GOD'S VIEW:
Gen. 2:7
; John 6:63
; Rom. 8:16
; Heb. 4:12
-Since soul and spirit can be
divided, they must be different in nature. When God inbreathed into man,
the breath of life became man's spirit, that is, the principle of life within
him. When this spirit came into contact with the body, the soul was produced.
Hence, the soul is the combination of man's body and spirit. From this, man
is called "a living soul'.
Man was designated a living soul, for it was there that the spirit and body met and through which his individuality was known. Man's soul represents him and expresses his individuality. It is the organ of man's free will by which man chooses to follow God or some other source to quide and direct his life, goals, and purposes.
HOPE:
l Cor. 15:44
, 45
; Lu. 1:46-47
; John 16:13
-The 1st Adam, a living soul,
lived through the body, and the body gives us world-consciousness. The soul
is the site of the personality because it is where the spirit and body merge.
The soul belongs to man's own self and reveals his personality, and the part
of self-consciousness. The spirit is that part by which we commune with God
by which we apprehend and worship Him. This spirit is called the element
of God-consciousness. Thus, God dwells in the spirit, self dwells in the
soul, while senses dwell in the body.
The spirit transmits its thought to the soul, and the soul exercises the body to obey the spirit's order. Since the soul lies between spirit and body, it is the medium by which the spirit or the body determines its character. Before the fall of man, the spirit controlled the whole being through the soul. It is the will in the soul which determines whether the spirit, the body, or even itself is to rule. As such the soul is the organ of man's individuality, and the reason the Bible calls man 'a living soul'.
1 Cor. 3:16 ; 1 Thess. 5:23 -God formerly dwelt in the temple, as the Holy Spirit indwells man today. As in the temple, God is present in the Holy of Holies and His Light shone on the Holy Place, the soul of man. The soul directs the body, the outer place. Before the fall, God's word, the Light, was directly linked to man's spirit. Before the fall, the soul was governed by the spirit. This is the order God still wants:first the spirit, then the soul, and lastly the body.
Ps. 51:10
; 1 Cor. 2:11
; Mark 2:8
; John 4:23
-Human spirit is not the same
as the soul nor is it the same as the Holy Spirit. The human spirit has three
functions:conscience, intuition, and communion. The conscience is the discerning
organ which distinquishes right and wrong, not by influence of knowledge
stored in the mind but rather by a spontaneous direct judgment. The intuition
is the sensing organ of the human spirit. We really 'know'through our intuition;
our mind really helps us to 'understand'. The revelations of God and all
the movements of the Holy Spirit are known to the believer through his intuition.
Communion is worshipping God. Our worship of God and God's communications
with us are directly in the spirit. They take place in the 'inner man', not
in the soul.
CHANGE:
Lev. 11:44
; Lev. 17:11
; 1Chron. 22:19
; Prov. 19:2
; Lu. 1:46
; Matt. 16:26
;
Lu. 9:25
; 1 Cor. 15:44
; Heb. 4:12
-The soul comprises the mind, intellect,
emotion and will. The soul is man's life, his natural life. The life of our
present body is that of the soul. The soul is the organ of volition and the
natural life. Thus, as humans we determine what kind of christian we become,
whether spiritual or soulish. Before regeneration, whatever is included in
life-be it self, life, strength, power, choice, thought, opinion, love
feeling-pertains to the soul. Soul life is the life man inherits at birth.
All that this life possesses and all that it may become are in the realm
of the soul. Therefore, if we can distinctly recognize what is soulical,
it will then be easier to recognize what is spiritual.
Gen. 1:24-26 ; 2:7 ; Eze36:26-27-Our spirit comes directly from God, it is God-given. Our soul is not so directly derived; it was produced after the spirit entered the body. God bestowed upon man a sovereign power and gifts to the human soul. Thought, will , intellect amd intention are among the prominent portions. The original purpose of God is that the human soul should receive and assimilate the truth and substance of God's spiritual life. Man is the given the choice:one tree germinates spiritual life, the other develops soulish life.
Gen. 3:1-6
, 12
, 13
; 1 Tim. 2:14
; 1 Pet. 2:24
; 1 Cor. 3:18-20
-Eve by trying
to answer Satan exercised her mind-disobedience to the spirit. Satan provoked
her soulical thought first, then advanced to seize her will. Exercising soul
in relation to the body brought forth the lusts and associated emotions.
The intellect was the chief cause of the fall, the activity of the mind.
Thus, become a fool that you may become wise.