THE HUMAN SPIRIT
WHAT IS OUR SPIRIT?
It is absolutely necessary for all Believers to understand that they have a spirit. It is our spirit that allows communication with Yahveh. If you don’t understand your own spirit, then how is it possible to commune with Yahveh? If we don’t learn to discern between our soul and our spirit leading us, we will never get into the fullness of the spirit realm of Yahveh available to us, and we may be caught up in the commonly known “mixing of spirits, and soul power”. There are numerous scriptures that talk about our inner spirit. The following are a few: 1Cor. 2:11, 5:4, 14:14, 14:32, Rom. 8:6, Prov. 25:27, Hebr. 12:23, Zech. 12:1, etc.
The word “spirit”, comes from the Hebrew word “ruach”, meaning breath, and the Greek word “pneuma”, to do with air or breath (lungs) as in pneumonia, or as in pneumatic tire.
After the fall in the garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve first sinned, the direct line (umbilical chord) that was connected to them by their spirit, was severed from Yahveh. That is why people who have not received Messiah in their lives, are referred to as being dead, because the chord has been severed and there is no supply of life to the spirit. When we give ourselves back to Yahveh, by being re-born, it is like re-connecting the line (the spirit). If you come out of Yahveh, you disconnect yourself from the source of all spiritual life, your life can amount to nothing because you will have not accomplished one of Yahveh’s ultimate goals; you will not live eternally. If you cut off your connection with Elohim, you will be spiritually dead, and nothing on earth can substitute for eternal life with your Father in Heaven.
Your spirit is the place of origin of good works and gifts directed by Yahveh, through His Holy Spirit in you. Our spirit, is the inner part of us, that Adonai (God), wants to use to guide us in all things, “in spirit and in truth”. When we get to the spiritual maturity point in our walk with our Father, or said another way, when Yahveh opens our eyes to see that the natural life is something that in itself, He cannot use in His work, then we will find that the doctrine of many of the churches is not of much significance any further. We are being directed by the Spirit of Elohim (Yahveh), Himself. We are to bear spiritual fruit, not fleshly, or soulish fruit of ourselves. Our fruit must come from the Spirit of Yahveh within us to produce glory to the kingdom of Yahveh. Matt. 15:13 “But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be rooted up.” All that is born of the flesh is of no value to Yahveh, “origin determines destination”, and no matter what the world thinks, that which is “of the flesh” from its origin, will remain so and will be of little or no value to Yahveh. “The flesh profitith nothing”.
Man is a spiritual being, therefore, to work effectively, he cannot look within for soulish strength and self-knowledge, he must pursue the will of Yahveh from his inner spirit. We must walk in the light as mentioned in Ps. 36:9 “For with Thee is the fountain of life; In Thy light we see light.” No one is to turn within, we are to walk in the light where all can clearly see. The only light to guide us in all things, is the light of Elohim. We must never search ourselves, Yahveh must search us and illuminate our path. To determine whether or not one is being lead by the Spirit, one must decide if our motives are scriptural or not. Hebr. 4:12-13 “For the word of YHVH is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
Yeshua says that spirits don’t have flesh and bones. Luke 24:39 “See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 1Cor. 15:44 “it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual {body.}”
Your spirit is covered with a coat made up of your body and soul.
Some say our spirit is the same size as our body.
In the following verses the Bible describes inward man, inner man and outward man. Rom. 7:22-23 “For I joyfully concur with the law of YHVH in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.” Eph. 3:16 “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man;” 2Cor. 4:16 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” Therefore we can call the inward, or inner man, the “spirit”; the outer man the “soul’ and the outermost man the “body”.
Our spirit is given to us so that Elohim can make direct contact with us. Yahveh cannot make contact with the spirit of an unbelieving person. Yahveh can only communicate with us through our spirit. The amount of communication that our spirit has with His Holy Spirit is what influences us to be good.
Prov. 20:27 “The spirit of man is the lamp of Adonai, searching all the innermost parts of his being.” This is a perfect description of our spirit.
WHERE IS OUR SPIRIT?
Your spirit is located below your diaphragm and above your pelvic bone, in your belly. In John 7:38 it describes where the spirit is.“If any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture said; From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water” the Greek word “koleo” is used here, meaning out of his belly. The Greek word used for inner most was “koleo”/”colia” (that which is hollow). When a person gets butterflies, that’s where your spirit is located. The old clichés, “I got a gut feeling,” and “you’ve got a lot of guts,” meant you were guided by the wisdom of your spirit.
Your spirit is where “joy” comes from. Joy is described in Habakkuk 3:17-19
When a Believer dies, his spirit leaves his body. Acts 7:59-60 “And they went on stoning Stephen as he called upon {Adonai} and said, “Adonai Yeshua, receive my spirit!” And falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Adonai, do not hold this sin against them!” And having said this, he fell asleep.”
“The power that drives us comes from the spirit inside us”
WHEN WAS OUR SPIRIT CREATED?
The “soul” and “spirit” are created the instant the male sperm penetrates the egg of a woman. The body then grows around the soul and spirit in the womb. In Ps. 139:13-15 it says “For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst weave me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are thy works and my soul knows it very well”
THE PRIMARY FUNCTIONS OF THE SPIRIT:
Your spirit is commonly known as your conscience/intuition. That little voice inside of you that tells you what’s right and wrong. The three functions of the spirit are: worship, fellowship and revelation/communion. They come experientially in that order.
Worship John 4:23-24“true worshipers worship in spirit”
Fellowship 1Cor. 14:2 “the believer’s spirit shares YHVH’s secret” which is fellowship with Yahveh.
Revelation 1Cor. 2:9-12 Yahveh’s Spirit gives revelation to the believer’s spirit.
Conscience is a Yahveh given instrument of discernment between right and wrong!
Our conscience is the compass of our soul!
Conscience is Yahveh’s umpire of the heart of man!
Like a bloated corpse, conscience floats to the top and demands to be heard!
To some people a clear conscience is nothing more than a poor memory!
Conscience is what hurts when everything else feels good!
The pain of an outraged and violated conscience is to the soul what physical suffering is to the body!
The mind will always justify what the conscience condemns!
There are four different kinds of consciences, as follows:
A convicting conscience John 8:8-9 “And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And when they heard it, they {began} to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the midst.”
A seared conscience 1Tim. 4:15 “Take pains with these things; be {absorbed} in them, so that your progress may be evident to all.”
A pure conscience 1Tim. 3:9 “{but} holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.”
A defiled conscience Titus 1:15 “To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.”
The relationship between conscience and intuition is that conscience judges according to intuition; it condemns all conduct which does not follow the directions given by intuition. Intuition is related to communion, or worship, in that Yahveh is known by man intuitively and reveals His will to man in the intuition. The following are the three functions of man’s spirit as listed in our Bible.
A) The following scriptures list the function of Conscience in our spirit: 2Cor. 2:13, “no rest”, 1Cor. 5:3, “pronounced judgment”, John 13:21, “troubled”, Ps. 34:18, “crushed”, Deut. 2:30, “hardened”, Ps. 51;10, “right”, Acts 17;16, “provoked”, 2Tim. 1:7, “timidity”.
B) The following scriptures list the function of Intuition in man’s spirit: 1Cor. 2:11, “knows”, Mark 8:12, “sighed”, Matt. 26:41, “willing”, Acts 18:5, “pressed’, Acts 18:25, “fervent” in spirit”, 1Cor. 16:18, “refreshed” and Acts 20:22, “bound”.
C) The following scriptures list the function of Communion in man’s spirit: 1Cor. 14:15, “sing”, 16, “bless”, Rom. 1:9, “serve”, Rev. 21:10, “carried me away”, Luke 1:47, ‘rejoices”, etc.
The spirit is not man’s mind, his will, or his emotion; on the contrary, it includes the functions of conscience, intuition and communion.
The soul is the part of a man that feels, the spirit is the part of the man that knows!
You have what the word of Yahveh gives you not because you feel it, but because you know it!
Physical death cannot hurt you when your spiritual, but spiritual death will kill you when your physically alive!
HOW CAN OUR SPIRIT BE AFFECTED?
There are two basic theories on what happens to your spirit before becoming a Believer:
One theory is that Satan can never get at your spirit, your spirit was established as a communication link between Yahveh and man only, whether it is used or not.
The other theory is that until a person becomes a Believer (regardless of age), his spirit can be manipulated by Satan. If the person is of an evil nature, it makes it easy for him. In this theory when a person becomes “born again” he receives “a new spirit,” and the door is opened so that he may be able to have a direct communication with Yah’s Holy Spirit. The spirit of the unregenerate man (fallen man) is detached from Yah, Eph. 4:18 (KJ)“being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of YHVH, (“alienated from the life of YHVH”) because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;” until he is “born again” and re-attached. In Eph. 2:12 “{remember} that you were at that time separate from Messiah, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without YHVH in the world.” It says here, man’s fallen spirit is “without Yeshua, and without YHVH.” Though the spirit of the un-believing man is dead, in relation to Yah, it remains fully active like the mind and body, just not being used. Unless the spirit of a person is regenerated and filled with the Holy Spirit it is susceptible to the influence of the fallen spirits of Satan, and is governed by the “the prince of the power of the air” Eph. 2:2 “in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.”
Many believe there are three areas of the human spirit that come under the control of demons of people enveloped in Satanism. These areas are commonly referred to as: conscience, intuition, and worship. Many consider the soul to have two separate and distinct divisions, with each division again containing three further divisions. The six divisions are called: conscious, subconscious, unconscious, will, mind, and emotions.
1Cor. 15:47 “The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.” and is dominated by the flesh, instead of the spirit. Therefore every human being born in the likeness of Adam, is, “of the earth, earthy,” The soul is the slave of the flesh and the earthly life, instead of being a servant of the spirit.
The spirit in us is directed, moved, by the Spirit of Yah. In Ezekiel it is explained Ezek. 36:27 “And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances”. Here it means that the spirit in us guides us to follow the commandments of Yah.
If someone willingly gets into the occult and he becomes a worshipper of Satan, Satan will use this dormant spirit for his purposes, and this is normally referred to as “astral projection”.
