Spirit, Soul, and Body
These are my teaching notes and forty-nine years of experience proving the spiritual reality of Watchman Nee’s book, 'Release of the Spirit.’
“ANYONE who serves God will discover sooner or later that the great hindrance he encounters in the Lord’s work is not others but himself. He will find that his outward man (soul) is not in harmony with his inward man (spirit). Both tend to go in two opposite directions from each other. He will also sense the inability of his outward man to submit to inner control of his regenerated spirit, received through the new birth. Thus, he is rendered incapable of obeying God’s highest commands. He will quickly detect that his greatest difficulty lies in his outward man, which hinders him from using his spirit.
Many of God’s servants cannot do even the most elementary work. Ordinarily, they should be enabled by the exercise of their spirit to know God’s Word, to discern the spiritual condition of another, to send forth God’s messages under the anointing, and to receive God’s illumination. Yet, due to the distractions of the outward man, their spirit does not seem to function properly. It is basically because their outward man has never been dealt with. For this reason, excitement in revivals, pleading prayers, and zealous activities wastes time. As we shall see, only one kind of basic dealing can enable man to be valid before God … is brokenness.” Watchman Nee
Spirit, Soul, and Body
For the sake of this teaching, we will call the body the outermost man. The scriptures themselves reveal the soul is called the outer man and the spirit the inward man. Our concern lies with the division of spirit and soul.
Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man (soul) is perishing, the inward man (spirit) is renewed daily. (2Co 4:16)
If we are to worship and serve our Father, we must do it with His strength and in His way. The scriptures are clear in revealing that the way will be through our spirit and in truth (reality… John 4:23)
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Th 5:23)
Spiritual Reality … Part 1… Becoming a New Creation Man
That which is born of the flesh is flesh. (John 3:6)
“A man can be marked by an analytical mind so that he wants to argue out everything, reason out everything, and subject everything to the microscope of his brain, his reason, and just see the whole thing right through in that way – not accept it until he can understand it like that. And so he becomes very analytical, very investigating in his mind over the thing, and until he can have the very best answer to all his questions from every side, he will not accept it. That man will make very slow progress. The same will apply to one who thinks that by getting a mighty wave of religious emotion, he will enter into the things of God. That is one of the great snares of the devil today. Religious emotion is no criterion; it is no ground of true spirituality.
Our knowledge of the Lord, the very remotest bit of it, and the very first ray of it depends upon our spirit being awakened and illuminated by the Holy Spirit. Progress in the things of God is simply the growth of our inner man and not the acknowledgment of our intellectual capacity to grasp truth. Because of association and familiarity with truth, we may have an increasing capacity for learning ideas, truth, and teaching. And that capacity may expand until very little is available to be grasped, and yet with such, there may be the very smallest measure of authentic spirituality... The child of God is one whose spirit has been renewed and who has, at the center of their being, a union and communion with God, which is not the possession of any man by nature and which cannot come in any other realm but in the renewed spirit.” By T. Austin-Sparks from Filled Unto All the Fullness of God - Chapter 9
Entering the Spiritual Life of God Through Distinguishing Between Spirit, Soul, and Body
Who and What We Are…Becoming a New Creation Man
It is of grave importance that disciples know they possess a human spirit… because every communication with God and man occurs there. If the believer does not discern his spirit, he is invariably ignorant of how to commune with God in the spirit. He will easily substitute the thoughts or emotions of his own soul for the works of the spirit. Thus, he confines himself to the outer realm, unable to reach the spiritual realm. Watchman Nee
We have been created in the image of a Triune God. Being made in His image, our being is made up of a spirit, a soul, and a body.
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground (the creation of our body), and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (the creation of our spirit), and man became a living being (the creation of our soul). (the word breath in the original is ‘Ruaack’ and is the same word as spirit) (the word being in the original is soul) (Gen 2:7)
"The burden of the word of the LORD against Israel. Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him:” (Zec. 12:I)
So God created man in His own (triune or three in one) image; in the image of God He created him; (Gen 1:27)
Now, may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Th 5:23)
Our bodies allow us to relate to the visible world of men (physical realm), and our spirit will enable us to relate to God in the invisible (non-physical) realm. The uniting of these two created a living soul. You are made up of what can and cannot be seen. This soul contains the whole of who we are and causes us to be self-aware.
We must understand the differences between our spirit and our soul. Though the soul gives us awareness of self, it is the spirit and not the soul that God gives us His proper awareness Himself. Much of the trouble plaguing Christianity today is not distinguishing between these two parts of man.
