2st Spirit, Soul, Body (8)
2004-04-25 | Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee | 2 Corinthians 10:3-6
Last time, we looked at the five representative areas of the operation of the soul belonging to untruth: not understanding and embracing things, judgment, condemnation, miscommunication, and cherishing evil emotions. Today, I will testify in detail how we can do only the thinking of the spirit, that is, the operation of the soul that belongs to the truth, not the operation of the soul that belongs to the untruth.
1. We need to know that the word of Spirt, Soul and Body is the path of holiness and the shortcut of blessing.
We humans are made up of a visible body, a body and an invisible spirit and soul. The Word of Soul and Body reveals the spirit, soul, and body of man, so that we can realize how our own soul and body came into being and how it was made.
Knowing about your soul and body is very important in your life of faith. In order to take on the perfect image of the Lord, you must first discover your own soul and body and realize what you lack.
Also, it is the fact that the words of the soul and body that show the way of blessing will eventually become a shortcut straight out in front of the throne of God in New Jerusalem.
2. In order to receive blessings from God, we must not work with the soul that belongs to untruth.
Soul is a generic term that includes ‘memory devices in the human brain’, ‘memory contents stored therein’, and ‘thoughts that reproduce and utilize these contents’. People almost always live with the action of their soul, and every day, every moment, they see, hear, and feel something and remember the contents. Sometimes I think about various things I’ve seen and heard before, I plan what I’ll do in the future, I discern right from wrong, I reason logically, all of these are ‘works of the soul’.
However, even if people are in the same situation, not all people work the same soul. It all depends on what kind of experiences a person has during his or her life, what kind of values he has created in what environment, what kind of personal taste he has and what kind of personality he has.
The problem is that when most people in the world operate their souls, they are acting out of the truth. For example, if you have an uncomfortable relationship with a person, you can get caught in the person’s every word or according to your own thoughts, you judge and condemn the intentions of others. They conclude that the other person is lying even though they have told the truth, or they misunderstand them according to their feelings.
For example, when a colleague with a bad relationship says, “Let’s clean the office,” we don’t just take it literally, but think about it one by one. You start to hate your partner more and more as you think about untruths, such as thinking, ‘That person is talking about me again,’ or ‘I should have cleaned it myself, but I’m not going to do it myself, but I’m going to have others do it’.
When the soul of untruth works like this, the thoughts of the flesh, that is, the thoughts of untruth, become a heavy burden on the heart, and life and peace disappear (Romans 8:6). The more you do this, the more your heart becomes stained with untruth and turns into an evil heart. It becomes a wall in front of God and blocks the way to receive blessings.
3. In order for the soul that belongs to the truth to work
There are times in our lives where the spirit of untruth works, but we do not immediately realize it. Later, as we look back on the day and pray, the Holy Spirit enlightens us and reminds us. In this way, we must always be awake, strive to discover ourselves, and change into a person who works with the soul belonging to the truth. Then, what should be done in order to make the operation of the soul only with the truth?
First, we must discern everything with the Word of God, which is the standard of truth.
The standard for judging people’s conscience that distinguishes between right and wrong or the value of what is right in the world mostly depends on time, place, and culture. The only unchanging and absolute standard is the truth itself, the Word of God. Some of the things that the world considers to be true are consistent with the truths of the 66 books of the Bible, but there are many others that do not.
For example, in the world it is righteous to take revenge, otherwise it is cowardly, but God commands us to love our enemies. If a close friend commits a crime, and another person is accused of being a criminal and framed, I think it is loyalty to a friend not to tell the friend his or her fault. However, if you keep silent despite knowing the injustice of the person who was framed, it is the fact that you will never be righteous before God.
Before I believed in God, when I went to someone else’s house when it was time to eat, I said, “I’m here to eat,” even if you haven’t eaten yet. Still, I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it, but when I knew God and looked at the truth, this was also a lie. It is good not to cause trouble to others, but the method itself is not the truth.
