Before Christ (BC), the Bible says we were dead, without God and without hope. Can a dead man have hope? Nope. Jesus said, “It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh profits nothing” (John 6:63).
All human beings are born body and soul. But when we believe on him who was raised from the dead, we are given God’s gift of holy spirit—“born-again” as spiritual beings— and have life in the age to come.
So every believer has a new life in Jesus Christ…but do we miraculously get a new mind with this new life? I wish! If we did, we would not have the problems we do.
This is why there are so many Scripture verses that implore us, plead with us, and practically beg us to change our thinking. Why the push? Because if we don’t change our thinking, we will never be transformed, and we may walk away from God.
So why would a believer walk away from God? Think about this, because we have all done it at one time or another. Maybe it was for a few years, or a few months, or a few days, or even a few hours or a few minutes – but we have all done it.
The reason we do it is because we follow what we think, and what we want, and what we feel. What I just described is the soul of man: what we think (mind); what we want (will); and what we feel (emotions). So we follow what our own soul wants to do and not what the spirit of God wants us to do. Let me give you an example:
A few years back, my wife Debbie and I went to the State Fair, and we took our granddaughter, Brooke, who was three years old at the time. We were in an exhibition building looking at – you guessed it – exhibits. Debbie wanted to look closer at some items, so she told me to keep my eyes on Brooke, who was standing beside me, because she didn’t want her to wander off.
“No problem,” I said.
She then gave me that “Debbie” stare and told me again, “Watch her.”
“Hey, I’ve got this.”
As I watched her walk off, I turned around to say something to Brooke— and she was gone! I can’t describe the feeling that came over me at that moment, but it was like I lost the keys to Debbie’s car!
I carefully scanned the room, but Brooke wasn’t there, so I went outside and frantically scoured the area. There she was, about twenty feet away walking toward the cotton candy stand. I rushed upon her, swept her up in my arms, and asked her, “Where do you think you’re going?”
She simply pointed at the cotton candy and said, “I want some.”
As I turned around to go back to the exhibits, I met the full-frontal “Debbie” stare right in my face. “Hi, babe—find what you wanted?”
So, why did Brooke walk away? She wasn’t being rebellious. She was just following what she was thinking, what she felt and what she wanted. Listen…that’s exactly what the Bible says about babies in Christ (and we were all babies at one time!); they follow their soul. They have to learn to follow the Spirit.
The reason we do this is because we were originally created in God’s image, to know only good. God is good, and He created us to relate to Him. Here’s the problem: when Adam and Eve sinned, their eyes were opened to both good and evil. Their soul-life (mind-will-emotions) could now be influenced by evil.
So from that point forward, Adam and Eve and their progeny learned to relate to God by what they reasoned in their own mind. And their reasoning was now influenced by Evil. This is the old-man nature, our soul-man. The mind is what we think, the will is what we want or desire, and the emotions are what we feel.
This is why Christians have problems. We get into a situation and make decisions based on what we think, what we want, and what we feel. But it doesn’t matter what we think, it doesn’t matter what we want, and it doesn’t matter what we feel; the only thing that matters is what God says, what God thinks, what God wants, and what God feels. And that’s the only way to make right decisions: find out what God says about the decisions you make in life. His Word contains all things pertaining to life (2 Peter 1:3).
Here are 3 points to consider regarding the soul:
#1- The Soul is Selfish
In fact, one of the definitions of soul is self.
Now think about this: we come into this world with only our soul (mind, will, and emotions), and no spirit. With only our intellect to figure out God, we form a belief based on information we have gathered.
The source of the information can be good or evil, and in some cases, it’s a little of both (think of all the religions in the world, and all were formulated in the flawed mind of man. That answers a lot of questions).
So for years, we relate to God with only our minds. And our minds tell us how to respond to ideas and situations. Did you know that our minds are superior to the best computer that could ever be developed? There will never be a computer invented better than the human mind.
If you talk to scientists who study the human mind, they will back this up. Your mind is unbelievable. Your mind retains everything that you have ever seen, heard, or experienced. Everything. So, where is “everything”? In your subconscious; and when you try to remember it, you bring it to your conscious mind.
For example, Debbie asked me, “What was the name of the company that came out and gave us a quote for an AC unit for the rental house…5 years ago? You know, the guy had a big nose and wore suspenders and he sort of reminded me of my uncle Herschel, blah, blah, blah.”
She brought all of that information to her conscious mind trying to remember the name of that company. There are things you try to remember and you just can’t bring it into your mind. Do you know when it will come to you? It will come to you at night, when you are relaxed and slipping into slumber.
