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The question we wish to bring up today is one to which many, as far as I know, have not paid attention. It is the matter of the salvation of the soul. Concerning salvation, we should emphasize very much that there is a great difference between the spirit and the soul. First Thessalonians 5:23 says, "Your spirit and soul and body." This word clearly divides man into three parts. Simply put, the spirit is the part of man which fellowships with God. Lower animals do not have this; therefore, lower animals cannot worship God. The soul is the organ of man's thought, will, and emotion. Lower animals also have this part. The soul is just the life we have as an animal. The body is the part of man which communicates with the material world. Man is of three parts, spirit and soul and body; therefore, the meaning of salvation is that all three parts have to be saved.
First Corinthians 5:5 says, "His spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord." This speaks of the salvation of the spirit. Romans 8:23 says, "The redemption of our body." This speaks of the salvation of the body. Today we wish to examine the salvation of the soul. We will look carefully into every place in the New Testament where the salvation of the soul is mentioned so that we may understand what the salvation of the soul is, and what its significance is.
Matthew 16:24-28 says, "Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his soul-life shall lose it; but whoever loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it. For what shall a man be profited if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul-life? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul-life? For the Son of Man is to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will repay each man according to his doings. Truly I say to you, There are some of those standing here who shall by no means taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."
"Then Jesus said to his disciples." From this word, we know that the Lord Jesus spoke the following words to his disciples, not to outsiders. Since they were the disciples, they were saved people. Therefore, we should remember that the following words were spoken to saints who were already saved, not to sinners who were not saved.
"If anyone wants to come after Me." "Anyone" means anyone among the saved ones who will come after the Lord. "Anyone" still refers to the saved disciples, those who particularly want to follow the Lord. The words "come after Me" indicate that the words which follow are the conditions of coming after the Lord.
"Let him deny himself." To deny the self does not mean to conquer the self. It does not mean to ignore oneself or renounce one's rights. To deny the self means to not follow one's own mind in everything and not consider oneself the center. It means putting oneself aside and seeking God's mind. The Lord says that only this kind of person can come after Him. This is very obvious because in order to follow the Lord, one surely cannot follow himself.
"Take up his cross and follow Me." This is even deeper than denying oneself. To deny oneself is to forget about oneself, but to take up the cross is to submit to God. To take up the cross is accepting all that God has arranged and being willing to suffer according to God's will. If we deny the self and take up the cross, we will be able to follow the Lord.
"For whoever wants to save his soul-life shall lose it; but whoever loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it." The word "life" is psuche in the original text, which means "soul." This verse speaks of the matter of saving one's soul and losing one's soul. This sheds light on the question we are about to examine.
"For." This is a continuation of what was said before. The word "for" shows us that the denying of the self and the taking up of the cross to follow the Lord in the last verse is the same thing as saving and losing of the soul spoken of here.
"For whoever wants to save his soul-life." This means that though a person wants to follow the Lord, he is not willing to deny himself or take up the cross. From this, we can understand to some extent the meaning of saving one's soul. It means to be unable to disregard oneself or renounce one's rights; it means to be unable to allow oneself to suffer and submit to God. This word shows us that saving the soul is opposite to denying the self and taking up the cross. Therefore, if a man understands what it is to deny the self and take up the cross, he understands what it is to save the soul.
The Lord tells us that if a man cares for himself so much and is unwilling to deny himself, take up the cross, suffer, or submit to God, the ultimate end of saving his soul will be losing his soul. Losing the soul means to suffer ultimately, losing what one delights in and failing to receive what pleases him.
"Whoever loses his soul-life for My sake." This is the denying of the self and taking up of the cross spoken of above. To lose the soul means the same as denying the self. The Lord reckons that if a man is willing to forsake all the pleasures of the soul for His sake and suffer according to God's will, he "shall find" his soul. This means that whoever is willing for the Lord's sake to forsake his own mind and what he takes pleasure in, to prohibit his heart from finding satisfaction in the things of the world, and to endure much pain and suffering, the Lord will cause him to gain what his heart takes pleasure in, obtain satisfaction, enjoy blessing, and become happy at another time.
After reading the above verse, we know what the meaning of the salvation of the soul is. This verse shows us that salvation of the soul means to make the soul happy, to follow what the heart desires, and to gain satisfaction. Losing the soul means to deprive the self of happiness, not following what the heart desires, and not having satisfaction.
