" The importance of seperating soul and spirit in our christian walk"
This is a season when my heart is full. I have walked through a season of giving much but receiving little, now at present this trend has been reversed and there are many things which I have upon my heart and will find great joy in sharing.

Repetition is extremely necessary to our grasping the truth as we ought, every well trained teacher knows how essential revision is. Thus Paul could say "For me to write the same things to you is not tedious,but for you it is safe."Philippians 3 v1

Interestingly, Paul saw it not only as his spiritual duty to repeat certain truths often but as safe for his hearers.It is necessary but it is safe for us to revisit certain truths over and over again for the sake of our spiritual progress.

That is partly why all great teachers will reemphasize certain things, for they have understood that in order to continue in an active understanding of a given subject you must be continuously listening to, reading and studying it.

One of my spiritual mentors was a man named Kenneth E Hagin.

He recounts how as a young man he loved to preach and did not care much to teach.

At one point in his earlier ministry when he was pastoring a small country church, he sensed the Lord challenging him to begin to specifically teach along certain biblical truths(he was one of the finest teachers that I was ever privileged to hear)

The Lord had appeared to Kenneth Hagin in a vision and said to him "I have called you to go and teach my people faith"

Anyone one who has heard his ministry subsequently would regard him as probably doing more to restore an understanding of what faith is and how it works than any other single individual in the last century .Some have rejected that message, but many, myself included ,have been helped enormously by his understanding and revelation from God.

So after he had sensed the Lord calling him to teach he decided to test this out.

He began to teach some messages on faith to an afternoon women's prayer meeting in his church which was attended by a handful of women.It was not long until the women attending began to invite other women, then some began to tell their husbands of these meetings who began to take time off their work to attend.

In a short space of time the hall which they used was full to capacity, people were being saved and the blessing of God was tangible.

All because one man was teaching faithfully what God had called him to, and not deviating from this.

Later some people would question him as to why he taught so much on faith.

His response was always the same,"because I am called to"

There were three areas of teaching that he particularly focused upon, faith, healing and prayer.

He did not only preach on these three themes, however he spent the majority of his time and attention concentrating upon these three because he knew that it was necessary and because for those who heard him it was safe.

Similarly another superb teacher in our generation was Derek prince.

He taught upon many biblical themes but is especially remembered for his pioneering once again an understanding of the place of prayer and fasting into the body of Christ , for his teaching on the place of Israel in the plan of God, and for his teaching on blessings and curses.

It is my conviction that most teachers in the body of Christ are given a few specific messages that are what I would call their "life messages". These truths become more than points of doctrine for them but when they teach upon these particular truths that God has given them it comes with a clarity and simplicity and power that is unmistakable. It comes across as life.

I have been wanting to write a message from Hebrews on the greater glory of the new covenant and its relation to the present day ministry of Christ. Similarly I have upon my heart a message concerning the gospel message of reconciliation founded upon this truth "God is now and forever satisfied"

However I feel constrained by the Lord to continue to share upon the importance of distinguishing between the soul and the spirit.

There are certain themes that I have come to understand are particularly dear to me, and have become life messages(it seems that when I also preach on them people seem to be particularly encouraged and helped)

Among these are teaching on our covenant relationship with God and the importance of grasping the nature of covenant, teaching on the Righteousness of God in Christ and teaching on the reality of the new creation.

However it seems that this understanding of separating the soul and the spirit, and learning to walk in the spirit, is fast becoming a theme that I also sense the Lord will require me to focus much upon and I certainly can see very good reasons for this being so.

Firstly the lack of an understanding as to the difference between the spirit and the soul is ,generally speaking ,in this country appalling deficient . And secondly because this understanding is so crucial as to our comprehension of how to walk in the spirit. With that said I would like to share some thoughts concerning this subject from Galatians chapter six.

Recently whilst I was reading and meditating upon the last two chapters I was reminded that to grasp what Paul is saying in the latter part of this epistle is the number one key to walking in our christian liberty. Chapter 5 v 16 says "I say then walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh;and these are contrary to one another,so that you do not do the things that you wish.

But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law."

Paul goes on to list the corrupt fruits that characterize the flesh, in contrast to the fruit of the spirit and sums up this teaching by making the statement "Those who are Christs have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live in the spirit,let us also walk in the spirit."

Traditionally many have seen this passage as a resume on the fruits of the Holy Spirit and the call to walk more closely in fellowship with the Holy Spirit and to deny the lusts of the flesh. However this is not what this passage is primarily speaking of (it is certainly true that all of the spiritual virtues and good fruits made evident in our lives come by the indwelling work of the Spirit of God, however in this passage this is not what Paul is discussing)

How can I assert this so confidently some may ask?

In response I would say for two clear reasons. Firstly we understand the passage as I suggested above because of a mistranslation from the Greek. Secondly when you see what the translation should have been then the purpose of this passage becomes very evident.

The crux of this passage is summarized in Paul's one concluding remark in Chp 6 v15 "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation."

In other words the heart of that which the apostle Paul is teaching in this flesh vs spirit passage is walking in the reality of the new creation.When we know who we are in Christ and understand the new creation realities in our own life, and begin to walk in the light of these things we will not satisfy the flesh.

How has this passage been mistranslated? In the capitalization of the word spirit to imply reference to the Holy Spirit, when in the Greek text it is not translated as Spirit but as spirit referring to the human spirit in a man.

Anyone who has a grasp of Greek will acknowledge this (or anyone with access to an interlinear Greek nt) but many scholars dismiss this distinction as unimportant. This poses the question as to why the translators of most of our English bibles chose to translate this in the knowledge that it was not strictly accurate. Mostly the argument is to say that whilst it is speaking of the human spirit in this passage, since the Holy Spirit is the means by which we bear fruit in our christian walk,and since it is His presence in us that makes our spirits alive to God, the reference to the Holy Spirit is implied.

But this line of reasoning still does not change the fact that Paul is not talking here about the fruit of the Holy Spirit but instead the fruit of the reborn regenerated spirit of every child of God. In addition when the Holy Spirit is spoken of in every single instance in the new testament it is made very clear that it is speaking of the third person of the Godhead and not the human spirit, by virtue of the grammatical capitalization as well as by the context.

So if it is not the Holy Spirit who is the primary object of Paul's writing here what precisely is?

This passage is talking about the contrast between the unregenerate fallen flesh(our carnal nature) and the reborn ,recreated human spirit that has been made alive in Christ and now has Gods life and nature residing in it.

And as we give absolute priority to "sow to the spirit" 6 v8, and to live with our spirits taking the leadership of our lives, than the reality of the life of God and the nature of God that is dwelling in our spirits is far greater than the fallen nature that resides in our flesh.

Most evangelicals have this the other way around . They focus predominantly upon the fallen flesh which they say has to be subdued, and neglect almost entirely the life giving virtues of the Son of God that now reside inside of every child of God. In reality very little time is spent living in the light of the victory of the cross as it pertains not just to the forgiveness of our sins, but the reception of a brand new nature. As Oswald Chamber that remarkable sage and teacher to the body of Christ once observed, in Christ the entire "disposition and mainspring"of our inward natures have been instantly and radically changed. It is this that we are to walk in the light of, and it is this that we are to renew our minds to,so that what Christ has wrought in us in reality begins to bear increasing fruit consistently through our lives.

The exhortation of this passage is therefore to help and to urge us to live and to walk in the spirit consistently, not as a mystical experience but rather as a walk of faith where the new creation or new self in Christ is constantly at the forefront of our lives.

Some Christians get nervous at the mention of having the life of God or the nature of God in them, imagining it to have new age overtones or at the least as something that sounds strange to their ears.

Let me simply say that any language which proponents of the new age movement have borrowed from the bible is incidental but the new creation reality in Christ Jesus and the so called "new age" are as different as day and night ,truth and deception.

The fact that this language is so strange or unfamiliar to some is a tragedy but only serves to demonstrate that this area of the new testament teaching has been woefully neglected. Every one of the terms that I have used are biblical and are truth that is especially found in the epistles of the new testament.

Gods word is referred to as "seed" that is, incorruptible seed in the new testament.

And we became born again when the incorruptible seed of the word of God quickened and generated a new life in our spirits, making us spiritually alive where we had been spiritually dead. Jesus said that "My words they are spirit and they are life ", and so our birth into the kingdom of God was by hearing and receiving the word of God, which became the receptacle for releasing the life of God into us.

The Holy Spirit takes the word of God and continues by His indwelling presence to maintain that constant flow of Gods life within us.

Many evangelicals in the conservative protestant tradition have majored to all practical purposes upon the progressive nature of our sanctification. Yes they would say we are given a new self in Christ in the new birth, but our sanctification is progressive, little by little, and often this has been conveyed in such a way that any real expectation of significant change of character is seen as hopeful at best and doubtful at worst.

In addition the teaching of justification by faith underscoring Luthers doctrine acknowledges that we have a righteousness before God but sees this as entirely alien to us, outside of ourselves, that is, not touching our essential natures. Rather the righteousness of God is reckoned or imputed to us by faith and again the majority of Christians are left with the conviction that there is very little real internal substantive change.The protestants criticize the Roman Catholics because they believe that righteousness is infused into us that is that it really does get inside of and reform our human natures.

I believe that both of these church traditions have endeavoured to grasp different aspects of the teaching of the new testament(of course both groups would for the most part see the opposing view on righteousness as erroneous and heretical) but I believe that righteousness is according to the bible more than just a state of legal justification. It is also part of the nature and character of God , and as such has become a part of our new selves in Christ in as much as we have been made partakers of the divine nature. Why should that be deemed so offense to some Christians, unless as I believe they have never yet fully grasped the new creation realities of how their spirits have been made new in the new creation, and that they have been reborn into the likeness and image of Gods dear Son.

What is so offensive to say that Jesus Christ is living in me and that therefore His Life, His nature, His Righteousness ,His Love, His peace ,His Joy, and His faith has also now been made available to me and are dwelling within me.?

