By Joseph Mattera
DEFINITION of soul = the emotions, the will, and the mind or intellect.
While much of the focus in the church is related to our mission, purpose, and what we do for God, not enough focus is on the matter of our essence or being. We are not human doers but human beings! The bible teaches that in our essence we are tripart: spirit, soul and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
There is much ignorance in the church related to the state of our souls – we can win the world and think everything is going great with our worldly success and activities while we are subconsciously losing our souls!
The Mind
The mind and or intellect was blinded by original sin – this is why defending the faith merely with human reason does not usually work, there needs to be a move of the Spirit upon a human heart in order to win people to Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:3,4 teaches us that the intellect of men are blinded by the evil one until conversion takes place (also read 1 Corinthians 1:17-21).
That being said, when we first come to Christ, we start off with false assumptions that have distorted our view of reality, God, and even ourselves.
Christ comes inside our spirits when we are saved but He does not come into our minds; this is why Apostle Paul said in Romans 12:1,2 that our minds have to be renewed after we are saved.
Renewal of the mind involves reading and applying the scriptures in our life so that we train ourselves to think God’s thoughts after Him as His image bearers (Genesis 1:26), it is only through the practice of meditating upon the word that we will begin to see the world through the eyes of God (read Joshua 1:8,9).
Renewal of the mind is a lifetime process to un-do the wrong mental programming and seed sowing of the world and the enemy. All believers need to intentionally allow the word of God to cultivate a new way of thinking and viewing the world. Stinking thinking will always sabotage the faith that emanates out of our hearts.
The Emotions
Emotions are the part of us in which we feel – not just think and understand concepts, which are in the mind and intellect. It is the seats of the soul in which we love, hate, experience fear and happiness.
Luke 4:18 teach us that Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted! A broken-hearted person is a person who has had their emotions crushed because of deep pain caused by a relational loss or personal failure. The world is full of broken people and the gospel of Jesus Christ promises that God can put the pieces of our soul back together again! Psalm 34:18 say that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Jesus went out of His way to touch outcasts like the leper in Mark 1:40-44. The leper was not only healed physically but also emotionally.The emotional feelings we have are the feedback system God has given us to show us when things are not good in our inner being. Often, we ignore these signals and push through without stopping to see what is really going on within us and or what God is trying to communicate to us.
We need to give God space on a regular basis to speak to us and work on the inside of us so that we can adjust our heart, mind, and soul to His will. Not giving God space will result in great damage to our soul and can cause shipwreck with our life, family, and work!
We need to practice the spiritual disciplines of silence and solitude as well as journal what is ruminating in our own hearts to understand what God is speaking to us so that we can know both our selves and grow in the knowledge of God.
The Will
The will is the gate of the soul in which we choose what to think, act, and do. God endeavors to break our will by inviting us to die to ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him. God breaks our stubborn wills without crushing our fragile spirits! Ultimately, we cannot bring transformation to ourselves – only God can change us! He must increase and then we will decrease – not visa versa!
Consequently, since we cannot change you we need to give God the opportunity every day to work change on the inside of us (see Philippians 2:12,13).
Personal transformation of the soul in which the will is broken takes place over a process of many years – through trials and hardship and challenging circumstances, in which God is able to conform us to the image of His Son Jesus Christ. Hence, brokenness cannot take place merely with bible studies, preaching, and church attendance, it usually only comes when we humble ourselves in dependence upon God in response to life’s challenges. Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” Luke 20:18.
For more from Joseph Mattera, visit his website.