I know this for a fact, because that night Debbie sat up in bed and screamed, “Jim Brandt, Brandt Heating and Cooling!” …and scared me to the point that I nearly soiled our sheets!
Here’s another thing about how the mind works: our minds think in pictures. When I ask you to think of a cow, you don’t see the word “cow” in your mind, do you? No, you see a cow.
My cow is Elsie from the Borden Ice Cream commercial. Your picture might be a Black Angus. In any case, we think in pictures.
Now, follow me on this. When you step into a room, your mind will have a conversation with itself. Your mind will say, “Have I ever seen, heard, or experienced anything like this before?”
And your mind will answer, “Yes, you’ve seen 135 rooms similar to this one; you’ve seen 25 rooms that were very similar to this one; and you’ve seen four rooms that were almost identical to this room.”
That’s how we get what is called déjà-vu. You think, “I’ve been here before.” And if you’re really out there, you think, “I’ve been here before…in a former life!” No, you haven’t. This is how our mind works; you have not been anywhere in a former life.
This is why you can meet somebody and not like them almost immediately. For example, let’s say I am at a restaurant having dinner with my wife, and as we’re leaving, Debbie sees a friend and stops to chat. She introduces me to her friend and her husband.
When we get out to the car, I say, “I don’t like that guy.”
Debbie says, “You don’t even know him.”
I say, “Yes I do—I know his type.”
How does this work? Your mind says, “Have I ever met someone like this guy?” and your mind replies, “Yes, you’ve met 365 guys similar to this one; 147 were very similar, and three were almost identical, and one of them pulled your shorts down in gym class in the fifth grade.”
This is important to know, because when you come up against a problem that causes you stress, your mind says, “Have I ever experienced this before?” And your mind tells you how to respond.
In the Bible, it mentions ‘strongholds.” This is how a stronghold works, whether you have a stronghold of lust, or a stronghold of anger, or of pride, or of insecurity; or if you have an addiction, this is also how addiction works.
You have an experience that is similar to something you had before, and your mind says, “I need a drink to handle this because every time I’ve been in this situation, I’ve had to have a drink.”
2 Corinthians 10:4 says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but powerful through God for tearing down strongholds.”
The Word of God is the sword we wield. It is written is our battle cry. It is only through the Word of God that we can tear down the strongholds of our soulish minds. Like the walls of Jericho, they will crumble. It may take some time and several trips around the walls, but they will crumble.
Romans 12:2 tells us all to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. I don’t actively transform myself; I control my thinking according to what the Word of God says, and as I do, transformation takes place. And in Colossians 3:16, we are told to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly, not sparingly.
That’s why we must stay in the Word. Because what happens is, after a while, your mind says, “Have I ever experienced anything like this before?” and your mind says, “Yes, I have.”
But then because you are renewing your mind, your mind will bring up a scripture to deal with the situation. And if it can’t bring one up, your mind might say, “I need to call someone for prayer.” You begin to change the way you deal with these strongholds. Stay in the Word, think about the Word, memorize scripture verses—and give your mind new thoughts to work with.
The new thoughts, godly thoughts, will transform your mind, will, and emotions, and tear down the strongholds. We must make our soul submit to the Spirit.
#2 – The Soul must Submit to the Spirit
When I was conceived in the womb, my soul (mind-will-emotions) came alive. I was saved at the age of 23. For 23 years, I lived with my soul in charge. I did what I thought was best, what I wanted to do, and what I felt like doing (like my granddaughter, Brooke). But at age 23, I received spirit, and my spirit said to my soul, “I’m in charge now.” And my soul said, “Not without a fight, pal!” And they’ve been fighting ever since.
James 1:21
Therefore, putting away all moral filth and wickedness (which is so prevalent), receive with meekness the word that has been planted in you that is able to save your souls.
The more I receive the planted Word of God, the more it is able to save, or make whole, my soul. I had 23 years of nothing but selfish, soulish decisions. I was marinating in godless sewage every day.
Every Christian must be constantly vigilant to rid themselves of the abundance of wickedness that arises in our lives. There are several scriptures about converting our souls. It’s not about salvation, but rather about converting, changing, letting your soul mature and grow up.
1 Peter 1:22
Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have sincere affection for God’s family, love one another fervently from a pure heart.
This verse makes it clear that we purify our mental and emotional life by obeying the “truth,” which includes the written Word of God as well as any direct revelation we have received by the spirit.
1 Peter 2:11
Beloved, I urge you as foreigners and temporary residents, to keep away from fleshly desires that wage war against the soul. Fleshly desires wage war against our mental state, our attitude and emotions, and against “us”—against our persons.
