Body Versus Soul 
 

by Terry Benton

The body is temporal and designed for a temporal world. It is a vehicle or instrument through which we act and communicate. It is designed to carry us through a world of learning curves. It goes uphill with difficulties at times and sometimes it coasts along a temporal flat plain. It carries a life-force inside the vehicle. That life-force is the spirit, character, or soul carried inside the vehicle. It is designed to prepare for eternity with God. When the vehicle stops working, the soul will leave the body, the vehicle, and await the judgment. The vehicle may crash, it may fail to operate, but the spirit does not cease to exist. It enters an unseen realm. We do not know how long our vehicle will work, but we know it will eventually stop carrying us through this temporal world. Therefore, our mission is to fill the spirit with those things that make us like God, our Creator and Judge. The gospel prepares our souls and feeds our souls with power to meet God at the end of our journey. Thus, even when our vehicle is suffering difficulty it becomes an opportunity for the soul. While the outward man perishes, the inward man can be "renewed" day by day (2 Cor.4:16f). It is important to "renew" your spirit and soul by refreshing it with connections to the eternal things available in Christ. We face challenges in this world, but, we are overcomers through Jesus and His refreshments.

Psalm 119:71-72

It is good for me that I have been afflicted , That I may learn Your statutes. 72 The law of Your mouth is better to me  Than thousands of coins of gold and silver. NKJV

Sometimes we cannot help what is happening to our vehicle, but we can always control how we respond in our soul and spirit. That is the difference between body and soul. Be wise regarding your soul!

 

 

 Other Articles by Terry Benton

They Hated Me First
Subjective Spirit Leading
The Pharisee Shield
Review of Radical Restoration Chapter 1
These Things Became Our Examples
The Fall and the Rising