Jesus
tells us that our soul will never die. It accompanies our spirit into the
"after-life". Some people think that our soul and spirit are the same
entity; however, God's Word asserts the distinct reality between the soul and
spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
The
soul is our feelings, thoughts and choices. At death, our spirit and soul, the
essence of who we are, are instantly with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). Our
mortal body goes to the grave, but we will receive an immortal body in eternity
(1 Corinthians 15:53).
The
Lord informed His disciples that a poor man died, who believed in Him, and the
angels carried him to heaven; but a rich man died, who did not believe in Him,
and he went into the torments of hell. The soul of both men accompanied their
spirit into eternity.
From
hell, the rich man wanted Abraham's help to give him a drink, but in His
account, Jesus made it clear that there is a great gap between heaven and hell.
This
tormented man was able to speak, hear, suffer pain, thirst, reason, make
requests, etc. without his body, which was in the grave. He "felt"
with his soul all of the discomfort that his body would have felt (Luke 16:22-31).
Jesus
also declared that those who refuse to believe in Him, but who reap finite
blessings all of their life, will lose them at death and be in the anguish of
eternal flames. Yet, like the poor man, the authentic Believer will find
eternal comfort.
The
rich man in hell also wanted Abraham to send the poor man back to earth to warn
his five brothers about the reality of an eternal hell. Abraham cautioned this
poor, suffering soul that God sent His prophets, but people still did not
believe.
Jesus
also pointed out that even if someone from heaven came back to life to warn
people about hell, the masses would not believe. Jesus knew that in His days on
earth, and after His own resurrection from the dead, few would believe in Him (Acts
1:3).
Prayer:
Father
God, You formed man of the dust of the ground (body), and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life (spirit), and man became a living soul (soul)
(Genesis 2:7). You told Adam that if he ate of the tree in the garden, he would
surely die. Then, when Adam disobeyed, Your angel drove him from the garden,
and his physical body died gradually, but his spirit died instantly.
The
desires and affections of some people turn toward You when we realize our
sinful condition. We believe Your Word, and accept Your grace in salvation.
When Your Spirit rebirths our spirit with divine light and life, we yield our whole
body, soul and spirit to You. This allows us to enjoy unbroken communion with
You. Our soul blesses You with every fiber of our being, and we bless Your holy
name (Psalm 103:1).
Thought
for the Day:
The
human spirit, dead in trespasses and sin, is instantly regenerated at
Justification; then, the soul takes the center stage for our Sanctification
process, which takes a lifetime; and the body will eventually be saved through
Glorification the instant we see Jesus, for we shall be like Him.
-
1 John 3:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 4:12
