#313 Kingdom: The Soul and The Kingdom Government

In another document I mentioned the unlawful use of the soul in “spiritual ministry.” This needs to be defined with clearer words. Obviously the soul can be lawfully used in “spiritual ministry” but now we need to define what it means by the “sanctification of the soul” and what elements of the soul are rejected in “spiritual ministry.” Since both soul and spirit are invisible to the natural eye and the natural man, it makes comparison and evaluation very difficult. To separate the function of soul and spirit is not possible by natural means or natural understanding. It requires the “Word of God” to do the separation but what does that mean?

The carnal, fleshly, soulish and natural person who is motivated and controlled by his lower nature cannot be controlled by his spirit that is designed to be under the Government of God. We generally recognize the new man or new spirit to be the seat of God’s Government in the “new creation.” This new spirit is created in the image of God and is therefore the place God has chosen to reign within the person. We say the Throne of God should be established in the “heart or spirit or new creation.” The river of Life should flow from that throne. The confusion comes when we try to make natural / soulish explanations of these spiritual dimensions that are only comprehended within the renewed and enlightened spirit of man.

For example; Try to explain the “Lampstand church” to one who only sees by natural light. Try to explain the difference between Incense Prayer and Outer Court prayer to someone who only hears with the ears in his head.

We will NEVER outgrow our need for the soul in our service to God but it is clear that the “soul” is a big problem until it is “sanctified.” Our definition of “sanctified soul” verses the “fallen soul” that is in the process of being redeemed must be clear even to the natural mind if we expect to see the soul changed from its fallen condition to the “sanctified condition” of the spiritual man. The “sanctified soul” is exactly the same soul that we came into this life with but now a lot of “natural and corrupted rubbish” has been removed and consumed in the fire of His Love. In other words on the Holy Place side of the Consecration Offering we experience the “sanctified soul.” On the Outer Court side of the Second Veil the soul is still in the process of being cleansed of its fallen life, habits, thoughts, carnal ambitions, crooked intentions and general impurities.

It is this “sanctified soul” that is of great assistance to our spirit in the Holy Place Life and Ministry. A “mature spirit” and a “sanctified soul” are at home in the Holy Place Life and Ministry.

“To sanctify” and “the sanctuary” come from the same root word. We might say that “to sanctify” is the preparation for “the sanctuary.” “Sanctuary” means to “set apart for God” or to make holy for God (as a place to dwell).

1 Thes 4: 3] For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; [4] that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, [5] not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; [6] and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. [7] For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. [8] Consequently, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.

Preparing ourselves and others as a place (“a sanctuary”) for God to dwell begins in very rudimentary things. Separating us from “impurities” is basic to sanctification and that is the context I am using to speak of the “sanctification of the soul” as preparation of entering the Holy Place or the “sanctuary.” These “impurities” are everything that is of the natural realms and everything inherited from first Adam. It is obvious that none of these things that follow can function in the Holy Place Life and ministry.

RO 1:28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, [29] being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, [30] slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, [31] without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; [32] and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Even the works of the flesh, that are not as “fallen” as these things listed above, will keep us from inheriting the Kingdom of God. Just doing “unrighteous things” can keep us out of the Kingdom. 1 Cor 6: 8] On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and defraud, and that your brethren. [9] Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, [10] nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God. [11] And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.

The fact IS that unrighteous behavior is in the church with believers defrauding other believers! This is tolerated because “they are saved” or “have accepted Jesus as personal Savior.” The real question is NOT have they accepted Jesus but “will Jesus accept them?” All “unrighteousness within the soul” will conflict and war against the spirit! This IS one reason that the unsanctified soul and the spirit CANNOT function together in the Holy Place Life and ministry. Until the soul is cleansed of ALL these things the person cannot expect to advance beyond the basic Outer Court preparations. The “defiled soul” in the pulpit will affect the “spiritual work.” We might say “there is NO spiritual work” possible until a “spiritual work” is done in the soul and in the spirit!

Even though in the “sanctuary” the soul and the spirit have different functions they must assist each other rather than conflict with each other. The basic fact is this; there is no room in the “sanctuary” for a conflict between the soul / flesh and the Spirit OR the spirit. These things need to be settled during the preparation in the Outer Court. In other words, the process of preparation in the Outer Court must deal decisively with the fallen nature within the soul. This is NOT the removal of the soul but the cleansing of the soul. After this we must preserve the “sanctified soul” for active use in the Holy Place life and ministry and keep a constant vigilance for any corruption that still remains.

God has no plans to give us a new soul but He has made it clear that the “soul must be sanctified.” It may seem “new” because of all the defective elements that are removed “in sanctification.” God’s ultimate plan (the New Jerusalem) seems to require a “perfect” cooperation between the soul and the spirit under the illumination of the Seven Spirits of God AND in the sight of Him who walks among the Lampstands. The Holy Place Life and Ministry must be the true “Sanctuary” and this requires “entire sanctification.” “The Holy Place” indicates that whatever happens there must be “Holy Works” and NOT some mixture of good works and carnality.

