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 is called “a good man.” He is frequently faultless in man’s eyes. Clear thinking always brings the praise of men to those who act by it. Moderate emotion always brings the approval of men to those who live in it. A firm will also often brings the commendation of men to those who rely on it. But when a man lives in these, though he is not living in sin, he is also not living in the spirit. Though before men 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 very good, but he lived too much in the mind, or in the intellect; 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 eyes would roll. When I spoke, he would listen until he almost got the point, and then his eyes would roll, and he became confused again. When his eyeballs were rolling, 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, and they use their intellect to touch the matters of the service. 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 in 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 to their understanding the 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 very easily acts by that part and lives in that part. Whenever one who is in the mind encounters anything, he naturally thinks through the matter again and again, considering it from many angles. One who is in the emotion unconsciously cares very much for the emotion in dealing with others and handling things. A person with a strong will very easily leans on his will in dealing with people and matters. 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.