A VEHICLE FOR THE SOUL

A  VEHICLE  FOR  THE  SOUL

We use a vehicle in which to travel from one place to another, and most of us fuss over our vehicles a bit, washing and polishing and cleaning the inside!
We have them serviced to keep them mechanically sound and reliable, using only clean oil and water, and keeping the tyres inflated correctly.
So shouldn’t we also be doing that with our physical bodies, taking care of them by not putting bad food, too much alcohol, smoking and drugs etc through them?
The point being, you may ask? Because our physical body is the vehicle in which our soul travels! So shouldn’t we provide a well maintained vehicle for it?
Any atheists or agnostics will not be interested from this point on?

The words soul and spirit have the same meaning, and the bible tends to use the word ‘spirit’ most of the time. (The intelligent or immaterial part of man) is the basic dictionary description. So how do we know we have a soul (or spirit) in the first place, and where did it come from?

The first suggestion to that question is in Genesis 2:7. ‘And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.’
That was Adam, and he was the first adult human to be brought to life in that way, although Eve was probably brought to life the same way, after being made from Adam’s rib (verse 22). All people from there on were born from a woman’s womb, including Jesus Christ!
So the man became a complete human, but didn’t start living until he received the ‘breath of life’!
Since God is spirit, (John 4:24) then the breath of life would have to be our soul which causes us to be alive?
If we have to have a soul for life, what about the animals? They are alive and have a form of intelligence? Well, they do possess a spirit as explained in Ecclesiastes 3:18-22, (Old Testament), and I will write it out because it really explains the subject well.

(18) I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.”
(19) For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them; as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity.
(20) All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust.
(21) Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?
(22) So I perceive that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

We can also deduce from verse 21, that animals’ spirits die along with their bodies.
Only humans get to heaven, but not via our physical bodies. (1Corinthians 15:50)
In Eccles 12:7 it says, ‘Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it’.
In 1Kings:21-22 Elijah saved a child.
(21) And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the Lord and said,
“O Lord my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.”
(22) Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.
When Jesus died His soul left him.
Luke 23:46. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last.

So the ‘essence’ of life is our soul, part of God’s spirit; a life force; something we can’t really explain? We can’t touch it, or X-ray it etc, but it gives us the ability to fear, hate and love!  
We must learn to use it wisely, for our bodies are a temple as the apostle Paul made clear in 1Corinthians 3:16-17, and I quote;
‘Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple’.
This also clearly means no murder or suicide?

Our bodies are fairly mechanical with all the bones and muscles etc to make it work, but it has to have an operator to make it do what’s necessary? Just like an earthmoving machine needs an operator; otherwise it’s just a pile of metal and hoses etc!
So what or who is our operator? The first thing most would say in answer to that is, ‘Oh it’s the mind that controls us’! Well, what is the mind, if it’s not our soul? Our mind can be directly connected to God’s spirit......if we want it to be?!
The apostle Paul explained the difference in Romans 8:5-9.
‘Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the spirit have their minds set on what the spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the spirit, if the spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.’

Jesus said to His disciples in Math 26:41, ‘Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak.’ (The need for self control)

So, we are given the ‘breath of life’, (soul) in order to be alive, but if we become sinful, God ‘disconnects’ from us, because in the beginning He didn’t give us a choice, He gave a command not to sin. (See my article ‘DID GOD GIVE US A CHOICE’)
Also, if we are born from the womb, how do we get a ‘soul’? Well, it appears that God gives us life right there in the womb, judging by the description in Psalm 139:13-16.
(13) For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  
(14) I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
(15)My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
(16) Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
If life therefore begins in the womb, we would assume that abortion is also destroying God’s temple, as mentioned above.
This subject of our spiritual side (mind and soul) is a favourite topic of mine, and what is required to get our soul into heaven after death, is explained in another article titled,
‘THE END GAME.......GETTING INTO HEAVEN’.
So I’ll end with a couple of good quotes!
‘Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tender-hearted, be courteous.’ (1Peter 3:8)
But, Jesus will have the last say. “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Math 10:28)

Peace to all, Colin Bowater.