OUR BODY, OUR SOUL AND OUR SPIRIT – Part 2
Author: Sakkie Parsons
Translated from Afrikaans
Translator: Robin Barker
In this writing I eagerly want to share with you about the soul of a person, as I understand it through the Word.
I want to begin by saying: There are those people who rationalize that the soul and the spirit are one in the same.
Now I am not saying that you will go to hell because you believe this, but with my full understanding of the Word, there is in actual fact a difference.
As an example we read, for this I use an older translation (King James Version KJV) because the majority of translations that I know have translated it the same way:
HEB 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The New International Version (NIV) reads as follows: (NIV will be used for all further verses from the Word)
HEB 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
I do not have a soul; I am a soul that lives in a body.
This body is, as I showed you in my previous writing to you, to put it that way, a tent/vehicle, that our Lord has entrusted to me and with which He wants me to make my journey through this life to Heaven’s Gate –
Unless I, who is the soul in this body, in this tent/vehicle, rather choose to journey to hell.
One thing that stands out like a pole above water and that is that you and I one day will depart this body, and because our Lord created us in His image, one of our characteristics that is different to all other living things is, that you and I are souls that never, but never again, will die or vanish, or whatever you want to call it.
My soul certainly will leave this body one day and it will certainly happen that way, for example we read in Genesis 35:18, when Rachel died giving birth to her son:
GEN 35:18 As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.
Another nice example of many that I could have quoted for you is the following:
PSALM 16:10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
Think a bit about this great reality: Everyone who has ever lived, lives somewhere at this point in time.
Whether that person is in Heaven with our Lord where they wait one day to be judged.
Take notice that I said, “will be judged” and not “will be sentenced”. Because for those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as Redeemer and Saviour, there is no sentence (condemnation):
ROM 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
In relation to this matter our Lord, to put it that way, we already have eternal life status:
JOHN 5:24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”
How can I be so sure that everyone who has given (converted) themselves to our Lord, and has followed Him to end of their lives here on earth, is already in Heaven?
Well, I share with you two sections from the Word, and decide for yourself whether that what I am saying is merit worthy.
The first example that I want to use to show where Jesus’s followers, after we depart from this life will go, or if you want to say it another way, what will happen to us when we exchange the ‘temporary’ with the ‘eternal’, is about the man who hung on the cross next to Jesus and who asked Jesus to think of him when Jesus is in His kingdom. Jesus then answered him:
LUKE 23:43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
As I always say, I now say it again. If Jesus says “today”, then you know, it will be “today”.
The second example that I want to share with you, is the words of my great hero Paul, for whom Jesus intrusted with to write the largest portion of the New Testament, so he, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit would be certain/assured about what he says:
PHI 1:23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;
If you are not in the first group, well, then you are in the other group who are sitting in hell’s jail, waiting to appear in front of the Judge to hear your sentence of eternity in hell’s jail.
Let me explain what I mean by this, how this works.
If you are caught in a crime in this life, you will be arrested and thrown into jail until you appear in court. You already feel the discomfort etc. of being in jail, which you will further experience once you have been found guilty.
Then you will reappear in court. There you will be judged and sentenced, and for a time sent to jail, but before your sentencing you were already in jail for a while and you had already experience the discomfort etc. of the jail, even if you have not already been found guilty. The only thing that had happened in court, that you were given the opportunity to put your side of the case and you heard why you ended up in jail and how long the situation will continue. Let’s read this and then I will explain further:
JUDE 1:6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.
The fallen angels have, because our Lord is All-knowing and Ubiquitous[a], you can actually say, right in front of Him, did what they did. They were caught ‘red handed’ and thrown into jail. They will stay there until they receive their final sentence.
Just after we read about the fallen angels in JUDE 1:6 and what happened to them, we read in the following verse, namely JUDE 1:7:
JUDE 1:7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
Take notice. It is not written that they “have undergone” the punishment.
It is also not written that they “will suffer the punishment”. It is written:
JUDE 1:7 … They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
They are already busy experiencing the punishment.
Because they, as far as our All-knowing, Omnipresent[b]/Ubiquitous Lord is concerned, as the criminal, who is caught ‘red handed’, they are already confined to jail and are experiencing what will happen after the court case and will experience the sentence for eternity.
I close this writing off firstly by asking the following question:
Where are you going, soul, at this moment in time, on your way, while you are journeying to your end destination through this life?
Secondly I close off with the following good advice from the Word for every soul that has accepted Jesus Christ:
JAMES 1:21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
In the King James Version (KJV) the verse reads as follows:
JAMES 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Greetings,
Sakkie
a Ubiquitous – present, appearing, or found everywhere.
b Omnipresent – 1) widely or constantly encountered; widespread. 2) (of God) present everywhere at the same time.