I. Introduction
A. This is a continuation of the Triune Man
in Two Dominion Bible Study. In the last article: Man,
the Spirit, focused upon the spiritual nature of a man. We discussed and discovered that when God made
man after his image and after his likeness, he made mankind to think and to act
like him as well as look like him. That is mankind is an earthly reflection of
God’s image. We also found out that
Jesus had declared that God is Spirit, not a spirit, but rather the Spirit of
Creation and he made mankind in the God class, which means he made mankind as a
Spiritual being that lives in a physical body and possesses a soul. We also learned
that Adam lost his spirituality in the Garden through his disobedience to the
command of God. Thereby translating his
fallen condition to the rest of Mankind, Adam was the first seed of the human
race upon the earth, all children that came from Adam and after Adam had lived
are inheritors of the sinful condition of Adam. We then learned that Jesus is
the second man Adam, who came and redeemed what the first Adam lost in the
Garden. Thereby restoring all who would believe in him back to the status mankind
had before the fall of the Garden. We
also learned that Jesus is our example of how a Spirit man is to operate on the
earth, and that we are directed and encouraged by the teachings of Christ and
his Apostles to emulate him. We learned
all these things about our spiritual nature in the second part of this Bible
Study, but it would be all for nothing without understanding how the Spirit of man
is to function with the soul of man. Therefore, this article, which will also
appear as a blog article on my blog site page, which is a location I will share
later at the end of this article, will focus upon the soul of mankind. We will
discuss certain Bible passages that deal with the creation of mankind as a
living soul.
B. Many things have been said by many a bible
teacher and preachers of the word of God about the soul of man. What I was taught long ago was that the soul
of man was made up of 3 things: Ambition, Intellect and Emotion. Which sounded
good and logical, but I could not find how these three things constituted the
soul of man in the Bible. In fact the
only thing I often heard about the topic was the fact that every soul of man is
lost in sin, alienated from the life of God and doom to an eternal existence in
Hell. I also heard that accepting Jesus
as a personal Savior and Lord was the only way that a soul could be saved so
that every soul could escape the consequences of living with a sinful
nature. All this being true, it fell
woefully short on how the Spirit of a man and the Soul of a man transacts with
each other. So I went on an adventure in the scriptures that only students of the
word of God can experience. Not the kind
that accepts what is given to him, rather the kind that asks question and digs
deep into the scripture concerning a given topic. I have made such an investigation surrounding
these questions: What does the Bible say
the Soul of man is comprised of? What does the Soul of man do? What does the
Soul of man experience? Get ready we are
going to travel deep and long because this area that needs much explanation and
clarification.
II. What Does the Bible Say The Soul of Man Is Comprised of?
A. Another way of saying the title question
of this section is: What is the constitution of the Soul of a Man? We are not going to use the traditional
explanation that many have been taught, that is also well established. What we are going to use is just the
scriptures to explain the construction and constitution of a Man’s soul. In order to properly do this we must first
examine the meaning of the word Soul?
Does it mean a certain swagger or attitude that a person possesses? Or does mean something entirely different? Let
look up the word “Soul” in the following reference sources.
1. According Dictionary.com the word “Soul” is defined as: The principle of life, feeling, thought, and
action in humans, regarded as a distinct entity separate from the body, and
commonly held to be separable in existence from the body; the spiritual part of
humans as distinct from the physical part.
2. According to Strong’s Hebrew Bible
Dictionary the word “Soul” is “nephesh”, which is found 458 times in the Old
Testament of the KJV of the Bible is defined as: A breathing creature.
