Soulish Or Spiritual - Zac Poonen
Summary
The speaker distinguishes between three aspects of humanity—spirit, soul, and body—arguing that many Christians mistakenly live only in their 'soul' rather than the 'spirit.' He uses scripture, particularly 1 Thessalonians 5:23 and Hebrews 4:12, to emphasize that true spiritual maturity requires penetrating the division between soul and spirit through God's Word. The message culminates by comparing the human being to the Tabernacle, where the most holy place represents the spirit, showing that God dwells in the deepest parts of us.
Outline
The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.
Man is made of spirit, soul, and bodyThe apostle Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians that man is a three-part being consisting of spirit, soul, and body, which must be preserved blameless.
Moving from milk to spiritual meatBelievers are challenged not to remain spiritual infants drinking milk for years, but to grow up and digest deeper truths found in difficult scriptures like Hebrews.Hebrews 5:12
Jesus tabernacled among us as our exampleJesus came not only to die on the cross, but to tabernacle in our midst and show us the exact way God intended for human beings to live.John 1:14
Lessons from the Old Testament tabernacleThe structure of the tabernacle—outer court, holy place, and most holy place—directly corresponds to the human body, soul, and spirit.
Jesus as our forerunner within the veilHebrews reveals Jesus as a forerunner who entered within the veil, making a new and living way for us to live continuously in God's presence.Hebrews 6:20
The flesh is our stubborn self-willThe veil that kept man out of God's presence represents human self-will, which is deeper than our physical body and constantly opposes the Holy Spirit.Hebrews 10:20Galatians 5:17
Christ's autobiography of self-denialJesus declared that He came down from heaven for one primary purpose: not to do His own will, but to deny it and do the will of Him who sent Him.
Knowledge and emotions are not spiritualityHaving extensive Bible knowledge or expressive emotional praise does not make a person spiritual if they refuse to yield their self-will to God.
Fullness of joy in God's presenceTrue spiritual life in the most holy place is marked by the constant fullness of joy found in the presence of God rather than discouragement and defeat.Psalm 16:11
The two builders: hearers and doersJesus concluded the Sermon on the Mount by warning that hearing and admiring God's word without doing it is building a house on shifting sand.Matthew 7:24
The costly call of disciple-makingWhile evangelism brings people to the outer court of salvation, discipleship requires counting the cost and painstakingly digging deep to build on the rock.
Taking up the cross dailyFollowing Jesus requires denying oneself, taking up the cross where human will intersects God's will, and doing this consistently every single day.Luke 9:23
Rivers of living water from the spiritAs believers continuously walk the way of the cross, their spiritual capacity expands until rivers of living water flow from their innermost being.
