ABOUT THE BOOK

Man is much more than the physical person that we see. We were created in the image and likeness of God. And we know that God is a Spirit. It therefore means that man is also a spirit being. Man also has a soul and a physical body. Our body is the house we live in. Put in a nutshell, man is a tripartite being.

In this book, we will look at the TOTAL MAN – the spirit, soul and body. We also pointed out the basic differences between the spirit and the soul of man which are often misconstrued to be the same.

Other issues that is addressed in this book are;

*The different context the word soul is used in the Bible.
*What makes up the soul of a man.
*How we are supposed to save our souls.
*How we are supposed to put our bodies under control.
*The final redemption of our body.
*Are the dead conscious?
*How to be saved.

I believe that this book will remove the dark clouds of ignorance that has hitherto filled our minds on this subject and inspire you do the needful to secure your salvation and always allow the inner man to be in charge of your life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pastor Ken Macaulay is the President of Global Word Impact Ministries, Rivers State, Nigeria. He is a Church Growth Consultant, Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher, Writer, and a Motivational Speaker.

As a Church Growth consultant, he organizes periodic seminars on Church Growth for Church Leaders on subjects such as; The Cell System Dynamics, Follow-up Methodology, Dynamics of Soul Winning, Leadership Development, and Church Administration.
He holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.

He is gifted with deep insight in the word of God which is set to change the mentality of the 21st Century Church.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 - Man as a Tripartite Being.
Chapter 2 – The Spirit of Man.
Chapter 3 - The Soul of Man.
Chapter 4 – The Salvation of Our Souls.
Chapter 5 - The Differences between the Spirit and Soul.
Chapter 6 - The Body of Man.
Chapter 7 – The Redemption of Our Bodies.
Chapter 8 – Are The Dead Conscious?
Chapter 9 – How to Be Saved.

Chapter 1 - Man as a Tripartite Being.

Man is a tripartite being and this truth is unveiled in the scripture. He is a Spirit that has a soul and lives in a body. The account of the creation of man said that he was created in the image of God. As it is written;

“And God said, LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE, AFTER OUR LIKENESS: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” (Genesis 1:26-27)

The scripture also says; “GOD IS A SPIRIT: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24). If man is created in his image, it therefore means that man is also a spirit being.

The account of Genesis reveals to us how God formed the body of man;

“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7).

The phrase, ‘man became a living soul’ is translated ‘man became a living being’ in the New King James version. The word soul used here should not be confused with the immortal soul of a man which is that part of a man that enables him to make contact with the intellectual realm. This will be discussed in details much later.

So, there is a clear revelation of the spirit and the body of man in the book of Genesis but nothing was revealed about the soul of a man.
To buttress my point that man is tripartite in nature, let’s look at a few scriptures that points to this truth;

“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole SPIRIT AND SOUL AND BODY be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

This is the only scripture where the three parts of man is mentioned at the same time. The spirit and soul of man is often mistaken to be the same. The natural man cannot tell the difference between both. If they are the same, the passage above would not separate them. It should have just read, the spirit and the body or the soul and the body. But it said, spirit, soul and body. It’s only the word of God that can separate both. Hence, Apostle Paul wrote;

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the DIVIDING ASUNDER OF SOUL AND SPIRIT, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12).

The scripture above says that the soul and the spirit can be divided. And it can only be done by be the word of God. The Phrase, ‘piercing even to the DIVIDING ASUNDER OF SOUL AND SPIRIT’ is rendered as ‘piercing even to the DIVISION OF SOUL AND SPIRIT’ in the New King James version. So, if the can be divided by the word of God, they are not the same.

It is with our spirits that we make contact with the spirit realm. Our souls enable us to make contact with the intellectual realm while our bodies enable us to live in this physical world. We will examine in more details each of these parts of man in the chapters that follows.

Chapter 2 – The Spirit of Man.

The Spirit of man is the real man as we noted in the introductory chapter. It is that part of man that looks like God and functions like God. Man was created in the image and likeness of God. Since God is a Spirit, man by inference is also a spirit being.

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. SO GOD CREATED MAN IN HIS OWN IMAGE, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” (Genesis 1:26-27).

The Bible calls the spirit of man the hidden man of the heart;

“But let it be the HIDDEN MAN OF THE HEART, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” (1 Peter 3:4).
Two verses of the scripture call it the inward man;

“For I delight in the law of God after the INWARD MAN: (Romans 7:22).

“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the INWARD MAN is renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16).

Another word used synonymous with the spirit of man is the heart;

“A NEW HEART also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

The Phrase ‘a new spirit’ is not referring to the human spirit but the Holy Spirit. So, it was wrongly written in lower case. The word from which spirit is translated from is the same for both the human spirit and the Holy Spirit. So, it is at the discretion of the translators to know which one is being referred to within the context of the passage.

The other passages where the word heart also means the human spirits are shown below;

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the HEART man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9-10)

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the HEART OF MAN, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
In the book of Proverbs, he is called the candle of the Lord;

“The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.” (Proverbs 20:27).

Facts about the Human Spirit

1. The Human Spirit Is Eternal. Man is an eternal being because he is created in the image and likeness of God. So, he lives on even after death. However, the spirit of man died when Adam sinned against God. To be spiritually death is to be cut off from the life and nature of God. It also makes it impossible to fellowship with God. However, his soul lives on in a place of torment known as hell after death unless he accepts the free gift of salvation offered on the platform of grace.

Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippian Church;

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.” (Philippians 1:21-24).

