Man’s three parts correspond to the three sections of God’s temple. God’s temple, or tabernacle, is composed of three sections: the outer court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. First Corinthians 3:16 says that we are God’s temple. Our body corresponds to the outer court; our soul, which is somewhat inward, corresponds to the Holy Place; and our spirit, the innermost part of our being, corresponds to the innermost part of God’s temple, the Holy of Holies.
In our heart is the mind with the thoughts and the will with the intents. The thoughts affect the intents, and the intents carry out the thoughts. The living word of God is able to discern the thoughts in our mind and the intents in our will. What was quoted from the word of God by the writer in chapters three and four is able to expose what the thoughts and intents of the Hebrew believers were while they were staggering in the process of their salvation.
Now we can understand why the writer of Hebrews spoke in 4:12 of the living word of God piercing into us, dividing our spirit from our soul, and discerning the thoughts and intents of our heart. He realized that the staggering Hebrew Christians were wandering in their soul and had neglected their spirit. But the new testament is absolutely a matter in our spirit, not in our soul. The new testament is altogether heavenly, not at all earthly. The earthly things belong to the physical body and to the mind. Judaism is earthly. As an earthly religion, it suits the thinking of our natural mind. The new testament, on the contrary, is heavenly and belongs to the spirit. In order to touch the heavenly things, we must be in our spirit. Ephesians 2:6 says that we are sitting with Christ in the heavenlies. But if we are in our mind, we can never experience being in the heavenlies. In our mind we may mentally visit various places on earth, but we cannot touch the heavenlies. To touch the heavenlies, we must be in our spirit.
Some criticize us for shouting in the meetings, but we who have experience know why we shout. If we would not shout, we would stay in the mind. After just a brief shout, we are in the heavens because we have turned from the mind to the spirit. Although I am not an easily excited person, I sometimes have the need to shout. If I do not shout, I will be in the low dungeon of self and reasoning. How can we stop our devilish reasonings? By releasing our spirit in shouting praises to the Lord. Occasionally, when I have difficulty falling asleep at night, I shout silently and am freed from my thoughts and am soon asleep. The best way to touch the heavens is to shout.
In the book of Hebrews we have the gate of heaven. In this book we have the church as Bethel, the house of God with Christ as the heavenly ladder. Wherever there is Bethel, there is the gate of heaven with Christ, the heavenly ladder, joining earth to heaven and bringing heaven to earth. Where can we enjoy such a wonderful sight? In our spirit. Today the gate of heaven is joined to our spirit. Ephesians 2:22 says that God’s habitation on earth today is in our spirit, and 2 Timothy 4:22 says that Christ, the heavenly ladder, is with our spirit. Thus, our spirit is one with the gate of heaven. We should no longer stagger in our mind but get into our spirit where we have the house of God, the heavenly Christ, and the gate of heaven.
It is very difficult for any of us to be unaffected by the contagious germs in today’s world. But we have a place of refuge from the germs of the world—our spirit. In a sense, our spirit is our refuge today; it is a high tower. As we pointed out in the last message, the church life is our refuge because the church is God’s habitation in our spirit. As we are on the stormy sea, many thoughts may come. How can we escape the storm and come into the refuge? Only by turning to the spirit. How can we withstand the rumors and the negative talk? Only by getting into our spirit, where the church, the house of God, and the heavenly ladder are. The church is a hospital. In a hospital all the germs are killed and everything is cleansed. Likewise, in the church, all the demonic germs are killed. The churches in the Lord’s recovery are very healthy. In order to remain healthy, we must continually exercise our spirit. If you are infected with some negative thoughts and remain in your mind, you will be sick. But if you turn to your spirit, the germs will be killed and you will be healthy and strong in the church life. The writer of Hebrews seemed to be saying, “My dear Hebrew brothers, you must turn from your soul to your spirit through the living word of God. If you will turn to the spirit by the living word, you will be healthy and have no problems. Brothers, you are staggering in your soul and must get into the spirit. Once you get into the spirit you will be in the house of God and will enjoy all the riches of the gate of heaven.”
It is not easy to understand this portion of the Holy Word because it requires a good deal of experience on our part. For years I was troubled by the writer’s sudden mention of the living word of God and the dividing of the soul and spirit. I could not understand it. Eventually, I considered my experience. I realized that whenever we have problems with the church, it is always due to the thoughts in our mind. Thus, we need the living word to pierce into the depths of our being, dividing our soul from our spirit. Then we would not stand with the devilish soul but with the heavenly spirit. If we will do this, we will immediately find ourselves in the church life.
Everyone in the church life has had some problems with the church. We may not like a particular elder or a certain brother or sister, thinking that they are unqualified, too strong, or too loud. What can deliver us from such thoughts? The living word which pierces into the depths of our being and divides our spirit from our mind. When our devilish mind is exposed, we shall declare that we love all the brothers and sisters because they are all so lovely in the spirit. When we are in our mind thinking about the brothers and sisters, none of them is lovely. We think that we are the only ones who are any good. How we need the living word to divide our soul from our spirit that we may be in the church life! This is the way to enter into today’s Sabbath rest. And this is also the way to remain in the Sabbath and not to break it. To break the Sabbath is to leave the church life. Those that have forsaken the church life, having left today’s Sabbath, can testify that there is no rest outside the church. It is in the spirit that we enjoy the rest of the church Sabbath. This is why 4:12 is placed where it is in the book of Hebrews.
Nothing can discern the thoughts and intents of our heart like the living word of God. Before the living word comes in, we think that we are right and altogether for the Lord. But when the word pierces our depths, we see that our thoughts and intents are altogether selfish and we judge ourselves. Without the living word to discern our thoughts and intents, it is difficult to remain in the church Sabbath. The church Sabbath depends upon the piercing, dividing, and discerning of the living word of God. It is by this that we enter into, remain, and keep the Sabbath of the church life.