Scripture Reading: Heb. 4:12-13
The dividing of the soul from the spirit is a very important thing. It has to do with the growth of the Christian life. If a Christian cannot tell the difference between the soul and the spirit, how can he seek after that which is spiritual? He will often take soulish things for spiritual things, always live a life in the soul, and not seek after that which is spiritual. God's Word mentions many times what the soul is like and what the spirit is like. The Bible mentions some people who grieve in the soul and some people who grieve in the spirit. It mentions some people who rejoice in the soul and some people who rejoice in the spirit. Some draw the conclusion from these verses that the spirit must be the same as the soul because they have similar functions. However, this is like saying that you are me since you can eat and I can eat. Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit." Since the soul and the spirit can be divided from each other, it is clear that the spirit is the spirit and the soul is the soul.
Genesis 2 shows us that when God created man, He breathed the breath of life into his nostrils. When this breath of life came in contact with the human body, the soul was produced. Verse 7 speaks of man becoming a living soul. This means that the outstanding feature of man is his soul. The breath of life is the spirit of man; it came from God. The spirit has a God-consciousness; it responds to God's voice and is able to fellowship with God. But after Adam fell, his spirit became dead towards God. Thereafter, Adam's spirit (as well as his descendants' spirit) was dominated by the soul. In the end, the spirit and the soul were mixed together. At the time man is saved, his spirit becomes alive to God once more. Yet because of the long period of mixture with the soul, the spirit now needs God's word in order to be divided from the soul.
Although the spirit and the soul are similar in function, they belong to two different realms. They have two different sources. You may be happy today, but your happiness may be from the soul or from the spirit. In both cases it is happiness, but there is a distinction between the places from which the happiness comes. You may be sad today, but your sadness may be from the soul or from the spirit. In both cases it is sadness, but there is a distinction between the places from which the sadness comes. God is concerned about the source from which a thing comes. For example, Abraham was about to beget a son. At that time he was very old, and there did not seem to be much hope. He waited for a long time without seeing God's promise being fulfilled. Then his wife came up with a plan; she suggested that Abraham marry Hagar. Eventually Ishmael was produced. Fourteen years later God gave him Isaac through his wife Sarah. If we only read Genesis 15—17 and 21, we will not know what Isaac and Ishmael represent. In Galatians 4, we find out what Isaac and Ishmael represent. Paul said that one was born according to promise, while the other was born according to flesh. Do we see the distinction here? Man thinks that as long as one has a son, everything is all right. But God asks where the son comes from. We think that as long as we have a son, be it an Isaac or an Ishmael, we will be satisfied. But God's Word says that Ishmael represents the flesh, while Isaac represents the spirit. Ishmael represents what man acquires through his own wisdom and strength, while Isaac represents what man receives from God and what is of God.
Then what does it mean to be soulish? Being soulish is doing things by the self. What does it mean to be spiritual? Being spiritual is doing things by God. These are two entirely different things. A person can do things without waiting on God and without trusting in Him. This is soulish and fleshly. He can also speak and move only when God tells him to speak and move, looking to God, waiting on Him, and trusting in Him. This is what it means to be spiritual. We have to ask whether everything we do is done in the Holy Spirit. This is a crucial question. We often do the right things, yet something within us still condemns them. We condemn them not because they are bad but because they do not originate from God and are not the result of the operation of the Holy Spirit.
First Corinthians 3 mentions the matter of the building, which refers to one's work. Some build with gold, silver, and precious stones in their work, while others build with wood, grass, and stubble in their work. What kind of work is considered gold, silver, and precious stones, and what kind of work is considered wood, grass, and stubble? In the Bible, gold, silver, and precious stones refer to things that are of God. Gold represents glory, which comes from the Father. Silver represents redemption, which is the Son's work. Precious stones are compounds produced out of heat under the earth; they represent the work of the Holy Spirit. There is the eternal glory of God, the cross of the Son, and the edifying work of the Holy Spirit. This is the gold, the silver, and the precious stones. Wood, grass, and stubble refer to things that are of man. Man's glory is like grass, his nature like wood, and the result of his work like stubble. Hence, gold, silver, and precious stones symbolize things that are of God, while wood, grass, and stubble symbolize things that are of man. Gold, silver, and precious stones are not things that grow on the surface of the earth. One can only find these things by digging deep. Wood, grass, and stubble all grow on the surface of the earth and can be easily found. Hence, anything that is from the depths, conceived in the hidden parts, is part of God's work, while anything that the flesh accomplishes is of man and is not worth anything. Anything that one can do easily, that one can learn easily, rarely has any spiritual value because it originates from outside. Only things that issue from the depths, that are of God, have spiritual value.
