In furtherance of the study of spirit, soul and body, we will take a look at the soul of man.As stated in my previous piece, man is a spirit; he has a soul and lives in a body. The soul is that aspect of man that relates to the mental or intellectual realm, the sensibilities and will. It is the part that reasons and thinks. Put differently, the soul is the seat of a man’s will, emotion and intellect (mind).
The new birth is a recreation of the human spirit by the Holy Spirit through the word. But nothing happens to our soul when we receive Jesus. Our souls are not saved at the new birth because it is a spiritual experience; it’s not a mental experience.
After man’s spirit is recreated in the new birth, it becomes his duty to do something about his soul or get his mind right. Hence James wrote, Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls (James 1:21).
What does the Bible mean by the “engrafted” Word? According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, the word “engrafted” means to implant. The word engrafted carries the idea of a seed rooting itself and causing growth. Thus the Word of God implanted or engrafted into the soul of man has the ability and power to change or save man’s soul.
The saving of man’s soul is an ongoing process throughout the course of a person’s physical life. A mind that is not renewed is a major area where believers can give Satan access to them.
The word save in the above text originates from the Greek work Sozo, which connotes to save, deliver, protect, heal, preserve, make well, and make whole. Put differently, James 1:21, reads … receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save, heal, deliver, protect, preserve, make well, and make your soul whole.
This infers that as you actively feed on God’s Word, it saves, delivers, protects, heals, preserves, and makes whole your soul. But, is receiving the engrafted Word the only thing the believer has to do to get his soul saved? Certainly not.
Take a look at the following verse, But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). You not only have to hear and receive the word, you also have to act on it or practise it before it will do you any good.
You’ll have to be a doer of the Word before it will profit your soul. Your soul will be saved, delivered, protected, healed, preserved, made well and whole by receiving and by doing the Word.
The responsibility of saving the soul is on individual believer. This is what sets apart, the successful and unsuccessful believer.
Also, Paul in his letter to the church at Rome, said And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing (renovation) of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:2).
Paul’s proclamation is corroborated by David in Psalms 23:3: “He restoreth my soul.”
You see, Psalms 23 is a prophetic psalm that belongs to the Church. It was authored by King David for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are living in the 23rd Psalm right now because it says, “The Lord is my shepherd…” and in the New Testament Jesus called Himself the good shepherd (John 10:11).
You see, the word “restoreth” (Shuwb) in Psalm 23 and the Greek word translated “renew” (Anakainosis) in Romans 12:2 have the same meaning.
To restore denotes to recover, rescue, and reverse. To renew connotes to renovate or to restore or make like new or complete change for the better. So begin to get your mind right by feeding on the Word; and enjoy all that God has in stock for you.
By Emmanuel Emeke Asiwe
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