Regardless of whether a man is in the mind, in the emotion, or in the will, he is soulish. Regardless of whether a man lives in the mind, in the emotion, or in the will, he lives in the soul. Regardless of whether a man lives by the mind, by the emotion, or by the will, he lives by the soul. Therefore, it is very easy for us to judge whether a man is soulish. We only need to see whether or not he acts by the mind, emotion, or will, and whether or not he lives in the mind, emotion, or will. As long as he acts and behaves by any one of these three, or as long as he lives in any one of these three, he is a soulish man.
A soulish man often is what man calls “a good man.” He is frequently faultless in man’s eyes. Clear thinking always brings the praise of man to those who act by it. Moderate emotion always brings the approval of man to those who live in it. A firm will also often brings the commendation of man to those who rely on it. But when man lives in these, though he is not living in sin, he is also not living in the spirit. Though before man he seems to be without sin and faultless, before God his spirit is blocked, and his spiritual understanding is dull.
Once in a certain place, I met a co-worker. His conduct was really good, but he lived too much in the mind, or the brain; therefore, it was difficult for him to understand or comprehend spiritual things. Whenever I spoke to him concerning matters of serving God, I was quite fearful that his eyeballs would turn. When I spoke, he would listen until he almost got the point, and then his eyeballs would turn, and he became confused again. When his eyeballs revolved, it meant that his mind was considering. He only used his mind to consider; he did not use his spirit to sense the things of God: therefore, it was exceedingly difficult for him to understand and sense spiritual things.
Thinking is frequently the difficulty and hindrance of the brothers in spiritual things. Many brothers often use thinking to deal with spiritual things. They think they can understand spiritual things by exercising their mind. They do not know that the mind, being part of the soul, cannot understand the spirit. A man living in the mind lives in the soul and definitely becomes a soulish man with no ability to understand spiritual things.
Just as the mind is the difficulty of the brothers in spiritual things, so the emotion is frequently the hindrance of the sisters. The reason many sisters cannot understand or sense spiritual things is that they are too much in the emotion. In the churches of various places, I have seen many good sisters who have enthusiasm and love, who are careful in their behavior, and whose conduct is sober; yet when it comes to spiritual things, they lack consciousness, and they can hardly apprehend them. This is because they live too much in their emotion and act too much by their emotion. Apparently, emotion is not sin, but emotion prevents them from living in the spirit, from touching the things of God by their spirit, from having any spiritual sense, and from understanding spiritual things. Emotion is their pitfall; it keeps them in the sphere of the soul, living by the soul and being a soulish person.
For many brothers, the will is also a difficulty and hindrance as to their understanding of spiritual things. Even some sisters have this problem. They judge and decide on matters too much by their will; so unknowingly they live in the soul, having no spiritual sense or understanding in spiritual things.
Whichever part of the soul a person is in, he will very easily act by that part and live in that part. Whenever one who is in the mind encounters anything, he will naturally think through the matter again and again, considering it from many angles. One who is in the emotion will unconsciously care very much for the emotion in dealing with others and handling things. One with a strong will very easily leans on his will in dealing with man and matters, making firm resolutions and unalterable decisions. Whichever part of the soul a person lives in easily and naturally, he definitely belongs to that part. If you see a person who very naturally thinks, considers, weighs and measures every matter, you can be sure he must be one who acts by the intellect; therefore, he is one who is in the mind. If a person is easily stirred when facing things, smiling and weeping quickly, happy for one moment and depressed the next, you know that he must be one who abounds in emotion and is emotional. If whenever you encounter things, you plan and decide without any effort, and your will comes out to deal and function without any special exercise on your part, then undoubtedly you are one who is strong in will and who is in the will. Whichever part of the soul is strong or abounds in a person, it is always that part which is in the forefront whenever he encounters anything and deals with it. Whichever part of a person’s soul takes the lead in dealing with things, it is a proof that he is in that particular part, and it is also a proof that he is a soulish man.
If we can recognize what kind of person is soulish, it is not difficult to realize what kind of person is spiritual. Since a soulish person lives by the mind, emotion, or will, a spiritual person must be one who does not live by these. Since a soulish person lives by the soul and not by the spirit, then a spiritual person must live in the spirit and not in the soul. Although spiritual persons also have souls, and although the mind, emotion, or will in their soul may even be stronger and abound more than that of ordinary soulish persons, yet they do not live by these soulish organs, nor do they live in them. They live by the spirit and in the spirit, and they allow the spirit to be the master and source of all their action and behavior. The spirit in them occupies the preeminent position; it is the source of their behavior and starting point of their action. The soul in them is in the position of submission. Although the mind, emotion, and will in their souls also function, yet these are all subjected under the government of the spirit and are directed by the spirit. Although they use their mind, emotion, or will, yet they always follow the sense of the spirit in making use of these organs of the soul. They are not like soulish persons, who let the soul be the master in everything, who allow the mind, emotion, or will of the soul to stand in the forefront to lead and to function. They deny the preeminence of the soul and refuse the leading of the mind, emotion, or will. Thus, they allow the spirit to be the master in them; they allow the spirit to direct their whole being so that they may follow the sense of the spirit. Whenever they encounter something, they do not first use the mind, emotion, or will of the soul to contact and deal with it; rather, they use their spirit first to touch and to sense it, seeking first in the spirit for the Lord’s feeling as to this matter. After they have touched the Lord’s feeling in their spirit, they use the mind in the soul to understand the sense in the spirit, the emotion in the soul to express it, and the will in the soul to carry it out. Although they use the organs of the soul, yet they are not soulish, and they do not live by the life of the soul. They are spiritual, living by the life of the spirit, and the soul is but an organ for them to employ.