3. According to Strong’s Greek Bible
Dictionary the word “Soul” is “psuche” which is defined as: the rational and
eternal, also as breath
The
definitions above share with us a glimmer of what a soul is. It is the residue of the Spirit of life that
was breathed into the first Man which allowed him to become a Living Soul. So
powerful was this breath of life, which even Adam’s disobedience could not
snuff it out immediately? Since that
time every person has had that breath of life in him or her. It is that breath
of life that allows mankind to reason and rationalize. This is a good start, to the bible study, but
we need to know more. In order to do this we must examine the scriptures. We begin by gathering scriptures that use the
following paring of words in a verse, in order to find the order and location
of a Man’s soul.
|
Paired Words
|
How many times they appear in 1 verse in the Bible?
|
|
Soul and Mind
|
4 times: Once in
the OT, 3 times in the NT
|
|
Soul and Heart
|
32 times: 26
Times in the OT, 6 times in the NT
|
|
Mind and Heart
|
7 times: 4 times in the OT, 3 times
in the NT
|
The reason
that I chose these words to be paired together in our search, is not only to save
time because the amount of references regarding the word “Soul” is many and
would take a lot of effort to list each and every one of them. I also did it this way to specify our search
to those references regarding the soul of man and its constitution. When we go into the other sections of this
bible study all the other related scriptures about the Soul that is talked
about, described or illustrated, we will
observe what portion of the soul that is in action in this study. Without further delay, here are the
scriptures that speak about the soul of man.
a. First the Scriptures concerning Soul and
Mind (all scriptures are from the KJV Bible):
But he is in
one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.
-Job 23:13
Jesus said
unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind.-Matthew 22:37
And thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. –Mark 12:30
And he
answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy
neighbour as thyself. –Luke 10:27
These are the
only four verses that have the words “soul” and “mind” within them. What is interesting here is that all the New
Testament quotes are from Jesus and he is reciting a scripture in Deuteronomy.
That scripture is Deuteronomy 6:5 which reads:
And thou
shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy might.-Deuteronomy 6:5
When we
compare the OT scripture with the similar NT scriptures we find that the
words heart, mind and soul are treated
as though they are separate and distinct parts. Why is this significant? It is significant because the heart of a man
deals with his emotional intelligence, the mind of man deals with his rational
intelligence, his logic. The word soul
is related to the person of a man. We also find that it is the soul of the man,
the desires of the soul of a man that directs him or her to do what he or she
does. As we consider the OT verse of the
4 listed above, we find that the one scripture in the OT is the patriarch of
faith, Job, speaking about the Lord, how the Lord is of one mind and one soul.
What is this? The Lord has a soul? Yes, the Lord has a soul and this give
evidence that God made mankind in the God class. As a result, so we too have a
soul, because God made us like himself: In his image, after his likeness. The Lord is in one mind means that the Lord
is single in purpose and plan. Job asks,
“Who can turn him?” The answer to Job’s
question is whosoever believes in him and what he can do. The woman who touched the hem of Jesus’s garment
turned Jesus insomuch that Jesus had to ask, “Who touched me?” while the crowds
pressed upon him as he traveled through the streets of a Israeli town. (Mark
5:25-32) Again in another instance, Abraham pleaded to the Lord for the
righteous souls in Sodom and Gomorrah, that he may spare their lives. He turned
the Lord and Abraham’s nephew, Lot and his daughters, were saved from the
judgment of God. (Genesis 18:19-19:29) We
can say that Abraham had a relationship with the Lord, he was indeed the friend
of God. So someone can turn God, if he
has faith and a relationship with him.
What is the point? Since God created us after his own image and own
likeness, we are a reflection of him. So if God can be turned because someone
having faith in him, we too can be turned by someone’s faith in us. Let us look at the other pairing of words to
see if we can receive more information about the soul of a man.
b. Next all the scriptures that deal with the
words “soul” and “heart”
Deuteronomy
4:9- Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget
the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all
the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;
Deuteronomy
4:29- But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him,
if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Deuteronomy
6:5-And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy might.
Deuteronomy
10:12-And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in
all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart
and with all thy soul,
Deuteronomy
11:13-And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my
commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to
serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
Deuteronomy
11:18-Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul,
and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between
your eyes.
Deuteronomy
13:3-Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of
dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD
your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deuteronomy
26:16-This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and
judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with
all thy soul.
Deuteronomy
30:2-And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according
to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine
heart, and with all thy soul;
Deuteronomy
30:6-And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy
seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul,
that thou mayest live.
Deuteronomy
30:10- If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his
commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if
thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
Joshua
22:5-But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the
servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all
his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve
him with all your heart and with all your soul.
