And psychometry is the discovery that the mind can act outside the human body and that the ‘psychometric sensitive’ can read the past like an open book. Then came a discovery called ‘statvolism,’ signifying a peculiar condition produced by the will, in which the subject can ‘throw the mind’ to any distant place, and see, hear, smell, and taste, what is going on there. Then came a discovery called” Pathetism” …By this the mind could withdraw itself from the consciousness of pain and cure diseases. Jesse Penn Lewis
“Through the Spirit we do mortify the deeds of the body.” This mortifying operation works not through soul-power. “If Christ be in us the body is dead because of sin.” These verses are in Romans 8. See, the impotent soul cannot effect or give life or death, for that matter; without the Spirit, it only retains its inherent life and develops it inordinately.
When the Word and Spirit come in us and then dwell in us richly as in Col 3:16, they separate soul from human spirit, and criticize the thoughts and intents of the heart as in Hebrews 4:12. WOW! Yah, the “Words that I speak unto you are spirit and they are life,“ John 6:63. That Spirit dwells in every true believer and guides us into all truth, and creates the desire in us for the sincere milk of the Word.
The spirit of a man is the sun, and soul is the moon in a metaphor. Sun is the real deal and moon the reflector of the real deal. See? Have you ever felt helpless? Ever felt elated? Has guilt overcome you or loneliness? These are soul phenomena, functions of un-spirit penetrated “moon” operations. Now, un-spirited mental feats of IQ and will power also loom possible without the spirit influence. Truthfully, much can be demonstrated by soul without spirit. We may have unconsciously learned some soul-techniques before we had the Spirit of God.
Friends, “flesh profiteth nothing,” and blocks the work of the Holy Spirit. So, where is flesh? Well, have you ever wondered why many folks at the health food store know so much about physical health, yet are not even believers? This is because they, through bringing their bodies and flesh under subjection, seek to release their soul’s well being. Flesh with the old sin nature resides in the body since the fall of Adam. This disciplining of the body may be done sincerely and maybe is not wrong for people; however, others are very aware of the hindrance that an undisciplined or malfunctioning body can bring to the “sense of well being”— and so the start of a soul development trend.
Folks, an obsession with governing the physical where sin was relegated after the fall, can lead to an obsession with the soul’s release. Not good. Special powers can be discovered too. These powers and abilities are outlined in many books from Hindu practice to New Age techniques. Watchman Nee before his conversion to Christianity had discovered a technique for reading men’s thoughts. He realized later through the Holy Spirit that this practice was not from God. He discarded it.
Why? In these last days we are to not be deceived, we have all seen soul powered operations that have left us amazed. Even though some of these counterfeits, like intuition, influence, charisma, and even healings may seem to be a help in our ministry, they may be just soul-derived and should not be relied on.
So what can we conclude? Well, “if that same spirit that raised up Christ from the dead dwell in you, He will quicken your mortal body…” We must decide some real things. 1) Is the power that I use derive from a Spirit operation which deadens the “body of sin?” 2) Does my mortal body receive quickening in spite of my physical weakness? 3) Do I glory in my infirmities and find power resting on me? 4) instead do I find power in effort, natural strength, or will power? 5) Am I obsessed with natural means of power release and sense of well being, ie. natural healing, prescription drugs, street drugs, alcohol, opiates etc.?
Now some of the above may be legitimate and helpful no doubt, however my point is concerned about an overkill. Folks, it is somewhat natural to want to overcome infirmity and defects. We should do this, but not to the degree of eliminating a need for God’s Spirit.
Let’s fearfully think of the other side. Friends we call this side “suffering.” O my Gosh. With a risk of being misunderstood, we cannot escape the many verses in the Bible about suffering. We are not ascetics, nor have a persecution complex. We are not into self-flagellation and such. Nevertheless, our planned-by-God course of life often allows suffering, and O yes, even pain, O dear ones
In closing, beloved, know that God allows pain and suffering at times in our lives. These give us the opportunity to stay in subjection and rely on Him alone. See, deficient natural strength does not disqualify us, but rather assists us. It helps us resist the urge to do the work of God in our own strength and do it our way. It keeps us from a religious, works oriented center for our lives. It leads us to utter dependency on our friend and savior, Jesus Christ, and this is where we belong. Love ya