I think this is a subject that many of us really don't understand . My prayer is that by the time this message is completed we will have received greater incite and revelation of the Soul and it's function.
What is the Soul? It is your mind, your will and your emotions. Through your Soul is where your thinking and reasoning take place. Many of us have misunderstood the Soul and how it effects our spiritual life and our flesh, and why? Because of a lock of knowledge, wrong thinking and wrong teaching.
Let me ask you a question. How important is the Soul to a Christian? In III John 2 it tells us:
III John 2: Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy Soul prosperith.
Beloved, is your Soul prospering? The words "even as" in this verse causes you to realize that the success in your life will be governed or determined by your Soul. The prosperity, health and abundance of your life will be "as your Soul prospers or doesn't prospers" - your life in general will prosper or not prosper.
We know that salvation is a spiritual awakening and transformation, because of what II Corinthians 5:17 says.
Verse 17: If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. (But, your body isn't new, nor your thinking, but your Spirit is.) Old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new.
Spiritually you became a new creature because before you were born again, you were dead spiritually, but alive bodily and you functioned out of the Soulish realm.
Salvation is instantaneous for the Spirit, but not for the Soul. The Soul is the realm in which salvation progresses, so the Soul does not change when we are born again, our Soul is still the same except it now belongs to God.
For many years I thought that the Spirit and the Soul were the same, but they are not because in I Thessalonians 5:23 it says:
Verse 23: And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole Spirit and Soul and Body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let's look at the word whole in verse 23 and what it means: Complete in every part, perfectly sound and entire.
What it's telling us is the whole man consists of a sound and complete Spirit, Soul and Body. We know we need to be sanctified spiritually, but we also need to be sanctified soulishly (which is the mind, will and emotions) and this comes by reading, studying and acting upon the word of God everyday. It has to be a vital part of your life just like eating and sleeping are in order for you to survive and grow.
What are some of the characteristics of the Soul?
1. The Soul contain our personality, and our senses operate in our Soul. Our senses feed information to our Soul, and our Soul then makes decisions according to our senses. The Soul also contains our emotions, which we call our feelings, and our feelings can change due to what's going on around us. The Soul reacts to the elements and stimulants of the world. It contacts the natural realm.
The will of man also functions through our Soul, and our will is our power to make decisions and our power to change. It is the Soulish realm that needs to be sanctified and it's an area that we have to work on continuously, because our mind, emotions, wills, our senses, personalities and our desires do not instantly change. They need to be constantly changing, being renewed and worked on and that is a progressive process.
In Genesis 2, the bible tells us that God breathed into man the breath of life and man became a living Soul. The Soul was that natural life which took place when the spirit and the flesh came together and so now the Soul became the mediator between the body and the spirit and why? Because everything is filtered through the Soul.
Let me explain this further. Your spirit receives input from God, your body (flesh) receives input for the world and the Soul stands between them. The Soul is the go between and can respond and react to either your spirit or your body (flesh).
Each of us makes decisions and establishes your whole life from your Soulish realm. That's why John said "You will prosper and live in health, even as you Soul prospers". If your Soul is making wrong decisions and is following the flesh, you are not going to prosper. Your going to get out of balance spiritually, mentally and physically. But what do I mean?
Example: The Spirit prompts you to pray or read the word of God but your flesh wants to be lazy and do something else. The Soul responds and reacts to the one that is the strongest and more disciplined. It all goes back to which area are you prospering in? The body (flesh) wants to have it's way, but the spirit longs after the things of God.
Next week we will talk about a "Prosperous Soul or a Poor Soul.
Blessings,
Elma Garlock
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