1Kings
2:4-That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying,
If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all
their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man
on the throne of Israel.
1Kings
8:48And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in
the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee
toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou
hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:
2Kings
23:3-And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the LORD, to
walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his
statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this
covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the
covenant.
2Kings
23:25-And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD
with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to
all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.
1Chronicles
22:19-Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise
therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the
covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be
built to the name of the LORD.
2Chronicles
6:38-If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the
land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray
toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city
which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:
2Chronicles
15:12-And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers
with all their heart and with all their soul;
2Chronicles
34:3-And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the LORD, to
walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his
statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of
the covenant which are written in this book.
Psalms
13:2-How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily?
how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
Psalms
24:4- He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his
soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
Psalms
84:2-My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart
and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
Proverbs
2:10-When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy
soul;
Proverbs
24:12-If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the
heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall
not he render to every man according to his works?
Isaiah
32:6-For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity,
to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the
soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
Isaiah
44:20-He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he
cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
Jeremiah
4:19- My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a
noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the
sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
Jeremiah
32:41-Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in
this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul.
Matthews
22:37-Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mark
12:30- And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all
thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first
commandment.
Mark
12:33- And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and
with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as
himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
Luke
10:27-And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind;
and thy neighbour as thyself.
Acts
4:32-And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul:
neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his
own; but they had all things common.
Hebrews 4:12
For the word
of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The
interesting thing about these scriptures is that they shed light on what the
heart and soul of man can do. However, the heart of Man and the Soul of man are
still treated as two distinct parts that relates to the person of man. The heart
of man has distinct qualities: It can be a unifying factor when people gather
together. (Acts 4:32) It can store the things that God commands, it can be
expressed in levels of commitment to the will of God, it can be also deceived,
it can be pierced with the word of God, it also expresses longing or desire for
someone or something and is essential in making a covenant promise to God. It
is the part that seeks after the will and purpose of God.
B. When God tests a person, he tests his
heart (soul), to see if that person will still love Him and seek after Him. The
heart of a person is also convertible, it is the place in the constitution of a
person where he or she makes the choice to convert. It experiences the emotions
of sorrow and gladness and it is the entrance way for new wisdom and new
knowledge to be imported into a person.
It can be purely good or wicked, but never a combination of both. The
mind (soul) of a man has also distinct qualities some of the similar to the
heart (soul), but remember the heart (soul) deals with the emotional
intelligence of a man, while the mind (soul) deals with the logical
intelligence of man. A soul (both mind and heart) of a man can be knitted to
another soul (mind and heart) regardless of the gender of the persons involved.
(1 Samuel 18:1) This binding of the souls of two distinct individuals however
does not promote homosexuality, nor does make it acceptable. It rather shows
how close two individuals can become in a non-sexual friendship. The soul (both mind and heart) also can be
pierced by the word of God (Hebrews 4:12), it can be expressed in levels of
commitment and is essential in making a covenant promise with God. (2
Chronicles 34:3) The soul is made
pleasant when the heart (soul) receives wisdom. One thing that the mind (soul)
has different than the heart (soul) of a man, that is that not in one of the
scriptures discussed or shared in this bible study does it state that the mind
(soul) is corruptible or can be made entirely evil. This leads us to believe
that the heart (soul) of man is the quality of the soul of a man. (Mark
7:15-20; Matthew 15:11) For also the
bible states: “…Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his
wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity;…” (Ezekiel
3:19) How does a soul become wicked in the eyes of God? By bearing iniquity in a soul’s heart
(Jeremiah 17:9). God knows and tries the heart of man (Psalms 7:9; 1
Thessalonians 2:4) to get him to repent of the wicked ways lodged in his heart. Constantly calling every soul to himself
through the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus,
that they might find faith in Him and be saved. (Isaiah 65:2, Romans 10:21)
C. We also see through these scriptures that
it is the individual’s responsibility to keep one’s soul, both mind and heart,
in God. This makes the heart of man and
the mind of man practically indivisible.
