Date: 1940 (Lord's Day)Place: UnrecordedScripture Reading: Gen. 15:1-4; 16:1, 15; 1 Cor. 2:14; 3:11-12; Gal. 4:23, 29; Heb. 4:12
A man must have God's light before he can see his true condition. Without light the analysis and conjectures of human wisdom and ideas can only lead to error. Human judgment is untrustworthy. Discernment is not an exercise of our outward mentality; it comes through the enlightening of God within. May the Lord grant us light and show us the kind of things He wants to give to man. May He also show us what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is bad.
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 and of joints and marrow." This verse speaks of the dividing of the soul and the spirit. First Corinthians 2:14 says, "But a soulish man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him and he is not able to know them because they are discerned spiritually." This verse speaks of a soulish man and a spiritual man. In Hebrews 4 we only see a distinction between the soul and the spirit. In 1 Corinthians 2, not only is there a distinction in terms, but a distinction in function. In Greek, spirit is pneuma, while soul is psuche. Both words are nouns in Hebrews 4, and adjectives in 1 Corinthians 2.
Genesis 2:7 says, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." The man God created was a living soul. The word soul in Hebrew is nephesh; it is the equivalent of the Greek word psuche. The substance of man is his soul. John 3:6 says, "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit." The spirit within man is the part he receives from God and inherits from Adam. Within man there is a soul and a spirit. A man who lives according to what he is and what he can do is a soulish man. First Corinthians 2 tells us that a soulish man cannot know the things of the spirit. In order to know the things of the spirit, one must be a spiritual man. The soul and the spirit belong to two entirely different realms.
If we look in a concordance, we can identify several hundred references to the difference between the soul and the spirit. Sometimes we find the expressions "sorrowing in spirit" or "rejoicing in spirit." We also can find the expressions "sorrowing in the soul" or "rejoicing in the soul." When theologians come across such passages, they lump the soul and the spirit together because of the similarities in their function, and they consider the two to be one thing. But it is absurd to say that because both you and I eat, we are the same person. The soul possesses functions that are similar to those of the spirit. However, the function of the soul has nothing to do with the things of the spirit. First Corinthians 2 says that the soulish man does not know the things of the spirit. Although there are similarities in the functions of the soul and spirit, they belong to two entirely different realms. Today God is not asking what we are doing; neither is He asking if we are happy or sorrowful when we do these things. He is asking only one thing: Are we doing it in spirit or in the soul? Man makes distinctions based on whether or not a thing is done well. But God does not make such distinctions.
When some believers see that the Bible records the soul and the spirit doing the same thing, they conclude that there is no difference between the soul and the spirit. God promised Abraham a son in Genesis 15, and Abraham begot Ishmael through Hagar when he was eighty-six years old. Although Ishmael was Abraham's son, God would not recognize him, because he was born through the flesh. Fourteen years later, when Abraham's wife Sarah begot Isaac, God recognized Isaac as Abraham's heir. What is the difference between Hagar and Ishmael, and Sarah and Isaac? Outwardly, there was not much difference. It is difficult to differentiate between the two, because they were very similar to each other. Only in Galatians 4 can we see the clear distinction. Man is satisfied as long as he has a son. But God is concerned with where the son comes from. Does he come from God's promise or from the flesh? God cares for the source of the son. A soulish man is independent from God, whereas a spiritual man trusts in God, looks to God, waits on God, and is humble before God. Outwardly, the two may look the same, but they are very different in reality.
Isaac and Ishmael were born of the same father. But God is concerned with who the mother is. Galatians tells us that this distinction also exists among believers. In our daily life we should ask: "Did I do this in the spirit or did I do this in the soul?" We should not ask: "Did I do it right or did I do it wrong? Was it good or was it bad? What is the result?" Most people think that it is a good thing to work for God. Once I was invited to a famous high school to work for the Lord. There was a good result, and many people were saved and their hearts were turned to love the Lord. Outwardly, I was very enthusiastic, but inwardly I was suffering. I felt like a deflated balloon. After I left, I told a co-worker, "I have to repent for my work here, because I did not do it according to God's timing."
Once a brother came to see me. I sensed that he was afraid of me. He made many humble remarks, but I detected that his humility was unnatural. It was something from his soul. I sympathized with him for his forced performance; it was something soulish. God does not ask whether or not we are humble. He only asks where our humility comes from. If a man is humble as a result of God's operation within, he will not be conscious of his humility. Only those who use cosmetics need to look in the mirror. Those who do not use cosmetics do not need to look in the mirror. Moses' face shone as result of the Lord's speaking, but he was not conscious of it. Similarly, soulish patience is exhausting, whereas divine patience is subconscious.
