Little Red Book Ministry

C. The soul in life
“Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12). The soul in the Bible is sometimes identified with the liquid state of matter within a man, specifically with the blood (Genesis 4:10; 9:4–6; Psalms 72:14). It is what energizes the body, making it a living organism rather than just a machine (1 Samuel 1:15; Job 30:15–16). Except for certain reflexive reactions, the soul is in complete control of the body. The soul is the residence of all our passions and affections. It takes great joy in pleasing the flesh, often to its own detriment. It does however, have the capacity to reason and the will to choose between right and wrong, good and evil, wise and foolish, and so on. The soul has a world- or social-awareness, and makes choices based on balancing its desire to gratify the flesh and its desire to interact with its’ environment in its best interest.

The soul of a lost person will often yield to the prompting of the conscience which is a function of the spirit. However, in the final analysis, the soul is also in complete control of the spirit. The soul of the Christian differs from the soul of the lost. It also attempts, at the spirit’s urging, to live by godly principles where these differ from its affections or the body’s desires.

Another way of stating this would be to say that the brain and the mind are both under the control of the will. Thus, the brain or the mind may know or desire something but not have the ability to use this knowledge or satisfy this desire.

As we have stated, the soul also controls the spirit. The hierarchy of the Godhead is: Father (the Soul), Son (the Body), and Holy Ghost (the Spirit). The Son and the Holy Ghost are both subject to the Father and therefore we may say the Body and Spirit are both subject to the Soul. It is no different for man who is made in the image of God.

John 14:24–26; 16:13–15; 1 Corinthians 15:28; Ephesians 1:17