We find that knowledge enters the heart of a man and effects a change in
the soul. (Proverbs 2:10) This is where
God communicates to man the soul. He communicates through his heart. How does the
heart receives knowledge of God? Through the words of God that is found in the
Bible. Let us take a further look at
this from the last group of scriptures which deals with the next pair of words: mind and heart, and let us see what else we
will find.
a. Remember that all scriptures are from the
King James Bible
Deuteronomy
28:65- And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole
of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart,
and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:
1Samuel
2:35-And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that
which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and
he shall walk before mine anointed forever.
1Chronicles
28:9- And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him
with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all
hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek
him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off forever.
Daniel
5:20- But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was
deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:
Matthew
22:37- Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mark
12:30- And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all
thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first
commandment.
Luke
10:27- And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind;
and thy neighbour as thyself.
The
interesting thing is that even when we attempted find more verses with the last
pairing we ended up repeating some verses because all three words: Heart, Mind
and Soul, are found within them. Which
tell us that God still needs a full commitment from a person. He wants a person’s
passion, thoughts and choices all to be about His will.
b. After reviewing all the scriptures we can
safely deduce that the Soul of a man is comprised of the quality of his heart
and the commitment of his mind. That it
is the heart that receives knowledge and it is the mind that judges that
knowledge and then consumes it. (2 Corinthians 10:5) The mind is a man’s rationale, his logical
intelligence, how he goes about thinking about things. The heart receives the
knowledge, the mind evaluates it and if it appeals to a person’s logic his soul
is content to rest in it.
This was very
good but we are not finished yet.
III. What does the Soul of man do?
A. Now that we have gotten our bearings in
this complex matter of the Triune Man we now analyze what a soul does. Don’t
worry much of the hard part is done, but was necessary to form a foundation
that is biblical and sound. In order to
find out how the soul operates, we must understand its importance. The soul is the residue of the Spirit of life
of God. Some call it the spark of life in every individual that is born on this
planet. It is that residue of the Spirit
of life of God within a man that interfaces and communications with the
spiritual world. It makes choices that the body of man must follow.
B. Ever heard the saying “I couldn’t help
myself” when someone does something wrong or offensive to God or another soul. Well in some cases that is not true. The
problem lies with the commitment of the soul, for when the soul decides to have
control, it will strive to keep it and command the body to do things so that it
will maintain in control. When someone
says. “I can’t help myself”. They are really saying they do not know how to
control themselves or they do not want to control themselves. Why, because of
some falsely perceived benefit they suppose that they receive from making such
a claim. This is where the power of a
spirit filled life comes in. A spirit
filled man has the power to control himself if he chooses to. It is really a matter of revelation that a
person receives about himself or herself
and has about himself or herself and what power a person has to change his or
her life. If a spiritual filled person does not have the revelation that he or
she has the power to change his or her life for the better, he or she will not
make the changes necessary in his or her life for the better.
C. The soul also communicates to the body and
when it is in its proper function it dictates to the body despite how the body
feels at the time. Because the mind of the soul knows that if it can tell the
body the right things to do it will do it. If the mind of the soul instructs
the body to do evil it will do it despite how the body feels at the time. When the
soul of a person is following the dictates of the senses of the body and
its appetites, the soul is in its un-natural role as it reacts to the effects of the body from
its lack of decision making.
D. Now we have to deal with wills here. The Soul of man drives the will of a person
and whatsoever the soul agrees to, that it will dictate to the body to do. This
is why Satan wants to control every soul of man on the planet. So that he can
inflict the self-destruction of the human race on the earth and take all
unredeemed souls to the lake of fire with him.
He has one problem. Satan is a spirit and he needs a body to operate in
the physical and natural dimension of Earth. The only way he can enter a person
is through the temptation of this heart. (Luke 22:3; John 13:27; James 1:14+15)
E. Think about how Satan tempted Adam and Eve
in the Garden. (Genesis 3:1-6) Eve began
to desire the forbidden fruit based upon the misinformation Satan gave to her,
Adam was right there with her receiving the same misinformation, so he is
without excuse. It was Adam’s and Eve’s desire
to be like God in every way, but that was the trick, for they already was
created like God in every way. Satan’s
stratagem was to make Adam feel like God was holding back on them. They both fell
for it because they wanted to be like God their Creator in his wisdom and in
knowledge, so they both ate of the forbidden fruit and as a consequence spiritually
died, just as God said they would. Satan
hasn’t, since that time, changed his method, he still uses people and words to
get spiritually filled people out of character and to commit spiritual suicide. In order to condemn them before God or better
yet have them condemn themselves before men and God through sins consciousness.
