Series: Healing 

Sunday am 26 August 2018 – Kobus Swart

3 John 2; Matt. 10:28; Gen. 35:18; Heb. 10:39; Luke 10:27; Micah 6:7; 1 Pet. 1:22; Deut. 30:10; Rev. 20:4; Prov. 19:8; Ps. 42:2-5; Deut. 11:18; Ps. 23:3; Gen. 2:7 (KJV); 1 Cor. 15:45; (Gen. 3:5); (Matt. 22:11); Prov. 23:7; Eccl. 3:11 (Amp-Classic); Heb. 10:16 (Amp-Classic); Rom. 12:1-2; Eph. 4:23-24; Heb. 4:12 (Passion & Young’s Translation); 2 Thess. 2:8-10; Rev. 18:11-13; John 5:19; John 12:24-25; 1 Pet. 2:11; 1 Cor. 2:10, 14; Jas. 1:21; (John 12:25); Luke 12:30; Matt. 16:26; 1 John 3:16; 1 Thess. 5:23

One of the most beautiful Scriptures which are often misunderstood is: Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2). The issue of the soul is not fully understood and appreciated. There are various reasons for that. There are many spiritual born-again believers who are struggling in their walk with God. They do not always walk in victory. One of the reasons is what we are going to deal with this morning. 

Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matt. 10:28). The Soul is immortal!

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go along with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God, With the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival. Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence (Ps. 42:2-5). When you go through things, you must identify your soul and what role your soul is playing.

Where did this all start? In the Garden of Eden. God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the spirit of life, and man became a living soul (Gen. 2:7-KJV). And so it is written, The first man Adam became a living soul; the last Adam was a quickening spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). What happened in the garden? Before the fall Adam could exercise the ability that was in his soul, to rule as he was given the mandate by God. We do not know how long that period was. His soul was not affected, his soul was pure and clean. Then he was tempted by satan and satan used this argument, For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God (Gen. 3:5). What was the result? The latent power of man’s soul, after the fall, was then bound in his flesh, so he became disconnected from God. When anyone is disconnected from Him who is a life-giving Spirit, one can awaken the latent power of the soul and it can become quite impressive. There are people who are not born again but they can apparently do more than spirit-filled Christians can do (Buddhists, Psychics, New Age). They use the power of the soul but fail to connect to the Spirit of God. Remember the man at the wedding feast who did not have the wedding garment (Matt. 22:11). How did he get in? There are people who are trying, and maybe have succeeded to some extent, to enter into a realm which is not for them, because they are not born again. The challenge for you and me is not to awaken the latent power of the soul, disconnected from the Spirit of God. That is what happened in the Garden of Eden. Adam fell for it because he wanted to be like God. He disobeyed God and the fall was the result.

The soul consists of the following: your mind, your will and your emotions. There are two levels of the mind, the conscious and the subconscious mind, which is actually the heart (not the physical heart). It is the conscious mind, your thought life; and your subconscious mind, your heart. We quote so often:  For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he (Prov. 23:7-KJV). The physical heart does not think; it is the subconscious level of your mind, which is part of your soul. Ponder on this Scripture and ask the Lord how it applies to you. Some translations say, For as he thinketh in his soul, so is he(Darby Translation).

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy] (Eccl. 3:11 – Amp-Classic Version). Something in the mind and heart of man must not look in the wrong direction for fulfilment. Nothing can satisfy the soul but God! We actually belong to another realm. We are beings with eternity in our heart and mind. I will imprint My laws upon their hearts, and I will inscribe them on their minds (on their inmost thoughts and understanding),(Heb. 10:16 – Amp-Classic Version). When God reveals something to you, it is actually an uncovering to discover what is. Revelation is not something new, it is something that is there, but is unveiled.

We must be renewed in our minds. The renewal is critical and that is an ongoing process. You do not have your mind renewed in a little experience, it is an ongoing discovery. And that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, (not just the conscious mind but also the subconscious mind) and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth (Eph. 4:23-24). We have given our lives to the Lord and we are in a process of having our souls saved. You may be born again, you may be filled with the Spirit, but you are still in a process of being saved. Your soul is the issue. Soul-force vs. spirit-force is the battleground today. For we have the living Word of God, which is full of energy, and it pierces more sharply than a two-edged sword. It will even penetrate to the very core of our being where soul and spirit, bone and marrow meet! It interprets and reveals the true thoughts and secret motives of our hearts (Heb. 4:12 – Passion). How do you get your subconscious and conscious mind renewed? By the living Word of God! That is why so many born-again Christians battle with spiritual growth, because they neglect being impacted by a living Word; a word that gives life and spirit, that can change the spirit of your mind. We need constant renewal. If the deeper work of the cross is not applied, then we may even unwittingly, unknowingly develop our soul power. Man’s soul power is satan’s working instrument among Christians, even in some “revivals” (2 Thess. 2:8-10). Soul power can even deceive God’s elect. God help us to discern. God uses man’s spirit and satan can use man’s soul. Human trafficking – the merchants of the earth trading with the souls of men – will come to an end (Rev. 18:11-13).

Let us look at the pattern Son. Man is a triune being – spirit, soul and body; so was Jesus. He could do nothing of Himself (John 5:19). Where does self-will come from? From the soul! Jesus did not do anything of Himself unless it was something He saw the Father doing. He denied everything that came from Himself. Most places in the New Testament where you read the word “life” it is actually soul (psuché). He who loves his soul-life loses it, and he who hates his soul-life will keep it to life eternal (John 12:24-25). Can you see what it means to have your soul saved? God works by the Holy Spirit and our renewed spirit. Jesus came as a life-giving Spirit.

What is meant by “the saving of my soul”? It means something quite different from the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life which every sinner receives at conversion. Peter writes to the believers, Abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul (1 Pet. 2:11). The spirit of the age is knocking at every Christian’s door. Although redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, our souls are still exposed to danger just as our bodies are. The souls of many of God’s pilgrims are yet to be saved, that is to be brought through and placed beyond the reach of all danger.

For to us, God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God … But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised (1 Cor. 2:10, 14). Self-will is from the soul. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls (James 1:21). Why do we come to church meetings? Is there something in your heart that you receive when you sit under a living Word, and the fellowship with the believers? Money cannot buy that. The saving of the soul is something distinct from the new birth and it is something that happens when we deny our self-life. He who loves his life(soul) loses it, and he who hates his (soul)-life in this world will keep it to life eternal (John 12:25). This applies to the people of God and to them alone.

The soul takes pleasure in material things (Luke 12:30). People want happiness. What is happiness? Happiness feeds the soul. What do we really want? True spiritual joy! The Lord speaks of a man’s soul as a thing he possesses and which he may lose or save, which is evidently different from a man being himself lost or saved (Matt. 16:26). We know love by this that Jesus laid down His soul life for us and we ought to lay down our soul life for others (1 John 3:16). Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ(1 Thess. 5:23). God loves your soul and your spirit and your body. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual health involves being healed – spirit, soul and body. May you prosper and be in health as your soul prospers. A healthy soul will mean a healthy body and prosperity. Take care of your soul and everything else will be fine.