At my seminar last week, I discovered that many of the students had no prior knowledge of the “salvation of the soul.” What is it, you ask? In a nutshell, it means this: when we are born again, our spirit is saved, but afterward, our soul is “being” saved: our un-renewed mind is changed, our damaged emotions are healed, and our willfulness is changed to willingness! (For a detailed teaching on this subject, please visit my website and listen or watch the audio/video teaching called “Salvation of the Soul.”)
Why is this teaching important? Because if a Christian does not understand the difference between his spirit and his soul, he can be deceived into thinking he is “walking by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16, 25) when he is really following his own natural (soulical) way of thinking (un-renewed), his own desires (selfish), and his own will (self-serving).
So, you ask, how does one discern when he is operating out of his soul rather than his spirit? How is the soul to be saved? The answer: by the Word of God, which acts like a knife, separating (and thus revealing) that which is of the soul (our natural thoughts and desires) from those of God’s Spirit in our spirit (Hebrews 4:12). When we read and study the Words of God, they change us: our thinking lines up to be congruent with the “mind of Christ," with His compassion and joy, and with His willing submission to the Father. We are operating as "spiritual" persons; we are "walking by the Spirit." Holy Spirit is the source of every thought, emotion, and act. Our soul and spirit are properly aligned.
There were two trees in the Garden, representing the two sources of life. The Tree of Life represented the life of Christ; the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil represented man’s self-life (the soul). Of the fruit of which tree are you eating? We need to ask ourselves each day: what is the source of my life?
http://www.well-of-life.org/audio/tot_t22_salvation_of_soul
Most excellent Greg!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Bert H.