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The soul is versus the spirit, and they are absolutely two different things. Whenever we live in the mind, emotion, and will of the soul, we cannot live in the spirit. Romans 8 points out clearly that the flesh is versus the spirit. Verse 6 says, “The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.” First Corinthians 2 shows that the soul is versus the spirit. Verse 14 says, “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.” A soulish man has no understanding or desire for spiritual things; he regards them even as foolishness. Only a spiritual man can discern all things. He is not only desirous of spiritual things, but he is also able to discern them. Therefore, 1 Corinthians 2 clearly shows that the spirit and the soul are absolutely two different things.
A person who lives in and by the spirit is a spiritual person; he can comprehend, discern, and understand the spiritual things of God. If a person lives in and by the soul, he may be well-behaved and good in the world’s eyes, but he has no understanding or even desire for spiritual things; rather, he abhors and rejects them and regards them even as foolishness. Therefore, while those who are fleshly are not spiritual, even those who are soulish are not spiritual.
When Romans 8 speaks of the flesh, it links the flesh with sin and death. Sin is the root, and death is the issue. Verse 2 says, “The law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death.” Romans 8 deals with the problem of sin because this chapter is the continuation of chapter 6. Chapter 6 speaks of how a person can be freed from sin, and chapter 8 shows that the law of the Spirit of life has freed us in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death. Verse 6 says that to set the mind on the flesh is death. This means that to set the mind on the flesh is to sin, and the result is death. When Romans 8 speaks of death, it emphasizes its connection to sin; hence, to be freed from the flesh is to be freed from sin.
Romans 8, a continuation of chapter 6, speaks of how one can be freed from sin and not commit sin. When Romans speaks of setting the mind on the flesh, its emphasis is on the connection between flesh and sin. In order to be delivered from sin, we need to be delivered from the flesh; in order to be delivered from the flesh, we must live in the spirit. To live in the spirit is to set the mind on the spirit, and to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace (8:5-6). This means that if we live in the spirit, the spirit will free us so that we can be delivered from sin; this is the center of the book of Romans.
When Romans 8 speaks of the flesh, it emphasizes the connection of the flesh to sin and the flesh being a matter of committing sins. When 1 Corinthians 2 speaks of the soul, however, it does not mention the problem of sin; rather, it speaks of knowing spiritual things. Romans 8 tells how a person can be delivered from sin, and its emphasis is on the problem of sin. It also speaks of the flesh, so it further emphasizes the flesh being joined to sin. First Corinthians 2 speaks of understanding spiritual things, knowing the things of God, serving God, and touching the things of God. According to this chapter, the soul is absolutely incompetent, completely ignorant, and without any understanding, appreciation, or desire concerning spiritual things and service to God; it even considers them foolish.
This shows that the soul does not know or desire spiritual things and regards them even as foolishness. Only the spirit can understand spiritual things, and only spiritual persons can discern the things of God. Romans 8 shows that in order to be delivered from sin, we must live in the spirit, not in the flesh. First Corinthians 2 shows that in order to understand spiritual things, we must live by the spirit, not by the soul.
Being soulish is not a matter of whether we commit sins. We should not consider that a person is not soulish if he does not sin. A person may not sin and may be proper before man, but he can absolutely be a soulish person. In regard to the matter of being soulish, 1 Corinthians 2 never speaks of sin. Sin, however, is spoken of in Romans 8 and Galatians 5 in relation to the flesh. Being fleshly is related to committing sins. The sins listed in Galatians 5 are the works of the flesh; hence, sin is particularly related to the flesh. A person who commits sins and indulges in lust is fleshly. But if, instead of committing sins and indulging in lust, a person is proper and perfect in the eyes of men and even desires to serve God and to touch and understand spiritual things, he can still be soulish if he is completely ignorant of spiritual things and lives according to his soul rather than his spirit.