Apostle Paul expressed his desire to depart from this earth and be with Christ. He is talking about the real man – his spirit. He however chose to stay on earth for a while for the benefit of his converts. Hence he said, ‘Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.’ So, the spirit of man lives on even after death.

2. It Is the Spirit That Gives Life to The Body. The scripture says,

“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2:26).

It Is with Our Spirits That We Make Contact with The Spirit Realm. The spirit realm is where God, Angels, Satan, demons and all forms of evil spirits dwell. The spirit realm includes also heaven and hell. The dream world is also part of the spirit realm. When your body is asleep, your spirit man is awake and sees things in the realm of the spirit.

3. It is also with our spirits we see into the realm of the sprit through open visions and trances. Apostle Paul wrote,

“It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” (2 Corinthians 12:1-4).

John the beloved was able to write the things he saw in the book or revelation because his spiritual eyes were opened to see them. He said”

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks.” (Revelation 1:10-12).

He didn’t see them with his physical eyes. He was in the spirit and saw things which he was instructed to write down.

4. It Is Our Spirits That Received Eternal Life from God at New Birth.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Nothing happened to your soul and body at new birth. God gave those who received Christ a brand new spirit. This is also in fulfillment of the prophecy of Ezekiel which reads;

“A NEW HEART also will I give you, and A NEW SPIRIT will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you A HEART OF FLESH. And I will PUT MY SPIRIT WITHIN YOU, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

5. God Leads Us Primarily by Our Spirits. Hence, it is written,

“The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.” (Proverbs 20:27).

Most of the times, you just have a witness within you that either stops you from taking a wrong decision or approves what you are about to do. If we learn to always listen to our hearts or our spirits, we will make less mistakes in decision making. It is this same inner witness that bears witness with the Holy Spirit that we are the children of God. “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” (Romans 8:16).

There are times that the Holy Spirit also speaks to us through a still small voice. Thus the scripture says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” (Romans 8:14)

6. The Newly Created Human Spirit Feeds On God’s Word for Spiritual Growth. Hence, Peter wrote;

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.” (1st Peter 2:2).

We are born of the word of God (1st Peter 1:23) and as such needs that same word to sustain us.

7. It Is with Our Spirit Through the Holy Spirit That We Receive Spiritual Understanding of God’s Word.

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; THAT WE MIGHT KNOW THE THINGS THAT ARE FREELY GIVEN TO US OF GOD. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:12-14)

The things of God cannot be understood with our physical reasoning. Many a time, they sound so foolish to the mind. No wonder Apostle Paul said;

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for THEY ARE FOOLISHNESS UNTO HIM: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14).

He added;

“For the preaching of the cross is TO THEM THAT PERISH FOOLISHNESS; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18).

8. It Is with Our Spirits (Hearts) That We Believe God.

“For WITH THE HEART (SPIRIT) MAN BELIEVETH unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:10).

You don’t believe God with your mind or your head.

9. The Spirit Man Created After the Image of God Lives by Faith.

Living by faith begins with the process of believing God as stated in the previous point. But it does not end there. When you believe God, you vocalize it and take corresponding action. The scripture says that the just shall live by faith in three different passages of the scriptures – Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38.

“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2:26).

“That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Hebrews 6:12).

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

10. The Voice of the Spirit Is the Conscience.

It either excuses or accuses your actions or inactions. This is the reason you feel guilty as a child of God when you fall into errors. Hence, John wrote;

“For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.” (1 John 3:20-21).

Our conscience is the policeman that God puts within our hearts to check us when we are going astray. Even those who don’t know God also have conscience that either excuse their actions or inactions. Just like Paul wrote;

“For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another. “(Romans 2:14-15).

There are those whose conscience are seared. Such people don’t feel any guilt of wrong doing and have made themselves sons of perdition. The Bible describes them thus; “Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” (1 Timothy 4:2).

11. The Spirit of Man Has Its Realm of Thoughts.

In the book of Genesis, God said before the destruction of the world with flood;

“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the THOUGHTS OF HIS HEART was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5).

In the book of proverbs, it is written,

“For as he THINKETH IN HIS HEART, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.” (Proverbs 23:7)

Even our Lord Jesus said, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders.” (Mark 7:21).

12. The Spirit of Man Has Its Will. When our Lord Jesus was praying hours before his arrest, he said,

“And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:39).

Even in Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippian Church, he expressed his will when he wrote;

“But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better” (Philippians 1:22-23).

There is also the will of the flesh and of the mind which will be discussed in subsequent chapters.

13. The Spirit of Man Expresses Emotions.

Emotions such as joy and pure love from the heart is of the spirit. Hence the scripture talks about the joy of the Holy Ghost.

“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” (Romans 14:17).

Besides, the nature of the new spirit includes joy;

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,” (Galatians 5:22).

To be continued.

Chapter 3 - The Soul of Man.

The word soul is used in two different context in the Bible. In the first, it means a person. So, the total man is sometimes referred to as a soul. In the book of Genesis, it said;

“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and MAN BECAME A LIVING SOUL.” (Genesis 2:7).

The word soul here is translated from the Hebrew word, nephesh which means a breathing creature or a living being. Hence, the New King James rendered the verse above thus;

“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and MAN BECAME A LIVING BEING.” (Genesis 2:7)

In another verse, we see where the word soul also translated from the Hebrew word nephesh which means a living being;

“And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, THAT SOUL SHALL BE CUT OFF from his people; he hath broken my covenant. (Genesis 17:14).