Also, if we look around us, we can see that when parents receive a call they do not want to answer or a guest they do not want to see, they say to their children, “Tell me no now.” It is the fact that they do not realize that ‘I am lying’, even though they act contrary to the truth over and over again. There are also cases where people borrow someone else’s belongings and do not return them, or even use other people’s things without telling them that they do not consider it to be theft because it is a trivial matter.
When we look at God’s Word like this, we can see that too many things in people’s daily lives deviate from the truth. Moreover, as the generation becomes more and more evil, there are more and more cases where people seek their own benefit and practice untruth without realizing it themselves. However, when judging and condemning others, they condemn it as wrong based on their own standards.
For example, when you see politicians slander your competitors, most of them are right and wrong. They say they do it for the country and the people, but the other side accuses them of not doing so. Then you can see that even the watching people are divided, judging “They are right, they are wrong” and arguing with each other. If so, do these judgments really come from the truth? Whether people really love the country and act with a good heart for the people, or whether they are seeking their own interests, God knows everything, even if people do not know it.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ
Even if people can’t read the whole heart, if you look at the truth of the word, you can see how much evil there is in their heart through every word or action of each person.
For example, if a letter contains malicious expressions of someone’s faults and slander, would you believe what is written in that letter? You can tell how untruthful the person who wrote the letter is just by looking at the evil expressions used in the letter, so it is impossible to believe that a person with such an evil heart slanders others is true.
Therefore, we who believe in God must discern everything with the truth by feeding on the Word of God. You have to diligently read the 66 books of the Bible, the word of God, and cast off standards that have been incorrectly entered as untruths in the world. No matter how wise you are in the world, you must cast off everything that is contrary to the Word of God. Only when we cast off the untruths that have been entered into the world like this can we gain the true wisdom that God gives us (1 Corinthians 3:18).
Second, when we feel, we must feel worthy of the truth.
Some people make excuses that they can’t help but feel bad when they see someone even if they try to get rid of the feeling of ‘hate’.
I’ve seen this scene in a movie a long time ago. A girl has been very friendly with elephants since she was little, and the elephants used to play with their long noses around the girl’s neck. One day, while this girl was sleeping, a viper came and wrapped her neck. If she had known it was a viper, how frightened and disgusting would the girl feel? The girl, with her eyes still closed, thinks that it is the elephant’s nose that closes her neck.
There are so many things like this in our daily life. Even when crossing a narrow wooden bridge, when the bridge is about 1 meter above the ground, most people can easily step on it. But if you put the same bridge at a height of about 10 meters, then you can see that you are afraid to pass. Also, people who hate things like maggots, earthworms, and centipedes because they are disgusting and dirty, eat chickens that eat them and eat them deliciously.
It is a fact that it is all up to you to think about how you feel. When you see someone or do something, you just have to think good about it and receive it with a good feeling. Even for people who do not fit my personality and culture, if you think like this, “I hate that person,” it will leave you with bad feelings and emotions. .
In order for us to think as good in all things and to feel it as good, above all else, we must always see and input good things. Of course, as we go through life in the media and on the Internet, we come across more and more of the cruel, the violent, the lies, the self-interested, deceitful, and treacherous things. But if you want to keep yourself with the truth, it is better not to see these things, to hear them, and not to keep them in your memory.
However, even if you come across it inevitably, it is the fact that you just have to input the things you come across as truth and line every moment. For example, when you see a violent scene in a movie, people in the world may think, “I want to grab hold of so many people” or “It’s really cool”, but the person who discerns the truth will say, “That violent thing causes other people to suffer. , I have to be careful not to inflict pain on others.” This is what he thinks and feels.
Through today’s Word, I pray in the name of the Lord that by clearly realizing and discovering “what kind of soul works I am doing,” I pray in the name of the Lord that I will cast off all the operations of the soul belonging to untruth and become spiritual children of God who only think of the truth that pleases God. .
