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(Editor's Note: The Latent Power of the Soul was published in Issue Nos. 26 and 27 of The Present Testimony. The following preface was added when the two articles were republished later as a separate book by the Gospel Book Room.)
In 1924 when I first called the attention of God's children to the distinction between the spirit and soul, some well-intentioned brothers thought that this was only a dispute over words and that it had no real significance. Little did they realize that we were not disputing words but what lies behind the words. The spirit and the soul are two distinct, yet not separate, organs. One belongs to God, while the other belongs to man. You can call them by whatever name you want, but in essence the two are different. The danger with believers is to confuse the spirit with the soul and the soul with the spirit. In so doing, they are deceived into accepting the counterfeits of the evil spirits, with the result that they confuse God's work. This is the reason why we have drawn men's attention to the subject.
This message was originally intended to be written after The Spiritual Man was finished. But because of my physical weakness and the heavy burden of my work, I delayed until last year to publish it in The Present Testimony. Now, at the request of readers, I have put out this single volume.
The greatest benefit in knowing the difference between the spirit and the soul lies in the fact that one can know the latent power of the soul and how it counterfeits the power of the Holy Spirit. This kind of knowledge is not theoretical but practical in helping people to walk in God's way.
Last night I read a word by Mr. Meyer which he spoke in a meeting shortly before he died. He said:
It is an amazing fact that never before has there been as much spiritualism found outside the church of Christ as there is today. In addition, there are many tongue speaking movements which may all be the soul counterfeiting the spirit. I do not wish to argue. But it is a fact that in places where human mentality is low, the counterfeit work of the soul is quite prevailing. At present, the atmosphere is filled with the commotion of all kinds of counterfeits. The Lord seems to be calling His church to rise to a higher ground.
The situation today is perilous. May we "prove all things. Hold fast to what is good" (1 Thes. 5:21). Amen.
Watchman NeeMarch 8, 1933
