Some time ago I read this scripture and thought, there has to be a 3rd (Third) Part because it describes only 2 (Two) locations.
1 John 5: 7-8 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.
Once our life as “Born Again with God’s Spirit” Christians begins our battle against sin really starts. It’s then the enemy sees he is about to lose one of his own and fights to deceive and corrupt them. We MUST learn to understand God’s Word for ourselves to appropriate it for our own well being. The first battle for our soul (the will, the intellect, and emotions) is fought in our mind. The end result of that battle becomes evident through our body. Paul tells us that we need to be prepared to fight this fight. We can’t have the attitude that God will fight the battle for us while we watch from the sidelines. A “watch from the sideline” or a “passive view” to this battle is one of the 1st attacks the enemy has presented to the mind of many Christians and accepted by them. “God has my back” so I can sit back and relax is NOT scriptural. Paul said,
Ephesians 6:10-20 NKJV – The Whole Armor of God
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Deception is a major tool of the enemy of our soul to corrupt us. We may take pride in memorizing parts of scripture to have it available to use against the enemy. The enemy is much more intelligent than we give him credit and knows “All of Scripture” (he’s had thousands of years) and how to present it to our mind in twisted ways.
The word used in Ephesians as “armor” or in the KJV “armour” is NOT the word used most places as a utensil to fight with. It is a unique word and is used only 3 (Three) times in scripture. These 2 (Two) times in Ephesians and 1 (One) time in Luke 11:22,
Luke 11:20-26 But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. 22 But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils. 23 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
An Unclean Spirit Returns
24 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. 26 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”
Armour – G3833 “Panoply” Strong’s – From a compound of G3956 (whole) and G3696 (utensil); full armor (panoply): – all (whole) armour.
The demonic spirit stripped of his armour and casted out doesn’t just quit and go home, he has no home and is constantly looking for one in a person. He rearmours himself and brings sevenfold help (satan knows about divine numbers too), all being “fully armoured up.” We must be “armoured up too” as the Apostle Paul tells us.
Our “Born Again Spirit” from God working in us “WITH” our “armoured up soul” (the will, the intellect, and emotions) is how we fight the battle. Understanding the difference between our “Soul and Spirit” and how to keep them in harmony “With God’s Word and Will” is essential fight and win the battle. Derek Prince wrote a short letter to help Christians understand this.
Spiritual or Soulish?
Dear Friend,
In my previous letter I analyzed the three elements that make up total human personality: spirit, soul and body. In this letter I will continue with the same theme, but I will focus on one particular issue: the relationship between man’s spirit and his soul.
The spirit of man comes directly from God and relates directly to God. In the original
pattern of creation, there was a descending relationship. God moved upon man’s spirit;
his spirit moved upon his soul; and his soul directed his body. Through man’s rebellion,
however, his spirit was set aside and his soul took over control. As a result, unregenerate
man is controlled by the three functions of his soul: the will, the intellect and the emotions.
When God reconciles man to Himself, His purpose is to restore the original order, by
which He once again relates directly to man’s spirit; man’s spirit in turn moves upon his
soul; and man’s soul moves upon his body. This explains the words of David in Psalm
103:1: Bless the LORD, O my soul. Through faith David’s spirit had been reunited with God and was eager to worship Him. So his spirit stirred up his soul to move upon his vocal organs to utter the appropriate words of worship.
So long as man remains in submission to God and his soul remains in submission to his spirit, man functions in harmony with God and with himself. But if at any time man reasserts his rebellion against God, his soul is no longer in submission to his spirit and the inner harmony is broken. This means that there is constant tension between the spirit and the soul.
The Greek of the New Testament has a special adjective, formed directly from the word
for soul, psuche, which describes action initiated by the soul. The adjective is psuchikos. The natural way to render this in English would be soulish, but unfortunately English has not produced such a word.
Consequently, English translations of the New Testament have used a variety of different words: “natural,” “sensual,” (KJV, NKJV), “worldly” (NKJV), “unspiritual,” “worldly-minded” (NAS), “without the spirit” and a phrase, “to follow their natural instinct” (NIV). English readers, who cannot get behind the translations, therefore have no way of knowing that these seven different words or phrases all translate one and the same Greek word.
Throughout the rest of this letter, I will use the word soulish. This will emphasize the tension in the New Testament between that which is spiritual and that which is soulish.
In 1 Corinthians 15:44–46 Paul uses this word three times to point out the difference between our present body, which is natural (soulish) and our resurrection body, which will be spiritual. A soulish body is one upon which the spirit has to move through the soul. A spiritual body would be one in which the spirit moves directly upon the body, without having to work through the soul.
The cherubs, which are described in Ezekiel chapter 1, apparently have spiritual bodies. Each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go (verse 12). Again, where the spirit wanted to go, they went, because there the spirit went (verse 20).