Hence, to lose the soul is definitely not what we usually refer to as perdition. The Lord Jesus shows us that saving the soul means to be unwilling to deny the self or take up the cross, and losing the soul means to be willing to deny the self and take up the cross. It is obvious that this is not related to what we commonly know as salvation or perdition. If saving the soul means gaining eternal life, why does the Lord Jesus say that one should lose the soul for His sake? If losing the soul means going to the lake of fire, is it conceivable that the Lord Jesus wants us to go to the lake of fire for His sake when He told us to lose our soul? Therefore, this verse does not refer in the slightest to the matter of gaining eternal life and going to the lake of fire. Losing the soul in the first part of the verse must mean the same as losing the soul in the second part of the verse. If we take "whoever wants to save his soul-life shall lose it" to mean that whoever does not deny himself shall go to the lake of fire, then the next part "whoever loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it" would have to mean that whoever goes to the lake of fire for His sake shall find eternal life. This is absurd. Therefore, the meaning is simply that if a saved Christian will not let his soul (all his senses) suffer, his soul will certainly suffer in the future. If he is willing to let his soul suffer for the Lord's sake, in the future his soul will certainly not suffer.
Moreover, if saving the soul means gaining eternal life and losing the soul means going to the lake of fire, what the Lord Jesus says here is not connected to what went before. This word was spoken to the disciples who had eternal life already. Furthermore, a non-Christian could never deny himself, take up the cross, or follow the Lord. If the Lord wanted them to gain eternal life, the Lord would certainly have told them to believe; He would definitely not have told them to deny the self in order to gain eternal life. Only one who has already gained eternal life possesses the possibility of denying the self, taking up the cross, and following the Lord. What a sinner, who is without eternal life, should do is not follow the Lord, but believe in Him so that he can gain eternal life.
"For what shall a man be profited if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul-life? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul-life?" Our Lord continues to speak of the unprofitability of a man losing his soul through saving it. He means that if a man does not deny himself, take up the cross, and closely follow Him, but acts according to the pleasure of his soul in order to give satisfaction to his soul, even to the extent of gaining the whole world, a time will come when he will lose his soul. A momentary saving of the soul with the result of losing it in the end is unprofitable in the Lord's eyes. Although a man can gain much happiness through going after his own desires, the Lord says that in the end he will lose his soul and lose all happiness. According to the Lord, gaining the soul at the end is much better than gaining the soul at the beginning. He says that there is nothing a man can exchange for the satisfaction of the soul at the end. This means that a man should lose his soul beforehand rather than to lose it at the end.
The Lord tells us that whoever will save his soul will lose it. At what time will he lose it? If a man saves his soul now, when will he lose it? The Lord says that whoever loses his soul for His sake will find it. When will this be? To answer this question, He goes on, "For the Son of Man is to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will repay each man according to his doings."
"His doings" means his deeds in this life. "His doings" can be divided into two aspects: the saving of one's soul in this life and the losing of one's soul for the Lord's sake in this life. To "repay each man according to his doings" is to cause those who save their soul to lose it and to cause those who lose their soul for the Lord's sake to find it. According to the Lord's word, when will he who saves his soul lose it, and when will he who loses his soul for the Lord's sake find it? He says that it will be at the time of His coming. Therefore, we need to see clearly that if a man cares for himself now, makes himself happy, and is not willing to suffer for the Lord, at the Lord's coming, he will be rebuked by the Lord, not obtain the Lord's glory, and may even weep and gnash his teeth. If a man is willing to forsake his rights now, be totally separated from the world, and faithfully submit to the will of God, at the time of the Lord's coming he will win the praise of the Lord, enjoy the joy of the Lord, and be fully satisfied in his heart and mind.
The Lord's coming and His repaying particularly refer to His kingship in the kingdom because after the Lord tells us of His coming, He tells us where His coming is. Verse 28 says, "The Son of Man coming in His kingdom." Therefore, the Lord means that when He comes to earth to be king for a thousand years, some shall reign with Him, but some shall not.
The main point of this portion of the Word is that there are two kinds of disciples who have believed in the Lord and have eternal life. One kind denies the self and takes up the cross; the other kind is not willing to deny the self and take up the cross. The latter, seeking to gain the pleasures of the world for the self, are not willing to lose the soul; the former are willing to forsake all and lose their soul for the Lord's sake. A disciple is a person set apart from the sinners. But the Lord sets the self-denying disciples apart from the non-self-denying disciples. We should know that our future position in the kingdom will be determined by our deeds today. What is gained today is the same in nature as what will be gained in the future. What is lost today is also the same in nature as what will be lost in the future. If today's gain means gaining the world and the denial of suffering, then the future's gain must be the gaining of the world and freedom from suffering. If today's loss means forsaking the world and the denial of one's own will, then the future's loss must also be losing the world and the non-fulfillment of one's own will. The Lord means that whoever receives full satisfaction from the world now will lose his reigning position with the Lord in the future. From this we see that the salvation of the soul is very different from what we usually refer to as the salvation of the spirit (which means the salvation of gaining eternal life).
