Discerning: The Soul vs The Spirit
/Genesis 2:7
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.
1 Corinthians 15:44-45
44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
Brain and the body vs Mind and members
(Somatic nervous system) controls the body through the brain. Members for the purposes of this illustration controlled by the mind.
Soma- Greek origin, noun, plural so·ma·ta [soh-muh-tuh], /ˈsoʊ mə tə/, so·mas.Biology.
the body of an organism as contrasted with its germ cells.
There is a difference between the brain and the mind and a difference between the body and the members. When the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul uses the word for members, it’s more than just a body part, there is a deeper meaning and a spiritual application to the uses of these body parts. For the believer, they’re either being used as instruments of warfare for the kingdom of God or the kingdom of darkness.
Back to the brain vs the mind. The brain functions like a processor in a computer. For the human separate from God, it’s the highest level of functioning. However, at the same time, the brain is not exactly the mind. The brain is an amazing network of neural tissue, a vast system of neurons that are like electrical wires connected to nerves, responding to chemicals in the brain, creating and carrying impulses through the central nervous system, which is your brain and spinal cord and then these signals are dispersed into the peripheral nervous system, which is our external body parts.
Illustration: [Brain and body] I want to open the door. The chemicals in my brain create a task, the task is sent as a signal through my central nervous system and from there into the periphery and my eyes lead the way, my feet bring me to the destination, and voila my hands open the door. Doesn’t really take much high level intellect for this human function to take place.
Illustration: adding a spiritual element [mind and members] I want to excite my flesh because it feels good, so I want to open a spiritual door to see what is on the other side. My brain is controlling all the somatic or bodily functions (somatic/soma)
So the brain controls the body functions, but the mind is at another level, the mind has its own will, and it wants to open the door. Whatever is on the other side of the door, it wants it. Yes, this is also directly related to the sinful nature. The sinful nature is supposed to be dormant in the life of the believer, so why is it that so many believer’s still struggle with their precious little sins? Unbelief, ignorance, rebellion, demonization, all the above…? That is another topic for another time. Right now, I’m not even necessarily talking about a believer vs a non-believer, I’m simply trying to differentiate the different functions of brain & body vs mind & members so I can set a context to better reveal the difference between soul & spirit. So my finger turns on the computer and my hand guides the mouse where my mind tells it to go and my finger clicks on the page that my mind and my will tell it to click on and now my eyes view the images and then whatever my body does with all that afterwards. Let’s just turn that off and move to the next illustration.
Illustration: [soul ψυχή Psuche] The soul of a man is part of the inner man in that it’s associated with the animated (living) aspect of a man, not necessarily spiritual life, but just the physical functioning aspect of life. Therefore, the soul’s primary function, while on earth is it’s connection to the natural or earthly realm the members or body parts touch the world and hold it, but the conceptual elements those things that shape our thoughts or mindsets like (music, knowledge, images, movies, videos…) of the physical world are accessed into the vessel through the soul. Again, the physical parts of life that are needed to sustain our physicality do not require a higher level of soulish engagement ex I’m dehydrated. I have water. I can bypass the soul and drink. In this scenario, it’s only my brain and body needed to work, but if I want Fiji water, now, I’m engaging my soul (my mind and my will are now employed).
The soul and its earthly connection: 1 Corinthians 2:14 {natural man= ψυχικός psuchikos}; James 3:15 {here psuchikos is translated sensual instead of natural}. All animals are souls Genesis 1:21 (Living creatures are the same two words to describe Genesis 2:7 Adam became a living soul). There are at least two main differences that I can see between the soul of man and beast. The human has higher intellectual capacity, but more importantly, the spirit of a man has the potential to come alive to God (Ezekiel 36:26-27; John 14:17; 1 Corinthians 3:16; Romans 8:9;1 Cor 6:19; 2 Cor 6:16; Eph 2:21) and in the New Covenant, the believer’s vessel becomes the temple of God, and it is here that worship/ communion with God truly takes place (John 4:23-24).
I have heard extremely intellectual doctor’s describe the fact that they do not believe in God. When pressed about the issue, they simply believe that we are highly intellectual creatures and when we die, we will become organic matter absorbed into the dirt. One doctor took it a step further and said, “Like a dog. I will die and decay.”
Illustration of music from the perspective of an intellectual atheist: case study a young girl who is also an atheist and just likes Marilyn Manson music. I don’t believe in God. I don’t believe in demons. I don’t believe in the after life. I am an intellectual being and when I die, I will become dirt, and my will is that I want to listen to Marilyn Manson, and so my brain creates a task, and my hand engages the device and the sound waves enter the air and I bring the music from the outside world into my brain through my ears where it’s processed and filters through my soul as it engages my mind and now it begins to influence my thoughts. From there thoughts of depression start to pervade my mind, suicide. The words to the song infiltrate and dig deeper, she has friends now, but we will keep it non spiritual for now, and she begins to cut herself. [my question the the smart doctor would be If demons aren’t real , why did that happen?] [His intellectual response to me might be. I postulate that it’s the power of suggestive thought. She thought and so she did]. Never will they imagine that they’re playing with spiritual problems. Take a Prozac and come see me in a couple months.
So that is unregenerate man thinks about these things (Titus 3:5) unregenerate man is dead to God. But the born again believer is cleansed by the sacrifice of Jesus and a spiritual renovation takes place. The Holy Spirit comes to live on the inside of Him and now, he is alive to God! Hallelujah to the lamb, but why is he like a 2 year old child in a sand box playing with a dead possum carcass that stinks? Why if he is alive to God, does he still meddle with sin? And let’s get off the sin kick. Why, on earth, when the Spirit of God that created heaven and earth and lives in his vessel, would he depend on his own logic and intellect when he has access to the voice of God right there in his vessel? That is the purpose of this teaching…
Illustration of Liberty clinic:
Psuchikos— soulish man
Sarkikos — natural man
Romans 8:5-7 NASB
5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
1 Corinthians 2:14 KJV
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 3:1 KJV
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:1 NASB
And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ.