Soul vs Spirit

John 4:21-23

21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

You are spirit—this is important you have been given an opportunity at eternal life

You are a spirit in a physical body. When you get born again, the Holy Spirit moves in and becomes intertwined with yours, and you have become one with Him. Seriously, I did my best to explain to you a couple weeks ago how hard He’s been working through the millennia to get His Spirit in you. You belong to Him as His creation, Satan is trying to steal His possession, but God is taking it back. He just has to get you and I to believe what He’s saying about us (Romans 6:11-12). You are a partaker of the divine nature and you have been given everything [In Christ] that pertains to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3-4).

One with Him

John 17:19-22

19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. 20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may  be one, even as we are one:

But—there is a war raging

Romans 7:23

But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and  bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

A prisoner of war

2 Corinthians 13:14 fellowship of the Holy Spirit

Consider the close proximity of the soul [mind, will, emotions] to the spirit, and the close proximity of the soul to the world. Are we allowing the external or the internal to influence us?

Colossians 2:8-10 ESV philosophy of world

8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

Ephesians 6:16  shield of faith

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

1 Corinthians 2:9-16

9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

Psuchikos

14 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.

There is a big difference between the brain and the mind. A man can be a genius but dead to the things of God [ATP > Mitochondria] but the mind of the soul influenced by [a] spirit functions at a higher level than the brain, because whatever influences the mind is what truly drives the direction of all the movement. God’s will is that the Holy Spirit would commune with our spirit and that our spirit would lead our soul: mind, will, emotions in the right direction.

The natural mind cannot perceive these things

Pneumatikos

15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

Through the presence of the Holy Spirit in us, we have the mind of Christ in us… v 12

The heart thinks & speaks. The heart is listed as the soul, as a mixture of both thoughts and emotions.

Proverbs 23:6-7 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: 7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

Matthew 12:34-35 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

Ephesians 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

Knowledge-wisdom-understanding

Proverbs 2:1-16

Because the body is close to the soul and the soul close to the body proximity of the soul, the external problems of the fallen world affects our senses through our [mind, will, emotions], we bring the world in and it causes a war that filters through our soul and desires to penetrate and affect our spirit.

Peter- the external world through his senses affected what he leaned upon. Reminds again of the proximity of the soul to the external world and how your environment can affect your inner man, how the chaos of the world will affect the object of your faith and attempt to engulf you in its storm. The enemy will use the tactic of fear based on what your physical senses experience in your external world

Isaiah 26:3-4

Stayed-Lean upon/ rest

3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. 4 Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:

The Soldier

2 Timothy 2:1-6

1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 Suffer hardship with me, as a  good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. 5 Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.

stratologeō

“No soldier” in active service/KJV warreth

strato—1. encamped); camp-likeness, i.e. an army 2. an army, band of soldiers 3. the hosts of heaven/ troops of angels

logeō—ask, bid, boast, call, describe, give out, name, put forth, say(-ing, on), shew, speak, tell, utter.

An active believer is one that engages the battle. He is like a soldier that is encamped and he speaks forth: speaking forth can entail both:

1. Proclaiming truth

2. Prayer/intercession

Farmer’s share

His share: whether money or food, the farmer’s share drives him to plow, to sow, to harvest…

The farmer’s driven to plow. The athlete’s desire for the prize drives him to compete according to the rules.

And the soldier that desires to please his commanding officer is one who engages the spiritual battle and does not get intertwined with common affairs.

2 Timothy 2:14-17

An Unashamed Workman

14 Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 16 But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,

Katastrophe- (KJV subverting) demolition, overthrow, destruction-- as in cities.

A while back the Lord gave me a vision of buildings in a city that had been bombarded by the prayers of the saints. The area was war torn and had been stricken by demolition. The prayers of the saints caused the catastrophe to the kingdom of darkness. So if prayers bombard the kingdom of heaven and useless talk results in catastrophe, what are all the buildings and defenses of the kingdom of God looking like in the spirit when we speak curses instead of blessings on others?

There is something interesting happening in this text:

1. Paul warns against useless words. There is a whole category of conversation that we could include in this. We will just trust that as we move closer to the Lord through prayer and study of His word, that our renewed mind will be more sensitive towards useless talk will become more clear to you and that as you engage in it, you will be convicted and then from there you can be aware.

2. V15 Divide-- handle aright, to teach the truth directly and correctly

My job is to make a straight cut and present it that way to you. Your job is to rightly make the cut for yourself. You are not to imagine in your mind: Pastor Matt taught me right, I’m going to be okay. We’re talking about your eternal reward and your eternal soul. You will have to decide whether you’re going to be a soldier or a civilian. A soldier wars, they are in the battle, they divide the word, and they avoid useless, worldly talk and actions that will result in catastrophe.

3. V 16 avoid empty and worldly chatter it spreads like gangrene. I know that we all know what gangrene is, but let me say it out loud, so we can hear what it sounds like. Gangrene is death that has occurred to a particular body part. Gangrene must be stopped by amputation or else it will spread to the rest of the body and cause death to the whole.

2 Timothy 2:19-21

19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from

wickedness.”

20 Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.

The believer who desires to serve the Lord Biblically has some specific responsibilities according to this chapter.

1. Engage spiritual warfare

2. Avoid wrong words

3. A spiritual soldier engages w/ words: prayer and proclamation: he speaks life not death

4. He abstains from wickedness

5. He cleanses himself, making himself a vessel of honor (sanctified)

The main point surrounds the effectiveness of the warrior. If his vessel is sanctified, he is ready for the master’s use. If he is not sanctified and cleansed, then he is a vessel of dishonor.

Let’s be clear in that I do understand that there is both positional and progressive sanctification. But when do we start moving forward in the truth? How long should we wait until we stop addictions? How long should it take before we stop vain babbling or foolish talk? How long until we align our lives with his truth. He is gracious and merciful. How long do we take advantage of his grace and mercy pretending that he’s okay with disobedience when we know from his word that he’s not?

1 Peter 2:4-5

As Living Stones

4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Revelation 5:10

And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.