We have seen that a fallen man, dead as he is in spirit, can only live by the soul. But we who are saved and have a quickened spirit can live by the spirit. Furthermore, God saves us so that we can return to the spirit and live by the spirit. The fall of man caused man to fall from the spirit to the soul, so that man no longer lives by the spirit but by the soul. God’s salvation saves man from the soul to the spirit so that man does not live by the soul but by the spirit. However, many who are saved still do not live this way. Some remain in the soul and live by the soul because they do not know the difference between spirit and soul and the matters involved therein. Moreover, they do not know that God’s desire is that they be delivered from the soul and live in the spirit. Although there are some who know that their spirit has been quickened, that it is different from their soul, and that God wants them to live in their spirit, yet they continue to remain in the soul and live by the soul. This is because they are accustomed to living by the soul and not by the spirit, and because they do not consider living in the spirit important. Those who do not know the difference between spirit and soul, and do not know God desires that we should be delivered from the soul and live in the spirit, think that to live by the mind, emotion, or will of the soul is fitting and necessary, and that if only they are careful and faultless, they are all right. But they do not know that as far as Christians are concerned, this is far too poor!
God does not intend to deliver us merely from faults to a state of faultlessness; He intends to deliver us even more from the soul to the spirit. He wants us not only to live a faultless life, but even more to live a spiritual life, a spiritually faultless life. He wants us to live a faultless life not by the soul, but by the spirit. Yet because of their ignorance, many Christians still live by the soul, and they strive and struggle to be those that are faultless by their soul life. Although their spirit is already quickened, they do not know they should use their spirit and live by their spirit. They want to make themselves perfect men, living a satisfactory life by the power of the soul alone. Their view and judgment of things and their love and inclination are all in the soul, not in the spirit. Although they are well-behaved Christians, and their conduct and behavior are without fault, yet they still are living in the soul, not in the spirit. Granted that their thoughts are clean, their emotions are balanced, and their decisions are accurate, they are still soulish, not spiritual. Their condition as far as Christians are concerned is abnormal. They are living the abnormal Christian life. Even if they can be successful, they can only satisfy themselves. And sometimes some are really satisfied with their success (a success which is really doubtful); but they cannot please God, for God wants man to be delivered from the soul and live by the spirit.
Those who have some knowledge of the difference between spirit and soul and of God’s desire for us to be delivered from the soul and live in the spirit, yet who are still living by the soul, are also living an abnormal Christian life. Although they know that their spirit is already quickened, yet they do not live by it. Although they know that God wants them to be delivered from the soul and live in the spirit, yet they still remain in the soul and live by the soul. Although they know that man should contact God in the spirit, yet they still use the soul to touch the things of God. They know they have a spirit, yet they do not use their spirit; they know they should live by the spirit, yet they do not live in the spirit. They find it convenient to use the mind, emotion, or will of the soul and are not accustomed to using the spirit; hence, they neglect living by the spirit. Whenever anything happens, they always firstly use their mind, emotion, or will to deal with it. They do not firstly use their spirit to contact it. At most they can only be good and faultless Christians (and this is really doubtful); they cannot be spiritual Christians. They can only satisfy themselves; they cannot please God. They can only be commended by man; they cannot receive the praise of God. They still need the deliverance of God—not deliverance from sin, but deliverance from the soul; not deliverance from the filthy flesh condemned by man, but deliverance from the clean soul commended by man. Otherwise, they are still strangers and outsiders to the things of the Spirit of God.
How can we be delivered from the soul? This requires revelation from two standpoints: one concerning the soul, the other concerning the cross. We must see that the soul is impotent in the things of God and worthless in spiritual things. No matter how excellent and strong any part of our soul may be, it still cannot apprehend the things of God or understand spiritual things. However clean our mind, however balanced our emotion, and however proper our will, these can never make us spiritual. We must also see that our soul and all things that belong to it have already been crucified on the cross of Christ. In Galatians 2:20, when the apostle says, “I have been crucified with Christ,” the “I” he refers to is the soul. The soul, in God’s estimation, deserves only death. And our soul has already been taken care of by God through the cross of Christ. Hence, we should not value the things of our soul; rather we should only admit that our soul should die, that it deserves death, and that it is already dead. Such revelation and vision can enable us to condemn the soul, deny the soul, reject the soul, forbid the soul to take the lead in all things, and in everything give no ground to the soul. By the Holy Spirit we put the soul to death; we allow the Holy Spirit to put to death the soul life and to deal with the activity of the soul by the cross.
We must see how powerless the soul is before God, how it cannot comprehend the things of God and cannot please God. We must also see God’s estimate of the soul and how He deals with the soul. Only then can we deny the soul, reject the soul, and be delivered from the soul. Therefore, we must ask the Lord to make us see not only the impotence of the soul, but also the dealing of the cross with the soul; thus, in everything we will learn to reject the soul and not live by the soul. One who is in the mind should refuse his intellect in all spiritual things; he should put aside completely such functions as thinking and considering and return to the spirit, using the spirit to sense the consciousness of God. When he reads the Bible, prays or speaks about spiritual things, he should refuse his thinking, imagining, theorizing, and investigating, but follow closely the sense in his spirit and move on in the fellowship of God. One who abounds in emotion should refuse his emotion in everything; he should not allow his emotion to lead and direct, but let the Holy Spirit deal with his emotion; thus, he can sense the will of God in the spirit. He should fear his emotion just as he fears sin, and in fear and trembling live in the spirit, not being directed or influenced by his emotion. One who is in the will should see his will as the enemy of God in the things of God, as the opponent of the spirit. Thus, he will condemn, refuse, and deny his will. He should allow the Holy Spirit to break his will by the cross so that he will not live before God by his firm and strong will, but by the consciousness in his spirit.
Whichever part of the soul we are in, we should condemn and refuse it. Whether it is our mind, emotion, or will, they all should be broken and dealt with. In all things of God, we should refuse the leading of the mind, emotion, and will. Rather, we should let the spirit occupy the first place to govern, direct, and employ our mind, emotion, and will. In this way we can be delivered from the soul. Then on one hand we can employ all the organs in the soul by our spirit, and on the other hand we will not live by the soul; hence we will not be soulish but spiritual.