The Father, The Son, and The Holy Soul
Have you been baptized in the Name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Soul? If not, perhaps it is because there is no such thing or person as The Holy Soul. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to us, to comfort and guide us. Many people are not looking for Him because they are searching for The Holy Soul. They will never encounter it. Some may think I am splitting hairs here because Soul and Spirit are the 2 elements in the heart or the inner man of each person. The Scriptural fact, however, is that one aspect of the Christian's inner man is saved (spirit) while the other aspect of us is unregenerate (soul) in this lifetime. That is as opposite as can be. If one looks for spirit in the realm of soul there will be confusion and disappointment.
I recently came across someone asking the following question:
Why does The Holy Spirit not convict us of wrong doctrine?
An excellent question. A pastor gave his answer. He said that The Holy Spirit does do exactly that but many people are not listening. A good answer. He then went on to give some examples such as all the people that are not in agreement with his church. I feel that he just illustrated that he doesn't know, either. Why does The Holy Spirit not work in our minds?
There are some large law firms that specialize in injury cases. They advertise in large cities using billboards and TV ads. They prominently display the name of the leading attorney. Let's say that someone goes to their office in a particular city to talk to this big-name attorney. They say to the receptionist that they want to talk to Mr. Johnson. The receptionist tells them that Mr. Johnson does not work here. This is just a branch office. He works in such and such a city. He just directs the different branch offices. The person cannot talk to Mr. Johnson because he does not work here. He works in another city.
Why does The Holy Spirit not correct us of incorrect doctrine? Why does He not (usually) direct us away from all our bad attitudes and errors in reasoning? It is because He does not work here. His office is somewhere else. Usually and generally, He does not work directly in our mind. He resides in a different place, if the Infinite Spirit can have locality. To renew the mind is our responsibility (Rom 12:2). We work at the branch office, if you will.
The Holy Spirit's office, as it were, is not set up in our minds. He works from another place, generally unconnected to our natural senses. He resides in the spirit of a saved man or woman. This place is so strange to our natural thinking. Dreams, visions, symbols, and unintelligible languages are how things, many times, flow from the spirit to our understanding. Actually, this exact process is how we got our Bible, in its origin. The Bible, in its origin, did not come about by a committee of academics, using their understanding. (Translating the Scriptures into various human languages is another thing entirely.) Many people say that they love the Bible but they hate the things of the Spirit. This really cannot be.
In the spirit of the born again person, The Holy Spirit resides and produces love, joy, and peace. It is only as these things flow into our soul and understanding that we see this fruit in a practical manner. This is really not speaking in a poetic sense. This is quite practical and technical. This is the Christian life. Things must flow from the spirit into our soul. If we allow it, this is the transformation that God desires. Once again, since this was the precise method that produced the Bible, the Scriptures can be of great value in our growth.
Let's say that a Charismatic and a Cessationist are having a debate. It is possible that they are talking about 2 different things. That would certainly explain the confusion. One is talking about The Holy Spirit and the other person is arguing about The Holy Soul (which does not exist). No wonder there is no common ground.
I was eating dinner with a friend in Puerto Rico. I noticed that he had stopped eating, put his fork down, and was staring at me silently. I wondered what was wrong. “Shandala”, he said to me. I knew he was very well traveled and spoke or was conversant in several languages. He saw the puzzled look on my face. “You know, shandala, shandala, shandala. You know, the most common word in the charismatic church.” I groaned at my slowness to catch on to his comment. I had thought there was something seriously wrong. However, he was right. What we commonly know as “tongues” is just learned behavior, many times. If what we see as spiritual gifting or enabling originates in the soul or the mind, then it is indeed nonsense. If this is what a cessationist is talking about, they may indeed have a good point.
However, if prophecy or tongues or something supernatural originates in the spirit, the unbeliever who criticizes is totally wrong. So, are we talking about things that come from the Spirit of God or something that comes from the unregenerate mind? It makes a difference since these are opposites.
Recognizing the difference between soul and spirit is not always easy, especially at first. I think encouragement is in order for those who try to prophesy and such related things and to access the spirit even though their attempts may be imperfect. We, as the Body of Christ, should be encouraging toward others' immature attempts at honoring God's Word, shouldn't we? Isn't a failing attempt at trusting God better than scoffing and mocking at others?
We may search for the Holy Spirit. We may get distressed because we do not feel Him. We search our mind and our emotions, looking for the sense that He is with us. However, His office is in another place. He does not set up His workspace in our minds or soul. The natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit (I Cor 2:14). The Christian that chooses to live by the senses will not receive anything, either.
An exception may be spiritual gifting. This is the supernatural ability, given by The Holy Spirit, to see or hear from the spiritual realm. We just have to be wise enough to not listen to every bit of chatter that one picks up in the spirit realm. We must listen to the Bible and The Teacher. Jesus said the Father seeks worshipers in the spirit but also in the Truth (John 4:23,24).
Be like a pilot of an airplane. If it is cloudy or rainy or dark you cannot trust the natural senses. To the natural senses it may seem like you are going to crash. It may seem like you are too close to the ground. It may feel as if you are upside down. Forget the natural senses. Trust the instruments.
As a Christian, you must learn to trust the information from outside your self awareness, that is from outside of soul. There is a fountain of life inside of you. Not inside of you but inside of what God has given you. Everything you want or need is located in the Holy Spirit, now intimately joined to your reborn spirit. Everything you need in this life is put in a special place, generally locked away just outside your senses and natural awareness. Learn to look to The Holy Spirit within you yet outside of your awareness. Inside of you but not inside of self. Inside of you but from Him, The Holy Spirit.
Oct. 4, 2024