A soulish person in 1 Corinthians 2 is not a person who does not sin but one who does not understand the things of the Spirit. Although he does not live by the flesh, neither does he live by the spirit; he is living in the place in between, that is, in his soul. He lives in the soul, and although he does not sin, he has no understanding concerning spiritual things. He does not live by the flesh, but neither does he live by the spirit; he is one who lives in the soul.
The flesh versus the spirit is a matter of committing sins. The soul versus the spirit is a matter of not knowing the things of the Spirit. A person who lives by the flesh is bound to commit sins, and a person who lives by the soul may not sin, but he certainly does not understand the things of the Spirit. We must live by the spirit in order to not sin and to know the things of the Spirit. Those who are of the flesh commit sins and do evil things; however, soulish ones may not commit sins or do evil things, but they are still ignorant in regard to spiritual things. A spiritual man, however, does not sin and knows the things of the Spirit. Both Romans 8 and 1 Corinthians 2 speak of the matter of being spiritual. The focus in Romans 8, however, is on being delivered from sin, and the focus in 1 Corinthians 2 is on understanding spiritual things. In Romans 8 being spiritual is versus being fleshly; in 1 Corinthians 2 being spiritual is versus being soulish.
A person who lives by his soul may be good, proper, and nice, but he does not understand or desire spiritual things. I have met quite a number of brothers and sisters who do things cautiously and can be considered blameless in their conduct, but regarding spiritual things, they are absolutely ignorant and have no pursuit. Their assessment of themselves and others is based on the ethical standards of good or evil and right or wrong. In every matter and toward everyone they lack the spiritual feeling and insight of God. They may have a clear mind and be very rational, but they are unclear in their spirit and dull in their feeling. Humanly speaking, they are truly good. They know how to behave and how to handle things, and they are also intelligent, efficient, diligent, and thoughtful. However, regarding the spiritual things of God, they have no discernment, feeling, or understanding. Moreover, they are often indifferent to spiritual things and are not only slow in understanding them but also slothful in pursuing them. Therefore, a good Christian may not necessarily be a spiritual Christian. A spiritual Christian is not merely a good person but one who lives in the spirit, has the feeling of the spirit, understands spiritual things, and knows the way of God inwardly.
Being good is very different from being spiritual. Many saints are good but not spiritual; they are good, but they do not live in the spirit. Others can sense their goodness, but they cannot sense the spirit; they can see their virtues, but they cannot smell the flavor of God. They do not appear fleshly, but they are soulish. Although they do not indulge themselves in the flesh, they do not live in the spirit either. Although they do not live in sin, they live in the self. Although they do not approve of sinful things, they do not desire spiritual things. Although they do not sin according to the flesh, they live by their soul. Their soul is the source and means of their living. They live in and by the soul, and they are of the soul. Therefore, they neither desire nor comprehend spiritual things.
In the soul there are three different parts: the mind is the part related to thought, the emotion is the part related to love, and the will is the part related to choosing. If we meet a person who is directed by the mind, the most prominent part of his being will be his mind, his thought, and his intellect. Although he is not without emotion, his emotion is not as prominent as his mind. In contrast, a person who is directed by his emotion is often confused and unreasonable. When others reason with him, he becomes emotionally aroused. A proverb says that a thousand reasons are not as powerful as a teardrop. If we desire that he be moved, all we need to do is shed a tear. With only one tear his heart is touched. A person who is not rational in this regard will always act according to his emotion. Most sisters are directed by their emotion. Lastly, a person who is directed by the will is very strong in his decisions. Once he has determined a course of action, no one can change him. Such a stubborn person can be very unreasonable and obstinate. A stubborn person is definitely a person of the will.
All these kinds of people are soulish. Whether they are directed by the mind, the emotion, or the will, they are soulish as long as they are directed by any of these three faculties. This is because the mind, emotion, and will are the three major parts of the soul. If we desire to learn to discern the spirit from the soul, we must have an accurate sense of the things that are related to the mind, emotion, and will. Is our mind the source of our every action, thought, or preference? Is our emotion the source? Is our will the source of our actions, thoughts, or preferences? If any of these three parts is the source, we are soulish men who live in the soul, not in the spirit.