Astral projection, defined, is: after the devil’s spirit connects with your spirit and a part of your soul, they astral project together to wherever. They then come back and reconnect, describing and telling your mind where it was, thus, making you believe you were there yourself. Astral projection is the counterfit of spirit projection.
Spirit projection is: what John did in the Book of Revelation. John’s spirit was taken away by Yahveh’s Spirit to see the things of the future. John witnessed, “what was to come”, in his own spirit. It is like astral-projection, only it is with Adonai’s approval and no demonic forces are involved.
Rom. 8:6-8 “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward YHVH; for it does not subject itself to the law of YHVH, for it is not even able {to do so} ; and those who are in the flesh cannot please YHVH.” Rom. 8:14-16 “For all who are being lead by the Spirit of YHVH, these are sons of YHVH. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of YHVH,”
A perfect example of how our spirit can be affected, is when Aaron the High Priest let his soul dominate him, and made the golden calf for the people. Aaron had let his “ego” take over his spirit, and began worshipping what he had created. His ego got him in serious trouble with Moses and Adonai. You would think that being the highest of priests that Aaron could not be overcome by soulish thoughts, but this was incorrect.
Exod. 32:1-6 “Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” And Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring {them} to me.” Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears, and brought {them} to Aaron. And he took {this} from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” Now when Aaron saw {this,} he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow {shall be} a feast to Adonai.” So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.” If a high priest like Aaron could be affected by the power struggle between our ego and our spirit, it’s obvious that all Believers must be aware of this constant struggle. Man is still man, and regardless of his stature, he has a natural ego and rebellion problem that can only be controlled by the dying of one’s old self, and the renewing of the spiritual man. The spirit is the only thing that can worship Yah and allow man to get into Yah’s presence.
“BORN AGAIN”
We all have a “spirit,” for those who do not use it, it simply becomes dormant. The minute a person is “born again” the Spirit of Elohim is breathed into you and your spirit and the Holy Spirit make official contact for the first time. Your spirit is like a seed encased in concrete, the minute you become born again your seed (spirit) makes contact with the Holy Spirit and the concrete block is destroyed, so that the seed begins to grow. The moment this happens man receives an increase in knowledge, illumination and understanding. That is why when you talk to an un-converted person, he doesn’t understand you or the scriptures. His spirit has not been touched by Yah’s Spirit. That is why it is up to Believers to pray and intercede for them, that they may accept Yeshua. Ezek. 36:26 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” When the Holy Spirit begets us it also gives us a new heart and a new spirit, HalleluYAH!
On one occasion Yeshua said: John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” Our life and work must therefore all be within the scope of the Spirit. When Yah uses us, He usually works in and through our spirit. “Be filled with the Spirit” Eph. 5:18 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,” This indicates that this new spirit we are given should be filled with the Holy Spirit. Yah fills our spirit with his Holy Spirit. If we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit works from the center to the circumference. From the spirit to the soul, and then to the body. We must receive the gift of the Holy Spirit from Adonai before we can have our life in Adonai. The life which we obtain in regeneration is not carnal but spiritual. As soon as we are regenerated we receive, “the right to become children of Yah” (John 1:12) and this commenses a father-and-son relationship with Yah, in life (Gal. 4:6, Rom. 8:15-16). This represents the character and the glory we have in the re-newed covenant with Yahveh.
Yahveh’s life has a nature of its own; so we who have His life are made “partakers of the divine nature” (2Pet. 1:4). It is made possible for us to know Yah’s will, to love to do His pleasure, to live out the image of Yah (Col. 3:10), and truly follow Him from our circumsised heart. Should a person profess to have received the life of Yah’s Son and yet there be not the slightest indication of this new life nature in his daily walk, neither in his loving righteousness nor in hating sin, this man’s faith and regeneration is hightly questionable. For Yah’s life has its special nature. If that person does not exhibit that nature, or the properties of that divine nature, how dare he profess to have Yah’s life: how dare he profess to be “born again”.
A person who becomes born again, must confess with his mouth that he is a Believer, as per Rom. 10:10 “for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
When we are “born again”, you might say that Dad gives us the key to the trunk of the Holy Spirit treasure chest. The key, is us asking for the infilling of the Spirit so we can move on, mature, and have the use of the gifts in the treasure chest. Yahveh wants all of us to have the gifts. Asking is the key, and finding an anointed person to lay hands on us for the infilling is the faith/obedience that is necessary to receive the infilling of the Spirit. Then we can progress and partake of the solid food He has available to us in His word. A person who has been “born of the Spirit”, (John 3:16) can have the revelation of what took place on the stake, and this will show him how to not live a life according to his flesh. This individual is to walk “in newness of life,” (Rom. 6:4) and knows how to be victorious over sins that are from the “works of the flesh” (Gal.5:19-21). After we are born again we must “FOLLOW YESHUA,” and walk the way He walked, to the best of our ability. This means following His commands, statues, and laws, that have been established in His word. If we don’t, we simply are not heirs of the throne, and perhaps won’t even be granted eternal salvation.
The born again experience begins like conception, you are formed in the womb, and born of the spirit, not of the flesh. When you first accept Yeshua into your life it is conception, as you continue to grow and follow Yeshua, you are formed in the womb, until you are mature enough to be born of the Spirit (lead by the Spirit through the infilling of the Holy Spirit).
When the Spirit of Yah connects with the spirit of man, it answers the puzzle of John 3:8 “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the spirit.”
In John 3:5 “Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of YHVH” This makes it clear as to how important your spirit is to Yah. The kingdom of Yah is “active”, it is here and now.
The Jewish “Mikvah” represented the death, burial and resurrection of baptism immersion in water. It meant a person was symbolically re-entering the womb, and thus we get the words “BORN AGAIN”. The old self dies, and the new self re-emerges from the waters, one then born of water and of Spirit.
Your born again spirit cannot sin, only your soul and your body can sin. 1John 3:9 “No one who is born of Yahveh practices sin, because his seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of Yahveh.” Example; your body wants you to sleep forever, eat too much, have sex with strangers, anything that will make your flesh feel better. Your soul wants you to do selfish things to make you happy, drink booze, take drugs, have sex, degrade people, etc.. Your body and soul can cause you to sin even though your conscience (spirit), tells you it is not right. The spirit inside of you cannot sin. but your soul and your flesh are constantly causing you to sin.
The un-saved people of the secular world cannot receive anything from the Holy Spirit. One must be born-again first, then baptized in the Holy Spirit, and then you may receive the leading of the Holy Spirit. In John 14:17-18 “The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him or knows him, for he lives with you and will be in you, I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you”
TALK IS CHEAP
Sin is simply, “lawlessness”, as clearly explained in the Bible.
1John 3:4 “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.” We cannot proclaim to love Adonai and not follow His instructions. These instructions are called the Torah; which includes celebrating the Feasts of Yahveh as per (Lev.23), the dietary instructions of Adonai (Lev. 11), the Ten Commandments of (Exod. 20), and all the other instructions of the Torah, other than those pertaining to the Levitical priesthood and Temple. If we refuse to follow His Torah we are sinning, and the word of Yahveh tells us clearly: Rom. 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death”. We can go one notch further by getting Yahveh’s opinion about those who proclaim to be Believers and continue to sin on purpose. 1John 2:4-6 “The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of Yahveh has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” Those who proclaim to know Abba Father must walk as He walked (follow Him). Sin is not from Yahveh, but clarified by Yahveh. 1John 3:8 “the one who practices sin is of the devil;” Our Father in Heaven tells us clearly: “if you truly love me then show me so by following my commandments” (paraphrase), as per John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” and our Father again tells us clearly, that, as a reward, He will reveal Himself to those who follow His commandments. Not those who talk about His commandments. John 14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him.” The big question is “are you willing to follow the Ten Commandments and have Yah reveal Himself to you, or are you willing to follow a church, or mankind? Many of our churches today have torn so many pages out of the Bible, because they don’t like them, that their Bible looks more like a tract. Every SUNday many of these proclaimed holy churches blaspheme Yahveh, and yet proclaim to love and honor Him; what a joke! The choice is ours, individually, and it’s obvious as to the answer.
The moment a person becomes born and follows Yahveh, his citizenship is of Heaven, not of earth. We may be on earth for now, but we are not of earth; we are of Heaven, because we are supernaturally connected to Adonai. Phil. 3:20 “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, Adonai Yeshua;”
The plain truth that many people don’t want to acknowledge, or are not willing to understand, is the fact that a genuine Believer, has, at conversion, actually repented of breaking Yah’s LAW. In order to follow Yeshua we must in turn follow the LAW (INSTRUCTIONS) of our Father in heaven from our hearts, to receive His blessings. Without His blessings we are doomed.
Deut. 11:26 “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of Adonai your Yahveh, which I am commanding you today; and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of Adonai your Yahveh,”
Deut 7:9 “Know therefore that Adonai your Yahveh, He is Yahveh, the faithful Yahveh, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments”
Prov. 25:28 “{Like} a city that is broken into {and} without walls Is a man who has no control over his spirit.”
There are at least three things that man cannot understand unless he receives a divine revelation, they can only be understood by “born again Believers”, baptized in the Holy Spirit.
1. the nature of Yahveh, the tri-part nature.
2. the truth about our origin.
3. our inner nature; how our body, soul and spirit work together.
WISDOM
In order to gain wisdom and knowledge from Yahveh we must first humble ourselves. There is nowhere in the Bible where Yahveh says He will humble us. His intention is for us to humble ourselves before Him, in order to receive everything He offers us. Being humble is a decision, not an emotion. Humble must be your attitude if you want to enjoy the power, wisdom, knowledge, peace, and joy that Adonai has to offer us through His Holy Spirit. Wisdom comes only from Yahveh the Father. If one takes the time to read the book of Proverbs, you will find Solomon’s wisdom was supernatural. A study of the proverbs will give one an understanding and wisdom beyond human comprehension. Throughout this book Solomon teaches how wisdom, knowledge and understanding should all work together in order that we may walk “in Spirit and in truth”.
Prov. 1:7 “The fear of Adonai is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Prov. 9:8-9 “Reprove a wiseman and he will love you, Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser, Teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning”
Prov. 10:21 “The lips of the righteous feed many, But fools die for lack of understanding.”
Prov. 15:2 “The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, But the mouth of fools spouts folly.”