The bolded means that person shall be cut off.
The soul is used in another context to mean that part of man that lives on after death. This is translated from the Greek word, psuche which is the seat of feelings (emotions), will and mind. This part of the body just like the spirit lives on even after death.

The soul is the intellectual faculty of man. It is with our souls through the functions of the mind coordinating with the physical brain that we reason and make decisions on a daily basis.

At new birth nothing happened to your soul and body. It was your spirit that received eternal life. The salvation of your soul is your responsibility. Thus, James wrote;

“Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, WHICH IS ABLE TO SAVE YOUR SOULS.” (James 1:21).

James wrote to the church to receive God’s word which is able to save their souls. He didn’t say, ‘which is able to save your spirits’ because our spirit man is already saved.

So, the soul consists of your mind, will and emotions. The mind is the coordination centre of the soul. It is with our minds we receive information, process it through thinking and make decisions. The mind also has the ability to store information. However, the information stored in the mind is volatile just like the RAM of a computer but that stored in the heart is permanent like he hard disk of a computer.

The carnal mind has its desires;
“Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, FULFILLING THE DESIRES OF THE FLESH AND OF THE MIND; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” (Ephesians 2:3).

Our minds have both creative and destructive tendency depends on what you dwell your thoughts on. Evil men today are using their minds to fight against the will of God. They event or create evil things that turns people away from God. Thus Paul wrote;

“Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, INVENTORS OF EVIL THINGS, disobedient to parents,” (Romans 1:30).
The Bible says the carnal or fleshly mind cannot please God or be subject to the Law of God;

“For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the CARNAL MIND IS ENMITY AGAINST GOD: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” (Romans 8:6-7).

The will of the carnal mind is usually contrary to the will of God. It seeks to fulfill its carnal desires. This is why it is important to renew your mind the moment you get saved so you can understand what the will of the Lord is and align yourself with it.

The soul is also the seat of feelings or emotions. There are positive and negative emotions. Some of the positive emotions are; joy, gratitude, hope, awe, surprise, affections and cheerfulness. Negative emotions include; fear, anger, depression, resentment, anxiety, impatient, and moodiness. If these negative emotions are not checked or controlled, it could ruin your Christian testimony and even cut short your life span.

Remember that it was impatient that made Abraham sleep with his maid, Hagar and gave birth to Ishmael whose descendant are still terrorizing the nation of Israel and the world till date. Moses could not enter the promise land because of anger and unbelief. It is therefore our responsibility to do something about the salvation of our souls which involves the renewing of our minds, aligning our will with the will of God and controlling every negative emotion that work against us. This will be discussed in details in the next chapter.

Chapter 4 – The Salvation of Our Souls.

The salvation of soul like we have mentioned in the previous chapters is our responsibility and it is a gradual process. James wrote;

“Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, WHICH IS ABLE TO SAVE YOUR SOULS.” (James 1:21).

James wrote to the church that was already saved but it is the spirit man that is saved and not the soul. We said before now that our souls consist of our mind, will and emotions.
So, the salvation of our souls must involve the three areas. Our mind must be renewed, our will must be aligned with the will of God and our emotions must be brought under control. We will take each of these process one by one.

Process 1 - The Renewing of Our Mind.

Apostle Paul wrote;

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2).

In another place, he said; “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; (Ephesians 4:23). In his letter to the Colossian church, he also wrote;

“And have put on the new man, which is RENEWED IN KNOWLEDGE after the image of him that created him.” (Colossians 3:10).

Mind renewing is a gradual and continuous process. It takes place when you continually acquaint yourself with the word of God. This new knowledge of God and of Christ gradually replaces whatever has been programmed into your mind before your new birth. This is the only way you can be transformed and live a victorious Christian life.

Put in another way, mind renewal simply means to change your way of thinking. Align your thought life with the word of God. There is a way the people of the world think and after you have received Christ, you are expected to change from the old way of thinking. The thought pattern of the world will programme you to fail. This is because what you think will influence what you say and what you say will produce either positive or negative result depending on the content.

Why do we have so much evil works in the society today? It is because the mind of the unsaved is programmed that way. God destroyed the first world because he found out that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually – Genesis 6:5. Your mind is the doorway to your heart. What you think about for too long will take residence in your heart over time. The book of proverbs says;

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life”. (Proverbs 4:2).

If you don’t want the wrong thoughts to creep into your heart, stop it at the point that it enters your mind.

Even our Lord Jesus said;

“A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” (Matthew 12:35).

When you are born again and your mind is not renewed, you still find yourself doing things the way of the people of the world. And the church has come under criticism because of this. They wonder why those who profess to be Christian do certain things that are against moral norms.

So, you must make effort to renew your mind constantly with the word of God. Don’t continue to think the way the natural man thinks. Let’s look at a few examples of what it means to change your thought pattern.
For instance, the people of the world think that things happen by chance or by what people call luck. But the Bible teaches otherwise. Nothing happens by chance. We make things happen by the application of divine principles that governs life.

The people of the world also believe that what will be will be. So, if you are programmed to be poor, there is nothing you can do about it. This is a lie from the pit of hell. You have a glorious future in Christ and as such you can have a successful life if you walk in the light of God’s word. If you don’t like where you are currently in life, you can change it. Your life can be transformed from poverty to wealth. But it will certainly not happen overnight.

