SAVING THE SOUL AND THE BODY 2
(week 31/12)
OLUBI JOHNSON
In our article last week, we saw that even though our spirits have the life of God in them through being born-again; our souls being separated from the rest of our spirits by our will do not have any appreciable measure of the life of God in them. Furthermore our bodies do not have the life of God in them at the time of our new birth.
So we are to save our souls and bodies by gradually but diligently ‘pumping’ by the power of the Holy Spirit, the life of God into our souls and bodies, so simultaneously flushing out (by reversing in) the sin-nature in our souls and bodies.
This week, we will see in more detail how to save the soul and body.
When the soul is totally filled with and dominated by the life of God, then the soul becomes saved:
The will is totally submitted to the will of God, the mind totally enlightened with the revelation knowledge of God’s Word and the emotions totally controlled by the fruit of the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 7:1 KJV: Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
So we can and should ‘pump’ the life of God from the Spirit through the soul into the physical body so that desires of the physical body will be controlled by the life of God to only respond to righteous stimuli.
Romans 8:11 NIV: And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
2 Corinthians 4:10-11 NIV: We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. (11) For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.
Hebrews 5:14 AMP: But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law.
It is crucial to see that while the new birth of the Spirit is instantaneous: the instant we accept the Lord Jesus as Lord and Saviour; the saving of the soul is a gradual process that takes place over time.
The degree to which our souls are saved determines the degree to which we will enjoy divine healing, health and material prosperity:
3 John 1:2 MKJV: Beloved, in regard to all things I pray that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.
How then do we ‘pump’ the life of God from the Holy Spirit, into our spirits, souls and bodies?
By consistent, diligent application of the blood, the Word and the Spirit.
We clean our spirits, from the block of the unrighteousness of sin by confessing our sins as often as is necessary and receiving by faith forgiveness, cleansing and the purging of our consciences from a guilty conscience:
1 John 1:7 KJV: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1 John 1:9 KJV: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Hebrews 9:14 NIV: How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Hebrews 13:20-21 KJV: Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, (21) Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
We fill our spirits with the life of God (Jn.5:26) using promises from the Word (2 Pet. 1:4, Pr. 18:20-21); and we fill our minds with the truth of God’s Word by habitual daily balanced Bible reading in the light (Ps. 119:130, 36:9) of regular prophetic and apostolic preaching and teaching.
1 John 2:5 AMP: But he who keeps (treasures) His Word [who bears in mind His precepts, who observes His message in its entirety], truly in him has the love of and for God been perfected (completed, reached maturity). By this we may perceive (know, recognize, and be sure) that we are in Him:
We ‘pump’ the life of God from our spirits into our souls, bodies and circumstances by the power of the Holy Spirit as we pray effectually and fervently, as a daily habit and frequently during each day, in tongues (1 Cor. 14:2) with travail (Gal. 4:19, Rom. 8:26), supplication (Eph. 6:18).
1 John 4:12-13 AMP: No man has at any time [yet] seen God. But if we love one another, God abides (lives and remains) in us and His love (that love which is essentially His) is brought to completion (to its full maturity, runs its full course, is perfected) in us! (13) By this we come to know (perceive, recognize, and understand) that we abide (live and remain) in Him and He in us: because He has given (imparted) to us of His [Holy] Spirit.
So, by the habitual, daily, diligent application of the blood, the Word and the Spirit as detailed above, we will gradually save our souls and bodies!
