Salvation Of The Soul Series

The first time The Lord brought saving of the soul to my attention was in 1 Peter 1:9 "[9]Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." That got my attention and I asked The Lord what salvation of the soul meant because i had thought I Had received my salvation and I did, but only in part as The Lord showed me. He showed me in Scripture man is made up of 3 parts 1 Thessalonians 5:23 “And the very God of peace sanctify you *wholly;* and I pray God your whole *spirit* and *soul* and *body* be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." In this Scripture Paul makes a distinction between the 3 parts of man, spirit, soul and body, more Scriptures show this distinction Hebrews 4:12 says The Word of God divides between soul and spirit “[12]For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of *soul and spirit*, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Matthew 10:28 "[28]And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Ecclesiastes 12:7 "[7]Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." James 2:26 "[26]For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." Luke 1:46-47 "[46]And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

[47]And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." Mary mentions both her spirit and soul in this verse. So man is made up of 3 parts and Paul's prayer to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 is that God would sanctify them wholly, all parts of them, spirit, soul and body.

Our spirits got saved immediately after we accepted Jesus as our Lord and were born again, at that moment our spirits were made perfect in the image of Jesus but our souls still carnal, at that moment we accepted Jesus, were not saved. And that was evidenced by the fact we didn't immediately soon after getting born again, start walking, talking and acting like Jesus right away. Externally there was no change though our spirits were in the image of Jesus. The reason this is, is because our souls have to catch up with what The Lord did in our spirits and that's where the salvation of the soul or saving of the soul comes in. The soul (mind) has to be taught it's new reality and agree with the transformation in our spirits, which is that it is now in the perfect image of Jesus and should think accordingly. The mind is part of the soul, the soul is made up of mind, emotions and will. The soul (mind) catching up with the spirit happens by the process of the renewing of the mind by The Holy Spirit Who reveals and teaches us all things.

The salvation of our spirits was only the beginning, our souls need to be saved as well and this salvation received after we accepted Christ, is what makes us live out our inner transformation, so we walk and talk and think like Jesus. Before the fall Adam's spirit, soul and body were in perfect harmony but after the fall, sin gained access to the soul and there was a split, internal wars were born, something everyone is familiar with. Internal struggles that at times pull you this way and that. Paul puts it clearly when he says he doesn't do what he wants to do and what he doesn't want to do, he does. David speaks to his soul with a separate part of himself when he says in Psalms 42:11 “ [11]Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." These Scripture show there was an internal split after the fall but in Christ, spirit, soul and body are brought back together in perfect harmony if we will submit to The Holy Spirit and let Him renew our minds and if we will look to Jesus becoming more and more dependent on Him.

Before we receive the salvation of our souls, the mind has to be renewed by The Holy Spirit, Who teaches through Scripture who we are now in Christ, and who we are not anymore, He shows us the old sinful nature is dead and buried and teaches us to live in the Truth of our new reality, fixing our eyes on Jesus and on things that are eternal. Understanding is given and comes only by The Holy Spirit, it doesn't come by mental effort on our part. If understanding has to be given that means Scripture isn't as straight forward as we think, there are depths that only The Lord can reveal, layers that only He can peel back. The Lord gives a knowledge of who we are so we can live our true identity in Christ authentically and not let it be buried under an old sinful nature that we were before getting born again. One of the things that keeps from walking, talking and living just like Jesus as the new creature he created, is the mind not being renewed to who we are in Christ. The Bible could be read everyday and yet the ways of the old man the sinful nature and same lifestyle, still very present because The Bible is read with our own understanding which Scripture says we should not lean on. Prayer for understanding is found in Ephesians 1:17, Paul tells us to pray for The Spirit of wisdom and understanding which is a manifestation of The Holy Spirit, and He will show us what is the hope of our calling.