Another area we must renew our minds is concerning our health. The natural man takes it for granted that sickness is part of life. But when your mind is renewed in this area, you will find out that God wants you to enjoy good health. You can live in divine health the rest of your life if you walk in the light of God’s word. Even when one falls sick, our minds are usually programmed to go immediately for medication. There is nothing absolutely wrong in taking medication when you fall sick but a renewed mind will pray first. James wrote;

“Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” (James 5:13-14).

Under the Old Covenant, God was not pleased with King Asa because he didn’t seek him first when he was sick;

“And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: YET IN HIS DISEASE HE SOUGHT NOT TO THE LORD, but to the physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.” (2 Chronicles 16:12-13).

If, however your present level of faith is not strong enough to trust God for healing through prayer, you can seek medical help. But build up your faith to the point where you can trust God for your healing because there are some cures that doctors don’t know and there are hurts that x-rays don’t see.

Don’t permit any negative thought to stay in your mind. Wrong thoughts can become strongholds in your life that will hinder you from moving forward. This is why Apostle Paul said we should bring every thought to the obedience of Christ;

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and BRINGING INTO CAPTIVITY EVERY THOUGHT TO THE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST”. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

Paul in his letter to the Philippian church tells us what we should dwell our thoughts on;

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” (Philippians 4:.

The best way to keep or guard your heart is to constantly meditate on God’s word. Think success all the time. Align your thought with what God has said in his word. His word says that you are more than a conqueror. It says that the greater one lives in you. No matter where you find yourself in life, have a positive mindset that all things will work together for your good. This is part of the process of saving your soul.

Process 2 - Align Your Will with the Will of God.

The souls also have its will which most of the times is in conflict with God’s will for your life. You must make up your mind to do God’s will because God’s light will only shine on those walking in his will. The scripture says;

“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:7-.

The fleshly mind still seeks to control us as it did when we were not born again. Hence, Paul wrote to the Ephesian church;
“Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” (Ephesians 2:3).

You shouldn’t permit your carnal mind to control you anymore. “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6).

There is also the wrong belief that so many believers in Christ carry over to their Christian faith. It has to do with their attitude towards the fellowship of the brethren. They believe that church attendance does not have to be every service. So, you see most of them skip services and come whenever they like. But this attitude is not consistent with the word of God. The scripture says;

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25).

In the verse that follows, such attitude is called sin;

“FOR IF WE SIN WILFULLY after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,” (Hebrews 10:26).

The believer whose mind is not renewed doesn’t see anything wrong in preferring to be in his business premise during fellowship hour. He puts making money above serving God. And this is unacceptable to God. Our Lord Jesus said.

“NO MAN CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24).

So, your soul is being saved when you align your will with the will of God in every area of your life. There are so many professing believers that have taken wrong decisions in their relationship and marital issue. Some enter into relationship with unbelievers and feel it doesn’t matter. This is a trap from the pit of hell. The scripture cautions against it through the letter Apostle Paul wrote;

“BE YE NOT UNEQUALLY YOKED TOGETHER WITH UNBELIEVERS: for what fellowship hath RIGHTEOUSNESS with UNRIGHTEOUSNESS? and what communion hath LIGHT with DARKNESS? And what concord hath CHRIST with BELIAL? or what part hath HE THAT BELIEVETH with AN INFIDEL? And what agreement hath the TEMPLE OF GOD with IDOLS? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16).

He calls the believer light and the unbeliever darkness. He also called the believer the temple of God while the unbeliever is referred to as an idol. There are of course a few of such relationships that have worked out. These are exceptions and should never be used as a rule. Follow God’s word in decision making in every area of your life. Align your will with the will of God. Our Lord Jesus warned;

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; BUT HE THAT DOETH THE WILL OF MY FATHER which is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21).
John adds;

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: BUT HE THAT DOETH THE WILL OF GOD ABIDETH FOR EVER.” (1 John 2:15-17).

Process 3 - Control Your Negative Emotions.

The last part of soul that needs salvation is your emotion. There are positive and negative emotions. Negative emotions can destroy your Christian testimonies. They are emotions such as fear, anger, worry, envy, jealousy, moodiness and impatient as we mentioned earlier.

Five Ways to Control Your Emotions;

*First, acknowledge that they have negative effects in your life.

*Secondly, make up your mind to put under control these negative emotions.

*Thirdly, let the word of God dominate you through constant study and meditation.

*Fourthly, walk in love. The attributes of love are just the direct opposite of these negative emotions. The thirteenth chapter of the book of First Corinthians describes the nature of this love. Go through it over and over again and practice what it teaches.

*Fifthly, resist negative thoughts with the word of God. Outburst of negative emotions begins with the wrong thoughts. If you allow the thought of hatred to dwell long in your mind, it could stir you up to kill.

Hence Paul wrote;

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Remember the temptations our Lord Jesus went through. It came with suggestions from the devil. But each time it came, Jesus used the word of God to resist it. (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13).

Chapter 5 - The Differences between the Spirit and Soul.

We will use this chapter to point out the major differences between the spirit of man and the soul of man even though we have mentioned most of them in chapters two and three of this book.

Before we begin to point out the basic differences between both, let’s look at their similarities first;

1. Both The Spirit and Soul Are Eternal.

They live on after death. Though our Lord Jesus talks about the destruction of the soul. It is said in the context of the torment the soul will encounter in hell and in the Lake of fire. It doesn’t mean that the soul will cease to exist.
After death, the memory of life lived on earth will still be there because the soul is still alive. This is what happened to the rich man. He still remembered everything that happened on earth. He knew he had members of his family that were still alive on earth;

“Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: FOR I HAVE FIVE BRETHREN; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.” (Luke 16:27-28).