Prov. 24:13-14 “My son, eat honey, for it is good, Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste; Know {that} wisdom is thus for your soul; If you find {it,} then there will be a future, And your hope will not be cut off.”
In one verse in Proverbs, wisdom is referred to as a female. Prov. 4:7-8 “The beginning of wisdom {is:} Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding. “Prize her, and she will exalt you; She will honor you if you embrace her.”
In some cases wisdom brings grief. Eccl. 1:17-18 “And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind. Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge {results in} increasing pain.”
Eccl. 2:13-14 “And I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that one fate befalls them both.”
1Pet. 5:6 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of Yahveh, that He may exalt you at the proper time,”
1Cor. 3:18-19 “If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with Yahveh.”
The ten points of wisdom from the Book of proverbs are:
1) The problem that infuriates you the most, is the problem that yahveh will assign you to solve!
2) What you are willing to walk away from, determines what Yahveh will bring you to!
3) When you want something you’ve never had, you must do something you’ve never done! (insanity is: doing the same thing over & over expecting different results).
4) Give another what he cannot find anywhere else, and he will keep returning to you!
5) Winners are willing to do things they hate, to create something they love!
6) Yahveh never consults your past to determine your future!
7) Power is the ability to walk away from something you desire, to protect something you love!
8) Men decide thy’re habits, and habits decide your future!
9) You cannot correct what you are not willing to confront!
10) Loser’s focus on what their going through, winners focus on what they’re going to!
Those who try to lead an intellectual life don’t understand what the Apostle James meant when he wrote in James 3:15, “This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. “ James, Yeshua’s brother tells us that some wisdom can be demonic. Intellect is the most dangerous of all gifts if it is not completely guided by the Holy Spirit. In this same book James tells us that if you know something is wrong and you continue to go along with it, it is a sin, and we all know there are consequences for our sins. James 4:17 “Therefore, to one who knows {the} right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
Paul points out the relationship between knowledge and love, he explains true knowledge in Eph. 3:14-19, “For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith; {and} that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Messiah which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of Yahveh.” True wisdom and knowledge come from Elohim and the love of Elohim.
In Job 32:8 “But it is a spirit in man and the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding” Job is saying our knowledge, understanding, and wisdom, comes from Yahveh’s Spirit acting on our spirit. A person who is not born again cannot have near the understanding, knowledge and wisdom of a Believer, because it all comes from Yahveh. Until you give yourself to Yahveh, He will not make available the total understanding, knowledge and wisdom.
Psalm. 119 speaks of the wisdom we receive from Adonai when we follow His ordinances. Ps. 119:98-104 “O how I love Thy law! It is my meditation all the day. Thy commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine. I have more insight than all my teachers, For Thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Thy precepts. I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Thy word. I have not turned aside from Thine ordinances, For Thou Thyself hast taught me. How sweet are Thy words to my taste! {Yes, sweeter} than honey to my mouth! From Thy precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.”
JUDGMENT
King Solomon was offered anything he wanted by Yahveh and what did he chose to receive? He asked to be able to “judge” his people. Yahveh was very pleased when Solomon asked of this. If judgement pleased Yahveh then, it should please us. 1Kgs. 3:9-12 “So give Thy servant an understanding heart to judge Thy people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Thine?” And it was pleasing in the sight of Adonai that Solomon had asked this thing. And Yahveh said to him, “Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice, behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you.” The two women that Solomon judged in 1Kgs. 3:16-22 were judged wisely. There has never been a wiser man than Solomon, and his wisdom came through “JUDGMENT”. Wisdom from Adonai provides good judgement. Solomon judged very wisely as per 1Kgs. 3:24-24.
If you judge without love you are not delivering people from their problems. You must tell them the truth according to our good book, not what they, “ want to hear” (2Tim. 4:3-4).
Judgement is discernment. You cannot lead one away from sin if they don’t know what sin is, (sin is lawlessness 1John 3:4).
We read in the book of Revelation that the judgement of the entire world will take place. Rev. 16:7 “And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, O Adonai Yahveh, the Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments.” Obvoiusly judgement in all things is appropriate or we would be fools. We are to judge/appraise all things if we are truly spirit lead. 1Cor. 2:15 “But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man.” How would we ever know right from wrong if we didn’t judge everything around us?
Most people are afraid to judge because they know that it means they may likewise be judged. If they live a Believers life they needn’t be ashamed. If they are told they are doing something wrong then they too must question their actions. There is nothing wrong with this if it is done in love and with respect. “True saints live in glass houses”!
Most of the time judgement is misunderstood, because those involved are babes in Messiah. 1Cor. 3:1-3 “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to babes in Messiah. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able {to receive it.} Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?
Isa. 1:27 “Zion will be redeemed with justice, And her repentant ones with righteousness.”
Ps. 76:8-9 “Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; The earth feared, and was still, When Yahveh arose to judgment, To save all the humble of the earth. Selah.” El Gibor wants to save all the humble of the earth. Ps. 25:9 “He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way.”
Ps. 9:7-8 “But Adonai abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment, And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.” Yahveh’s throne in Heaven is called the judgement throne. It’s fair to say that Yahveh Himself puts much emphasis on proper Biblical judgement.
James 1:15 “Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”
Judgment of everything around us is what makes us holy and peculiar people. We are not to be like the rest. We are special people who should watch everything we do so we always reflect the glory of Adonai. We are to be the light and salt of the earth. How can we be so, if we are not appraising everything going on around us at all times (1Cor. 2:15). This doesn’t mean we do everything right, or proper, but we must surely put in an extra special effort because of who we represent, in all our thoughts and actions.
For detailed understanding of how judgment fits into our walk with Yahveh, please get my Book called “Biblical Salvation, Love & Sin”.
SOUL
WHAT IS OUR SOUL?
Aside from having a spirit, which enables us to communicate with Yahveh, man also possesses a soul, his self-consciousness. Man is made conscious of his existance by the works of his soul. The soul is best defined as the seat of the personality, consisting of the will and the intellect, or mind. It is that which makes us aware of the spiritual world, and the body, which allows us contact with the world of nature and the five senses. The Bible even defines man as a “soul”, (Strongs #5315), as if it were the only part of man. In Gen. 12:5 we see it refers to people as “souls”. We see this idea again in Gen. 46:27 “all the souls of the house of Jacob”. Man’s existence, characteristics and life are all in the soul.
Our personality consists of three main things: emotion, mind and will. Through emotion we are able to express our likes and dislikes, love, or hate, joy, or anger, happiness, or sadness. Through our mind, our intellectual thoughts manifest into intellectual (soul), power. The proper use of this intellectual knowledge, and the fear of Yah, gives us wisdom, knowledge and reasoning.
A) The soul’s ability to direct the will is spoken of in the following scriptures: Ezek. 15:27, “delivered you up”, Deut. 21:14, “you shall let her go”, Job 7:15, “chooseth”, Ps. 27:12, “give me not up”, Ps. 41:2, “thou doest not give him up”, Num. 30:2, “or swear an oath”.
B) The soul’s ability of the intellect, or mind, is spoken of in the following scriptures: Prov. 19;2, “that a soul without knowledge is no good”, Lam. 3:20, “my soul continually thinks of it”, Prov. 24:14, “wisdom is such to your soul”, Ps. 13:2, “how long must I bear pain”.
C) The soul’s ability of emotion, feelings, desire, and affection, is spoken of in the following scriptures: Luke 1:46, “my soul magnifies Adonai”, 2Sam. 5:8, “who are hated by David’s soul”, Zech. 11:8, “my soul was vexed with them”, Job 10:1, “my soul is weary of my life”, Deut. 6:5, “you shall love Adonai your Yahveh”, Ezek. 24:21, “your soul’s longing”, Jdg. 10:16, “his soul was grieved”, Ps. 119:20, “my soul is consumed with longing”.
This “soul,” has the power of choice, in regards to that which world will dominate or control the entire man. All souls belong to Yah, He gave them to us, and it is important that we maintain possession of them for our sakes. Ezek. 18:4 “Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.
The soul consists of imagination, self-centeredness, self-pity, self-interest, self-preservation, and thoughts and affections which make it corruptible. This things give Satan access through his evil means. Soul stands for our personality, for what makes us a man. In Gen. 46:27 it says “All the souls of the house of Jacob, that came into Egypt, were three score and ten.” in Acts 2:44 it says “there were added unto them in that day about three thousand souls” Meaning each person has a soul.
The soul is translated as “life” in many places in our Good Book. The following are some examples: Gen. 9:4-5, “Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, {that is,} its blood.”, Lev. 17:11, “The life of the flesh is in the blood”, Matt. 2:20, “those who sought the childs life are dead”, Acts 20:24, “I do not account my life of any value”, Matt. 20:28, “to give his life as a ransom for many”, John 10:11, “the good sheperd lays down his life for the sheep”.
Blessings come from our soul if we are spirit led (Gen. 27:4, 19, 25, & 31). When Isaac blessed Jacob, he said Gen. 27:4 and prepare a savory dish for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die.”
Some believe there are three levels of the soul which control the human spirit if it is not lead by the Holy Spirit, the conscious, sub-conscious, and a deep third unconscious level (three levels of the mind). It is said that it is the third level that demons take advantage of.
The outward man (soul/flesh/old nature), is the greatest hindrance to the ministry of the word of Yah.
The Bible makes it clear to us how important our soul is in Matt. 16:26 “For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
The soul, consisting of will, emotion, and intellect, is our personality. Matt. 26:38 “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death” Luke 1:46 “My soul exalts Adonai” John 12:27 “Now my soul has become troubled” Luke 21:19 “By your endurance you will gain your lives” 2Pet. 2:8 “felt his righteous soul tormented day after day” and verse 14 “enticing unstable souls” These passages reveal to us that our soul has the capacity for torment, exaltation, endurance, grief, trouble, and enticement, when directed effectively by the spirit.
There is a Jewish belief that when Yah created the world, He also created the souls of all the people who would ever live. These souls are in the loins of their fathers, so that every man carries around with him the souls of his descendants. To bring these souls into the world, he needs the assistance of a woman, who becomes the vehicle for bearing his children. This is why the genealogy tables only show the paternal line. The concept of men bearing the souls of their descendants is given in Hebrews as follows: Hebr. 7:9-10 “And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.”