Developing a false awareness of God through the emotions and thoughts of our souls has produced a false reality of God in Christianity. The natural man cannot know the things of God. They are only known through the spirit.
But the natural 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. (1Co 2:14)
Whereas our regenerated spirits must develop and grow, the self-governing nature of our souls must be broken and controlled. For this to happen … they must be separated.
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
How they joined, the soul’s dominance, and how they can be separated will be discussed later.
These two parts, spirit and soul, comprise all of who I am and contain all that I know. In this teaching, we will examine the differences in the functions and components of our spirit and soul.
We will further look at the importance of our spirit being released from the power of the soul for spiritual worship and ministry. Finally, we will examine the need for the soul’s strength to be completely broken. Let’s look at some of what the scriptures say about the human spirit and soul.
The Soul
The body and soul work together, allowing us to experience awareness of our being and the physical world around us. Both soul and body have within them facilities to gather this information.
Our physical body has five primary senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. With these five senses, the body acquires knowledge of its surroundings and its effects on the self. These are easily verifiable.
The soul also has informational gathering abilities and communicating faculties. How these function and store information determines much of who I naturally am. These three faculties are my volition (will), emotion (feelings), and mind (thoughts).
In the Beginning…
The first man (Adam) was created as a living soul, with the possibility of developing his God-given human spirit and thus having fellowship with God. Since our Father is spirit, we must develop our spirit to walk, talk, and serve Him. Man lost that possibility when he ‘chose’ to obey the dictates of his own soul, bringing ‘death’ to his spirit.
That day, the spirit of man ‘died’ to God, and he fell under the dominion of man’s soul. Dead to God and buried within the soul’s strength, the spirit lay powerless to rise. Every man and woman born into this world remains in that condition until Christ regenerates their spirit with His life-giving Spirit, thus restoring the possibility of fellowship with God.
This is why the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving Spirit. In Him, we have Life, and in Him, we, too, must become … not just living souls but life-giving spirits. He and He alone can cause our ‘dead’ spirits to live.
And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being (soul).” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. (1Corinth. 15:45)
So far, we have seen that the Scriptures teach that we possess a spirit different from our soul. The book of Zechariah states clearly that the Lord… formed the spirit of man within him.
The burden of the word of the LORD against Israel. Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: (Zec 12:1)
Our spirit was created when God breathed His Spirit into our bodies. Our spirit was initially created as a place where God could commune with us.
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being (soul). (Gen 2:7)
Through rebirth, our comatose human spirit is ‘re-activated’ and made ready to accommodate the presence of God.
And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:22)
Here are a few scriptures that speak specifically of our human spirit.
1 Corinthians 2.11 speaks of “the spirit of the man which is in him.” 1 Corinthians 5.4 mentions “my spirit.” Romans 8.16 says, “Our spirit.” 1 Corinthians 14.14 uses “my spirit.” 1 Corinthians 14.32 tells of the “spirits of prophets.” Proverbs 25.28 refers to “his own spirit.” Darby Hebrews 12.23 records “the spirits of just men.”
Now, look at the spirit’s faculties to discover and know the truth.
The Spirit
Three Components of the Human Spirit
My human spirit is given to me for accessing and communicating with the spiritual realm. It has at least three components with which to accomplish this. They are conscience, intuition, and communion. Each of these three components of my spirit functions differently, progressively enabling me to receive light from God. The first is my conscience.
Conscience… the Beginning of Light
The first and most fundamental place spiritual light is given to us is the faculty of conscience. The conscience is the most basic knowledge-gathering part of my spirit. It is given to me that I might begin to know the mind of God. Here, you will first get a sense of God’s heart on things.
The conscience functions much like a single window in a room. If the widow is kept ‘clean,’ much light can come through the window and illuminate the room. If the conscience becomes defiled (like a window becoming ‘soiled’), it dims the light, and consequently, if it continues to be ‘soiled, it will darken the room.
Beware of trying to reason with the conscience because its primary function is to say God is pleased or not pleased. It will not argue with your soul (will, emotions, and thoughts). By itself, it just indicates… yes… or no. This is the first contact with spiritual light. The conscience must be adhered to and kept clear to function correctly, thus allowing more specific revelation (light) to enter the Spirit’s intuition.
To damage the conscience through neglect or willful rejecting its light… is spiritually fatal.