A person who lives by the spirit is a spiritual man. A spiritual man does not take the mind, emotion, or will as his source. Rather, he turns to the innermost part of his being and takes its sense as his source. His living, action, and work are all derived from this innermost sense. His innermost sense should have the most important position, the leading position; it should direct his mind, emotion, and will. He should consider the sense of life in his spirit as the principal source and his mind, emotion, and will in his soul as the means of expressing the source. In other words, his inner sense is the dominating factor, and his mind, emotion, and will are merely supportive.
Since man is an emotional being, some saints who work for the Lord use emotions to touch people according to their emotion. For example, a brother whom we serve may be very quiet. It may be especially difficult for him to talk with us because it seems that he does not have a good feeling about us. Consequently, we may buy him a Bible with gold trim. Out of concern that this may not be enough to move him, we will add a deluxe edition of Streams in the Desert and a hymnal of selected hymns. Since man is an emotional being, he will be moved, and his emotion will be stimulated. Instantly, emotion becomes the dominating factor between us, but if emotion becomes preeminent, we will have no sense of peace and rest deep within.
According to our emotion, we may have a feeling to give people a Bible, Streams in the Desert, or a hymnal because they are good books. However, once we touch a person’s emotion in this way, he will fellowship and contact us by his emotion. As a result of this kind of fellowship and contact, we also will fall into our emotion. At some point, however, we may sense that we are only in our emotions rather than loving one another and fellowshipping in the Lord. This sense deep within is the sense of our spirit. This feeling exposes that even though we care about this brother, we are indifferent toward other saints. If we say that we are short of strength and can be touched only by the problems of one brother, this shows that we are in our emotions.
When we contact the saints in our emotion, there may be a deep feeling that makes us uneasy as our spirit rises up to protest and object. As our spirit rises up, we may also become clear that our spirit is “deflated” and weakened when we pray, even though it seemed “sweet” when we contacted and fellowshipped with the saints according to our emotion. The more we fellowship with the saints in our emotion, the more our emotion will be nurtured and strengthened, and the more our spirit will be dried up and weakened. Consequently, when we pray before the Lord, we will not have the strength, and our spirit will be “deflated.” When a ball does not have enough air, it will not sound right when it bounces. Similarly, when we pray, those who have some spiritual sense know whether our spirit is fully “inflated.” This is the difference between being emotional and being spiritual, between living according to the emotion and living according to the spirit.
Problems with the mind are evident mainly among the brothers because they often have a strong will and logical thinking. When brothers desire to do a certain thing, they can argue one way or another, and both ways can seem reasonable. Since either way seems sensible, it is easy to decide to proceed. However, when we proceed, there can be a disapproving feeling deep within us. Although the way seems reasonable according to observation and analysis, deep within us we can sense that something is not right. This feeling deep within is the feeling of the spirit. At such a time, we should take care of this sense rather than our reasonings. If we care about our reasonings rather than our sense within, we will nullify our spirit and live in our soul. However, if we care only about the sense deep within, we will live in and by the spirit. As a result, we will live not in ourselves but in God.
This shows that regardless of the condition of our emotion or mind, neither one should have the preeminent position. They should only support the sense in our spirit. We must learn to give preeminence to the sense in our spirit. For example, someone may have determined what message to deliver and how to organize and present it. However, when he is about to speak, he may sense within that something is not right, even to the point of needing to change to another topic. At this moment he should not follow his original consideration and decision; instead, he should follow the sense in his spirit. If he ignores the inward sense and follows his original consideration, he will be denying the spirit and living in the soul.
I hope we can see that our emotion, mind, and will are outward; only the spirit is inward. Our emotion is often contrary to the sense deep within, our will is often different from the sense deep within, and our mind often opposes the sense deep within. Therefore, we need to give the highest position, the first place, to the sense in our spirit deep within us. We must be willing to put aside the emotion, mind, and will of the soul. In our daily living and even in our walk, we must first touch the sense deep within. This is to turn to God and to the spirit because God as the Spirit dwells in our spirit.