The elements which make us human, belong to the soul. Intellect, love, discernment, decision, thought, ideals, emotion, and choice, are examples of experiences of the soul. The soul is made up of: the heart, mind, intellect, reasoning, emotions, will, sub-conscious, conscious, sensuality, and ego. The soul is the place in the body that the information from your five senses has it’s effect. It has the responsibility for making personal decisions, and expresses itself in three phrases: “I want”, “I think”, “I feel”. Unless touched by the supernatural grace of Yah, all of human behavior is controlled by these three motivations.
One who has a soulish life is absorbed with possessions of all kinds: houses, cars, clothing, furniture etc., and neglects the need of attention to the kingdom of Yah and all things pertaining to it.
The Greek word for soul is pronounced (sike) “psukhe” which is where we get the English, psychology and psychiatry from, meaning “soul”, “I”, a singular individuals soul. That is one of the reasons psychology, psychiatry, etc., cannot be used in a holy manner. These religions are not based on the “Spirit”, they are based and centered on the “soul”, or “I”, rather than “Yeshua centered”. The commonly used terms, Christian psychology, “Christian psychiatry,” etc., are oxymorons, they can’t exist, they are secular, not holy. These religions are an insult to all Believers. THERE IS NO DIFFERANCE BETWEEN SO-CALLED CHRISTIAN PSYCHOLOGY AND SECULAR PSYCHOLOGY.
The mind, emotion and will are man’s psychic organs, which he cannot help but use. If man does not use them, the evil spirits will take over their usage. If man decides to use the soul power behind these psychic abilities, and doesn’t care what God says about it, the evil spirits will begin to give him evidence of all kinds of counterfeit miracles. One must understand that all the works done by the soul and it’s psychic law are imitations of the real thing. The Holy Spirit is the only one that can do true miracles of divine nature. The Holy Spirit of Elohim has its own law, its own way of doing things, with, and through us. In Rom. 8:2 “the law of the Spirit of life” is referring to the Holy Spirit which is the real thing. The law of the Holy Spirit is set in place by Yah. All wonders, signs and miracles performed according to the law of the Holy Spirit come, of course, divinely from Yah.
“Nephesh” is Hebrew for SOUL. When Yeshua’s blood drained from his body He gave up His life (soul) for us. In Acts 17:26 it says the same blood is in all mankind, “and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined {their} appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation,” In Isa. 53:12 it says “Because he poured out himself to death”
In Gen. 2:7 “Then Adonai YHVH formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being” This literally means Yah gave us a body and breathed into it, to form a “living soul.”
The soul is the bridge between the spirit and the body. Our soul is the result of the union of Yah’s breath and our earthly body, unique in all of us. The soul is the connection between the spiritual realm and the physical realm, the meeting of the breath and the body.
Gal. 5:19-25 “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissension’s, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of YHVH. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Messiah Yeshua have crucified the flesh with it’s passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”
Our soul is discribed in Rom. 7:18-25 “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good {is} not. For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.”I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of YHVH in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to YHVH through Yeshua our Adonai! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of YHVH, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”
According to the Bible, the potential power of the soul of an unbeliever is divided in two. The first one is what you might call the ordinary powers we use daily, while the second is a miraculous kind that can be manifested through various inner channels connected with psychic and occult practices. One is natural while the other seems supernatural, one seems to be humanly comprehensible, while the other seems to be beyond human comprehension.
In Hebr. 4:12 it says “For the word of YHVH is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit” This means clearly that the soul and the spirit are two separate things.
The word soulish is used to mean things pertaining to the soul. The word “sensual” can be substituted for “soulish”.
In Rom. 12:2 “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind”, means our mind, will and emotions (soul), must be re-trained and transformed.
In Latin the word for soul is “anima” (the animating principle of the body).
OUR HEART
When the word “heart” is used in the scriptures it is thought to generally be referring to what we think of as the “soul”, however if we look closely, we will see a difference between the two.
The Re-newed covenant is offered to those who accept it and the conditions attached to it. Our re-newed covenant is spoken of in Ezek. 36:26 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.” Here we see Ezekiel speaking of a new heart of flesh, being given to us who accept the re-newed covenant. The acceptance of this covenant in our heart gives us the ability to let Yah’s life work through our spirit and inner being, so as to walk as He walked, and follow the statutes and ordinances of Yahveh, without even thinking about it.
When we are regenerated and accept the fullness of Yah’s covenants, we are given a new heart of flesh, even though our old heart of stone is still in place. In a symbolic sense, we could say we have two hearts, a heart of flesh, and a heart of stone. Our stony heart isn’t so easily removed, it is a long process, a gradual softening that takes place over a period of time. The length of time it takes for our heart of stone to be softened is in direct relation to the amount that we want to truly love and follow Elohim. As our stony heart is gradually transformed into a heart of flesh, the life of Yahveh is progressively able to operate through us without hindrance.
The progress of our life in Yeshua hinges on the transformation of our heart, whether it remains stone or softens into flesh. If our heart has given priority to anyone or anything outside of God the operation of our life will be hindered. Mark 12:30 “AND YOU SHALL LOVE ADONAI YOUR YHVH WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’
For the love of Yahveh to truly work through us, He must have full access to it, so He can soften it for us and allow His law of life to flow freely. If we are rebellious against Yahveh, He will keep bringing us back until we get it right. The children of Israel with the golden calf are a good example of where Yahveh had to literally smite them to bring them back to Himself. Another example is someone who is so into his business that he loses his connection with Yahveh and starts to get into the love of the world. Adonai may warn him three, ten, twenty times about his failure to follow Him, until it gets to the point where Yahveh Himself makes the persons business fail so the person comes back in line with the word and life of Yah. It’s up to us how many laps we want to make around the mountain before we get it right. We can go cautiously and with the guidance of Yah once around, or go on our own, using our own means, many times around the mountain, till we realize that He has to lead us. If we fall enough times, eventually we will see the light and start to listen to what we know is correct. Hebr. 12:6-7 “FOR THOSE WHOM ADONAI LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.” It is for discipline that you endure; YHVH deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom {his} father does not discipline? For those who depend strictly on Yah’s grace and don’t want discipline, this may be a serious verse for an awakening. We are all disciplined by the loving hand of Yahveh each time we fall away from His Torah.
This is also spoken of in Jer. 31:33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares Adonai, “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their YHVH, and they shall be My people.” As per the scriptures; the heart seems to embrace the following parts of the human personality.
1. Our conscience is attached to our heart. Our conscience is within the realm of our heart. As per 1John 3:20 “our heart condemns us”. As per Hebr. 10:22 “having our hearts sprinkled {clean} from an evil conscience”
2. Our mind is linked to our heart. Mark 2:6 “reasoning in their hearts,” Matt. 9:4 “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? Luke 1:51 “the thoughts of their heart.” Luke 24:38 “why do doubts arise in your hearts?
(also Hebr. 4:12, Luke 2:19)
3. Our emotion is joined to our heart. John 14:27 “Let not your heart be troubled”. Luke 24:32 “Were not our hearts burning within us”.
4. Our free will is attached to our heart. Hebr. 4:12 “intents of the heart”. 2Cor. 9:7 “purposed in his heart”. Rom. 6:17 “ ye became obedient from the heart” (also Acts 11:23).
Considering the above scriptures, I affirm that the heart is linked to the mind, will, conscience, and emotion. The soul is directly linked to the heart, through the blood. This is not to claim that the conscience, mind, emotions, and will are the heart, but that they are linked.
Our heart is where our emotions manifest. Our emotion emits joy, cheerfulness, happiness, elation, excitement, aspiration, covetousness, moaning, misery, sorrow, despondency, compassion, kindness, expectation, fear, pride, hate, remorse, stimulation, grief, melancholy, rejection, dejection, confusion, anxiety, zeal, affection, coldness, interest, expectation, etc. These thoughts and actions must be under the control of our spirit or we will get in trouble every time.
Your heart is similar to a light switch; when the switch is on (closed), the power of Yah’s Spirit flows through and makes the light shine. If our heart is open to the Spirit, Yah can communicate with us freely, but if we are resistant to the prompting of His Spirit, and refuse to let His life work through us, then we simply exist. The amount of His life that we allow to flow through the switch in our heart is the amount that our conscience, will, emotion, and mind, will be affected in our daily walk with Yahveh. With our heart switch on, we allow His life to reach through our inner most parts and the results is, us following His laws of life without even thinking about it. His life then flows through us and enters into the lives of those around us by the way of blessings and anointing. This spiritual law of life is simply His Torah, actively working through our heart, the place of love in our human body.
The reason many people never receive revelation is because they refuse to, “throw the switch”, so to speak, and allow the agape love of life to flow through their inner man. The life of Yahveh is put in us, and this life will issue forth from our spirit. It is our conscience, mind, will, and emotion, that sometimes prevents us from allowing His life to flow freely through us. Rom. 12:1-2 “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of Yahveh, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to Yahveh, {which is} your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of Yahveh is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” When our heart is completely turned to Yahveh, He will guide us and support us that we may have strength within, to obey Him. When both our inward and outward state has changed, then we know that we love YHVH “with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength”.
The following are a few scriptures that discuss the danger of following our heart of stone: Gen. 6:5 “Then Adonai saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Prov. 28:26 “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will be delivered.” Jer. 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” Eccl. 9:3 “This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they {go} to the dead.” Again. here it tells us how dangerous our hearts are. We must “never trust our heart, unless it is truly lead by our spirit.
OUR WILL
It would be correct to say that there are two massive contradictory wills throughout the universe. On the one side stands the holy and perfect will of Elohim; on the other is arrayed the defiled, defiling, and opposing will of Satan. In between these two stands the sovereign independent free will of man. The resulting control of this will for good or for evil is what makes us true servants of Yah or of Satan; there is no in-between.
