LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
Jesus' Soul
A glimpse of our Lord Jesus Christ's holy soul.
Roberto Sáez
"My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death" (Mat. 26:38). "But we have the mind of Christ" (1 Cor. 2:16). "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean... I will; be thou made clean" (Luke 5:12-13).
In the above-mentioned texts are the three functions of the soul: emotion, mind and will. Nobody has had such a balanced soul as that of the Lord Jesus, because the souls of all human beings from Adam until now have been gravely damaged by sin, except for Jesus' soul which didn't come into this world from flesh or blood but by the will of God.
He doesn't belong to the genealogy of Adam, so sin didn't touch him; but he could have been affected by it, since he was exposed to the same contingencies of life and with all the temptations that the first Adam had -because he was manifested in the flesh and that means that he was truly man - nevertheless our Lord didn't fall into sin, and in that consists his victory over the world and the evil one. Jesus' soul was tested and approved by God, and if we were created according to his image, then we have to know Jesus' soul in order to know how the Father designed us.
When observing the souls of the men, we find the incommensurable damage that the fall left; you only see imbalance, diverse illnesses and perversities.
Biographical history however tends to show the virtues of the main characters of history rather that their errors. Some highlight their genius (mind), others their histrionic actions (emotions) and others their valiant willful actions (will). Many of the military geniuses were mentally ill; many of the great musicians were monsters with bad tempers and many of the great businessmen were 'workaholics' who lost their family after fame and wealth. A perfectly balanced soul has not existed in its three functions; there may have been some who have displayed one of the three attributes, but will have failed in the other two; Jesus' soul has been the only perfect soul that history has known.
The perfecting of Jesus' soul
Although Jesus' soul was perfect, it was subjected to diverse tests and it was precisely in these tests where the true value of a perfect soul can be observed, according to the paradigms of the God who created all things and through whom they subsist. Who else is entitled to determine the canons of what it is right and what is wrong? What the man finds beautiful can be abominable for. For the great majority of humanity, Christ's crucifixion is a cruel and incomprehensible act; however, according to the divine laws, the Son of God was put to death by a "determined counsel and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23). It was by means of sufferings and his death on the cross that his soul was perfected: "And Christ… having been perfected." He was exposed to all the contingencies of human life: hunger, temptation by Satan in the desert, cold, fatigue, work; he was betrayed by his friends, rejected by his family, abandoned by his disciples; there were jeers, violence, injustices, false testimonies against him, spittings, lashes, heavy burdens, punches; he was harassed by the sick and the hungry and, however, in spite of all this he was faithful to God. In each and every one of these tests he was being observed by the Father and evaluated according to the qualifications of heaven; he was approved in everything, because his reactions were according to the character of God
How did God evaluate? In the way he reacted. Faced with each situation, Jesus reacted according to what was expected from him from the divine perspective.
He responded to each injustice, attack or violence with meekness or silence, but didn't return evil for evil. Peter tells us that Jesus didn't sin, nor was deceit in his mouth; "who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously" (1Pet. 2:22-23). What can we say when we know that his sufferings and even his death was determined by God? Any claims, complaint and or violent reactions would go against He who determined them, against His designs that were to test his life in this way. Jesus was tested many times; without a doubt, he knew that the sufferings were the tests that the Father had determined for him; he was very conscious that to be affected or to react in any way against the offences of men would be the equivalent of reacting against God the Father.
What he was doing was contrary to what all men had done in humanity's history. That's why the law of the Talion existed, the one that said that if you are struck in the eye you are entitled to hit the eye of him who struck you, because that is just. However, Jesus practiced and taught an altogether different thing: He presented the other cheek, he taught us to go the second mile and to give a tunic if we are asked for our cloak. This has been the highest level of morality that anybody has taught and lived out.
Gandhi, the great leader from India took Jesus' teachings to resist the English dominance of his time, with his people without violence. What Gandhi attempted doesn't have any value in the eyes of God as an imitation of Christ. Although he was a good imitation, it was not Christ in him, but only Christ's teachings applied to the social political context in India through Gandhi. That of Gandhi may have value in the eyes of men, but not for God, since only that which is Christ Himself is acceptable to God, not an aspect of Christ. If somebody takes Christ's teachings, however faithful he is to the principles of those teachings, but doesn't take into account Christ's person and his work, the pure consideration of the teaching leaves Christ outside, and that, in the scale of the values and the divine laws doesn't deserve approval.
Jesus' soul passed through one of the greatest crises when he was praying in Gethsemane the night before his death. There his soul was overwhelmed. His soul, being pure and without sin, was more sensitive to pain than anyone. "My soul is overwhelmed, even unto death" (Mt. 26:38). Nobody was more affected than him by his emotions; he felt the horror of death, and shivered to the point of perspiration; not over death itself, but the type of death: to take the sin of all humanity upon himself and to be seen by God, because of man's sin, as a sinner. To endure not only the scorn of men but the Father's abandonment: this was the biggest crisis in the soul of our Lord - and he endured it with dignity because of His love for us, the sinners who are now his redeemed.
The sadness and the awful pain of death that the soul feels reaches the whole being, to the point of subjecting the will, which is the most central part of the soul, to a stern test since this is the seat of the human being's decisions. In those moments, tested to that extreme, he said: "Father, if it is possible, pass this cup from me; but not my will but yours be done" (Mat. 26:39). The mind is reasoning, evaluating, considering and the will is that which makes the final decision: "not my will be yours be done." That decision, taken by his own will and thought out amid the greatest emotional crisis, shows us the complete picture of Jesus' perfect soul, given that it was the greatest test that man ever endured. It was seen by God as the soul of a man approved by God, according to the paradigms that God in His power alone has prepared in his dealings toward humanity.