How is the spirit saved? "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). John 3 tells us that "he who believes...has eternal life" (v. 36). Once a man believes, his spirit is saved. Hence, saving the spirit means gaining eternal life. How is the soul saved? This portion of the Word tells us that only when a man loses his soul for the Lord's sake can his soul be saved. The salvation of the spirit is the gaining of eternal life, while the salvation of the soul is the gaining of the kingdom.
My spirit is saved by Jesus bearing the cross for me, whereas my soul is saved through my bearing of the cross.
The spirit is saved because Jesus denied Himself for me, while the soul is saved by my denying of my self and following the Lord.
The salvation of the spirit is based on believing. Once a man believes, the matter is settled forever and cannot be shaken. The salvation of the soul depends upon a life-long matter and a journey which has been completed.
The salvation of the spirit is based on faith because "he who believes...has eternal life" (John 3:36). The salvation of the soul is based on deeds because "He will repay each man according to his doings" (Matt. 16:27). Even if all the demons rise up from hell to confound me, they cannot make me perish, and even if all the angels come down from heaven to smite me, they cannot make me perish either. Even the Triune God Himself cannot make me perish. Once the spirit is saved, eternal life is assured. But the salvation of the soul cannot be settled today; it can only be gained at the time of the Lord's second coming.
The salvation of the spirit is a matter of today because, once a man believes, he has eternal life. The salvation of the soul is experienced at the time of the coming of the Son of Man.
The salvation of the spirit is the gift of grace today because "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16). The salvation of the soul is a reward. It is a reward gained at the Lord's second coming by those who follow the Lord faithfully all their life.
For a man's soul to be saved, he must be one whose spirit is saved first. If the spirit is not saved, there is no possibility for the soul to be saved. We often speak of the salvation of the "spirit-soul" [a Chinese idiomatic expression]; actually, according to the Bible, it is the salvation of the soul.
The record in Mark 8:31-38 is largely the same as in Matthew, but there is a little difference, which I shall now point out.
"But whoever will lose his soul-life for My sake and the gospel's shall save it" (v. 35). Here three words are added, "and the gospel's." Most people think that this refers to those who preach the gospel for the Lord. But if this is the case, would it not mean that only the soul of the preachers will be saved? It does not say "the preaching of the gospel's"; it only says "the gospel's." What gospel is this gospel? It is the gospel spoken of in Mark 1:1: "The gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." This gospel is the great salvation mentioned in Hebrews 2:3-4, which is "in leading many sons into glory" (Heb. 2:10). This is not the gospel of leaving Egypt and being freed from the slavery of sin; it is the gospel of entering into Canaan to receive glory.
"Loses his soul-life for My sake" (Matt. 16:25), is the result of being constrained by love. To "lose his soul-life for...the gospel's [sake]" (Mark 8:35) is for the benefit of one's own future, which is for the sake of the kingdom.
"For whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation" (Mark 8:38). This indicates that he who is not willing to lose his soul-life is not willing to suffer for the Lord and His words in this age. In an adulterous and sinful generation, witnessing for the Lord's words indeed requires the losing of the soul. Unless a man really loses his soul, he cannot, in such a generation, witness for the Lord, much less shamelessly witness for Him. Many of God's children are never willing, nor do they dare, to witness before man for the Lord who purchased them. The reason is that they want to save their faces and are afraid of others' ridicule. This is to save one's soul in this life. Such a person will definitely suffer loss at the time of the kingdom. Everyone who is not willing to lose his soul in this age will not see the glory of the Lord. Everyone who will be a co-king with the Lord will have to lose his soul. Everyone who loses his soul in this age will find it in the coming age.
"And even as it happened in the days of Noah, so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day in which Noah entered into the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, even as it happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day in which Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be in the same way on the day in which the Son of Man is revealed. In that day, he who will be on the housetop and his goods in the house, let him not come down to take them away; and he who is in the field, likewise, let him not turn back to the things behind. Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his soul-life will lose it, and whoever loses it will preserve it alive. I tell you, In that night there will be two on one bed; the one will be taken and the other will be left. There will be two women grinding together; the one will be taken but the other will be left. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left. And they answered and said to Him, Where, Lord? And He said to them, Where the body is, there also will the vultures be gathered together."