The importance of our spirit cannot be overstated, but we must remember the spirit does not represent the whole man, for it is but his organ for communication with Yah. The body cannot stand for the whole of man either, because it is only the part by which to communicate with the world in general. The will however embodies man’s authentic attitude, intention and condition. It is the source, or mechanism in man that most closely corresponds to man himself. A man’s will is his organ for decision making. To want or not to want, to choose or not to choose. The will of man can be taken as the real man, for it truly represents him. The action of the will is the action of the man. Man’s volition acts for the entirety of the man. Our emotion merely expresses how we feel; our mind simply identifies my what we think; but our will communicates what we want. It is because of that power that it is the most influential component of our entire person. Like the sail of a ship, our will determines which way we will go, what decisions we will make and exactly how, when, where, and why those decisions will be made. Our will determines who we are as a human being, whether we are spiritual born again Believers or secular. Man’s will and how his actions follow his will is what others see as the real person. This will must be united with Yah or it is only of value to the flesh or the enemy. Once man’s will is united with the will of Yahveh, the man is spontaneously fully submissive to Yah. Let me put it this way. Because of Adam’s disobedience we perish; through the obedience of Yeshua we have salvation made available to us. Formerly we were “son’s of disobedience”, but Yah wants us to now be “son’s of obedience”. Disobedience is to follow ones own will; obedience means to follow the will of the Almighty. One of the main purposes of salvation is to encourage us to deny our natural will and have it united with the will of the Father. Our will should be in union (echad) with the will of the Father if we are to be blessed in our personal relationship with Him.
WHERE IS YOUR SOUL?
Our soul is clearly in our blood. In Lev. 17:11 it says ”For the life of the flesh is in the blood” Our life (soul) is in our blood. That is why we say there is so much, “ power in the blood”!
WHEN WAS YOUR SOUL CREATED?
The “soul” and “spirit” are created the instant the male sperm penetrates the egg of a woman. The body then grows around the soul and spirit in the womb. In Ps. 139:13-15 it says “For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst weave me in my mothers womb. I will give thanks to thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are thy works and my soul knows it very well”
THE PRIMARY FUNCTIONS OF THE SOUL:
Will The soul is the part in us that says “I want,” or “I will,” or, “I won’t”
Emotions “I feel”, emotions are not bad, but they are not to be trusted, because they are not spiritual.
Intellect “I think”, reasoning, logic, and imagination, are all part of our intellect.
The two most “soulish” words that are being used today to get people’s emotions aroused around the world are “love” and “peace”. Both of these words are being regularly used by leaders, politicians etc., to deceive people into doing things that the emotions have control over. There is certainly nothing wrong with love and peace, if the events associated with them are lead by the Spirit, but in 99% of the cases they are not. People say YHVH is love and therefore anything to do with love is approved by YHVH. This is totally untrue. Our Ha Shem is a loving Father, but as anyone knows, fathers must discipline their children when they do wrong. Our YHVH constantly disciplines those He loves, because His is just that, our Father (Hebr. 12:6). Furthermore, the loosely used word, “peace,” is commonly used to stir up the emotions of the nations of the world. What most people don’t seem to realize, is that, peace without righteousness, is not proper. These two words will be used to manipulate mankind as long as mankind is allowed to exist. Even the “elect” may be deceived.
HOW CAN OUR SOUL BE AFFECTED?
1. Your soul can be torn in pieces, branded, hunted, imprisoned, snatched away, cleaved, or tied to another, through sexual relations.
Gen. 34:2-4 “And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.” And he was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young girl for a wife.” Josh. 23:12 “For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know with certainty that Adonai your YHVH will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they shall be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which Adonai your YHVH has given you.” (1 Kings 11:2,)
2. Your soul can be redeemed, ransomed, atoned, knitted with another soul, dried.
Ps. 34:22 “Adonai redeems the soul of His servants; And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.” Ps. 49:8 “For the redemption of his soul is costly, And he should cease {trying} forever”
1Sam. 18:1 “Now it came about when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself.” Exod. 30:12-15 “When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to Adonai, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them. “This is what everyone who is numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to Adonai. “Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to Adonai. “The rich shall not pay more, and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to Adonai to make atonement for yourselves.” (also Num. 11:6)
3. Your soul can be cursed by word of mouth, be made an offering, poured out, be unstable, beguiled, entrapped.
Job 31:30 “No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for his life in a curse.” Isa. 53:10-11“But Adonai was pleased To crush Him, putting {Him} to grief; If He would render Himself {as} a guilt offering, He will see {His} offspring, He will prolong {His} days, And the good pleasure of Adonai will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see {it} and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.” (2 Peter 2:14)
4. Your soul can be satisfied, filled, devoured, killed, destroyed.
Ps. 107:9 “For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.” Ezek. 22:25 “There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst, like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her.” Matt. 10:28 “And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
5. Your soul can be subverted, sorrowful, pierced, become lean, made empty, be cast or bowed down.
Matt. 26:28 “for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” Acts 15:24 “Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with {their} words, unsettling your souls,” Ps. 44:25 “For our soul has sunk down into the dust; Our body cleaves to the earth”. Ps. 42:5 Why are you in despair, O my soul? And {why} have you become disturbed within me? Hope in YHVH, for I shall again praise Him {For} the help of His presence. O my YHVH, my soul is in despair within me; Therefore I remember Thee from the land of the Jordan, And the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.” (Luke 2:35, Psalm 106:15, Isa 32:6,) “
6. Your soul may thirst and pant after YHVH, spoiled or humbled, grieved, vexed or in bitterness.
Ps. 42:1 “AS the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for Thee, O YHVH.” My soul thirsts for YHVH, for the living YHVH; When shall I come and appear before YHVH?” Job 16:16 “My face is flushed from weeping, And deep darkness is on my eyelids,” Jgs. 16:16 “And it came about when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was annoyed to death.” (Psalm 35:12-13, Judges 10:16,1 Sam 1:10)
7. Your soul can be double minded, alienated, made abominable to YHVH, be like minded, feeble minded, in one accord.
James 1:8 “{being} a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” James 4:8 “Draw near to Yahveh and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
Lev. 20:25 “You are therefore to make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything that creeps on the ground, which I have separated for you as unclean” Phil. 2:2 “make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.” (Ezek. 23:17-22, Ths. 5:14)
8. Your soul can also turn after familiar spirits, or lust after something forbidden.
Lev. 20:26 “Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I Adonai am holy; and I have set you apart from the people’s to be Mine.” Deut. 14:26 “And you may spend the money for whatever your heart desires, for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatever your heart desires; and there you shall eat in the presence of Adonai your Yahveh and rejoice, you and your household.” Rev. 18:14 “And the fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and {men} will no longer find them.”
MANIFESTATIONS OF THE SOUL
SOUL POWER
The things that are part of our human life, such as thinking and speaking, are incredible assets, but the “soul power” within us is untapped. Various occults, religions (such as parapsychology and Satanism, etc.), have proven that the power of the soul can be released by various methods. These artificially induced methods may include hypnotism, neurology, psychometry, and numberless other occult practices. By miraculously manipulating these strange phenomena, religions, and sciences have been created. Psychologists declare that within man is a tremendous array of power: the power of self-control, creative power, reconstructive power, the power of faith, the power of quickening, the power of revivification. These powers of the soul can all be released by man. Many psychologists proclaim that, “all human’s are god’s”, that, “god is imprisoned in us”. Many claim that by releasing the god within us we all become god’s. These are words taken right out of Satan’s mouth.
Soul power is what the New Age and Eastern Cults use to congere up miracles by astral projection, channeling, apporting, etc.. Hindu’s use soul power to see things of the future. They use the forces of soul rather than spirit. Adept people can consciously see the minds of others. An adept person can act with his soul force on external spirits. He can accelerate the growth of plants and quench fire; and, like Daniel, subdue ferocious animals. An adept person can transport his soul to a distant place (astral projection), and there read the thoughts of others as well as speak to and touch distant objects. He can even exhibit his spiritual body to friends and relatives in the exact likeness of his own body at a distance. He can even create the likeness of any physical object out of no-where and command physical objects to come into his presence. Back in Biblical times when Aaron turned his staff into a snake, magicians duplicated his miracle with this same soul energy.
At the time of Adams fall, Elohim had not withdrawn his “supernatural power” from him, but had it fall within. It became imprisoned in his body and couldn’t be expressed. The things that are part of our human life, such as thinking and speaking, are incredible assets, but the soul power within us is untapped.
Yah never works with man’s soul power. When we are “born again,” we are born of Elohim’s Spirit. Yah works by His Holy Spirit through our renewed spirit. Yahveh doesn’t want or have anything to do with soul power. Since the fall, Ha Shem forbid man to use his soul power. This is the reason Yahveh declares that we need to lose our soul life, that is, our soul power. That is not to say that all the wonders performed around the world are soulish; it just means that we as Believers must be very careful in this last age to discern the phenomena taking place around us. We must be sure the energy being used to create these phenomena isn’t the energy of the latent soul ,whether or not it is intentional.
Most curses from mankind receive their power from the “latent power of man’s soul”. This, “inner soul power”, is to be lead by the spirit of man, when it isn’t, many strange things can occur. This power is only to be directed by the Holy Spirit, through man’s spirit, or it is dangerous. In days of old, the Biblical Prophets and other great leaders, proclaimed curses with the approval and guidance of Adonai. Yahveh was the one who determined whether or not He would grant their taking place. They relied entirely on Yah’s power and authority as to whether or not they were properly directed. They didn’t try to use their psychic energy.
Satan is now manipulating this soul power to serve as a substitute for Yah’s gospel and its power. Wherever there is soul power and the power of suggestion, there is the evil spirit. (Rom. 7:21-23)
Soulish wisdom becomes “devilish/demonic” James 3:15 “This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.”
Elohim’s Spirit works in man through the human spirit, but now Satan forges in man’s soul many phenomena manifestations similar to those of the Holy Spirit. This causes man to experience false regeneration, false joy, false salvation, false revival, false repentance, and other counterfeits of Holy Spirit experiences. Again Satan will imitate Yah, he will use man’s soul as his tool for his final rebellion against Ha Shem in the last days. 2Ths. 2:7-11 “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains {will do so} until he is taken out of the way. And then that lawless one will be revealed whom Adonai will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; {that is,} the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. And for this reason Yahveh will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false,” Please notice in this verse it says “Yahveh” will send them deluding influences. Like the cliché says “If you resist Yahveh long enough He will assist you in resisting Him”. The charismatic groups will be and are already, the first ones deceived when the anti-Messiah comes because they have come to accept that all supernatural power comes, from Ha Shem. Satan will destroy them by the millions because they are easily deceived. Many of them have forgotten that not all signs and wonders are from Yahveh. They have been tricked by many false signs and wonders they have been seeing in their own churches. They don’t know how to test the spirits, because the spirits are mixed, and the people aren’t holy.