2. The Spirit and The Soul Have Wills but They Are in Conflict If the Soul Is Not Saved.

The soul will always want take decision based on logical reasoning but the spirit follows the leading of the Holy Spirit in accordance to God’s word.

3. They Both Have the Capacity to Store Information.

But information stored in the soul through the mind is volatile but that stored in the heart is permanent.

4. They Both Expresses Emotions.

But the spirit expresses only positive emotions as it is created in the image and likeness of God. The soul expresses both positive and negative emotions.

5. They Both Have the Ability to Understand Things.

But the soul only understands carnal things while the spirit understands all things.

Basic Differences Between the Spirit and The Soul of a Man.

1. It Is with Our Spirit That We Make Contact with The Spirit Realm but Our Souls Make Contact with The Intellectual Realm.

The spirit through visions and trances can see into the realm of the spirit. But the souls do not. It is with your soul you are able to acquire knowledge in schools and through personal study.

2. God Leads Us Primarily Through Our Spirits and Not Through Our Souls. Thus the scripture says;

“The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.” (Proverbs 20:27).

This is why it is important to always listen to your heart and not your head or reasoning when making major decisions.

3. It Is the Spirit That Got Saved at New Birth. The soul of the new creation did not get saved. It is our responsibility to save our souls through the process we discussed in the previous chapter.

4. It Is with Our Spirit That We Pray in Other Tongues. Our soul has nothing to do with it unless the interpretation is given. Hence Paul wrote;

“For if I pray in an unknown tongue, MY SPIRIT PRAYETH, but my understanding (mind) is unfruitful.” (1 Corinthians 14:14).

5. It Is Your Spirit That Gives Life to Your Body and Not the Soul. Just as James wrote;

“FOR AS THE BODY WITHOUT THE SPIRIT IS DEAD, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2:26).

The madman whose mind is uncoordinated still lives on even in his mentally unstable condition.

6. Your Spirit Can Know Things Supernaturally Through the Operation of the Gifts of the Spirit but The Soul Can Only Acquire Knowledge Through Diligent Study.

During the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus, he revealed to the woman of Samaria her past marital life (John4:17-18). This could only be possible through the operation of the gift of the Holy Spirit working through his spirit. The soul has nothing to do with it.

7. It Is with Your Spirit That You Understand the Things of the Spirit. The soul doesn’t understand spiritual things unless it is renewed in the word of God.

This is why the people of the world whose spirits are dead cannot find God with their souls. It takes the preaching of the gospel to save them. And even at that, so many still don’t believe the gospel because it sounds foolish to them. Hence Paul wrote;

“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

8. The Voice of the Spirit Is Called the Conscience While the Voice of the Soul Is Reasoning.

The soul through the mind always try to figure things out before making vital decisions.

When A Believer Dies, The Spirit and His Soul Which Is Part of His Being Goes to Heaven. But The Soul of the Lost Goes to Hell. The Bible hardly speaks of the spirit of the lost because their spirit man is dead.

9. Divine Wisdom Resides in The Spirit but Worldly Wisdom Resides in The Soul. This is why Apostle Paul wrote;

“That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory.” (1 Corinthians 2:5-7).

10. The Inspiration for Creativity Comes from The Spirit but The Soul Through the Power of Imagination and Proven Laws Brings Every Dream to Fruition.

The scripture says;

“But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” (Job 32:.

This explains why major inventions on earth today are linked to the Jews who were the people chosen by God. Whatever you see today that appears like new inventions are built on existing knowledge discovered by scientist years back.

Chapter 6 - The Body of Man.

Our bodies are the dwelling place of our spirits. The body looks exactly like the spirit and not the other way round. The spirit man is the real man. He is called the inward man. Our body is the outward man which contains the five sense organs that is coordinated by the brain to carry out daily routine.

“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16).

Apostle Paul calls the body our tabernacle in another place;

“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2 Corinthians 5:1).

It is with our body that we are able to make contact with this physical world we call earth. The present body we live in today has a limited life span because of the sin of Adam.
Otherwise, man was created to live forever on earth.

When one gives his life to Christ, it is the spirit man that got saved. Nothing happened to the body. The scripture however tells us what to do with our bodies;

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, THAT YE PRESENT YOUR BODIES A LIVING SACRIFICE, HOLY, ACCEPTABLE UNTO GOD, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1).

To be a living sacrifice is to be dead to the things of the world but alive to God in active service. The body still seek to control us and bring us under the bondage of sin. This is because sin still dwell in this body. Apostle Paul confirmed it when he wrote;

“Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, BUT SIN THAT DWELLETH IN ME.” (Romans 7:20).

“But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the LAW OF SIN WHICH IS IN MY MEMBERS.” (Romans 7:23).

But God has given us dominion over sin by putting his very nature in us. The scripture says;

“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:14).

“For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:17).

It is your responsibility to put your body or flesh under control just like Paul said;
“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Our flesh could be a major hindrance in our service to God if you don’t control it. Let the inner man be in charge. Don’t let your flesh rule over you.

“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. SO THEN THEY THAT ARE IN THE FLESH CANNOT PLEASE GOD. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. FOR IF YE LIVE AFTER THE FLESH, YE SHALL DIE: but if ye through the Spirit do MORTIFY THE DEEDS OF THE BODY, ye shall live.” (Romans 8:5-13).

Apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians church mentioned some works of the flesh;

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21).

He also told us how to put the flesh under;

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16).