There were once two sisters who did not know how to relate to others. They felt that they could not sympathize with or love others. After they heard some messages, they realized that they should love. But it was easier for them to rebuke than to love. Many Christians act out their Christian life; they make their Christian life a kind of performance. We need God's light to shine on us and show us how many soulish elements we still have! Not only do we have to see that soulish evil is evil, we also have to see that soulish goodness is evil. We need to condemn the soulish evil, and we also need to condemn the soulish goodness. Not only is unnatural goodness false, even natural goodness is not spiritual. God wants virtues that come from the spirit. He is not after our naturally-endowed virtues. Man always confuses God-given virtues with natural virtues. We have to see that it is more difficult to remove the soulish goodness than to remove the natural evil. Man's natural endowments are limited, but the Lord's provision is unlimited. For example, human patience is limited. It is like an arm which can lift only a hundred pounds of weight; it cannot lift anything more than a hundred pounds. This same principle applies to our patience. If it is a patience from the Lord, it will surprise even us. We do not have to ask whether or not a thing is of the spirit or soul. If we do not know, it is useless even if we ask. What we need is God's light. Counterfeit virtues are worthless in the sight of the Lord. No naturally-endowed goodness can replace the things of the spirit. Sooner or later it will be destroyed.
Many people feel at the beginning of their Christian life that being a Christian is a wonderful thing. They regard this period as their golden era. However, they gradually begin to slip away from this initial state. Many Christians have experienced this. They feel this way because they are ignorant of the activity of the soul at the beginning of their Christian life. The Spirit of the Lord does not have much ground in them. God has to show them that many of their good works actually originate from the self. At times God allows frustrations to come upon them in order to show them that they cannot make it in themselves. When they look to the Lord, the Lord will lift them out of their frustrations. After these dealings they may still love others and may still be humble and patient. Their outward conduct may be the same, but the source of their virtues has changed. The root of their virtues is no longer the same.
First Corinthians 3:12 shows us two kinds of works. One is the building of gold, silver, and precious stones upon the unique foundation, and the other is the building of wood, grass, and stubble. Many believers ask, "What are gold, silver, and precious stones, and what are wood, grass, and stubble?" The Bible shows us that gold, silver, and precious stones are things that originate from God. They are the works of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, that is, the eternal grace of the Father, the redemption of the cross of the Son, and the perfecting work of the Holy Spirit. Wood, grass, and stubble are worthless materials. Man's glory is as wood and grass, and stubble is the waste product of grains. God is not concerned with the work we have done. He is concerned with the source of our work. In Matthew 10 the Lord did not ask us to give water to everyone. He only promises a reward to those who give water to one of the little ones. Here is the difference: one work is soulish and the other is spiritual. Gold, silver, or precious stones do not grow on the surface of the earth; they are always buried deep in mines. Man must dig deep into the mines before he can get these treasures. It is not an easy thing to find gold, silver, or precious stones. Wood, grass, and stubble, however, grow on the surface of the earth. They are readily available. If we stretch out our hands, we can grab handfuls of them. Things of the emotion are easily within grasp, but they do not have much spiritual value at all. Some donate money because their emotion is touched. Their offerings are based on their emotion. However, their offering does not carry much spiritual weight at all.
We must also mention the preaching of the gospel and teaching. If a gospel message or a teaching comes from much waiting, prayer, and suffering, the message or teaching is of gold, silver, and precious stones. But if a teaching is merely a display of eloquence, or if it is merely the result of a good mental capacity for stories and illustrations, the teaching is of wood, grass, and stubble. After one brother heard Mr. Sparks' preaching on Abel and Cain, he said, "There is nothing special about this message. I can hear this kind of message anywhere, and even I can preach this." But there is a difference between a message coming from God and a message coming from ourselves. A message from the spirit and a message from the soul produce different results. Teaching has nothing to do with speaking something unusual, novel, or new. The key to a message lies in its source. If a speaker is touching his spirit, his speaking will turn people to God. If the speaker is touched only in the soul, his speaking will only cause others to touch him. When Elisha passed by the house of the woman of Shunem, the woman said, "I perceive that this is a holy man of God, which passeth by us continually" (2 Kings 4:9). The Shunammite woman did not remark that Elisha was an expositor, moralist, or prophet. She only said that Elisha was a holy man of God. Some people are eloquent; they can expound the Bible very well. But when they speak, others cannot touch God in their speaking. Some people are not eloquent at all; their preaching is not attractive. But such men have face-to-face contact with God, and when others listen to them, they realize that within this person there is God, and that he knows God.
How can we discern whether something is of the spirit or of the soul? It has nothing to do with our studying, analysis, or judgment. When the light comes, we will know and see inwardly. The power of discernment comes from within; it does not come from outward observation. If someone comes to you and tells you to do this and that, you can be confused by his words. As believers, we have to ask God to give us an inward discernment. Mere outward improvements are useless.
Prayer: Lord, bless the above words. Without Your blessing, these words will only be an offense to You. Cleanse these words. Man is not worthy of working for You. The Son can do nothing in Himself; what He sees the Father doing, He does the same. None of our labor and striving counts unless it is based on the inward operation of the Holy Spirit. Deliver us from vain thoughts, and may the Holy Spirit operate more within us. May all those who hear this word find light within, and may they be able to discern what is of themselves and what is of the spirit. In Your name we pray, amen.