SOUL
WHAT IS OUR SOUL?
Aside from having a spirit, which enables us to communicate with Yahveh, man also possesses a soul, his self-consciousness. Man is made conscious of his existance by the works of his soul. The soul is best defined as the seat of the personality, consisting of the will and the intellect, or mind. It is that which makes us aware of the spiritual world, and the body, which allows us contact with the world of nature and the five senses. The Bible even defines man as a “soul”, (Strongs #5315), as if it were the only part of man. In Gen. 12:5 we see it refers to people as “souls”. We see this idea again in Gen. 46:27 “all the souls of the house of Jacob”. Man’s existence, characteristics and life are all in the soul.
Our personality consists of three main things: emotion, mind and will. Through emotion we are able to express our likes and dislikes, love, or hate, joy, or anger, happiness, or sadness. Through our mind, our intellectual thoughts manifest into intellectual (soul), power. The proper use of this intellectual knowledge, and the fear of Yah, gives us wisdom, knowledge and reasoning.
A) The soul’s ability to direct the will is spoken of in the following scriptures: Ezek. 15:27, “delivered you up”, Deut. 21:14, “you shall let her go”, Job 7:15, “chooseth”, Ps. 27:12, “give me not up”, Ps. 41:2, “thou doest not give him up”, Num. 30:2, “or swear an oath”.
B) The soul’s ability of the intellect, or mind, is spoken of in the following scriptures: Prov. 19;2, “that a soul without knowledge is no good”, Lam. 3:20, “my soul continually thinks of it”, Prov. 24:14, “wisdom is such to your soul”, Ps. 13:2, “how long must I bear pain”.
C) The soul’s ability of emotion, feelings, desire, and affection, is spoken of in the following scriptures: Luke 1:46, “my soul magnifies Adonai”, 2Sam. 5:8, “who are hated by David’s soul”, Zech. 11:8, “my soul was vexed with them”, Job 10:1, “my soul is weary of my life”, Deut. 6:5, “you shall love Adonai your Yahveh”, Ezek. 24:21, “your soul’s longing”, Jdg. 10:16, “his soul was grieved”, Ps. 119:20, “my soul is consumed with longing”.
This “soul,” has the power of choice, in regards to that which world will dominate or control the entire man. All souls belong to Yah, He gave them to us, and it is important that we maintain possession of them for our sakes. Ezek. 18:4 “Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.
The soul consists of imagination, self-centeredness, self-pity, self-interest, self-preservation, and thoughts and affections which make it corruptible. This things give Satan access through his evil means. Soul stands for our personality, for what makes us a man. In Gen. 46:27 it says “All the souls of the house of Jacob, that came into Egypt, were three score and ten.” in Acts 2:44 it says “there were added unto them in that day about three thousand souls” Meaning each person has a soul.
The soul is translated as “life” in many places in our Good Book. The following are some examples: Gen. 9:4-5, “Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, {that is,} its blood.”, Lev. 17:11, “The life of the flesh is in the blood”, Matt. 2:20, “those who sought the childs life are dead”, Acts 20:24, “I do not account my life of any value”, Matt. 20:28, “to give his life as a ransom for many”, John 10:11, “the good sheperd lays down his life for the sheep”.
Blessings come from our soul if we are spirit led (Gen. 27:4, 19, 25, & 31). When Isaac blessed Jacob, he said Gen. 27:4 and prepare a savory dish for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die.”
Some believe there are three levels of the soul which control the human spirit if it is not lead by the Holy Spirit, the conscious, sub-conscious, and a deep third unconscious level (three levels of the mind). It is said that it is the third level that demons take advantage of.
The outward man (soul/flesh/old nature), is the greatest hindrance to the ministry of the word of Yah.
The Bible makes it clear to us how important our soul is in Matt. 16:26 “For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
The soul, consisting of will, emotion, and intellect, is our personality. Matt. 26:38 “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death” Luke 1:46 “My soul exalts Adonai” John 12:27 “Now my soul has become troubled” Luke 21:19 “By your endurance you will gain your lives” 2Pet. 2:8 “felt his righteous soul tormented day after day” and verse 14 “enticing unstable souls” These passages reveal to us that our soul has the capacity for torment, exaltation, endurance, grief, trouble, and enticement, when directed effectively by the spirit.
There is a Jewish belief that when Yah created the world, He also created the souls of all the people who would ever live. These souls are in the loins of their fathers, so that every man carries around with him the souls of his descendants. To bring these souls into the world, he needs the assistance of a woman, who becomes the vehicle for bearing his children. This is why the genealogy tables only show the paternal line. The concept of men bearing the souls of their descendants is given in Hebrews as follows: Hebr. 7:9-10 “And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.”
The elements which make us human, belong to the soul. Intellect, love, discernment, decision, thought, ideals, emotion, and choice, are examples of experiences of the soul. The soul is made up of: the heart, mind, intellect, reasoning, emotions, will, sub-conscious, conscious, sensuality, and ego. The soul is the place in the body that the information from your five senses has it’s effect. It has the responsibility for making personal decisions, and expresses itself in three phrases: “I want”, “I think”, “I feel”. Unless touched by the supernatural grace of Yah, all of human behavior is controlled by these three motivations.
One who has a soulish life is absorbed with possessions of all kinds: houses, cars, clothing, furniture etc., and neglects the need of attention to the kingdom of Yah and all things pertaining to it.
The Greek word for soul is pronounced (sike) “psukhe” which is where we get the English, psychology and psychiatry from, meaning “soul”, “I”, a singular individuals soul. That is one of the reasons psychology, psychiatry, etc., cannot be used in a holy manner. These religions are not based on the “Spirit”, they are based and centered on the “soul”, or “I”, rather than “Yeshua centered”. The commonly used terms, Christian psychology, “Christian psychiatry,” etc., are oxymorons, they can’t exist, they are secular, not holy. These religions are an insult to all Believers. THERE IS NO DIFFERANCE BETWEEN SO-CALLED CHRISTIAN PSYCHOLOGY AND SECULAR PSYCHOLOGY.
The mind, emotion and will are man’s psychic organs, which he cannot help but use. If man does not use them, the evil spirits will take over their usage. If man decides to use the soul power behind these psychic abilities, and doesn’t care what God says about it, the evil spirits will begin to give him evidence of all kinds of counterfeit miracles. One must understand that all the works done by the soul and it’s psychic law are imitations of the real thing. The Holy Spirit is the only one that can do true miracles of divine nature. The Holy Spirit of Elohim has its own law, its own way of doing things, with, and through us. In Rom. 8:2 “the law of the Spirit of life” is referring to the Holy Spirit which is the real thing. The law of the Holy Spirit is set in place by Yah. All wonders, signs and miracles performed according to the law of the Holy Spirit come, of course, divinely from Yah.
“Nephesh” is Hebrew for SOUL. When Yeshua’s blood drained from his body He gave up His life (soul) for us. In Acts 17:26 it says the same blood is in all mankind, “and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined {their} appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation,” In Isa. 53:12 it says “Because he poured out himself to death”
In Gen. 2:7 “Then Adonai YHVH formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being” This literally means Yah gave us a body and breathed into it, to form a “living soul.”
The soul is the bridge between the spirit and the body. Our soul is the result of the union of Yah’s breath and our earthly body, unique in all of us. The soul is the connection between the spiritual realm and the physical realm, the meeting of the breath and the body.
Gal. 5:19-25 “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissension’s, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of YHVH. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Messiah Yeshua have crucified the flesh with it’s passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”
Our soul is discribed in Rom. 7:18-25 “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good {is} not. For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.”I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of YHVH in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to YHVH through Yeshua our Adonai! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of YHVH, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”
According to the Bible, the potential power of the soul of an unbeliever is divided in two. The first one is what you might call the ordinary powers we use daily, while the second is a miraculous kind that can be manifested through various inner channels connected with psychic and occult practices. One is natural while the other seems supernatural, one seems to be humanly comprehensible, while the other seems to be beyond human comprehension.
In Hebr. 4:12 it says “For the word of YHVH is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit” This means clearly that the soul and the spirit are two separate things.
The word soulish is used to mean things pertaining to the soul. The word “sensual” can be substituted for “soulish”.
In Rom. 12:2 “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind”, means our mind, will and emotions (soul), must be re-trained and transformed.
In Latin the word for soul is “anima” (the animating principle of the body).
OUR HEART
When the word “heart” is used in the scriptures it is thought to generally be referring to what we think of as the “soul”, however if we look closely, we will see a difference between the two.
The Re-newed covenant is offered to those who accept it and the conditions attached to it. Our re-newed covenant is spoken of in Ezek. 36:26 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.” Here we see Ezekiel speaking of a new heart of flesh, being given to us who accept the re-newed covenant. The acceptance of this covenant in our heart gives us the ability to let Yah’s life work through our spirit and inner being, so as to walk as He walked, and follow the statutes and ordinances of Yahveh, without even thinking about it.
When we are regenerated and accept the fullness of Yah’s covenants, we are given a new heart of flesh, even though our old heart of stone is still in place. In a symbolic sense, we could say we have two hearts, a heart of flesh, and a heart of stone. Our stony heart isn’t so easily removed, it is a long process, a gradual softening that takes place over a period of time. The length of time it takes for our heart of stone to be softened is in direct relation to the amount that we want to truly love and follow Elohim. As our stony heart is gradually transformed into a heart of flesh, the life of Yahveh is progressively able to operate through us without hindrance.