To walk in the spirit is to let the inner man be in control through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Even if you make errors which will definitely happen, be quick to repent and move on in your Christian faith. The scripture says;

“IF WE SAY THAT WE HAVE NO SIN, WE DECEIVE OURSELVES, and the truth is not in us. IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. IF WE SAY THAT WE HAVE NOT SINNED, WE MAKE HIM A LIAR, AND HIS WORD IS NOT IN US.” (1 John 1:8-10).

But don’t abuse this grace by sinning deliberately. A child of God should not make a practice out of sin. Hence, it is written;
“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” (1 John 3:9).

So, know that temptations will always come and sometimes you will fall into it. But like I mentioned earlier, be quick to repent when you fall into errors and don’t let sin dominate you. Even our Lord Jesus was tempted at every point but he never fell – Hebrews 4:15.

The final redemption we are waiting for is the redemption of our bodies;

“And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” (Romans 8:23).

A body that will be completely free from sin, sickness and that will never die. We will dedicate the next chapter to discussing this.

Chapter 7 – The Redemption of Our Bodies.

At rapture, when Jesus comes back to take us home, our present bodies will be transformed to become like his glorious imperishable body. This is what the Bible calls the redemption of our bodies;

“And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY.” (Romans 8:23).

This phenomenon is described vividly in two different passages of the Bible;

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. SO WHEN THIS CORRUPTIBLE SHALL HAVE PUT ON INCORRUPTION, AND THIS MORTAL SHALL HAVE PUT ON IMMORTALITY, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:51-55).

The second passage reads;

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17).

From these two passages, we can deduce the following;

Christ is coming back for the church and the phenomenon is known as rapture. The word rapture simply means to be caught up.
It will happen at the sound of the last trumpet. There are evidences of trumpet sounds that have happened in different parts of the world heard from heaven and recorded. But we don’t know how many times it will continue to sound or which one will be the last one.

The Lord himself will descend with a shout. This is a shout of victory. A shout of satisfaction. Jesus is currently seated at the right hand of the Father until his enemy, the devil and his cohorts are made his footstool – Hebrews 1:13. And he will arise from that seat when this mission is accomplished.

An archangel will descend with him. The scripture says, ‘with the voice of the archangel’.

He will come with the spirits of the Saints in heaven who will reunite with their bodies.

He will descend only as far as the sky. He will not get to the earth unlike his second coming when he will land on the earth.

It will happen in a twinkle of an eye.

The dead in Christ will rise first after their spirits have reunited with their bodies.

The bodies of the risen dead and those alive at that time will be transformed to become like his glorious body. It will become immortal.

We shall all be caught up to meet the Lord in the air who will then take us to heaven to present us before our Father in heaven.

The rapture of the church is the major event we are waiting for and it could take place anytime. There are various scriptures that points to this event and we will just quote a few of them.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, WHEN THE DEAD SHALL HEAR THE VOICE OF THE SON OF GOD: and they that hear shall live.” (John 5:25).

This verse talks about the rapture because it said only those who hear shall live. So, it is a selective resurrection of the dead that will be caught up to meet the Lord. Another portion reads;

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I WILL COME AGAIN, AND RECEIVE YOU UNTO MYSELF; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:1-3).

Here, Jesus himself promised he will come back again and take us to the place he has prepared for us. The other scriptures are;

“Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, WHEN HE COMETH IN THE GLORY OF HIS FATHER WITH THE HOLY ANGELS.” (Mark 8:38).

“For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, WHEN HE SHALL COME IN HIS OWN GLORY, AND IN HIS FATHER'S, AND OF THE HOLY ANGELS.” (Luke 9:26).

“But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming” (1Corinthinas 15:23)

“For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? (1Thessalonians 2:19)

“To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, AT THE COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST with all his saints.” (1Thessalonians 3:13)

“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless UNTO THE COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.” (1Thessalonians 5:23)

“Be patient therefore, brethren, UNTO THE COMING OF THE LORD. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.” (James 5:7).

“Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD DRAWETH NIGH.” (James 5:.

“And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, AND NOT BE ASHAMED BEFORE HIM AT HIS COMING.” (1John 2:28)

There are those that are obviously mocking at this expectation. They said it’s been over 2,000 years we have been talking about the coming of the Lord but he still has not come. They have forgotten that the delay is for their sake. God is waiting patiently for more people like them to be saved. Just like Peter wrote;
“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days SCOFFERS, walking after their own lusts, And saying, WHERE IS THE PROMISE OF HIS COMING? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, BUT THAT ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE.” (2 Peter 3:3-9).

So, it’s up to you to believe this message and be ready for the coming of the Lord. If you are not yet saved, just say the simple prayer at the end of this book and your name will be written in the book of life.

If you are already saved, serve God with all of your heart and keep your garment clean. The Bible says that Christ is coming for a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing – Ephesians 5:27.

Chapter 8 – Are The Dead Conscious?

This book will be incomplete without discussing the issue of whether the dead are conscious or not. Where will man be after he leaves this earth? Is death the end of life. Or is the dead unconscious till judgment day?

The Bible has not left us on the dark concerning this topic. And it will be imperative we find out if truly man lives on after dead or goes completely into a state of unconsciousness.

Before we begin to look into arguments for and against this topic, it is important we state here that not everything stated in the Bible is truth. The Bible for the larger part contains the truth of God’s word but there are instances where the words of men and even Satan are also included. The fact that Satan’s words for instance is contained in the Bible doesn’t make it truth. Even a donkey spoke and it was recorded.