The “religious speeches” that we hear from the pulpits immediately identifies them as (at the very best) Outer Court messages. Until there is a “perfect” cooperation between the soul and the spirit there will be something less than a Holy Place Ministry either to God or to people.

HEB 12:14 Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. [15] See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God;

Islam, and other violent religions, are examples of the religions of the world that function out of the soul that is attached to the flesh and the lower animal elements of the earth. The soul has gravitated downward instead of ascending upward through “sanctification.” As we see in Romans 1:18-32 the soul can descend into the depths of depravity until it begins to worship creeping and crawling things. The result is human based religions that grow by human control, violence, intimidation and even hatred. Even in “popular Christianity” we see elements of the natural life, flesh, carnality and human based religion. We could call this the “religion of the soul.”

In the plan of God, the soul must be constantly cleansed from ALL defilement of flesh and spirit “perfecting holiness” in the fear of God. It should be obvious that this IS the number one priority for each one of us at the present time IF we expect to make the transition to the next restoration.

Since the Tabernacle of Moses is a picture for us of the eternal heaven and of spiritual things we may have to readjust our thinking to also see that it is a picture of US (we ourselves) in the Feast of Tabernacles. We are the Tabernacle or Temple of God. Man is a three part person with spirit, soul and body which corresponds to the Tabernacle of Moses or the “Tent of Meeting” or the “Sanctuary.” The spirit being the Most Holy Place where God dwells. The soul being the Holy Place where the ministry is conducted before God! The body is related to the Outer Court that functions in natural light. Since God dwells in the spirit of man, ALL ministry must begin there by revelation, inspiration, spiritual knowledge [epignosis] , and the wisdom from above that is imparted by “spiritual thoughts, carried by spiritual words that are given by the Spirit.”

For this reason the ministry cannot originate in the soul but the soul must be completely in tune with the spirit to receive the spiritual thoughts and then supply the spiritual words that also have been given by the spirit (or Spirit). The soul then becomes the neutral agent that “translates” and then transfers the thoughts and words of God to others by “ministry.” Ideally the soul does not add its own opinions, commentary, suggestions, doctrines and personality to the “Ministry of the Word.”

When we preach through a “translator” we hope that the translator is not just preaching his own message and adding his own thoughts. If the “translator” doesn’t fully understand the message and he begins to add his own thoughts, the result is confusion. When the speaker and the translator are under the same anointing, the words, thoughts and the anointing flows through the translator, who puts them into the local language, but the message is not altered.

This describes the work of the “sanctified soul” which transfers and translates the spiritual thoughts into spiritual words. This IS the ministry of the “sanctified soul.” The “unsanctified soul” originates the message and hopes that God will anoint and bless it. If the soul accurately translates the thoughts and the words, whether anyone understands or not is irrelevant. This appears to be how Jesus preached. He just gave the Words that came from the Father and if they didn’t understand He didn’t add His own commentary. Obviously we haven’t come to that place yet. Why? Because our soul still wants to originate the message so IT can “serve God” and bypass the spirit.

Since man’s new spirit, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, IS God’s point of contact, ALL ministry must (ideally) originate in this combination of God and spirit. In addition to the Holy Spirit the Living and Abiding Word of God also dwells in our spirit. Also if we love Jesus, the Father will love us and He also will dwell in us, that means in our spirit. When this occurs the anointing is within us and abides in us and teaches us all things. Does that anointing teach the soul? Yes! But not directly, only through our spirit. The problem is magnified by “modern ministry” when the “new baby spirit” that is controlled by the unsanctified soul and then tries to speak of spiritual things.

IF the New Covenant ministry is “taught by the anointing,” all teaching originates in the “sanctuary” but the source is in the Most Holy Place by God through the spirit of man. As the spirit “grows or develops” the soul must be constantly relinquishing its control over the spirit and over the “ministry.” The “mature soul” is the translator of the message and not the originator of the message.

What a tremendous work God must do in us to make us His ministers. He must snatch the ministry away from the soul but at the same time develop the spirit just so He can speak to His people. It seems He must seize the soul quickly and deftly before it has a chance to be corrupted by men’s teaching. God must kidnap the soul by seizing it suddenly and begin stripping it of its fallen attributes. He must quickly “sanctify the soul” when the opportunity presents itself., before it is too late and theology sets in.

After His encounter with God, Paul went down to Jerusalem but God had to snatch him away to Arabia for a few years to prevent him from getting corrupted by man’s wisdom. It must have been at this time that he made the break with Judaism and circumcision and the Law. Those who functioned out of Jerusalem had difficulty making the break with Judaism until Paul stood firm against it.

