Rightly Dividing Man: Spirit, Soul, and BodyThere are many Christians who have been saved
and filled with the Holy Spirit for many years, whose
souls are not yet saved. Some Christians have lived and
died and their souls have never been saved, and they've
been tossed to and fro by the devil because of it. That's
absolutely the truth! Their souls weren't renewed,
restored, or made whole by the Word of God, so they
couldn't stand successfully against the attacks of the
devil.
Now don't misunderstand me. Just because
Christians haven't renewed their minds doesn't mean
they won't go to Heaven when they die. Of course they
will go to Heaven because their spirits are born of God
—they're children of God. But Christians who have
failed to renew their minds forfeit the privilege to enter
into all that belongs to them in Christ while they are
here on earth. And even though they have victory over
the devil in Christ, they never understand how to
successfully stand in that victory because of an
unrenewed mind.
'He Restores My Soul'
Let's look at another verse in connection with the
saving of the soul. We've all read Psalm 23 many times.
The psalmist said, "He restoreth my soul..." (Ps. 23:3).
Psalm 23 is a prophetic psalm that belongs to the
Church. It was written in King David's day for the
Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are living in Psalm
23 right now because it says, "The Lord is my
shepherd...," and in the New Testament Jesus called
Himself the good shepherd (John 10:11).
Actually, the word "restoreth" in Psalm 23 and the
Greek word translated "renew" in Romans 12:2 have
about the same meaning. To "restore" carries the