This distinction exists in our preaching as well as in our evangelistic work. Some preach the gospel by waiting before God, looking to Him, and picking up a burden from Him. It seems as if their work is born out of an inward impregnation. This is the work of gold, silver, and precious stones. Others preach the gospel according to their quick mind, powerful eloquence, or sharp memory. The minute they stand up, they can speak. They may be very busy with their work, but before the Lord this work is wood, grass, and stubble; it does not have any spiritual value at all. A brother was preaching once in a certain place. Outwardly, in man's eyes, the situation was very encouraging, and he should have been rejoicing. Yet strangely, the more he worked, the less spirit he had. Outwardly, he appeared very energetic, but inwardly he became hungrier and hungrier, and dry and parched. When he was finished with his work, he had to confess his sins before the Lord. He had to confess that he was working by himself. Therefore, it is not a matter of outward condition; the matter of importance is who is doing the work.
This inward distinction has nothing to do with words spoken outwardly or results produced superficially. The only distinction lies in the source. Because of this distinction, some who pick up the same words and who speak the same messages as others just give everyone the impression that they are clever. Others who use the same words and speak the same messages give everyone the impression that they know God. When we meet some people, we can only bow our head and say, "God is here!" But when we meet other people, we can only say that they are clever and eloquent. If we have touched God, we can cause others to touch God. If we have touched the soul, all we can do is cause others to touch ourselves. The two things are entirely different.
This is true not only in our service to the Lord, but in our personal life as well. Once a Christian went to speak to a servant of God. He was afraid of being criticized; therefore, in his conversation he tried his best to be humble. He struggled to be humble in his attitude and in his speaking. But while he was practicing this humility, others felt a tremendous strain. If a man is genuinely humble, there is no place for such a great strain. This man was acting out his humility; therefore, his humility was so strenuous. Could one say that he was without humility? Others had to admit that there was some humility. But it was artificial humility. It was soulish. If God works in such a one, his humility will be very spontaneous. He will not feel that he is being humble, yet others will see God's work in him. Those who put cosmetics on their faces look in the mirror all the time, but Moses, whose face shone, did not see the shining himself. Some become what they are through the work of God within them. This is spiritual. Others are performing; they are struggling. As a result, they strive hard to be a Christian. Actually, one does not need to strive hard to be a Christian. For us, as long as the outward appearance is good, nothing else matters. But in God's eyes, the sources of two things may be entirely different; one may be of God, and the other may be of the energy of the flesh and may be an imitation. The more some endure, the more we feel sorry for them. Others, however, are not conscious at all that they are enduring, yet we have to bow down and say that God has done a marvelous work in them. We can tell that one is of God, and the other is of man. The distinction is not based on outward appearances, but on the source.
This does not mean that anything spontaneous is of the spirit; some things that belong to the natural life are quite spontaneous also. Some are born meek. But they will find one day that natural meekness and the meekness from the Lord are two entirely different things. Some are born with a love for others. But one day they will find that an inborn love is totally different from the love that comes from the Lord. Some are born humble. One day they will find that the humility from the Lord is absolutely different from the humility which they have in themselves. Natural virtues can replace spiritual things more readily than acquired imitations. One often replaces the Lord's work with man's natural endowments. Actually, anything that comes from the soul has nothing to do with God; only that which is from the spirit is related to God. The meekest one will find one day that he faces more temptation because of his natural meekness. One day his meekness will run out, and his endurance will run out. He can only endure to a certain extent, and he can only be meek to a certain extent. This is natural, and all human natural strength is limited. But if we apply the strength that comes from the Lord, the result will be entirely different. The Lord can do what we cannot do. We do not work by ourselves. The Lord works within us first, then we work spontaneously. After the work is over, we will marvel and say, "How did this happen? Who has done this?" We can only bow our heads and say: "I do not have any endurance. Lord, it is You who are doing the work within me." This is being spiritual.
Of course, we have to know that outwardly it is not easy to differentiate between the two things. It is not easy to tell within ourselves what is spiritual and what is soulish. The knowledge of the truth does not come from a daily self-examination; there is no spiritual value to constantly asking ourselves whether we are of the spirit or the soul. We cannot find the answer by asking or analyzing. We will not know it if we do not ask, and we will not know it even if we ask. We can never have genuine insight to any spiritual matter through self-analysis. On the contrary, this will only lead to spiritual paralysis and spiritual sickness. Genuine insight comes from God's shining. The minute the light shines, we spontaneously see. Therefore, we do not have to ask so much. All we have to do is allow God's word to shine within us. This word is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword. It is so sharp that it can pierce through bones. Once this word comes in, we will immediately know what is of the soul and what is of the spirit. There will be a judgment within which is stronger than any judgment from men. Once we move, something within will say, "This is wrong," "This is too shallow," or "You are working, and you are trying to influence others." This power of discernment comes from within and not from without. Once we see something within, the seeing becomes a genuine vision. Others may say, "If you do this, you may be exercising yourself." We may even nod our head, saying, "Perhaps it is the self." But none of these will help. The only thing that will help is seeing something in an inward way. May the Lord be gracious to us and grant us inward light, so that we have an inward seeing and an inward discernment. Discerning the spirit from the soul is the foundation of Christian discernment. We do not acquire this discerning power through a process of learning, but through inward enlightenment. Our hope before the Lord is that His word will come in, shine, and show us the part of our personal life and work that is soulish and the part that is spiritual.