If God’s Throne and His Kingdom Government is established on earth NOW it must be within us. If it is within us it must be in the spirit where God dwells. Since God communicates with us in the spirit, it is in the spirit where we receive revelation, spiritual understanding, direction, correction, discipline and where we are taught by God. Even if the soul is regenerated, if the spirit has not grown the communication is very limited, confused and a mixture of soul and spirit. To do His Will in the body, there must be a communication of His Will in the spirit that is passed through the soul so His Will can be done in the body.

If the soul is ever to come under the Kingdom Government of God it must first give up its own dominion and submit to the spirit. Since the Kingdom rules over the believer from the spirit, the soul can only function in the Kingdom dimension in the degree that it surrenders to the leadership of the spirit. Unless the spirit has developed some maturity, this process is just a theory and another doctrine without life.

The Consecration Offering is NOT complete until this process is restored to the person. What good is it if we consecrate our body to do the whole will of God but have no faculties to know what that will is. When our Tabernacle is functioning according to the Divine Pattern, the Most Holy Place is flooded with Light and therefore the spirit of man is flooded with Light and we know God’s heart in the spirit. If we are going to be “led by the Spirit” we must have the “mind of the spirit” and a way to bring that understanding into our being.

Most of what we call “being led by the Spirit” is really being led by the soul. When the soul does the work and is active in ministry the spirit loses it function and drys up in life and ceases to grow. The greater the spiritual activity of the spirit the greater its growth! If the person just sits in the pew week after week with no spiritual activity the spirit grows weak. IF there is NO spiritual food to sustain the spirit it begins the process of atrophying. Therefore, a healthy spirit is one that has spiritual activity AND spiritual food.

The soulish “food” served on Sunday is not food for the spirit and week after week the spirit finds that nothing has been prepared for it so it goes away depressed. Maybe it can find a snack or something on TV. If we continue to just feed these soulish messages week after week how will the spirit receive anything. The soul is already filled with facts and information that it can’t process or use. We have stored information about the 7 steps to a 1000 different places and never left the status quo.

Neh 8:10] Then he said to them, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord.

If we haven’t been able to eat of the fat or drink of the sweet how will we be able to prepare portions for others who are in famine.

If we can “visualize” the Holy Place with the Third Veil between the Most Holy Place removed [which it is not] we would see a perfect cooperation between the soul and the spirit in the Kingdom Government of God. The spirit is flooded with the Light / Life of the glory of God. The spirit has given up its dominion and is surrendered to the Spirit of God to await His instruction. The soul has given up its dominion and it is surrendered to the spirit and awaits its instructions which enables it to reveal the Father and manifest the Kingdom. The body has surrendered its dominion and is waiting in submission to the soul and ready to do God’s will.

Now Consecration is set in its proper order so that the Kingdom of God’s Government can be manifest on earth because His will is being done on earth as it is now being done in heaven. This is far more than “assembling together As We See the day drawing near.” This is CAUSING the day to draw near.

Until we can manifest the Kingdom on earth by doing His will here and now there is not much possibility for the Kingdom to be preached in the whole world as a “witness” to every nation. Speculating about what His will is for our day by speaking in abstract terms and in generalities is too near to the Outer Court ministries that we are familiar with. Prophesying about how God is going to pour out a double portion of His Spirit on the casual believers and the lukewarm church and how they are going to do exploits and astound the world with the greater miracles. This is just more hype. Paul might even despise that kind of soulish prophesying. The soul can think up wonderful and encouraging prophesies for those that Jesus said He would vomit out of His mouth.

With all the soulish preaching and teaching over the years the church is still uninformed and untrained in spiritual ministry. It has been left unchallenged about their spiritual life and spiritual growth. It has been left uninspired to press on to perfection or prepare for the New Testament priesthood ministry. Cultural, traditional, doctrinal and denominational bondages are left unchanged. Many speak about the “freedom they have in Christ” but just remain the same year after year because “they are saved.” Ignorance is bliss but it won’t buy us anything in the Kingdom of God.

The soul that is willing to die to its own plans and purposes and has no desire to make a name and build fame for itself and that has surrendered its dominion can be a great asset to the ministry of the Kingdom. The Consecration Offering must divide the soul and the spirit. However, the spirit must also grow to maturity and then surrender its dominion and submit to the Spirit of God. The body must surrender its rights and privileges along with its dominion to obey the soul and the spirit and do the will of God.

The Inner Consecration Offering must continue to burn with the fire of God’s Love until all the other Kingdoms are destroyed and God can be all in all. Then the Kingdom can be seen in one person. Then the next restoration is within the corporate body.

When I speak about soulish ministry I certainly include myself so this is partially a confession of past failures and an assurance that I will try to overcome the problems of the past and press on to maturity. At the present time I’m not sure how to do that but I am convinced that continuing in the status quo is NOT the solution.