The progress of our life in Yeshua hinges on the transformation of our heart, whether it remains stone or softens into flesh. If our heart has given priority to anyone or anything outside of God the operation of our life will be hindered. Mark 12:30 “AND YOU SHALL LOVE ADONAI YOUR YHVH WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’
For the love of Yahveh to truly work through us, He must have full access to it, so He can soften it for us and allow His law of life to flow freely. If we are rebellious against Yahveh, He will keep bringing us back until we get it right. The children of Israel with the golden calf are a good example of where Yahveh had to literally smite them to bring them back to Himself. Another example is someone who is so into his business that he loses his connection with Yahveh and starts to get into the love of the world. Adonai may warn him three, ten, twenty times about his failure to follow Him, until it gets to the point where Yahveh Himself makes the persons business fail so the person comes back in line with the word and life of Yah. It’s up to us how many laps we want to make around the mountain before we get it right. We can go cautiously and with the guidance of Yah once around, or go on our own, using our own means, many times around the mountain, till we realize that He has to lead us. If we fall enough times, eventually we will see the light and start to listen to what we know is correct. Hebr. 12:6-7 “FOR THOSE WHOM ADONAI LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.” It is for discipline that you endure; YHVH deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom {his} father does not discipline? For those who depend strictly on Yah’s grace and don’t want discipline, this may be a serious verse for an awakening. We are all disciplined by the loving hand of Yahveh each time we fall away from His Torah.
This is also spoken of in Jer. 31:33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares Adonai, “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their YHVH, and they shall be My people.” As per the scriptures; the heart seems to embrace the following parts of the human personality.
1. Our conscience is attached to our heart. Our conscience is within the realm of our heart. As per 1John 3:20 “our heart condemns us”. As per Hebr. 10:22 “having our hearts sprinkled {clean} from an evil conscience”
2. Our mind is linked to our heart. Mark 2:6 “reasoning in their hearts,” Matt. 9:4 “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? Luke 1:51 “the thoughts of their heart.” Luke 24:38 “why do doubts arise in your hearts?
(also Hebr. 4:12, Luke 2:19)
3. Our emotion is joined to our heart. John 14:27 “Let not your heart be troubled”. Luke 24:32 “Were not our hearts burning within us”.
4. Our free will is attached to our heart. Hebr. 4:12 “intents of the heart”. 2Cor. 9:7 “purposed in his heart”. Rom. 6:17 “ ye became obedient from the heart” (also Acts 11:23).
Considering the above scriptures, I affirm that the heart is linked to the mind, will, conscience, and emotion. The soul is directly linked to the heart, through the blood. This is not to claim that the conscience, mind, emotions, and will are the heart, but that they are linked.
Our heart is where our emotions manifest. Our emotion emits joy, cheerfulness, happiness, elation, excitement, aspiration, covetousness, moaning, misery, sorrow, despondency, compassion, kindness, expectation, fear, pride, hate, remorse, stimulation, grief, melancholy, rejection, dejection, confusion, anxiety, zeal, affection, coldness, interest, expectation, etc. These thoughts and actions must be under the control of our spirit or we will get in trouble every time.
Your heart is similar to a light switch; when the switch is on (closed), the power of Yah’s Spirit flows through and makes the light shine. If our heart is open to the Spirit, Yah can communicate with us freely, but if we are resistant to the prompting of His Spirit, and refuse to let His life work through us, then we simply exist. The amount of His life that we allow to flow through the switch in our heart is the amount that our conscience, will, emotion, and mind, will be affected in our daily walk with Yahveh. With our heart switch on, we allow His life to reach through our inner most parts and the results is, us following His laws of life without even thinking about it. His life then flows through us and enters into the lives of those around us by the way of blessings and anointing. This spiritual law of life is simply His Torah, actively working through our heart, the place of love in our human body.
The reason many people never receive revelation is because they refuse to, “throw the switch”, so to speak, and allow the agape love of life to flow through their inner man. The life of Yahveh is put in us, and this life will issue forth from our spirit. It is our conscience, mind, will, and emotion, that sometimes prevents us from allowing His life to flow freely through us. Rom. 12:1-2 “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of Yahveh, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to Yahveh, {which is} your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of Yahveh is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” When our heart is completely turned to Yahveh, He will guide us and support us that we may have strength within, to obey Him. When both our inward and outward state has changed, then we know that we love YHVH “with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength”.
The following are a few scriptures that discuss the danger of following our heart of stone: Gen. 6:5 “Then Adonai saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Prov. 28:26 “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will be delivered.” Jer. 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” Eccl. 9:3 “This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they {go} to the dead.” Again. here it tells us how dangerous our hearts are. We must “never trust our heart, unless it is truly lead by our spirit.
OUR WILL
It would be correct to say that there are two massive contradictory wills throughout the universe. On the one side stands the holy and perfect will of Elohim; on the other is arrayed the defiled, defiling, and opposing will of Satan. In between these two stands the sovereign independent free will of man. The resulting control of this will for good or for evil is what makes us true servants of Yah or of Satan; there is no in-between.
The importance of our spirit cannot be overstated, but we must remember the spirit does not represent the whole man, for it is but his organ for communication with Yah. The body cannot stand for the whole of man either, because it is only the part by which to communicate with the world in general. The will however embodies man’s authentic attitude, intention and condition. It is the source, or mechanism in man that most closely corresponds to man himself. A man’s will is his organ for decision making. To want or not to want, to choose or not to choose. The will of man can be taken as the real man, for it truly represents him. The action of the will is the action of the man. Man’s volition acts for the entirety of the man. Our emotion merely expresses how we feel; our mind simply identifies my what we think; but our will communicates what we want. It is because of that power that it is the most influential component of our entire person. Like the sail of a ship, our will determines which way we will go, what decisions we will make and exactly how, when, where, and why those decisions will be made. Our will determines who we are as a human being, whether we are spiritual born again Believers or secular. Man’s will and how his actions follow his will is what others see as the real person. This will must be united with Yah or it is only of value to the flesh or the enemy. Once man’s will is united with the will of Yahveh, the man is spontaneously fully submissive to Yah. Let me put it this way. Because of Adam’s disobedience we perish; through the obedience of Yeshua we have salvation made available to us. Formerly we were “son’s of disobedience”, but Yah wants us to now be “son’s of obedience”. Disobedience is to follow ones own will; obedience means to follow the will of the Almighty. One of the main purposes of salvation is to encourage us to deny our natural will and have it united with the will of the Father. Our will should be in union (echad) with the will of the Father if we are to be blessed in our personal relationship with Him.
WHERE IS YOUR SOUL?
Our soul is clearly in our blood. In Lev. 17:11 it says ”For the life of the flesh is in the blood” Our life (soul) is in our blood. That is why we say there is so much, “ power in the blood”!
WHEN WAS YOUR SOUL CREATED?
The “soul” and “spirit” are created the instant the male sperm penetrates the egg of a woman. The body then grows around the soul and spirit in the womb. In Ps. 139:13-15 it says “For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst weave me in my mothers womb. I will give thanks to thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are thy works and my soul knows it very well”
THE PRIMARY FUNCTIONS OF THE SOUL:
Will The soul is the part in us that says “I want,” or “I will,” or, “I won’t”
Emotions “I feel”, emotions are not bad, but they are not to be trusted, because they are not spiritual.
Intellect “I think”, reasoning, logic, and imagination, are all part of our intellect.
The two most “soulish” words that are being used today to get people’s emotions aroused around the world are “love” and “peace”. Both of these words are being regularly used by leaders, politicians etc., to deceive people into doing things that the emotions have control over. There is certainly nothing wrong with love and peace, if the events associated with them are lead by the Spirit, but in 99% of the cases they are not. People say YHVH is love and therefore anything to do with love is approved by YHVH. This is totally untrue. Our Ha Shem is a loving Father, but as anyone knows, fathers must discipline their children when they do wrong. Our YHVH constantly disciplines those He loves, because His is just that, our Father (Hebr. 12:6). Furthermore, the loosely used word, “peace,” is commonly used to stir up the emotions of the nations of the world. What most people don’t seem to realize, is that, peace without righteousness, is not proper. These two words will be used to manipulate mankind as long as mankind is allowed to exist. Even the “elect” may be deceived.
HOW CAN OUR SOUL BE AFFECTED?
1. Your soul can be torn in pieces, branded, hunted, imprisoned, snatched away, cleaved, or tied to another, through sexual relations.
Gen. 34:2-4 “And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.” And he was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young girl for a wife.” Josh. 23:12 “For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know with certainty that Adonai your YHVH will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they shall be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which Adonai your YHVH has given you.” (1 Kings 11:2,)
2. Your soul can be redeemed, ransomed, atoned, knitted with another soul, dried.
Ps. 34:22 “Adonai redeems the soul of His servants; And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.” Ps. 49:8 “For the redemption of his soul is costly, And he should cease {trying} forever”
1Sam. 18:1 “Now it came about when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself.” Exod. 30:12-15 “When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to Adonai, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them. “This is what everyone who is numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to Adonai. “Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to Adonai. “The rich shall not pay more, and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to Adonai to make atonement for yourselves.” (also Num. 11:6)
3. Your soul can be cursed by word of mouth, be made an offering, poured out, be unstable, beguiled, entrapped.
Job 31:30 “No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for his life in a curse.” Isa. 53:10-11“But Adonai was pleased To crush Him, putting {Him} to grief; If He would render Himself {as} a guilt offering, He will see {His} offspring, He will prolong {His} days, And the good pleasure of Adonai will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see {it} and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.” (2 Peter 2:14)
4. Your soul can be satisfied, filled, devoured, killed, destroyed.
Ps. 107:9 “For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.” Ezek. 22:25 “There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst, like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her.” Matt. 10:28 “And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
5. Your soul can be subverted, sorrowful, pierced, become lean, made empty, be cast or bowed down.
Matt. 26:28 “for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” Acts 15:24 “Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with {their} words, unsettling your souls,” Ps. 44:25 “For our soul has sunk down into the dust; Our body cleaves to the earth”. Ps. 42:5 “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And {why} have you become disturbed within me? Hope in YHVH, for I shall again praise Him {For} the help of His presence. O my YHVH, my soul is in despair within me; Therefore I remember Thee from the land of the Jordan, And the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.” (Luke 2:35, Psalm 106:15, Isa 32:6,)
6. Your soul may thirst and pant after YHVH, spoiled or humbled, grieved, vexed or in bitterness.
Ps. 42:1 “AS the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for Thee, O YHVH.” My soul thirsts for YHVH, for the living YHVH; When shall I come and appear before YHVH?” Job 16:16 “My face is flushed from weeping, And deep darkness is on my eyelids,” Jgs. 16:16 “And it came about when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was annoyed to death.” (Psalm 35:12-13, Judges 10:16,1 Sam 1:10)
7. Your soul can be double minded, alienated, made abominable to YHVH, be like minded, feeble minded, in one accord.
James 1:8 “{being} a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” James 4:8 “Draw near to Yahveh and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
Lev. 20:25 “You are therefore to make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything that creeps on the ground, which I have separated for you as unclean” Phil. 2:2 “make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.” (Ezek. 23:17-22, Ths. 5:14)
8. Your soul can also turn after familiar spirits, or lust after something forbidden.
Lev. 20:26 “Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I Adonai am holy; and I have set you apart from the people’s to be Mine.” Deut. 14:26 “And you may spend the money for whatever your heart desires, for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatever your heart desires; and there you shall eat in the presence of Adonai your Yahveh and rejoice, you and your household.” Rev. 18:14 “And the fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and {men} will no longer find them.”