God makes known His intention to us through the intuition in our spirit. Hence, we should not look merely at the outward situation, but we should also bring the outward situation before God and turn to our spirit to touch the sense of God. Turning to God, experientially speaking, is to inwardly turn so that we can focus on the spirit as our inward part rather than on our outward observations and environment. Although we will have thoughts in our mind and feelings in our emotion about a certain matter, we still need to turn to our spirit. We should not let our emotion, mind, and will dominate our being; rather, we should let the sense in our spirit be the leading factor. We must exercise to discern the spirit from the soul.
The fellowship of life is in the spirit because fellowship is of life, and life is in the spirit. Before we were saved, we lived in the soul, that is, in the mind, emotion, and will. We cannot be separated from the soul; our very person lives in the mind, emotion, and will. However, the fellowship of God is in our spirit. Therefore, in order to touch the fellowship and learn to fellowship, we need to turn our being from the mind, emotion, and will to our spirit.
How do we turn from our will to our spirit? A certain saint may decide to go to Bangkok, but even though this decision has been made, he should be willing to let go of it and not insist. As he turns to his innermost part, prostrating himself before God and quieting himself, he should not think about Bangkok or his decision. Instead, he should simply turn from his will to his spirit to touch the sense of his spirit. Thus, he will learn how to turn from his will to the spirit in order to touch the feeling of the spirit in this matter specifically. If there is a sense in his spirit to go to Bangkok, that will be very good; however, if the spirit has another feeling, he must learn to let go of his decision, turn from his will, and obey this inward sense. This is not a simple lesson, but it is a lesson we need to learn throughout our entire life.
The matter of turning to the spirit to fellowship with God, or we can say the matter of living in the fellowship and living in the spirit, is not a matter that we can learn by simply making up our minds. There is a need for the hand of God to break our being outwardly; that is, there is a need for the Spirit of God to arrange the outward environment to break and consume our being. The word consume comes from 2 Corinthians 4:16, which says, “Though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” The Greek word for decaying may also be rendered “being consumed.” Although our outer man is decaying and being consumed, our inner man is growing and being renewed day by day. This consuming is the breaking. Decaying in verse 16 is God’s dealing in verses 8 through 11.
In verse 7 the apostle Paul says, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God.” We all know that earthen vessels refers to us; we are made of clay and are earthen vessels. Earthen vessels does not refer merely to our body but to us; this treasure refers to God and His life, that is, Christ and His life. We have this treasure in earthen vessels means that we have Christ in us, that is, in our inner man. Our inner man is Christ; our outer man is we ourselves. Hence, verse 16 says, “Our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” This means that while we are being broken by God, Christ is being built up in us.
The outer man, physically, is our body; psychologically, it is our soul. The outer man is our soul, that is, our self. The outer man being consumed means that our self is being consumed; that is, our mind, emotion, and will are being consumed. A brother may have a great intellect, a strong mind, and clear thinking, but all of these can frustrate the pneumatic Christ in him. Hence, God will raise up an environment to deal with his mind and thought; this is the tearing down. Before he was dealt with by God, his thinking was always sharp, and his clear mind could reason out everything. But when he comes under the hand of God, the outcome is always a mess even though his thoughts are right. This is God’s striking him in the environment. He thinks that it is good to do things in a certain way, yet the result is altogether a mess. He thinks that he will be successful if he does things in a certain way, yet it turns out to be a complete failure. This is God’s striking and tearing down of his mind with His hand.