Apparently that is the type of body that believers will have after resurrection. No longer
will our spirit have to urge our soul to direct our body to make the appropriate response.
Our body will directly respond to the decision of our spirit. We will be like Ezekiel’s cherubs: we will go directly, without turning, wherever our spirit wills to go. What glorious liberty!
There are three other passages in the New Testament where the opposition between
the spiritual and the soulish is more clearly expressed. In 1 Corinthians 2:14–15 Paul says:
But the natural [soulish] man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for
they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged
by no one.
For the understanding of spiritual things, the soul is dependent upon the spirit. If it is
out of harmony with the spirit, the realm of spiritual truth is closed to it. How important
it is, therefore, that we approach truth with the right attitude—our soul submitted to our
spirit and our spirit in union with God.
In his epistle Jude speaks about people in the church who are grumblers, complainers,
walking according to their own lusts. . . . sensual [soulish] persons, who cause divisions, not having the [Holy] Spirit (Jude 16, 19).
When the soul of a Christian is not submitted through his spirit to God, he becomes a
channel through which every kind of carnality and divisiveness can infiltrate the church.
This is the true, underlying cause of divisions in the Body of Christ.
In James 3:15 the apostle speaks about a form of wisdom which does not descend from
above, but is earthly, sensual [soulish], demonic. James depicts a downward slide in three
successive stages: from the earthly to the soulish to the demonic.
When Christians become earthly they lose the vision of eternity. They cannot see beyond the things of this life: success, pleasure, wealth, physical health. They are only interested in what their faith will do for them in this life!
Concerning such people Paul says: If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all
men the most pitiable (1 Corinthians 15:19). Christians like that often consider themselves
prosperous and successful. God considers them pitiable.
After the earthly, the next stage is soulish. To be soulish is to be egocentric, self-centered.
For such people, the Christian faith is a way to get what they want out of life. They suppose that godliness is a means of gain (1 Timothy 6:5).
The soulish opens the way for the demonic. This is one main way in which demons
infiltrate the church. The question is often asked: Do Christians ever need deliverance from demons? The words of James provide a clear answer. This downward slide from the earthly to the soulish to the demonic exposes both individual believers and whole congregations to the activities of demons.
In many places today the church is an ungodly mixture. No clear line is drawn between the spiritual and the soulish, and therefore there is no barrier to the demonic. Genuine manifestations of the Holy Spirit are interspersed with manifestations that are clearly
demonic. As a result, many sincere believers are confused and bewildered.
To protect ourselves we must cultivate scriptural discernment. We must learn to distinguish between what is truly spiritual and what is soulish. There is only one instrument that is sharp enough to do this: the Word of God.
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
Further on, in Hebrews 5:14, the writer states two conditions which we must fulfill in
order to exercise this kind of discernment:
But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of
use [practice] have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
The first condition is that we must regularly feed on solid spiritual food through the
study of the whole Bible. The second condition is that we must regularly practice discernment. We must be continually alert, recognizing the spiritual forces that we encounter in every situation. Discernment should be as much a part of our Christian life as prayer.
Finally, let us obey the exhortation of Paul in 1 Corinthians 16:13–14:
Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.
Let all that you do be done with love.
Yours in the Master’s service, Derek Prince
PS: On the reverse side is a copy of a letter I received from a German psychiatrist who
had a revelation of the “spiritual” and “soulish” areas of his personality.
German Psychiatrist’s Discovery
Dear Mr. Prince:
Never in my life has this happened to me before: Stunned by the “news” of your broadcast tape “What Is Man?” While listening to your lecture, I saw for the first time in my Christian life the “spiritual Hans” of me somehow elevated as if on a chair and looking down onto the “soulish Hans” whose monument-like appearance seemed to crumble away.
Regenerated, this spiritual part of me, the “spiritual Hans,” has survived ever since I listened to your lecture—fueled by the Holy Spirit—about 5 weeks ago. The “soulish Hans” of me—in particular its intellectual and emotional areas—must be dragged to the cross.
Throughout my life I have been on the outlook for some clear and whole presentation of God’s Word.
You will understand that this change in my life—this being again a “triune” human being—is about to revolutionize even my profession. And for the first time in my life—now 45 years old—I see some good reason in having become a psychiatrist.
H.P., Germany
I believe God is looking to each individual that their “Triune Being” (Body, Soul & Spirit) should also be a “Witness” for the Glory of God in the Earth,
1 John 5:1-5 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Some people falsely believe that the Holy Spirit would not dwell in a believer that also has an “unclean” spirit working in them. If that were the case, How would anyone ever be “Born Again.” The Holy Spirit is needed to come into a person to “initiate” cleaning process. We are “Free Will” agents throughout this process and have to exercise our Will to work in agreement with “God’s Will” throughout the process, our entire life.
The Key Word is “LET”
Philippians 2: 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
In The Word 