Spiritual Soul?

Some of the dangers of the soul supplanting the spirit.

Marcelo Díaz

Confusing the psychic with the spiritual

In my years of study as a university student I had the opportunity of sharing the Lord with several friends and professors. One day, whilst I was sharing with one of those who showed occasional interest about conversion and the action of the Holy Spirit in the believer's life, interrupted my story with the following exclamation: "That's exactly what happens in the sessions which I participate in"! When commenting in more detail, he explained that a certain person, prominent in psychology who visited the country at that time, had invited him to participate in some sessions, where through an alteration of the self-provoked conscience, people could end up healing deep traumas, physical ailments, obtain healings and even end up having strange manifestations like glossolaly (incomprehensible language).

As you can imagine, our conversation was unable to advance a centimetre. My friend saw the new life in Christ as a simple therapy similar to his psychotherapeutic experience. Manifestations that occurred there were almost similar, but the source and motivation were completely different.

An example of this can be seen when Moses led the people out of Egypt. Remember that the sages and magicians were able to equal several of the signs and manifestations that Moses presented before Pharaoh. This gives us a sample of how a latent power exists in man's soul which can truly end up doing impressionable things when it is developed. And if it is united with a supernatural evil force, they arm a powerful and dangerous coalition.

Therefore, we can conclude that a power exists in the soul; and that it is so powerful that it could end up being confused with the action of the Holy Spirit in the believer. In fact, at the present time many Christians are like this young man, and they are unable to differentiate between the spiritual and the psychic. And this is something fundamental in every children of God's walk.

Tripartite vs. dichotomous

In order to attempt to understand this matter, the first thing that we should know is that God made man tripartite. That is to say spirit, soul and body. And each part was given a certain function.

When God made man he created him by blowing the breath of life (lives) into his nostrils. The word "breath of life", is a plural word which explains the double life that man received. That is to say, a spiritual one and a psychic natural one. The breath of life which became man's spirit, when having contact with man's body, gave origin to the soul. The conscience of the self. (John 6:63 and Job 33:4).

An illustration that helps us understand this is the figure of a current going through a bulb. The action that electricity exercises when going through a bulb gives light as a result. Thus, the spirit, when in contact with the body, gives origin to the soul, that human part which has consciousness of itself - whilst the body has consciousness of what surrounds it and the spirit consciousness of the divine.

The tripartite vision of man is much more complete than a dichotomous one, because the latter only sees man on two planes, and this is similar to seeing a cylinder in two dimensions, that is to say, as a circle and a rectangle. Such a vision is too incomplete.

Secondly, we must expose this spirituality which is sought to be given to the soul because it causes serious confusion to the internal dynamics of the Christian. To just see the spirit as the most sublime and spiritual part in the soul is a serious mistake. There is nothing more distinct than the spirit and the soul. The soul is not that which seeks God, but the spirit. The soul is joined to the flesh.

The cause of the error

The explanation can be found in the initial fall. When man sinned, the whole order was transformed. God's purpose in the beginning was that man was to govern starting from his spirit with the incorporation of the divine life in his being, but when receiving the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, the soul took a protagonist's role elevating the natural life (earthly) and suppressing the life of the spirit.

Since the soul has so many capacities, these can, potentially, end up supplanting spiritual activity. The illustration of this is the image of a master, the owner of a great house, a steward and a servant. The master is the spirit, the soul the steward and the servant the body. Because in the fall, the steward plotted with the servant and rebelled against the master, taking his function and dominion over the house.

This is man's condition today. His spirit is dead in relation to God, in a coma, gravely relegated by a powerful natural force. And in that condition, the remedy is not to add more natural force, but to resurrect the spirit. Therefore, God's answer to this tragedy was not allowed to wait. God, in Christ, gave us His Spirit through which we participate in divine grace. And in this new condition, we no longer live by our natural strength but by His Spirit. As it is written: "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts" (Zec. 4:6).

Two important questions

Now returning to our initial question: Can a Christian who has received the Spirit of life continue living the Christian life through their soul? Is the Lord happy for the Christian, a child of God, to use the natural strength of his soul as the principle of his life? The answer to the first question is yes. A believer can end up living the Christian life in the life of his/her soul. But regarding the second question, it is a negative, since the purpose of God was always for man to live by his spirit, so to continue living in the life of the soul is to continue living in the flesh; it is to continue living in the first Adam, which didn't please the Lord. "What is born of the flesh, is flesh…."

But he who is born of the last Adam, a life-giving spirit, has the life of God incorporated into his spirit. (Rom. 8:16). Because the Spirit gives testimony to our spirit that we are children of God.

The dangers of living by the soul

As a consequence, those who live under the power of their soul are psychic believers and as such face at least three grave dangers.

The first of them is that the soul can end up repressing the Spirit. As the soul of each individual is unique, we cannot stereotype their behaviour, but I will now make a short approximation:

As I have already mentioned, the soul is endowed with gifts among which we can distinguish three great abilities: intellectual, emotional and volitional, between which the psychic Christian moves. Some lean more toward the mind, others toward emotions and others toward the will. So, irrespective of what the Spirit says, they will seek congregational contexts that fit with their lifestyle, paying virtually no attention to the unity of the church and Christ's body.

Those that adhere to the mind can discern the carnality of those who tend toward emotions or the will, and vice versa. They are believers who accommodate the spiritual to their perception of life, so those who don't share their vision are akin to judgment and sectarianism.

Such a situation is truly dangerous. The unity of the church is strongly threatened by Christians guided by the abilities of the soul. The Spirit doesn't have its rightful place in them. As a consequence, they "quench the spirit" (1Tes. 5:19).

Secondly, the soul strengthens its association with the appetites of the body. Following the illustration of the master, the steward and the servant, a union of mutual interest exists between the steward and the servant. Both are needed and they make provision for their satisfaction. The soul is thus one with the body. The appetites of the flesh are also the appetites of the soul. Let us note that the works of the flesh mentioned in the book of Galatians have an objective of satisfying the appetites of the body as much as that of the soul. So a psychic Christian is permanently prone to be tempted to satisfy his carnal desires. In sum, all his spiritual strength is focused on satisfying something for himself; he is not able to look toward others, he always looks to his own comfort and benefit. His soul is trapped by his body and his body by the soul.

Lastly, the soul becomes vulnerable to the operation of Satan. If we follow the sequence of the life of Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus, we will realize that this disciple didn't seek intimate unity with his teacher and co-disciples. He had a serious interest in satisfying his own needs; he loved money. Such a situation allowed Satan to sow betrayal in his heart and then Satan made him his dwelling place. Dissatisfaction with himself led him to confusion and later to death which is, in summary, the purpose of the evil one.

Our soul requires a Shepherd and Overseer

Brothers and sisters, knowing the dangers of being driven by the soul and supplanting the activity of the Spirit, we have no other option than to surrender to the Lord. Our soul requires a Shepherd who governs it, and an Overseer who watches over it. Jesus is the good Shepherd and also the Overseer of the soul. Only in Him are we safe. He will give us the learning needed to hear His Spirit and to do His will.

"Praise the Lord, oh my soul."

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