We should not think that this is a simple matter. Some people are smitten severely in God’s hand. Such a dealing tears down his mind to the extent that when he encounters another matter, he does not dare rely on his mind. This can be compared to the situation of Jacob. At one time his legs could run very well; moreover, he had a mind that was able to think of many ways to fight and supplant. His mind was clever, resourceful, and full of schemes. One day, however, God met him and dealt with him severely, touching his hip and crippling him (Gen. 32:25). After this, Jacob could no longer run. This is the breaking. Some people who are intelligent and have a very clever mind use their mind in spiritual matters. Such ones do not know how to touch the feeling of God, nor do they know how to live in the spirit rather than in their mind. Instead, they allow their mind and intellect to take the lead in everything. When God begins to deal with them, especially with their mind and intellect, they may become confused and scared, and they lose their confidence in their thinking ability. When they encounter similar situations in the future, their spirit will spontaneously occupy the leading position. With respect to their mind, their outer man is torn down, but their inner man is being renewed.
In the same principle, God strikes our emotion to the extent that it fails us, and we no longer have any confidence in it. At such a time, our spirit will spontaneously occupy the leading position and have preeminence over our emotion. It is the same with our will. God’s striking and tearing down are a very painful process. Even the apostle Paul was no exception.
In 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 Paul says, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not out of us. We are pressed on every side but not constricted; unable to find a way out but not utterly without a way out; persecuted but not abandoned; cast down but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who are alive are always being delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death operates in us, but life in you.” The treasure is Christ who is in us, the earthen vessels. When God raises up an environment so that we are pressed on every side and cast down, the death of Jesus begins to operate in us. The word death in Greek does not refer to an ordinary death; it means “killing, putting to death.” For someone to be put to death is for him to be put into a situation of constantly being killed.
A sister may love her daughter very much, but she loves only with her emotion. If God desires this sister to grow in spirit, He must stretch out His hand to deal with her emotional love for her daughter. This is a putting to death, a killing. We also may be very clever, relying on our mind in everything we do, rather than the spirit. Consequently, God will raise up one situation after another to kill our cleverness. This is a genuine experience, and it is not only painful but also long lasting. However, Paul says that the putting to death of Jesus operates in us so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our body.
God uses the environment to strike, break, and deal with us repeatedly in order to break our self — our mind, emotion, and will — so that His life can be added into us and manifested more from us. Suppose a brother is facing many difficulties: his family suffers much affliction, and even the brothers and sisters around him trouble him. It can be said that he is facing difficulty on all sides. Some may think that this brother has sinned and offended God; otherwise, he would not have so much suffering. When we see someone being smitten and disciplined, the first thing that comes to our mind is that he must have done something wrong and must have sinned. This kind of thinking may not be right.
Job did not suffer because he had sinned. Job did not sin, but he suffered very much. His suffering involved more than the matter of trying him. God desired to tear down the natural Job. When Paul became an apostle, he was greatly used by the Lord and was such a help to others. However, based on 2 Corinthians, we know that he suffered a great deal. His sufferings were not related to sin; however, if he had not sinned, why did he suffer so much? His outer man was torn down by God through sufferings so that his inner man, the spirit in him, could grow and be renewed.
Trying to discern the soul and the spirit merely on the basis of our feeling is not a reliable method. We often feel that we are not in the soul but in the spirit. However, it is not until God comes to break us that we realize that we live mainly in the soul. This is true not only concerning our daily living but also concerning our spiritual work. A certain saint may receive a burden to go to a certain place to preach the gospel and establish the church. In making decisions regarding the gospel work, he prays, denies himself, and endeavors not to rely on his mind, emotion, and will but to learn to be led by the Lord to live in the spirit. At a certain time he may feel that he is very much in the spirit, that his desire to work for the Lord by preaching the gospel and establishing churches is truly according to the spirit, and that this desire has been initiated by God, not by himself. Thus, he begins to carry out this work. However, he still encounters failures and difficulties as God raises up sufferings from every side to trouble, afflict, wound, and strike him. God will break him little by little. When God’s breaking work is almost complete, he will realize that there is very little element of God in his so-called gospel work. Only then will he realize that he has actually been living in his soul most of the time, not in his spirit.
