A FINE DISTINCTION -- Monday:
"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit . . . " KJV (Hebrews 4:12)
The distinction between the spirit and the soul cannot be made thoroughly in the realm of academics. Often the words are used in very similar ways. "But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night THY SOUL shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" (Lk 12:20). "But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of THE SOUL" (Heb 10:39). "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: THE SPIRIT indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matt 26:41). "And HER SPIRIT came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat" (Lk 8:55).
In each of these cases, the point being made is that man is more than what we see. There is a part of us that transcends the bodily and its senses. That unseen part, when separated from the body, inducts death. As it is written, "For as the body without the spirit is dead . . . " (James 2:26). Sometimes that unseen part, separated from the body at death, is called the "soul" (Matt 10:28; Heb 6:19). Sometimes it is called the "spirit" (Job 32:8; Luke 23:46; John 6:63). In a poignant expression of Mary's response to the news she would bear the Savior, Luke speaks of her inner person. He employs both "soul" and "spirit" in a Hebraism, using the words interchangeably. "And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior" (Luke 1:46-47).
The Scriptural accounts of the raising of two dead bodies will serve to again illustrate the general use of these words. When the mighty prophet Elijah raised the son of the widow of Zarephath, the "soul" was depicted as returning into the lad's body (1 Kgs 17:21-22). When Jesus raised Jairus' daughter to life, her "spirit" is said to have returned to her body (Luke 8:55). In both cases, the unseen part of the human constitution is meant. The words "soul" and "spirit" were not used in the technical sense, as they are elsewhere.
Come higher! However, we are not confined to academics in matters pertaining to life and godliness! The Word of God is living and active. The Holy Spirt challenges us to rise higher in our consideration of humanity. Our unseen part is not simplistic, and we should not consider it to be so. The Word of God is the divinely appointed means of deciphering the total man. Paul prays that our sanctification will be complete, involving the "spirit, soul, and body" (1 Thess 5:23). Our text says the Word can distinguish between the higher and lower natures within us, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit" (Heb 4:12). If the "spirit" and the "soul" are synonymous – just two different words depicting the same thing – no such distinction could be made.
The word "divide" does not mean to permanently separate, but to distinguish. The soulish part of our nature is not abandoned as we become "spiritual." Rather, it is brought into subordination to the Lord by faith and through the Holy Spirit. Although a number of self-acclaimed theologians say there is no distinction between the "soul" and the "spirit," the Word of God declares there is a difference. Not only so, as it is proclaimed, it unveils this difference on an intensely personal level.
The versatility of the soul. Our souls are capable of both good and evil. They can gravitate to earth or be wafted into the heavenlies. Our thoughts can be "evil continually" (Gen 6:5). They can also be "right" (Prov 12:5). Our dreams can involve gross wickedness, or contemplations the world to come. The versatility of the soul is its weakness. It is under the control of our spirits. The soul itself has not been renewed, or regenerated. However, the "engrafted Word" is "able" to save our "souls" (James 1:21). Care must be taken not to read this distinction into every passage of Scripture.
Our souls are a unique stewardship. They are to be maintained and directed in the energy of the regenerated life. This is the meaning of Jesus' words, "In your patience possess ye your souls" (Luke 21:19).
Temptation is leveled at our souls. There is where lust is resident – the basis of all temptation. Thus James writes, "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed" (James 1:14). Those that choose to live "in the flesh," or under the domination of their lower and sinful nature, do hot realize the extent of their liability.
The Psalmist provides us an excellent example of the effects of temptation. In this particular expression, despair is the result of the enemy's encroachment. "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar . . . Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God . . . Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God"(Psa 42:5-6, 11; 43:5).
David's spirit was speaking to his soul – the higher part to the lower part. In his spirit he knew all would be well. He would place his hope in the Living God. He knew the day of rejoicing would come. Yet, in his soul, or lower nature, he was distressed and troubled. It is remarkable that a person in such spiritually primitive times was so attune to the nature of the good fight of faith! Surely, he was a man ahead of his time.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for revealing the human constitution.,