2 Peter 2:14
They have eyes full of adultery and are unable to cease from sin. They entice unstable souls and have a heart that has been trained in greed. Cursed children!
What is an unstable soul? I believe it is the mind, will, and emotions of a person who is not anchored in the rock of truth. As Ephesians 4:14 tells us, he is a child, blown to and fro with every new idea that entices his soul.
Can believers have an unstable soul? Of course they can. This is why the Spirit implores us to stay in the Word, grow up into Him, and become mature believers with a mature soul that reflects our God.
Let me ask you a question: with what you read and what you watch, are you feeding your soul, or your spirit? It’s amazing how much God’s people read on the internet and how little we read the Bible.
And then we wonder why we don’t have strength when we get tempted. If our soul and spirit were cats, we’ve got a tiger fighting with a house cat. It should be the other way around, because we should be feeding the spirit and starving the “old man” soul.
1 Corinthians 3:1
And I, brothers and sisters, was not able to speak to you as to spiritual people, but as to people of the flesh, as to babies in Christ.
“People of the flesh” refers to Christians who have not yet decided to live by the spirit and are being influenced by their flesh nature. When a person who has lived a worldly life for years gets saved, they have the guarantee of everlasting life, but they still do not know or practice the things of God. They are considered babies in the faith and need time to mature.
Hebrews 5:12-14
For indeed, being morally obligated to be teachers due to the length of time you have been taught, instead, you need someone to teach you again the rudiments of the beginning of the words of God. Indeed, you have become ones who need milk, not solid food. For everyone who partakes of milk is inexperienced in the word of righteousness, for he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, even those who through repeated use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.
God wants each of us to become mature in Christ. One way we do this is by staying in the Word. The child of God must wean his soul off of milk and mature to the meat of the Word.
When you wean a young child off of milk, he often throws a fit. So does your soul. Why does the baby throw a fit? The source of comfort and familiarity is being taken from it. The baby reacts as if you are trying to kill it. In regards to the soul, you are trying to kill it! Which brings me to point #3:
#3 – The Soul Must Die
Your selfish thoughts, your selfish desires, and your selfish feelings and emotions need to die. You need to die to self. What you think, feel, and want doesn’t matter if it is not aligned with the Truth.
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even piercing as far as the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to judge the considerations and intentions of the heart.
The Word of God will divide between what you think is right, what you want to do, and what you feel you should do, and what God thinks is right, what He wants you to do, and what He feels you should do. The Word of God is the only thing that does this.
“…and is able to judge the considerations and intentions of the heart.” Here it is: considerations – the mind; intentions – the will; and heart – the emotions. The Word of God is the judge! Now listen to this:
Hebrews 4:13
And there is not a creature unexposed before him, but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
The word “open” is the Greek word trachelizo; the word trache refers to the trachea, or throat. Lizo is a military term. Here is the exact definition of this word: It is to bend back the neck of a victim to be slain; to expose the gullet of the victim for killing. This is figuratively what God would like to do to your selfish thoughts, your selfish desires and your selfish emotions. He wants to “kill” what’s killing you, and replace it with what He wants for your life, what He desires for you! The Bible tells us we were crucified with Christ, but let’s read what Jesus said in Luke:
Luke 9:23
And he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, he must deny himself and must take up his cross daily, and then follow me.
Deny himself and take up his cross…daily! It’s not a one-time thing. Sure, I accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and received the gift of eternal life, but if I want to live a victorious life, I must crucify my flesh—my selfish thoughts, selfish will, and selfish emotions—every single day. Then I will be able to truly follow Jesus, for only then will I have made him Lord in my life—master of my thoughts, my will, and my emotions.
Ephesians 4:22-24
You are to put off the old self that belongs to your former way of life and that is being corrupted because of deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which has been created in the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Romans 12:2
And do not be conformed to the pattern of this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you can test and approve what the will of God is—the thing that is good and pleasing and perfect.
Our old nature, our soul man, was conformed to the pattern of this age. But now, as a new creation, we can transform our soul by the renewing of our mind and reflect the image of Christ and of our Father, God.
This is why we stay in the Word. We read it daily with the purpose of learning and growing up into Christ as a mature believer. Knowledge builds, like compounding interest; you start with very little, but it builds as you keep investing in the Word. And transformation is the dividend you reap.
2 Corinthians 3:18
And we all, with unveiled faces reflecting as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same appearance, from glory into glory, just as one would expect—from the Lord who is the Spirit.
As we pray, think, and read the Bible, we have the image of Christ in our mind and constantly strive to emulate him, and we become transformed into the glorious image of Christ and of God.