The only difference is that this time a spiritual filled person can repent and
be forgiven for many offensives he may commit against the will of God and be
spiritually restored and develop a righteousness consciousness (1John 1:9).
This is possible because of Jesus, the second man Adam. He succeeded where the first man Adam had
failed and now, as a result, God has children with whom he can communicate his
will to through the Spirt all because of the finished work of Jesus, the Christ
upon the cross.
F. So this gives every soul the opportunity
to repent and be saved, because just as the fall in the Garden was done by the
choice of the soul, so must be the decision to repent, and be redeemed of God
through Jesus, the Christ, it also must
be by the choice of the soul. So salvation is not just a matter of faith, it is
also a matter of choice based upon logical and emotional intelligence of a soul
that is informed by the word of God.
G. The decision has become difficult to make
because of uninformed preachers and other religions making their offer of a
spiritual relationship with a “God” or a religious life one that does not
command such a moral commitment to obey an unseen God. In a free choice society as most Americans in
the US live in, to be asked to commit oneself both mind, soul and body to live
a life that seems contrary to normal human appetites is a bit much. Deep in the conscious of their souls is the
hunger for true spirituality and their constant seeking for satisfaction
through that which does not satisfy results in continual longing. Many choose to seek satisfaction in this or
that, but It is until a soul makes the
choice to live a life in God with Christ, is when a soul’s life really begins.
It is when a soul’s satisfaction begins to be fulfilled. However, time is of the essence. There is a
day when God will judge the Earth and the inhabitants in it. Those who have
made the choice to receive Christ will enter into life. While those who chose
other ways will enter into Hell.
H. So what does the soul of a person do? It does whatsoever it chooses to do. Either
to adhere to the dictates of the commands of God, in the Bible or to adhere to
the dictates of his own natural desires that can be influenced by the
temptation of Satan. In saying that, I want to make it clear that all natural
desires are not evil or even wrong. For
example: Going to school to improve oneself is not sin or working a job to earn
a living is not sin, neither is being a good parent or member of society is not
sin. These things are not outside the context of what God designed and
commanded. It is just outside the
context of what God designed for the Human experience when a person does things
without His guidance and against God’s commands. This action outside the context of what
designed and commanded is called sin.
Sin is missing the mark. The
falling short of the target of living up to God’s expectations. When a soul
chooses to do things outside the context of what God has designed and
commanded, that soul is participating in sinful behavior. Is all actions a soul chooses to do outside
of the context of what God designed and commanded sinful behavior? Yes it is,
no matter how one may justify the behavior it is still sinful if it is not what
God has designed and commanded in His word, the Bible.
We
are not finished yet!
IV. What does the
Soul of a Man experience?
A. The Importance of the Five Senses to
the Experiences of the Soul
1. The soul of a person experiences things
through the five physical senses of the body.
These senses are well known as the following: Sight, Touch, Smell, Taste
and Hearing. It is through these senses
that a soul can receive information and respond to it for “Faith cometh by
hearing…”. (Roman 10:17) In other
words, “faith” is a spiritual substance that can only come about from the soul
of a man receiving it from the physical sense of hearing.
2. Here is another example, after Adam had
disobeyed God and ate of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, he knew
he did wrong and hid himself from the voice of God in the Garden when God
called for him to appear. Adam knew he
(and she) had did wrong, but he did not know what he did was sin. Sin was not
identified as sin in Adam’s day, it was only known as disobedience and an Adam
knew he(and she) had disobeyed the
command of God. Adam’s (both male and female) soul experienced alienation from
the fellowship with God they once had and the only way for them to communicate
to God was through the shed blood of innocent animals. (Genesis 3: 8-10,21)
3. We can say that it was through the
improper use of the five senses that Adam made the wrong choice and disobeyed
God and ate of the fruit. Adam used lust,
the improper use of his senses, to make the wrong choice and sinned against the
command of God in the garden of Eden, but it was through the senses of sight,
touch and taste: the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of
life. How so? The fruit looked
appetizing; this is the lust of the eyes. Then their desire for the fruit of
the knowledge of Good and Evil grew; this was the lust of the flesh. Finally
they wanted to be like God; this was the pride of life for they wanted
something out of life that they believe they ought to have. So they ate of the
fruit of the knowledge of Good and Evil.