As Paul writes in Ephesians chpt 4 v23, 24 we are to "be renewed in the spirit of our mind, and to put on the new man which was created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the truth"

Our spirits were reborn and the imperishable seed of Gods word and the Mighty indwelling presence of God the Holy Spirit have created a brand new person(one translation of 2 Corinthians 5 v17 translates it as "if any man is in Christ he is a brand new species of being one that never existed before") and that new person has been created according to the righteousness and holiness and truth of God.

If that is so some may ask, then why do I struggle so much ,and why do Christians that I know struggle so much in their christian walk.

The primary reason why Christians struggle so much is because we have never renewed our minds to conform to the teaching of what took place in our new birth of becoming a new creation and of the fact that we are now indwelt by the Mighty Holy Spirit of God.

We are or have been so much more sin conscious then God indwelling us conscious.We have been more failure conscious then made the righteousness of God conscious.We have been more weakness conscious then the strength and might of God strengthening our inner man conscious. And we have been more conscious of the fallen nature than established (and that is the key word) in the reality of the new creation and of the fact that the life and nature of God are now dwelling in us.

This is what Paul is speaking of in these latter two chapters of Galatians. The virtues of this new life which our spirits have been made partakers of, now needs to be nurtured, cultivated and given full sway, and as we do this we shall not gratify the lusts of the flesh.This is why the teaching to distinguish between the soul and the spirit is so crucial.

If we only regard our selves as body and soul then we shall not understand that this new nature is residing in our spirits, and as we train ourselves to become more spirit conscious and less mind conscious the present reality of these inward virtues of Christs life become so much greater to us.

I can anticipate the objection of some that may read this that I am being unnecessarily negative about the importance of the mind. But let me explain this more clearly.

There are things that we may know in our spirits (by the Holy Spirit) that we cannot yet articulate with our minds.

How often have you known something that you had not been told, but you instinctively just knew it? Or have you ever known a truth from scripture but just not yet been able to fully articulate it?( look at 1 Corinthians 2 v11)

There are many things that our spirits"know" that our minds do not yet. That is because our minds were meant to be subservient to our spirits not the other way around.

This brings us to the question of how do we let our spirits take precedence over and above our minds? In a word by meditating and acting upon Gods word. The word of God is food for our spirits as meat and bread are food for the body.

So we learn to walk in the spirit by becoming more spirit conscious and by being more conscious of the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God within us than the clamouring thoughts of our minds.

As a last thought one further objection that I have often heard to the teaching on spirit and soul is to say that in the old testament the Hebrew view of man was a holistic one, giving value and a sense of personhood to the whole of man, not "compartmentalising him".

It is important to recognize however that under the old covenant no one was yet born again or had received the life and nature of God within . Neither was the Holy Spirit permanently abiding inside of belivers as he is now.

All of the prophecies looking foward to the new covenant and that speak of God giving a new heart and putting a new spirit within us depended upon Christ going to the cross and being made sin for us, and being justified in the spirit and raised up from the dead in order to bring about their fulfillment.

However there are references that distinguish between the soul and the spirit even in the old testament eg( Isa 26 v 9 ) but this truth was portrayed far more clearly and centrally in the new.

It is important also to understand this area of new testament teaching not as a reason to break man up into different categories for analysis, but rather to show us that as we have now have been made alive in the spirit and live in the spirit so we need to learn to walk in the spirit, letting the things of the spirit have the ascendency in our christian walk.

The best illustration that I can end on is to quote another of my spiritual mentors Kenneth Copeland.

At the very onset of his ministry while he was attending an induction seminar at oru(Oral Roberts university) the Lord opened his eyes into the spirit realm and gave to him an open vision.What he saw so startled him that he kept shutting his eyes than reopening them to find that the vision remained. The content of what he was shown absolutely broke him and he sat alone weeping for the remainder of his time in that meeting.

The Lord showed him how He saw the majority of the people present and what he saw were people who appeared disfigured and grotestly disproportionate.

The people in the room suddenly appeared to him as those having tiny scrawny bodies like the pictures of the malnourished children that we are familiar with from refugee camps in third world countries.In contrast their heads appeared disproportionatly large like huge oversized swollen heads. Then the Holy Spirit spoke to him and said "this is the condition of the majority of my people in the western world"." They are highly developed in their minds and intellects but in their spirits they appear as emmaciated before me"

This vision was the catalyst that launched his ministry that has for over fourty years endevoured to feed the spirits and well as the minds of Gods people with the Word of God.

We can overdevelop our intellects by so feeding upon intellectual matter that we neglect our hearts before God. And there is only one thing that will build us up in our most holy faith and that is constant feeding upon and meditating upon the Word of the living God.

Walking in the spirit is nothing more than to give priority to God's word above every other thing, to feast upon it, to believe and to act upon it, even in the face of every kind of contradictory circumstance or pressure.

Jan put it well when we were discussing these things when she said "We are being led by the soul when we try to reason it all out, but we are being led by the spirit when we accept the word of God by faith and walk in it"