MANIFESTATIONS OF THE SOUL
SOUL POWER
The things that are part of our human life, such as thinking and speaking, are incredible assets, but the “soul power” within us is untapped. Various occults, religions (such as parapsychology and Satanism, etc.), have proven that the power of the soul can be released by various methods. These artificially induced methods may include hypnotism, neurology, psychometry, and numberless other occult practices. By miraculously manipulating these strange phenomena, religions, and sciences have been created. Psychologists declare that within man is a tremendous array of power: the power of self-control, creative power, reconstructive power, the power of faith, the power of quickening, the power of revivification. These powers of the soul can all be released by man. Many psychologists proclaim that, “all human’s are god’s”, that, “god is imprisoned in us”. Many claim that by releasing the god within us we all become god’s. These are words taken right out of Satan’s mouth.
Soul power is what the New Age and Eastern Cults use to congere up miracles by astral projection, channeling, apporting, etc.. Hindu’s use soul power to see things of the future. They use the forces of soul rather than spirit. Adept people can consciously see the minds of others. An adept person can act with his soul force on external spirits. He can accelerate the growth of plants and quench fire; and, like Daniel, subdue ferocious animals. An adept person can transport his soul to a distant place (astral projection), and there read the thoughts of others as well as speak to and touch distant objects. He can even exhibit his spiritual body to friends and relatives in the exact likeness of his own body at a distance. He can even create the likeness of any physical object out of no-where and command physical objects to come into his presence. Back in Biblical times when Aaron turned his staff into a snake, magicians duplicated his miracle with this same soul energy.
At the time of Adams fall, Elohim had not withdrawn his “supernatural power” from him, but had it fall within. It became imprisoned in his body and couldn’t be expressed. The things that are part of our human life, such as thinking and speaking, are incredible assets, but the soul power within us is untapped.
Yah never works with man’s soul power. When we are “born again,” we are born of Elohim’s Spirit. Yah works by His Holy Spirit through our renewed spirit. Yahveh doesn’t want or have anything to do with soul power. Since the fall, Ha Shem forbid man to use his soul power. This is the reason Yahveh declares that we need to lose our soul life, that is, our soul power. That is not to say that all the wonders performed around the world are soulish; it just means that we as Believers must be very careful in this last age to discern the phenomena taking place around us. We must be sure the energy being used to create these phenomena isn’t the energy of the latent soul ,whether or not it is intentional.
Most curses from mankind receive their power from the “latent power of man’s soul”. This, “inner soul power”, is to be lead by the spirit of man, when it isn’t, many strange things can occur. This power is only to be directed by the Holy Spirit, through man’s spirit, or it is dangerous. In days of old, the Biblical Prophets and other great leaders, proclaimed curses with the approval and guidance of Adonai. Yahveh was the one who determined whether or not He would grant their taking place. They relied entirely on Yah’s power and authority as to whether or not they were properly directed. They didn’t try to use their psychic energy.
Satan is now manipulating this soul power to serve as a substitute for Yah’s gospel and its power. Wherever there is soul power and the power of suggestion, there is the evil spirit. (Rom. 7:21-23)
Soulish wisdom becomes “devilish/demonic” James 3:15 “This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.”
Elohim’s Spirit works in man through the human spirit, but now Satan forges in man’s soul many phenomena manifestations similar to those of the Holy Spirit. This causes man to experience false regeneration, false joy, false salvation, false revival, false repentance, and other counterfeits of Holy Spirit experiences. Again Satan will imitate Yah, he will use man’s soul as his tool for his final rebellion against Ha Shem in the last days. 2Ths. 2:7-11 “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains {will do so} until he is taken out of the way. And then that lawless one will be revealed whom Adonai will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; {that is,} the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. And for this reason Yahveh will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false,” Please notice in this verse it says “Yahveh” will send them deluding influences. Like the cliché says “If you resist Yahveh long enough He will assist you in resisting Him”. The charismatic groups will be and are already, the first ones deceived when the anti-Messiah comes because they have come to accept that all supernatural power comes, from Ha Shem. Satan will destroy them by the millions because they are easily deceived. Many of them have forgotten that not all signs and wonders are from Yahveh. They have been tricked by many false signs and wonders they have been seeing in their own churches. They don’t know how to test the spirits, because the spirits are mixed, and the people aren’t holy.
The psychic force of our soul will not profit anyone, so we must be careful not to use it, for it cannot help people. It in fact hinders Yah’s work. We must lay down our soul power. All that is of the soul is of no avail. Although the soul is alive, it has no way to make others live.
John 12:24-25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. “He who loves his life loses it; and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal.” In this passage the word “life” in Greek is referring to the “soul life”. Simply stated, it means that, “whosoever desires to preserve his soul life shall lose his soul life; but whosoever loses his soul life shall keep his soul life to eternity”. If the Believer doesn’t put aside his soul life, his spirit can’t do the work required to profit other people. Like a grain of wheat, our soul can’t produce fruit. Our spirit is the only thing that is life giving to others.
In 1Sam. 6:7 “Yahveh sees not as a man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but Adonai looks at the heart”
Everything we do is guided by the decision of our soul, either “I will” or “I won’t”, the amount that our soul influences us to make these decisions, is our personality. Our spirit (if born again) influences our soul’s decisions. Our spirit and soul come together at our heart, (where love is), and there the decision is made, according to the dominant influence.
Most people don’t realize they have a spirit, until they are baptized in the Holy Spirit, because their spirit is imprisoned until then.
Demonic forces are always trying to influence our body and soul to do something wrong, like watch bad TV programs, swearing, taking drugs etc.. If we allow the bad influence to turn into something we do, it becomes a sin. After it becomes a sin, Satan may have a legal right to get a demon inside our body, in our soul, or mind. This influence then becomes part of our personality. Then the demon spirit will continually influence our thought patterns pertaining to its particular area, e.g.. lust, fear etc.. This inner voice is what most people call our “conscience”. It is either the Holy Spirit leading us to do what is right and proper, or an evil spirit leading us to do what we know is not morally correct or acceptable. Rom. 8:8 “Those who are in the flesh cannot please Yahveh.”
If we desire Adonai to work through us, we must ask Him to bind our soul life; otherwise he is not free to work.
Our soul is not protected by the armor of Yah, (Eph. 6), just our spirit.
Non stop laughing, experienced by some church people, is frequently thought of as from the Holy Spirit, but is often from the soul, demonic.
The following is a simple way to test if the manifestations in a situation are controlled by soul power or not. Simply take the physical manifestations taking place and multiply them by one hundred. If it remains Holy, it is spiritual, if not, it is the counterfeit soul power.
SOUL PRAYER
Soul-force is the power used to answer many prayers of Believers of the Eastern religions, and is commonly used by Believers today without them even realizing it. Many prayers of Believers are answered by the projection of the latent power of the soul, and not from Yah. These people accomplish the same goals as the Muslims without knowing it. We should constantly ask Adonai to give us the ability to discern between the soul power (positive thinking power), and prayer power, we come in contact with. Unfortunately the prayers of many Believers are not answered by Yah, but are attained by the projection of the soul’s latent power. These people accomplish almost the same goals the way the Muslims do. Quite often in Christian meetings you can sense a sort of power pressing in on everyone, or even at times of prayer or Bible readings you may feel oppressed without any reason. All these oppressions come from Satan, who uses psychic forces to depress us, or to assault us. Since the whole atmosphere of the world is heavily charged with psychic force, we as Believers need to always cover ourselves with the precious blood of Yeshua so we cannot be fooled. Only those who truly walk close to Yeshua and are the elect, can understand the difference between the psychic soul force and the true divine force of the Holy Spirit. That I believe is why when it says Matt. 24:24 “For false Messiahs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” It truly means many of the experienced Believers will be deceived because of the abundance and frequencies of the signs and wonders that will take place in the “last days,” which we are obviously in. As Believers we must always plead the blood of the Lamb over us for all occasions including church services, Bible study, prayer meetings, and anything else associated with groups of people, so as not to be deceived. We must always remember, Satan answers prayers too!
Soul power is often used at large revival meetings. Thousands of people are focusing their energy on one person and they sing in one direction, which generates tremendous momentary soul power that can be confused with the power of Elohim’s Spirit. The speaker may have come to influence the crowd with Holy Spirit lead teaching, but because of the concentration of power directed at him, he may end up being influenced by their soul power. While listening to a sermon in a huge building, if you pay close attention, you can sense almost immediately if the speaker is using the Holy Spirit to guide him, or the power of the souls gathered there. If there is something present there that seems “too good to be true”, beware, because this may not be from the Holy Spirit. It may the counterfeit! If the power comes from Ha Shem you will feel light and clear headed, with little emotion, for the Holy Spirit doesn’t play on emotions. Through practice, one must discern the difference between the two forces, so as not to be among the elect that will be, and are being deceived. Simply ask Adonai to give you the ability to discern, He will be more than happy to assist you (if you Are Baptized in the Holy Spirit), in your endeavor to be divinely lead.
The powers displayed in Hinduism are not fake. Some Hindus can walk on fire without being scorched. It is real! Sometimes they walk on fire for long distances, then crushed glass, then lay on a bed of nails, etc.. This ability of the soul is real, and it clearly exists for those who insist on using it against the will of Yah. This is a matter of the development of psychic power. It is disastrous for Believers to perform wonders with the same power which the Hindus have.
