I have been very much blessed by reading the last two numbers of Present Truth, on this whole question, and would like to have you explain what Paul means in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, where he speaks of the "whole spirit and soul and body." Or, in other words, What is the soul? Is the soul distinct from other parts of the man? If you can give us a lesson on this subject, I shall esteem it a great favor.
The text in question reads thus: "The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
It may be well in this connection to have the next verse before us, as an assurance that this is no vain prayer: "Faithful is He that calls you, who also will do it." (1 Thessalonians 5:24)
It is a blessed assurance! What a pity that so few accept it.
In solving any problem we must always have recourse to first principles; and so it is with Scripture questions: everything must be referred to the beginning. We therefore turn to the account of the making of man: "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Genesis 2:7)
It is evident that we have here the body, soul, and spirit, as in 1 Thessalonians 5:23. The body was formed of the dust; the spirit was breathed into the nostrils; and the living soul was the result. That is the making of man; let us now read the description of its dissolution. In the 12th chapter of Ecclesiastes we have death set forth by a variety of figurative terms, closing with the words: "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit return to God who gave it." (Ecclesiastes 12:7)
But what about the soul? It is not mentioned in the account of the resolving of man into his original elements. And why not?
This question can best be answered by referring again to creation. Where was the soul of man before the breath of God came into the body of dust? Evidently it did not exist. We have the account of the union of the body and the breath of the spirit, but no mention is made of the soul until that union was effected. Then man, according to the literal rendering of the Hebrew, became a soul of life.
It is plain, therefore, that the soul has no separate, independent existence, but is simply the union of the spirit and the body; and when these are separated, the soul ceases to exist. In death the dust returns to the earth, "as it was," the spirit returns to God who gave it, just as it was before He gave it, and the soul is likewise as it was, so to speak; that is, it is not; for it was not before.
This is a simple, Scriptural statement of the case. Of course there are many other texts of Scripture bearing on the subject, but we cannot now note them all, nor is it necessary. It should be stated, however, that the word "soul" is often used in other senses than the primary one here set forth. Thus the entire man is called the soul, and the body alone, even without the breath, is sometimes called the soul; but in whatever accommodated sense the term is used, every other use of it is derived from the one here brought to view.
To illustrate the union by which the soul comes into being, and its cessation of existence when that union ceases, let us take water. It is well known that it is composed of a fixed proportion of the two gases, oxygen and hydrogen-two molecules of hydrogen one of oxygen. It is possible, by various processes, to resolve water into its constituent elements; the hydrogen gas may be collected in a receiver by itself, and likewise the oxygen gas in another by itself. Where is the water then? There is none. Nothing has been destroyed or annihilated, yet the water exists no more. The gases may again be united, and then we shall have water; but as soon as they are separated we look in vain for any trace of it.
Just as we ask, "Where is the water with the gases of which it is composed separated?" the Scripture asks, "Where is man when the breath has departed from his body." "Man dies and wastes away [the dust returns to the earth as it was]; yea, man gives up the ghost [the spirit returns to God who gave it], and where is he?" (Job 14:10)
He is not. The weeping mothers of Bethlehem and vicinity mourned for their children, whom Herod slew, and refused to be comforted, because they were not. (Matthew 2:17-18) The soul, which is the essential man, is not, as soon as the breath leaves the body.
But although the man dies, he shall live again. The Spirit that returns to God who gave it will again be sent forth to quicken the dust, and it will arise and sing. (Isaiah 26:19) God says: "You shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land." (Ezekiel 37:13-14)
Entire Sanctification
We can now leave this phase of the subject, to consider the more practical part, namely, sanctification. From Genesis 2:7, compared with Genesis 1:26-31, we find that a perfect man--one formed fully by God's image,--is a body of dust animated by the life of God.
There is no room for the idea that it is unmanly, or that it is slavery, for a man to allow God to control him; for without God there can be no complete man. It takes a union of God and a human body to make a complete, perfect man. Anything less than a full and complete union of the two is less than a man. God has demonstrated this for us by sending Christ, the second Adam, into the world. "The Word was God, And the Word was made flesh." (John 1:1,14)
There was a perfect union of a human body and the Divine Spirit, and the result was a perfect Man, the Pattern for all men. "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." (John 1:14)
Literally, "The Word became flesh and tabernacled in us." "The Word is very near unto you, in your mouth, and in your heart." (Deuteronomy 30:14)
Yea, more, "The Word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. There is no creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and open unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." (Hebrews 4:12-13,RV)
The Word of life penetrates to every ultimate fiber and cell of the body, so that all its activity is the result of the personal presence and working of the living God, the Divine Word that is Spirit and life. So intimate is the life connection between God and man. Why is God so closely identified with man? In order that man may live. "For He is your life." (Deuteronomy 30:20)
But it is not God's pleasure to furnish life to be used in sin. Sin is the transgression of the law of life; it is opposition to God's life, the action of "the god of this world," (2 Corinthians 4:4) "The prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience." (Ephesians 2:2)
This spirit "opposes and exalts itself against all that is called God, or that is worshiped." (2 Thessalonians 2:4)
The lusts of the flesh that are according to it, "war against the soul," (1 Peter 2:11) producing corruption and death; but the Divine nature of which the knowledge of God (which is life eternal) (John 17:3) makes us partakers, it gives us deliverance from these lusts and the attendant corruption; for Christ has "power over all flesh," (John 17:2) and He is stronger than the god of this world. The difference between the sinner and the Christian is this:
• The sinner allows the flesh to control, and fulfills its desires, holding down the truth--Christ--in unrighteousness;
• The Christian yields himself to God, as one alive from the dead, and his members as instruments of righteousness.
Just to the extent that one yields to God, is he sanctified. To be sanctified wholly is to have every fiber of the being completely yielded to God, so as to be fully under His control. This takes place when one learns the ways of God through acquaintance with His works, so that one can definitely and intelligently yield to Him. Knowing what pleases God, one will in no particular oppose His working, but will allow Him to work His own will. "The Word is very near unto you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it." (Deuteronomy 30:14)
God is in the flesh, the life of it, in order that the life may be perfect. Every man has the power residing in him, the life of His flesh, by which he may be preserved blameless, if he will but recognize it and yield to it. This is perfect rest. It is true Sabbathkeeping. We may rest, because the Word of God, which is in us, is living and active.
We then know no life but that of Christ; His Spirit alone animates and controls the body, so that even though we are still in the flesh we are spiritual, living as though actually in the world to come, with the same power to live free from sin and disease that we shall have when we have spiritual instead of fleshly bodies.
Truly our God is a great God! What a blessed truth! What glorious possibilities it presents to everyone! The flesh itself is sinful and corruptible, but there is in it the power that can save it even from its own sinfulness and corruption; and there need be no question as to our ability to avail ourselves of this power, for it is the life of our bodies. It is by the gift of God's endless life that we live at all and so if we conscientiously and intelligently confess "that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh," (1 John 4:2) we are indeed born of God. "His Divine power has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness." (2 Peter 1:3)
The life that gives us existence is sufficient for everything necessary for the world to come. This is God's pure Spirit producing a sound body and a perfect soul. He says: "My son, attend to my words; incline your ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh." (Proverbs 4:20-22)
We see that whole sanctification means wholeness of body and soul. It means perfect soundness. Who can talk about the hardship of self-denial, with such a pleasant prospect before him? Self-denial means simply the rejection of that which destroys, for the full enjoyment of that which springs up into everlasting life.--Present Truth, May 8, 1902.