The soul is versus the spirit, and they are absolutely two different things. Whenever we live in the mind, emotion, and will of the soul, we cannot live in the spirit. Romans 8 points out clearly that the flesh is versus the spirit. Verse 6 says, “The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.” First Corinthians 2 shows that the soul is versus the spirit. Verse 14 says, “A soulish man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him and he is not able to know them because they are discerned spiritually.” A soulish man has no understanding or desire for spiritual things; he regards them even as foolishness. Only a spiritual man can discern all things. He is not only desirous of spiritual things, but he is also able to discern them. Therefore, 1 Corinthians 2 clearly shows that the spirit and the soul are absolutely two different things.
A person who lives in and by the spirit is a spiritual person; he can comprehend, discern, and understand the spiritual things of God. If a person lives in and by the soul, he may be well-behaved and good in the world’s eyes, but he has no understanding or even desire for spiritual things; rather, he abhors and rejects them and regards them even as foolishness. Therefore, while those who are fleshly are not spiritual, even those who are soulish are not spiritual.
When Romans 8 speaks of the flesh, it links the flesh with sin and death. Sin is the root, and death is the issue. Verse 2 says, “The law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death.” Romans 8 deals with the problem of sin because this chapter is the continuation of chapter 6. Chapter 6 speaks of how a person can be freed from sin, and chapter 8 shows that the law of the Spirit of life has freed us in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death. Verse 6 says that to set the mind on the flesh is death. This means that to set the mind on the flesh is to sin, and the result is death. When Romans 8 speaks of death, it emphasizes its connection to sin; hence, to be freed from the flesh is to be freed from sin.
Romans 8, a continuation of chapter 6, speaks of how one can be freed from sin and not commit sin. When Romans speaks of setting the mind on the flesh, its emphasis is on the connection between flesh and sin. In order to be delivered from sin, we need to be delivered from the flesh; in order to be delivered from the flesh, we must live in the spirit. To live in the spirit is to set the mind on the spirit, and to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace (8:5-6). This means that if we live in the spirit, the spirit will free us so that we can be delivered from sin; this is the center of the book of Romans.
When Romans 8 speaks of the flesh, it emphasizes the connection of the flesh to sin and the flesh being a matter of committing sins. When 1 Corinthians 2 speaks of the soul, however, it does not mention the problem of sin; rather, it speaks of knowing spiritual things. Romans 8 tells how a person can be delivered from sin, and its emphasis is on the problem of sin. It also speaks of the flesh, so it further emphasizes the flesh being joined to sin. First Corinthians 2 speaks of understanding spiritual things, knowing the things of God, serving God, and touching the things of God. According to this chapter, the soul is absolutely incompetent, completely ignorant, and without any understanding, appreciation, or desire concerning spiritual things and service to God; it even considers them foolish.
This shows that the soul does not know or desire spiritual things and regards them even as foolishness. Only the spirit can understand spiritual things, and only spiritual persons can discern the things of God. Romans 8 shows that in order to be delivered from sin, we must live in the spirit, not in the flesh. First Corinthians 2 shows that in order to understand spiritual things, we must live by the spirit, not by the soul.
Being soulish is not a matter of whether we commit sins. We should not consider that a person is not soulish if he does not sin. A person may not sin and may be proper before man, but he can absolutely be a soulish person. In regard to the matter of being soulish, 1 Corinthians 2 never speaks of sin. Sin, however, is spoken of in Romans 8 and Galatians 5 in relation to the flesh. Being fleshly is related to committing sins. The sins listed in Galatians 5 are the works of the flesh; hence, sin is particularly related to the flesh. A person who commits sins and indulges in lust is fleshly. But if, instead of committing sins and indulging in lust, a person is proper and perfect in the eyes of men and even desires to serve God and to touch and understand spiritual things, he can still be soulish if he is completely ignorant of spiritual things and lives according to his soul rather than his spirit.
A soulish person in 1 Corinthians 2 is not a person who does not sin but one who does not understand the things of the Spirit. Although he does not live by the flesh, neither does he live by the spirit; he is living in the place in between, that is, in his soul. He lives in the soul, and although he does not sin, he has no understanding concerning spiritual things. He does not live by the flesh, but neither does he live by the spirit; he is one who lives in the soul.
The flesh versus the spirit is a matter of committing sins. The soul versus the spirit is a matter of not knowing the things of the Spirit. A person who lives by the flesh is bound to commit sins, and a person who lives by the soul may not sin, but he certainly does not understand the things of the Spirit. We must live by the spirit in order not to sin on one hand and to know the things of the Spirit on the other. Those who are of the flesh commit sins and do evil things; however, soulish ones may not commit sins or do evil things, but they are still ignorant in regard to spiritual things. A spiritual man, however, does not sin on one hand and knows the things of the Spirit on the other hand. Both Romans 8 and 1 Corinthians 2 speak of the matter of being spiritual. The focus in Romans 8, however, is on being delivered from sin, and the focus in 1 Corinthians 2 is on understanding spiritual things. In Romans 8 being spiritual is versus being fleshly; in 1 Corinthians 2 being spiritual is versus being soulish.