept. A woman cannot become pregnant until a seed from a man is placed into her womb and the seed unites with her egg and conceives. The woman’s egg does not distinguish between a husband’s sperm and a rapist’s or an adulterer’s sperm. This same picture holds true in the spirit realm. One cannot become pregnant with sin until a seed (word- Luk.8:11) from an outside source is presented to our mind and we believe it, thus conceiving the sinful idea. We are all born with God-given desires (lusts) for food, love, etc. Without God’s discernment to know good from evil, our lust can be enticed by many different seeds. We all conceived sin in this way.

Sin is conceived by these three steps:

1. We are born with God-given lusts (desires) for good.
2. This lust is enticed (tempted, drawn away from God (Jam.1:14) by an outside source (something evil).
3. We believe (conceive) the wrong, enticing words or impressions (Col.2:4) and this sinful thought has now started

These scriptures show that thoughts are placed into our mind from an outside source. We are not born with sin already in us. Instead evil enters into our mind and sin is conceived in us. Since sin enters into our mind, it can also be cast out of our mind. This is what the New Testament promises — we can be completely free from sin (Rom.6:22) and grow a “Christ child” in our mind instead by conceiving God’s true words in the womb of our mind (Gal.4:19).