Strong Souls (2)

And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls… 2 Corinthians 12.15

No cushy calling
The Apostle Paul was only one of the many remarkable men and women used of God to establish and grow the Christian movement in that first generation. As we see in the book of Acts, Paul was almost continually on the move, pausing only on a couple of occasions for extended stays in one place or another. He preached, evangelized, taught, counseled, and trained leaders for the emerging churches. In the process he endured no small amount of hardship – deprivation, harassment, persecution, stoning, imprisonment, and, ultimately, death at the hand of the Romans.

Clearly, this was no cushy calling. Why would Paul spend so much time, invest all his best energy, and become so thoroughly and completely spent? He tells us: For the souls of those the Lord had called into His churches.

The focus of Paul’s efforts was at all times on strengthening the souls of those entrusted to his care. He commended the pastor Philemon because he was able to refresh the souls of those he served (Philemon 7). He wrote to Timothy, a young pastor, to remind him that love, which is the hallmark of every true follower of Jesus Christ, rises from the soul – from sound thinking, a clean heart, and a good conscience (1 Tim. 1.5). Jesus had come to show and declare the love of God to the world, and He instructed His followers that it would be such love that would mark them off as His disciples (Jn. 13.35). To be able to love like Jesus, in the face of all kinds of adversity, one has to be strengthened in his soul – heart, mind, and conscience.

Full faith in Jesus begins in the soul and is sustained in the soul.

So it was to this end – the strengthening of the souls of believers – that Paul spent and was spent in his ministry.

Shaped from within
The plain teaching of Scripture is that human beings are shaped from within, by the condition and disposition of their minds, hearts, and consciences. These three components overlap, interact, and cohere to form the soul, from which full faith in Christ grows with power.

With the mind we perceive the world, and ourselves in it. We think, analyze, compare, assess, associate, plan, and envision the life of Kingdom and glory to which God has called us (1 Thess. 2.12).

The heart provides the emotional energy and staying power to help us carry our thoughts through to action.

And the conscience guards and guides the mind and heart by the Word of God, to clarify our thoughts and purify our affections.

Each of these components – heart, mind, and conscience – is a spiritual entity. Each has its own function, but all of them work together, interacting and overlapping, to shape us into the people we are. The Spirit of God, Who dwells in the souls of those who believe in Jesus, is at work within us, making us willing and able to do that which is pleasing to God – exceeding abundantly beyond all we’ve ever dared to ask or think, as if we were on spiritual steroids (Phil. 2.13; Eph. 3.20). The way He does this is by informing our minds with the Word and will of God, cleansing and renewing our hearts, and firming up our consciences according to the will of God.

The soul is of such importance in the life of faith that the Lord has built into the structure of His churches an office dedicated to watching over the wellbeing of the soul of every believer (Heb. 13.17). We’ll have more to say about this later in this study.

The self-watch
The Christian movement grows and flourishes on the strength of the souls of individual believers. If we are strong in our souls, the faith of Christ spreads, expands, transforms, renews, and restores to uprightness everything it touches. We need to have the same emphasis as the Apostles when it comes to our own faith and the Christian movement of our day. If we continue to spend and be spent primarily on externals such as buildings, budgets, programs, and the like, we’ll fail in our calling and mission. The Apostles spent and were spent on behalf of the souls of God’s people. We must do the same, beginning with our own souls.

If asked, could you effectively and accurately assess the state of your soul? Ascertain its strengths and needs? Determine a course for its improvement? Know how to guard it against the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil? The Scriptures consistently call us to keep a close watch over our souls. Consider Solomon’s advice in Proverbs 4.20-27. He urges his son to exercise vigilance with respect to his thoughts (vv. 20-22), his heart (v. 23), and the decisions of his will (vv. 25-27), as well as over his words and ways.

Most of us, I suspect, only have the vaguest of ideas concerning the nature and nurture of our souls. Can we expect to know the kind of conviction, courage, caring, and confession as those first believers if we do not give ourselves to spend and be spent for the strengthening of our souls?

For reflection
1.  What’s the difference between the heart, the mind, and the conscience?

2.  How do the Word and Spirit of God work to strengthen our souls?

3.  What’s involved in keeping a close watch over the state of your soul?

Next steps: What does it mean to “spend and be spent” for the soul of another person? Ask a church leader or pastor.

T. M. Moore

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This week’s ReVision study is Part 4 of a 10-part series, “Full Faith.” You can download “Strong Souls” as a free PDF, prepared for personal or group study. Simply click here.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.