4. The problem was they already had the Godly
life of God overshadowing them and through their disobedience, spiritually died
that hour. This improper use of the
senses problem is still with mankind till this day. This is why Jesus is the
only solution to mankind’s sinful disobedient condition. (John 14:6) The good
news is the God has allow us to follow after Jesus, to do what he did in the
proper use of the senses and live like he did. (1 Peter 2:21) Through Jesus,
God has made all members of mankind eligible to experience the Godly life, only
if we each individually choose to live it.
V. In Conclusion.
A. What have we discovered? We discovered
what I call the tip of the iceberg concerning man, the soul in this Triune man
in two Dominions series. Bible study. I do encourage you to do further studies
into this matter on your own. Maybe
there were questions about the soul of a man that this study did not address.
As I have stated in the beginning of this article, the study of the Triune
nature of man is a complex and moving topic and all we have as a point of
reference is what God describes a soul, how he deals with a soul and what he
wants from a soul, and all those things can be found in the Bible.
B. The purpose of this study was to introduce
a very complex subject matter and give you the reader and the Bible student
some foundational background in the subject.
In the hopes that you may come to understand how God designed how your
soul to operate in conjunction with his Spirit and be obedient to the will of
God. After receiving this knowledge,
there can be no longer the excuse of ignorance of not knowing how to
behave, for Jesus did not leave us
comfortless (John 14:16,26; John 15:26),
he sent us the Holy Spirit to speak to us about all things and to bring
what Jesus said to our remembrance. “And
thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, ‘This is the way, walk ye in
it’, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” (Isaiah
30:21) If we fail to hear the Spirit’s voice, we have the written words of God
in the Bible to assist us. This is one
of the many reasons I carry a bible with me where ever I go, so that when the
Spirit of God wants to teach me something I can have a point of reference that
I can fully place my faith upon.
C. Now all this is for nothing if you are not
a Believer in Christ. Your soul cannot enjoy the fellowship with God through
Jesus the Christ now, or in the life to come. Why? Because you have not made
Jesus the Lord of your life. Or sure you
can go to church, attend a bible study and even go to a prayer meeting, but
until Jesus becomes your personal lord and savior, you will still operate
outside of the context of what God has designed and commanded and do whatsoever
what satisfies the appetites of your body. Which leaves your soul open to the
temptations of Satan and the desire to disobey God. What is the consequence of such a life? The
bible states, “…the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23) Every man has the
spark of life, that God gives to every life born on this earth, it is up to the
choice of every soul to enhance that spirit of life or to extinguish it. God has done everything so that each soul has
the opportunity to save himself from this evil and wicked generation. What shall you do? Repent and be saved! How do you do that? Just sincerely with all your heart recite the
following prayer.
Dear heavenly Father,
In Jesus’ name, I come to you now as a repentant sinner. I confess all of my sinfulness to you and ask
you to forgive all of my sins for Jesus’ sake. Wash away all of my sins by the
blood of your Son Jesus. For I now
believe that Jesus died for my sins according to your Holy Word, the Bible and
that he was raised from the death according to the Bible. I now invite your Holy Spirit to come and
live inside of me and make me your child. I promise to strive to live holy
everyday with the Help of your Holy Spirit and by studying the Bible every day.
I thank you Lord for saving me.
If you have recited the above prayer with all sincerity, I welcome
you the Family of God! Right now the Angels of heaven are rejoicing because you
have repented and believed in the hope of all men’s salvation. Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God.
The next thing you need to do is find a bible believing church, so
that you can grow up in Christ and in God. To become what God designed you to
be. Isn’t that exciting!?!