A very good example I will mention here is from the book of Job. Job said lots of things during his years of afflictions and most of what he said were not true. For instance, he said;
“And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. (Job 1:21).

This gives us an erroneous impression that it is God who is responsible for all that happens. If someone dies for instance, it is God who killed him. But we know that this is a lie from the pit of hell. We do know that God himself kills as a form of judgment on people who transgress his laws and commit one act or the other that makes them worthy of death.

But, basically, most deaths and evils that happens on earth today is the handy work of Satan. This is why our Lord Jesus calls him a thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy – John 10:10.

In addition, James wrote;

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17).

Death of course is not a good gift. If it is, no one should cry when he loses some loved ones. And we should embrace death when it comes. But we do know that this is not the case. Death is an enemy of man. And it has been defeated but will one day be destroyed.
God himself attest to the fact that most of what Job said aren’t true. In his response to Job, he asked him;

“Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? (Job 38:2).

With this in mind, it will be wrong to try to use statements made by men in the Bible as authority to prove or refute a point. Besides, the Old Testament Saints had limited knowledge of God and certain truths. Our Lord Jesus has come to unveils the truth to us for he himself is the truth.

So, in discussing issues that bothers on the afterlife, the best authority to consult are the teachings of our Lord Jesus and his Apostles. Any statement that contradicts what our Lord has said should be discarded and treated as untrue.

Scripture Evidences of the Afterlife.

1.Man was created in the image and likeness of God. Since God is an eternal being, the spirit of man is also eternal.

2. The scripture talks about the blood of Abel crying out to God even after his death. Life is in the blood. It means that Abel though physically death, still speaks – Genesis 4:10.

3. When our Lord Jesus was answering question about the resurrection of the dead regarding marital issue, he said;

“But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? GOD IS NOT THE GOD OF THE DEAD, BUT OF THE LIVING.” (Matthew 22:31-32).

It means that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob even though physically death are still living in the realm of the spirit.

4. When Jonah died, he narrated his experience. He certainly couldn’t be alive in the fish belly for more than a few minutes talk more of three days. You will understand it better if you have been under water before or almost got drowned. So, Jonah died but his soul went to hell. So, he was able to narrate what happened to him briefly for the three days proving that the dead are conscious. Read narration below;

Jonah 2:1-6
1 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,
2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; OUT OF THE BELLY OF HELL CRIED I, and thou heardest my voice.
3 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
5 The waters compassed me about, EVEN TO THE SOUL: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.
6 I WENT DOWN TO THE BOTTOMS OF THE MOUNTAINS; the EARTH WITH HER BARS WAS ABOUT ME FOR EVER: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.

All the activities listed above as narrated by Jonah couldn’t have taken place in the fish belly.

The cry he cried in hell manifested in the physical when he was still in the belly of the fish just before the fish vomited him out. Hence, verse 1 says that he cried from the belly of the fish. This is common sense. It is just the way someone who shouted in the dream could also shout audibly before he wakes up.

5. The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus.

Perhaps, this is one of the strongest evidence that the dead are conscious. This narration was given by our Lord Jesus and recorded in Luke 16:19-31. It wasn’t a parable. In parable, actual names are never mentioned. But in this story, names were mentioned; Abraham, Lazarus and Moses. I believe our Lord Jesus knew who the rich man was but decided not to mention his name. This is the word of knowledge in operation where one knows things supernaturally even when you were not there. It was with this same gift of the word of knowledge that our Lord Jesus told the woman of Samaria that she had five husbands and the man living with her presently was not her husband.

The story revealed that the rich man went to hell after his death. His soul was in torment. His memory was intact such that he even recognized Lazarus. He also remembered he had five brothers on earth who he never wished they experience the torment he was going through.

He even made a request that Abraham should permit someone to rise from the dead and go and warn his brothers. Well, Abraham responded;

“And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” (Luke 16:31).

Abraham has been vindicated because even today, quite a lot of sceptics still don’t believe hell exist after so many have been there and came back to life by the mercy of God.

Even if it was a parable as claimed by a religious sect, the moral lesson would still be the same. You don’t use what cannot happen in real life situations as parables. Parables are actually stories narrated in generic terms about situations that could happen in real life. Moral lessons are usually drawn from parables.

6. The scripture talks about the soul of our Lord Jesus not been left in hell – Acts 2:27. It also talks about him going to preach to spirits in prison – 1st Peter 3:18-19. How could he have done that if he was not conscious?

Even Paul said that Jesus first descended into the lowest part of the earth before he ascended – Ephesians 4:9. His lifeless body in the tomb couldn’t have done that. He went there with his soul which was conscious after his death.

7. Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippian church about the decision to leave the body and be with the Lord or to spend a little more time with them – Philippians 1:23-24. How could he be with the Lord if the dead are not conscious?

8. The writer of Hebrews made mention of the spirit of just men made perfect in heaven as part of the general assembly of God’s people in heaven and on earth – Hebrews 12:23.

9. The book of Revelation talks about the souls of those who were slain crying for vengeance – Revelation 6:9-10. How could they cry if after death, they know nothing?

10. Some of the saints that passed through the great tribulation as revealed in the book of revelation were also seen in heaven before the final judgment day – Revelation 7:13-15. They didn’t wait till the final judgment day before they arose to consciousness.

11. Our Lord Jesus described the torment of those that will be thrown into hell or Lake of fire thus;

“But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH.” (Matthew 8:12).

It’s only someone who is conscious that can weep and gnash his teeth. This also attest to the fact that the dead are conscious.

