THE TRIPARTITE NATURE. OF MAN. 



191 



communion of his nrvevixa with God's Spirit is employed in the 

 higher aims of his being is Trvev/martKb^;. He who rests mid- 

 way, thinking only of self and self's interests, whether animal or 

 intellectual, is the -v/rf^j^t/co?, the selfish man, the man in whom the 

 spirit is sunk and degraded into subordination to the subordinate 

 '^jrvxv- These men have not indeed ceased to have Trvevfia, as 

 a part of their own tripartite nature : but they have ceased to 

 possess it in any worthy sense." 



The Scripture expressly declares that by the '^Irv^r), or soul, 

 man cannot apprehend spiritual things. An important passage 

 on this subject is to be found in 1 Cor. ii, 12-15. In verses 12 

 and 13 we read, " 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," and in the last clause of 1 Cor. ii, 13 

 we read, TrvevfiariKoU irvevfJiaTLfca crvyKplvovre^. This I would 

 undoubtedly translate, with Alford and Conybeare and Howson, 

 " Interpreting or explaining spiritual things to spiritual men." 

 The context demands it. For it goes on : -yjrv^iKoi; Se 

 avOpiOTTO^ ov Si'^^erac ra rod Uveif/jiaTo^ rou ®eov, Mcopia yap 

 avTcp €(JTL, Kol ov Svvarat yvcovai, ore 7rp<:Vfj,aTtf<:(b<; ava/cplveraL 



But the natural (or psychic) 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. But he that 

 is spiritual iudgeth (or discerneth) all things." 



St, Paul distinctly teaches that both Jews and Gentiles are 

 by nature dead in trespasses and sins. But they are not dead 

 in the soul, or intellect, as that is very lively, and often occupied 

 with business, science and art, as well as all the attractions of the 

 world. The part that is dead is the irveviia, or spirit. When 

 Ruskin had a conversation with Spurgeon, he said to him, 

 " What do you mean when you talk of the death of the soul ? " 



I mean," replied Spurgeon, "the separation of the soul from 

 God : it was originally with God, and when it is separated from 

 Him it dies to God, that is its death, but that death is not non- 

 existence."* If you change the word soul into spirit, this 

 definition is correct. The command to such as are in darkness is, 

 " Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ 

 shall give thee light " (Eph. v, 14). 



* ^vi&QviorC^ Life of Spurgeon, p. 168. 



