The soul is the focal point of the problem of sin. The soul is the natural mind, or
carnal mind, which we received as part of our inheritance from Adam. It is thus
also the seat of death, or mortality.
There is no such thing as an immortal soul, at least not this side of the glory
that is to come. Such a term is never used in the Bible, but is a theological
and popular term borrowed from various religions.
Thus, Isaiah 53 makes it clear that the Messiah was to be a Sacrifice for sin and
is connected to the sacrificial animals in the law of Moses. The soul of the animal
was sacrificed for the souls of men, for Lev. 17:11 says, “I have given it [the blood]
to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls.”
The Greeks thought that the seat of true virtue and knowledge rested in the soul
(what Paul called the carnal mind, or the “old man”). Paul says that the “natural
mind” (psuchikos, or “soulish” mind” cannot understand the things of the Spirit
(1 Cor. 2:14).
Insofar as immortality is concerned, the human spirit is the only seat of immortality,
for it is never said to die, but to “return to God” (Eccl. 12:7). So also when Jesus died,
He said, “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit” (Luke 23:46), and yet His soul
went to hades, for we read in Acts 2:27, “Thou wilt not leave My soul in hades.”
The spirit has a mind, just as the soul has a mind. They each have their own
consciousness, capable of thought.
Paul identified himself with that holy seed, that new man that He is becoming—not
the old man that is his Adamic flesh, which is very capable of sin. As believers, we
have the right to identify with the new man and crucify the old man. While this is not
a license to sin that grace may abound, it also provides us with the biblical reason
why we ought not to wallow in guilt from past sins, or even to remain paralyzed by
the current imperfection of the flesh.
This is basic to an understanding of our Christian walk, as well as giving us some
knowledge of the difference between soul and spirit. We can only make that
distinction by the Sword of the Word, for Heb. 4:12 says that this Sword is to be
used to divide soul and spirit, even as the priest used to cut apart the bone and
marrow of the sacrificial animals.
Logabe
carnal mind, which we received as part of our inheritance from Adam. It is thus
also the seat of death, or mortality.
There is no such thing as an immortal soul, at least not this side of the glory
that is to come. Such a term is never used in the Bible, but is a theological
and popular term borrowed from various religions.
Thus, Isaiah 53 makes it clear that the Messiah was to be a Sacrifice for sin and
is connected to the sacrificial animals in the law of Moses. The soul of the animal
was sacrificed for the souls of men, for Lev. 17:11 says, “I have given it [the blood]
to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls.”
The Greeks thought that the seat of true virtue and knowledge rested in the soul
(what Paul called the carnal mind, or the “old man”). Paul says that the “natural
mind” (psuchikos, or “soulish” mind” cannot understand the things of the Spirit
(1 Cor. 2:14).
Insofar as immortality is concerned, the human spirit is the only seat of immortality,
for it is never said to die, but to “return to God” (Eccl. 12:7). So also when Jesus died,
He said, “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit” (Luke 23:46), and yet His soul
went to hades, for we read in Acts 2:27, “Thou wilt not leave My soul in hades.”
The spirit has a mind, just as the soul has a mind. They each have their own
consciousness, capable of thought.
Paul identified himself with that holy seed, that new man that He is becoming—not
the old man that is his Adamic flesh, which is very capable of sin. As believers, we
have the right to identify with the new man and crucify the old man. While this is not
a license to sin that grace may abound, it also provides us with the biblical reason
why we ought not to wallow in guilt from past sins, or even to remain paralyzed by
the current imperfection of the flesh.
This is basic to an understanding of our Christian walk, as well as giving us some
knowledge of the difference between soul and spirit. We can only make that
distinction by the Sword of the Word, for Heb. 4:12 says that this Sword is to be
used to divide soul and spirit, even as the priest used to cut apart the bone and
marrow of the sacrificial animals.
Logabe