These verses tell us the time when the soul is either saved or lost. The words in verses 34-35, "I tell you, In that night there will be two on one bed; the one will be taken and the other will be left. There will be two women grinding together; the one will be taken but the other will be left," refer to the time of rapture. The difference here is that one will be raptured and one will be left. The word "taken" means to be raptured to heaven (Gen. 5:24); therefore, what is spoken of in verse 33, "Whoever seeks to preserve his soul-life will lose it, and whoever loses it will preserve it alive," means that whoever saves his soul in this age will be left behind at the appearing of the Son of Man; whoever loses his soul in this age will be raptured at the appearing of the Son of Man. There is no difference between the two persons, neither any difference in their work nor any difference in the place. But in the matter of rapture, there is a difference! In an instant, there will be a tremendous difference!
This is a sober matter! If we wish to be raptured, to see the Lord and enter into the kingdom, we must first lose the soul in this age. We must forsake the world for the Lord's sake and forsake everything that is not in accord with the Lord's will; we must abandon all that entangles us and hinders our heart from going upward. If we want to save our soul and cannot bear to forsake everything, we will, like Lot's wife, not be able to arrive at the place where the Lord will rapture us, even though we will not perish in Sodom and Gomorrah together with the sinners. There may not be any difference in gaining salvation and receiving eternal life, but there has to be a difference in the matter of the rapture.
What is the meaning of losing the soul? We can find the explanation from reading Luke 12:15-21: "And He said to them, Watch and guard yourself from all covetousness, for no one's life is in the abundance of his possessions. And He told them a parable, saying, The land of a certain rich man brought forth abundantly. And he reasoned in himself, saying, What shall I do, for I have no place where I may gather my crops? And he said, I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will gather there all my wheat and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; rest, eat, drink, be merry. But God said to him, Foolish one, this night they are requiring your soul from you; and the things which you have prepared, whose will they be? So is he who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God." We can say that "to gain the soul" is to let the soul gain satisfaction and happiness and to let the soul have enjoyment, while "to lose the soul" is to let the soul be sorrowful, painful, and poor. Because of the abundance of his food and his goods, the soul of this rich man is already happy and satisfied in this age. He has already given his soul enjoyment; he has gained his soul in this age.
Therefore, to gain the soul is to let the soul have happiness in this age and to lose the soul is to leave nothing for the soul in this age. Our eyes see, our ears hear, and our hands and feet touch; but the one that is conscious of the happiness in them is the soul.
The soul is the seat of our natural desires. The soul causes us to have sentiments and enjoyment. The desires of the soul strongly demand satisfaction. Beautiful music can soothe emotions; literature and philosophy can elevate thoughts. But if we gain satisfaction from these things in this age, we will lose satisfaction in the coming age. If we have already gained the comfort given by these things in this age, we will lose the glory of the kingdom in the coming age.
Therefore, the one who saves his soul in this age is a Christian believer who has gained in this age the joy of ears and eyes and the happiness of the heart and mind; in the coming age he will lose such joy and happiness. Whoever gains that which belongs to this age will not gain that which belongs to the coming age. If a man loses in this age, he will have gain in the coming age. We should now understand the meaning of the salvation of the soul. To gain all the glory, joy, and satisfaction in the kingdom is to gain the soul; to lose all the glory, joy, and satisfaction in the kingdom is to lose the soul.
After we are saved, we cannot be unsaved. But our deeds have much to do with our position in the kingdom. What are you now pursuing? It is very difficult for the young ones to forsake the pleasures of the world. Many want to get satisfaction from housing, food, clothing and entertainment. This is to save their soul today; hence, they will surely lose their soul in the future. A saved person will not go to hell, but in the kingdom there are blessings which he will miss!
The Lord does not teach us asceticism. However, the Lord does not want us to be attracted by these things. These things are all legitimate, but legitimate things are not all profitable. Therefore, Paul says, "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable" (1 Cor. 10:23). Whether clothing, food, or housing, you should not have the consciousness that you are enjoying something. Instead you should realize that these things are just good for glorifying God. Whenever you have any enjoyment, there is a problem. All that gives enjoyment to your soul saves your soul. The important thing is that one should not enjoy any kind of happiness that is not proper.
The one who loves the world is the one who saves his soul. But sin has entered the world. You should not, therefore, gain anything from this sinful world.