The improvement of our soul
Peter says that Jesus left us example "that we might follow his steps." This could be taken to mean creating an imitation of Christ; however, it is deeper than this. To follow Christ according to the revelation of the Word of God is to live in Christ, through him and for him. The secret is to let Christ live his life in us; otherwise the Christian life would be a mere ideal. His life will lead us to experience the same experiences as those that he went through; for where he walked we will walk because it is necessary for us to be tested in all things as he was. We, of course, are unable to withstand those dealings; for Paul it would be a honour to become like Christ in his death and that was something that he considered as the most excellent knowledge of Christ together with sufferings and the resurrection life - all according to chapter 3 of Philippians (it is necessary to consider that the word knowledge in the Hebrew culture is not intellectual knowledge but experimental).
All that has been said leads us to think that if God determined certain sufferings to perfect Jesus' soul, how much more reason would he have for determining that we should suffer together with Christ? Paul's teaching speaks to us of our death with Christ and of our resurrection together with Christ. So it is very clear that it is God who has determined the contempt, injustices, abuse, blows, sufferings caused by brothers and sisters of the faith, and all the other things that happen us. All these are not outside the will of God for us.
If it was determined for the Lord Jesus to go through this world in the exemplary form as he behaved, and our life is included in Christ, we cannot exclude ourselves from living the same things that our Lord experienced. Perhaps not in the same intensity, perhaps with variations, but certainly God has prepared each detail of our life and of the people that surround us for our formation. We cannot get angry with brothers and sisters when they cause us problems, because when we complain we are doing so against God. Are we convinced of this? It is the most difficult thing that can be asked of a Christian; in this, nobody has been perfected except our Lord Jesus' beautiful soul. We have all failed, however we fill ourselves with faith to believe that God will get what he has intended with us.
"I will kiss the hand which hurts me" Madame Guyon said. She truly understood what she was saying; her soul was subjected to injustice and painful sufferings.
Peter speaks to servants and tells them to endure the difficult masters and that if they do that, they will deserve approval (1 Pet. 2:18-19). Any defender of human rights would go against today's masters or bosses; any politician or person with political ideals would say that that needs to be fixed through good government with fair laws to favour workers.
However, that would not solve the problem of man's heart. How can a rich man be transformed, from being unbearable and unjust, into a man who is fair with his employees? Because Christians are willing to withstand his injustices, the man will wonder: "Why is this servant different to the other ones"? The answer is: "Because he has Christ."
The Scripture says that this deserves approval. Whose approval? God's, who hopes that we won't react to injustices like anyone who doesn't have Christ, but as one who suffers the offences because they understand that behind all this, God is training their soul for its improvement. Perhaps even if somebody doesn't see a change in his employer and only sees an accentuated attempt to take advantage of the worker for more profit and to become richer at the cost of his service; nevertheless, the believing servant or worker knows that he doesn't serve the eye nor man, but his Lord, and he will seek the approval of God and not men - even if he never sees rewards in this life from his behaviour. But we know that in the great majority of cases -if not in all the cases - God blesses and exalts the one who humbles himself, because a few individuals, even if they are not recognized here because of the injustice of men, will be richly rewarded by the Lord in the Kingdom.
The church; the place chosen by God to perfect the soul
Do you want your soul to be perfected? Don't think that humanist education will help. It may perhaps only help to increasingly augment one's soul. The school of the discipline of God is life in the context of the church; that which God has determined for our perfection. This is the atmosphere in which we learn how to lose the strength and the life of the soul until producing a soul that is submissive to the spirit, balanced and willing for God.
Some have mistakenly thought that when coming into the atmosphere of the church, they reach a place of good and well-intentioned people, where there are never problems because they suppose that people who they'll meet are perfect people. They don't know that they need more than 20 years of church life only to begin to see the fruits of Christ's life in place of the believers'. It is a metamorphosis that requires time. Christ's life coming into the heart of the believer is instantaneous, but the incorporation of that life into the life of the believers requires a long process.
It is noticeable when somebody has received Christ because the first thing that is abandoned is external bad habits: wine, cigarettes, drugs, foul language and these can be classified as external. But there are so many other faults that start appearing in the measure that time goes by; like, for example, the desire for leadership, being seen, desire for recognition and other less visible things like these.
In these processes the soul is confronted with its weakness, although contrarily the soul thinks that it is strong, and it is not until it suffers many blows that it learns how to be broken and humbled before God, because it realizes its precariousness and seeks after the riches of God.
Living to Christ in the context of the church life is only like one arrives to the knowledge of his own reality. Then leave the poverty of the soul and his littleness, at the same time that his haughtiness, pride and integrity. We sometimes think that we have advanced; however, through a new failure, we realize that in fact we have gone back. Why does he happen to us this?
While we are in this body and in the contingencies of this life, the problem of sin and the defection of the soul won't ever be completely solved, because the sinful nature will pursue us until we are re-clothed with heavenly glory. Nevertheless, the salvation of God is complete and perfect, although it requires time to be materialized in us. Perhaps the biggest defect in the soul is independence, and that's why the solution is corporate life. Solitude makes the soul worse, and yet it obstinately seeks its independence. The defect of the soul helps us be humble before God and men; it makes us meek and dependent on God and on the brothers and sisters.
The church is the place prepared by God to forge the souls of those redeemed. God has not allowed any of his redeemed to reach perfection in this life. The history of the church in its collective, and of the servants of God in the particular, is a history of many defections; nevertheless what has been of God has been notoriously apparent. Far from discouraging us, this fills us with faith, because it means that Christ is much greater than what we have experienced of him. There is a lot, a lot more of Christ still to apprehend.