It is not possible to discern the spirit from the soul merely by listening to a message or by praying for a certain amount of time. It is only through God’s breaking that one can truly discern the spirit and the soul. When God comes to break us, He tears down our mind, emotion, and will — our outer man. Following this, we will see that we rarely live in our spirit and, instead, live most of the time in our soul. Even though we may not sin, offend God, or rebel against God, we still live in our self, not in God. We may feel that we live in God, but in fact, we are living in ourselves. If we have not passed through God’s breaking, our real situation cannot be exposed.
A person may say with boldness and assurance that what he is doing is absolutely of God and according to the will of God and that nothing is of his own will, choice, preference, and inclination. Nevertheless, God’s hand will come to discipline, strike, and break him. Consequently, he may become sick, and his work cannot be carried out successfully. At such a time, his whole being is put to the test. After passing through God’s striking and breaking, he should have a deep understanding within that what he originally thought was of God was completely of himself. Only through breaking can we know the matter of the spirit and the soul.
We are people who have fallen deeply into the self. If we try to make up our mind to not be in our self based merely on doctrines, this will not work. If we resolve to be delivered from our self merely by praying a little, this will also be useless. God’s hand must come in to strike and break us until there is nothing left to be stricken and broken and until we are hopeless. Then our true condition will be exposed. Only then will we see whether our work is of God or ourselves.
Those who have not been broken have very little real spiritual constitution. This does not depend on what we do or how much we pray. We may even fast and pray every day, saying, “Lord, I do not want myself. I want You. I do not want to live by the soul, but I want to live in the spirit.” This will avail nothing. I am not saying that we should not pray, but we must discern our spirit and soul. It is not enough simply to pray. God’s hand must come in to break us. If brass is mixed with gold, how can we differentiate between them? We cannot differentiate gold from brass with our eyes alone. We cannot tell the difference even by touching them. The only way is to put the object into the fire. Once it is tested by fire, the situation is clear. In order to discern between gold and brass, we only need to put them into the fire. The mixture of the soul and the spirit is much stronger than a compound of brass and gold. It is quite difficult to differentiate a compound of brass and gold, but it is even more difficult to differentiate between the soul and the spirit. It is not through messages or prayers that we can be clear and understand the difference between them. We must wait until God’s hand comes to strike and break us so that we can realize that what we think is of the spirit is actually of the soul.
For this reason those who truly love and pursue the Lord have no way to avoid sufferings. We often have a wrong concept that if we love the Lord and please Him, we will not have sufferings and will have only peace and prosperity. But actually, this is not the case. It seems that the more a person loves the Lord and lives in the Lord, the more he suffers. There are many testimonies of this throughout church history. The more a person loves the Lord, is simple toward the Lord, pursues the Lord, and lives in the Lord, the more he seemingly suffers. This is because God desires to break the outer man and build up the inner man; He desires to break the soul so that the spirit can grow.
Trying to differentiate between the soul and the spirit by ourselves will not succeed. This is not possible. When we pursue God, love Him, and are willing to give ourselves to Him, God’s hand will come in to do a breaking work, a work of breaking our earthen vessel. God breaks our earthen vessel, our outer man, so that the treasure in us can be manifested even more, and so that God, Christ, the spirit, and the new man can grow and be renewed day by day.
In the church today there is truly a lack of people who can supply others. In other words, there is a lack of people who are broken. It is not possible to edify others merely with many messages. Doctrines can never edify people; rather, a person who is broken and torn down by God can edify people and minister to them. This is the work of ministry, not the work of gift. After a person is repeatedly smitten, broken, and torn down by God, his mind, will, and emotion are bankrupt and no longer have any power. Only this kind of person can enable Christ to be strengthened, the spirit to be renewed, the inner man to grow, and the treasure to be manifested. At this time Christ will be able to be released through him in order to supply people and to supply the church; the spirit can be released so that the church may receive life. Only this kind of person can be delivered from the soul and live in the spirit. Second Corinthians 4 is entirely related to the breaking of the outer man and the growth of the inner man; this is for our deliverance from the soul in order to live in the spirit.