12. When the beast and the false prophet were defeated by our Lord Jesus at his coming as recorded in the book of Revelation, they were thrown into the Lake of fire alive – Revelation 19:20.

The fire didn’t burn them out of existence. After 1,000 years of Jesus reign on earth, Satan was also thrown into the same Lake of fire. And the scripture acknowledged that beast and the false prophet are still there after 1,000 years of Jesus reign on earth;

“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, WHERE THE BEAST AND THE FALSE PROPHET ARE, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10).

I could go on and on. Death is not a cessation of existence. It is just a transition to the other side of the world which is even more real. Where you end up depends on the decision you make with the gospel of our Lord Jesus and the life you lived.

Why then does some other scripture especially in the Old Testament make contrary statement about the afterlife. Let’s look at a few of such scriptures;

“For the living know that they shall die: BUT THE DEAD KNOW NOT ANY THING, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5).

This statement was the opinion of the writer as it didn’t come from God. The writer was not a prophet. So, it can’t be used as an authority on this subject most especially when Jesus, the truth has come.

The same goes with other scripture like Psalms 146:3-4, Ecclesiastes 3:19-20. These verses are opinions of the writers and not statements of facts.

What about the verse where God himself told Adam;

“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for DUST THOU ART, and UNTO DUST SHALT THOU RETURN.” (Genesis 3:19).

This is a pronouncement of physical death for Adam mankind. Adam was in existence before his body was formed;

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; MALE AND FEMALE CREATED HE THEM. (Genesis 1:26-27).

As at the time Adam was created, his body was not yet formed. So, he could not function on earth until his body was formed. And this was done in Genesis 2:7. So, the dust God was talking about is the body and not his sprit.

The afterlife is real. The dead are conscious. This is why those who commit suicide are unwise. They are ignorant of the afterlife. They thought they have ended their lives not knowing that they just began life in reality which most will regret if they end up in hell.

Make a quality choice today to accept Jesus into your life as your Lord and Saviour. And ensure you live by his word and do his works. “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:14).

“He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Revelation 21:7-.

Chapter 9 – How to Be Saved.

The subject of salvation is often misunderstood by so many and it is important to throw light on this subject.
First salvation has nothing to do with your works of righteousness. The Bible says; “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”. (Romans 3:23). Prophet Isaiah wrote;
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and ALL OUR RIGHTEOUSNESSES ARE AS FILTHY RAGS; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (Isaiah 64:6).

Your salvation also has nothing to do with keeping the Commandments of God contained in the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses had been abolished because it could not give life. The Bible said;

“For there is VERILY A DISANNULLING OF THE COMMANDMENT GOING BEFORE FOR THE WEAKNESS AND UNPROFITABLENESS THEREOF. For the LAW MADE NOTHING PERFECT, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.” (Hebrews 7:18-19).

“Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Galatians 3:21, 2:21).

Your salvation also has nothing to do with water baptism, church confirmation or belonging to a local church. Belonging to a local church is of course very important but it’s meaningless if you are not saved. Your salvation is a free gift given on the platform of God’s grace. And it is obtained by faith;

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

How to your exercise this faith? There are two simple step as outlined in the book of Romans;
“That if thou shalt CONFESS WITH THY MOUTH the Lord Jesus, and shalt BELIEVE IN THINE HEART that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10).

The first step is to believe with your heart that Jesus died for you and that God raised him up on the third day to justify you. The second step is open your mouth and confess what you just believed and also affirm that Jesus is the Lord of your life. The moment you do this; you will know that a change has happened deep within you. You will receive a new spirit from God that will stir your life in a new direction of a holy living, glory and success.

So, if you want to be saved or born again, please say this prayer loud enough to your hearing and mean it from your heart.
Dear Lord Jesus, I believe you died for me. I also believe that your blood shed washed my sins away and God raised you up on the third day to justify me. I hereby receive you as my Lord and personal Saviour from this day henceforth. I thank you for forgiving my sins. Thank you for saving me. I am a child of the most high God from this day henceforth in Jesus name. Amen.

Congratulations if you said this prayer. Please place order for my book titled ‘Now That You Are Born Again’ so it can guide you on how to grow up in your new found faith and live a victorious Christian life. And find a Christ believing Church to attend and serve God with undivided attention.

Other EBooks by Ken Macaulay.

The Woman Question - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F0WX4RO

Dangerous Prayer Languages - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F9WOT7Y

Scripture Guide to Praying Right - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F9U3D7I

Scripture Keys to Prosperity - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F9U6794

Prosperity Scriptures –
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F9XUZVC

Scripture Keys to Divine Health - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F9UFNNU

The Shield of Faith –
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F9YM7ZI

Daily Prayer and Confession Guide - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F9URSCY

Is The Church Under The Law of Moses? - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F9Y9IL4

Scriptural Revelation of Hell - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F9UJO5I

How to Be Filled With the Holy Spirit - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F9XUHOW

How to be born again and walk in the Light of God's word. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F9UDJ6S

Church Growth Resources.

Home Cell Structure and Church growth. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BLYKGLG

Effective Follow up structure and Church growth http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BLYQWY6

Dynamics of Soul Winning - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F0SNCWA

My Other New Books

33 Steps to Consistent Church Growth. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVWKXXVV.

40 Notable Parables of Jesus.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW33RY9K.

The Woman Question Series - Vol 1. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW39PNZJ.

Now That You Are Born Again - Vol 1. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW3568GG

Now That You Are Born Again - Vol 2. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW395549