Salvation of the soul (part 3)

In the last two articles we saw that it is God’s design that the life of His spirit within us would “leaven” all three parts of our being – spirit, soul and body. In addition to the several New Testament passages we have looked at already, there are a number of Old Testament passages that allude to this process as well. One such reference is found in 2^nd Chronicles 29:16-17 where the priests and Levites, according to the command of King Hezekiah, go in to the temple and cleanse it. This passage makes it clear that the priests began at “the inner part of the house” and worked their way out – just as Jesus said the “leaven” of God’s life would do in us. (Matthew 13:33, 23:26)

Other Old Testament passages refer to this process using figurative language taken from the realm of nature, and in so doing, reveal a very powerful truth as to how God accomplishes this “leavening” process within us. Consider the following verses:

Psalm 103:15-16

“As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, and its place acknowledges it no longer.”

Isaiah 40:6-7

“All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it.”

The common theme in these two passages is that mankind is like grass, which flourishes for a season, but quickly fades and dies. But notice that in both of these verses that it is “When the wind has passed over it” or “When the breath of the Lord Blows upon it” that the flesh withers and dies. The picture here is of a constant, dry, hot desert wind that causes even the stoutest of desert grasses to wither and die. And the fact is, nothing less than the “Wind” of God’s Holy Spirit blowing across the face of our soul can cause the “old man” to wither and die.

Also notice in the first passage that after the “Wind” of God’s spirit “passes over” our flesh so that it “is no more” we are also told that “its place acknowledges it no longer.” This is perfectly in keeping with Paul’s admonition on Romans 6:11: “Consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” The result of the “wind” of God’s Spirit breathing upon our soul is that the “old man” that we once were withers and dies – “Those who or of Christ have crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts.” (Galatians 5:24) Once this has happened, it is our task as the “place” where that old man once resided, to “Acknowledge it no longer.”

This process of the scorching “wind” of God’s Holy Sprit drying up our flesh is also pictured as a fire from God in Isaiah 10:17-18: “The light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame, and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day. And He will destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body.” Notice again that the result of the Holy Fire of God’s spirit burning across the landscape of our soul is to destroy the “forest” and “fruitful garden” of our Flesh – a reference to all the “works of the flesh” that once grew abundantly in the lush soil of the “old man.” This is accomplished at two levels, an internal one and an external one – here referred to as “Soul and body.” Like a fire or hot wind in nature, God’s Spirit both withers the plant itself, and parches the ground, drying up the plant’s source of water, so that it cannot come back even after the heat has passed. And this is good news for anyone wishing to experience the complete salvation of the soul!