This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck (1Timothy1:18)
Examples of Conscience functioning in a man’s spirit…
“The Lord your God hardened his spirit” Deu. 2.30 “Saves the crushed in spirit” Ps. 34.18 “Put a new and right spirit within me” Ps. 51.10 “When Jesus had thus spoken, he was troubled in spirit” John 13.21 “His spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols” Acts 17.16
Intuition… the Greater Light
The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the inner depths of his heart. (Pro 20:27)
The second component of my spirit is intuition. Whereas conscience allows light in the room… the faculty of intuition allows us to see what is in the room. Intuition is where truth can be known. It is here and not a man's soul that he can honestly know things.
But there is a spirit in man, and the Almighty's breath gives him understanding. (Job 32:8)
When you meet someone, and if your intuition is functioning, you will often get a ‘sense’ about them. This sense (knowledge) does not come from your mind… it comes from God Himself, directly to your spirit.
This knowing does not come from the faculties of the human soul (will, feelings, and thoughts). Intuition does not deduct or reason to discover truth … it simply knows. Knowledge is received directly from God.
It is here and not the mind to ascertain and conclude what’s true. Truth is known in the intuitive part of my spirit. Here, we find the specifics of God’s will (what He thinks, feels, and decides). The spirit is where we can know things. There is a difference between knowing and understanding. This is where you can learn something without understanding it. Intuition is what allows you to walk by faith.
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. (1Co 2:10-11)
Examples of Intuition functioning in a man’s spirit …
“The spirit indeed is willing,” Matt. 26.41 “Jesus perceiving in his spirit” Mark “He sighed deeply in his spirit” Mark 8.12 “He was deeply moved in spirit” John 11.33 "Paul was pressed in the spirit” Acts 18.5 AV “Being fervent in spirit” Acts 18.25 “I am going to Jerusalem, bound in the spirit” Acts 20.22 “What person knows a man’s thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him” 1 Cor. 2.11 “They refreshed my spirit as well as yours” 1 Cor. 16.18 “His spirit was refreshed by you all” 2 Cor. 7.13 AV
Communion… the Fullness of Light
Communion is the deepest and most hallowed part of my spirit. It is here and not the emotions or thoughts that we can know what is acceptable worship and spiritual service. All true worship and spiritual service should originate here. The reason for this is simple… my spirit is where His Spirit dwells. It is where God lives within me.
But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. (1Co 6:17)
But the hour is coming, and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24)
For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, (Rom 1:9)
The highest form of knowledge can be received in the place of communion. All spiritual questions find their answers not in facts but rather in the knowledge that comes from the presence of God. It is here that I touch Him, and He touches me.
“The Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit” Rom. 8.16
Here are some examples of Communion functioning in a man’s spirit …
“My spirit rejoices in God my Savior” Luke 1.47 “The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” John 4.23 “Whom I serve with my spirit” Rom. 1.9 “We serve . . . in the new life of the spirit” Rom. 7.6 “You have received the spirit of son-ship when we cry Abba Father” Rom. 8.15 “He who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him” 1 Cor. 6.17 “I will sing with the spirit” 1 Cor. 14.15 “If you bless with the spirit” 1 Cor. 14.16 “In the spirit he carried me away” Rev 21.10
The Un-Regenerated Spirit
In searching the Scriptures, we will also find that an un-regenerated spirit doesn’t function much differently from a natural soul. That is because of the soul’s ability to dominate the un-regenerated spirit. The following verses illustrate this.
“His spirit was troubled” Gen. 41.8 “Then their spirit was appeased toward him” Judges 8.3 Darby “He that is hasty of spirit exalts folly” Prov. 14.29 Darby “A downcast spirit dries up the bones” Prov. 17.22 “Those who err in spirit” Is. 29.24 “And shall wail for anguish of spirit” Is. 65.14 “His spirit was hardened” Dan. 5.20
This condition is mainly because the strength of his soul completely dominates the spirit of an unregenerate man.
This domination of the soul over the spirit is the main reason people say… “I don’t know whether what I feel is from me or God”. In this condition, a person cannot distinguish between his own will, emotions, and thoughts and God's will, emotions, and thoughts. A man in this condition is mainly incapable of spiritual discernment. This is why a man must terminate his soul’s control over his spirit.
It is, therefore, critical that a disciple know that God lives and speaks to him from his spirit and not from his soul.
But he who is joined to the Lord …is one spirit with Him. (1Co 6:17)
Nothing can rectify this sad state except for his spirit to be separated from his soul. Then, his human spirit is energized by the Spirit of God and learns to use the spirit’s faculties to discover and know the truth. Without knowing the truth in our spirits from the Spirit of God, we will never be free from the domination and confusion of our souls.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make (construct) you free." (John 8:32)
Spiritual Reality… Part II …
So we have seen that when God comes to indwell us by His Spirit with His life and power, He comes into our spirit at the time of rebirth.
Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:5-6)
"For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find." (Rom.7:18)
"But the natural 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." 1Co 2:14
We must conclude that spiritual and acceptable worship or service can only come from the spirit. The words of scripture, flesh, natural, and carnal, all mean the same thing. They all mean things originating from our souls.
In Review …..
This regenerated spirit located at the center of man’s being is called the inward man. Here is where we interact with the invisible, spiritual realm and have our communion with God himself.
Outside the sphere of this inward man in-dwelt by God… is the outward man or the soul. The human soul is comprised of our thoughts, emotions, and will. Here is where the natural man interacts with each other and all that is in the visible (or physical) realm.
The outermost man is our physical body, characterized by its external facilities of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. This part of my being is also for interaction with the seen (or physical) realm.
We thus speak of the spirit as the inward man, the soul as the outer man, and for the sake of this teaching, we call the body the outermost man. We must never forget that our inward man is the human spirit where God dwells, where the Spirit of the Lord is joined with our spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:17)
“Just as we are dressed in our clothing, so our inward man wears an outward man… i.e., our spirit wears the soul. (And the outward man wears the outermost man (body). It is quite evident that men are generally more conscious of the outer man and the outermost man, but they hardly recognize or understand their inner man, the spirit.” Watchman Nee.
We must help men see that the soul of all men must be smitten a fatal blow through the death of Christ and the progressive receiving and heeding of His word to destroy its self-governing strength. As with Jacob’s thigh, after God touched it, he walked with a limp for the rest of his life. The soul must never be allowed to act out of itself as an independent resource.
T. Austin Sparks writes…
“The soul as an instrument has to be won, mastered, and ruled to submit to God's higher and different ways. It is spoken of so frequently in the scripture as something over which we have to gain and exercise authority. For instance, note the following verses….
‘In your patience you shall win your souls’ (Luke 21;19). You have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth (1 Peter 1:22). ‘To the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.’ (1 Peter1:9).’
“ Whether or not we are yet able to accept it as the way of going on with God fully, the fact is that all of the soul’s energies and abilities for knowing and understanding, sensing, and doing will come to an end. And subsequently, we will stand bewildered, dazed, numbed, and impotent. Then, we will discover that only a new understanding, another constraint, and only the Divine energy will give us the strength to keep us going. In such times, we shall say to our souls: ‘My soul, be thou silent unto God’ (Psalm 62:5)… My soul, come thou with me to follow the Lord.’ But what joy and strength is there when the soul is constrained to yield to the spirit? Eventually, the higher wisdom and glory derived from such a suffering experience will be recognized as its vindication. Then praise and worship will break forth: ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.’ (Luke 1:46). First, the ‘spirit hath,’ and then the ‘spirit doth’ … note the tenses.” … note the tenses” T. Austin-Sparks.
Breaking…the Way of Nature and Spiritual Growth
But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; where I am, my servant will be there. If anyone serves Me, My Father will honor him. (John 12: 23-26).
Within these verses is the secret to ministering and worshiping in the Spirit. It is found in the release of Life. If our outward man remains unbroken, we will never be fruitful or pleasing in the service and worship of our Lord. The Spirit within my spirit must be released. That cannot happen unless there is death and breaking.
The seed must die, and the vase must be broken…
And being in Bethany at the house of Simon, the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. (Mark 14:3).
We are not vase collectors. The vase must be broken. We treasure our ability to speak, our cleverness, our education, and our ability to rouse people’s emotions, but… all that makes the vase beautiful must be broken. Only then can the ‘pure’ oil come forth. We complain and cry when he cracks our outward man because we value it so much, yet only a container of fragrant oil must be broken if the fragrance of the oil is to fill the room.
Difficulties must come to ‘break’ the vase (outer man) and release the Spirit. Then and only then will the fragrance of His Life fill the room.
Remember … the treasure is inside the vase (vessel) and cannot be released until the vessel is broken.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed… always carrying about in the body the dying of our Lord Jesus, the Life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake; the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life is in you. (2 Corinthians 4:7-12).
This breaking comes as the Word of God continually divides (breaks open) the strength of our soul, allowing God’s Spirit inside our spirit to be released.
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing (dividing) 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. (Heb 4:12)
May Our Father give His people spiritual understanding that our worship and service might be acceptable to Him.
David Taylor
StoneHouse
