Soul & Spirit - Same or Different?

[UntoHim]

Originally Posted by Sons to Glory!

I never really got the additional subdivisions of exactly what makes up our conscience, intuition, heart, etc. from WN/WL teachings. I've read different things about these further supposed subdivisions of our being, but it all seems something of a stretch and nothing really clicks. Besides, it seems to make little difference . . . at least to me.

This is exactly how many Christians throughout history have viewed the supposed uber significant biblical "truth" that there is a practical difference between our human spirit and our soul. Earlier I queried StG

Originally Posted by UntoHim

of what practical application and benefit is it to know the difference between our soul and our spirit?

and I missed his reply. I want to repost it here because it is a very good reply, and deserves a response:

Originally Posted by Sons to Glory!

If Christ is joined to our spirit (He is), then to know our spirit is to know Him, and therefore to know the difference between what's just ourselves and what's actually Christ. Hope that's not too simplistic an answer.

Great response StG! (So great I have made it a Featured Post!) Now before you categorize my counter-response as "this guy is against any teachings just because Nee/Lee taught it", please hear me out.

I was saved in my pre-teens and was a professing (though really nominal) Christian for a number of years before encountering the Lord in a very real and powerful way during the "Jesus People" movement/revival in the early-mid 1970s. (I grew up within walking distance of the original Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa Calif.) I encountered the Lord in a very real and powerful way because the Lord was indeed moving in a very real and powerful way among the young people in So. California. There were many changed lives. There were many genuine healings, (and I know this for a fact because I was healed of a very serious condition that I suffered from the age of 5) And there was some very good teachings of the genuine Gospel, and also many young people were exposed for the first time to some relatively orthodox biblical teachings. So. Calif became the birthplace of what became known as "contemporary Christian music".

All this happened without any of these crazy, inexperienced and naive, but sincere, baby-Christians having any knowledge or awareness that there was a difference between our spirit and our soul. I was pretty clueless that we even had "a human spirit". Can you imagine that ...I went around preaching the Gospel to family and friends, read the Bible, praised and worshiped the Lord "in Spirit and in truth" and sought to know the Lord with all my heart and strength...all this without knowing the difference between my soul and my human spirit! Then I ran across some people who taught me that there actually was a difference between the spirit and the soul. Before I knew it, I was preaching a new gospel to my family and friends - "Get out of your mind and get your spirit in gear!" Of course I ended up "loosing" a lot of family and a lot of friends....but who cares, I have found out that I have a spirit! Hallelujah, Praise the Lord! I have a human spirit!

So, there it is. And I've done it again...I have poured cold water on yet another cherished teaching. I'm sorry my brother. I guess that's just my calling here - to challenge and debunk many of the precious "recovered truths" we discovered in the Lord's Recovery of Witness Lee. I'm the Debbie Downer of LocalChurchDiscussions So sue me! (juuuussst kiddding)

[Sons to Glory!]

Originally Posted by UntoHim

Great response StG! (So great I have made it a Featured Post!) Now before you categorize my counter-response as "this guy is against any teachings just because Nee/Lee taught it", please hear me out.

Glad to be part of a "Featured Post" - whatever that is! (I now see where this is . . . my agent will contact you soon for the royalties.)

And I'm glad you caught my earlier response to your question, as I had been wondering . . . So now I think I know where you are coming from. I can see that you had great experiences of Christ before knowing anything about your soul and spirit. Me too! (In fact, your experience parallels mine significantly in both the time-frame and actual experiences.) Thanks for sharing that - very clarifying (à la D. Prager).

So one might put a whole lot of things into the "What exactly is the practical application?" camp, couldn't they? Of course, just because we might not see much practical application for something in scripture doesn't mean it's not true. I think that may have been a point you were making - that soul AND spirit (different things) is in scripture and you get that, but it's not an essential item of the faith and certainly not critical for the experience of Christ in one's life, right? If that's the case, then I wholeheartedly agree and thanks again for clarifying!

So with that understanding, does it invalidate this conversation thread or make it any less pertinent than other threads on here? Jus' askin'