For Further Reading: Delitzsch

From the idea of man's being quickened from the dust of the earth and in light of his return to the dust came the image of death as "sleeping in the dust of the earth." Sleep as an image for death is used by Jeremiah (51:39, 57) to describe the unending death of the Babylonian con­querors of Judah; by Jesus (John 11:11) to indi­cate the death of Lazarus; by Luke (Acts 7:60) to tell of the death of Stephen; and by Paul (1 Thess. 5:10) to note the death of believers in Christ.

The OT intimates that sleeping in the dust of the earth was not the ultimate fate for man­kind. Dan. 12:2 states that the dead rest in their graves until aroused at the resurrection (cf. Matt. 22:29 ff).

However, the NT does not permit us to rest in an ambiguous position in this matter. T]hgJkiip-tures. clearly imply that upon death the believer is immediately in the presence of the Lord (2 Cor. 5:6-8; Phil. 1:23). Whether the story of Dives is interpreted as parable or event, the teaching is unmistakable that both Lazarus and the rich man were in full possession of their mental faculties; yet their state was preresurrection.

And Paul writes two seemingly disparate ideas in seeking to comfort the church at Thessalonica. When Jesus returns, "God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him" (4:14, Niv), yet also "the dead in Christ will rise first" (v. 16, niv). Admittedly v. 14 is capable of a different interpretation. But if Paul intends what he seems to be implying, he is saying that the spirits of the departed are already with Jesus and will share in His second advent, but that in that event they will be reunited with their bodies—now glorified —thus recovering their wholeness. There is therefore a conscious bliss now (thus ruling out "soul sleep"), but the state is incomplete until the resurrection occurs. While saying no to soul sleep, therefore, we must concede a transitional state marked by an attenuated form of being. The body-soul unity marks man on earth, there-fpreranchflflTalso marOSfilfTipDsti^urrecfiOin heaven; but the earthly body is a temporary mode of being and does not belong to the esse (2 Cor. 4:16-18).

See INTERMEDIATE STATE, IMMORTALITY, RESURREC­TION OF THE BODY

For Further Reading: Bonnell, I Believe in Immortality;

Shaw, Life After Death: The Christian View of the Future

Briefly defined, soul winning is the act of bringing people to a place of personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It is the larger term of which witnessing is a part. Witnessing is the sharing of one's faith or Christian experience with another. Soul winning goes one step further by asking the person shared with to do some­thing about what they have heard—to act by re­penting and inviting Jesus Christ into his or her life.

The term soul winning is often used syn­onymously with evangelism. In mass or public evangelism a group of people are presented the challenge of the gospel and then invited to act by praying at an altar, or in a prayer room, or in their seats. In personal or private evangelism, the plan of salvation is presented on a one-to-one basis. The same invitation is given to respond to the gospel call.

Actually, the term soul winning is a figure of speech. It is not man who wins people to Christ. The changing of a heart and life is an activity of God through the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who burdens the evangelist with the desire to share his faith; who interprets the words of the speaker to the listener; who convicts of sin, grants for­giveness, and bestows newness of life. The Book of Acts alone has some 41 references to the work of the Spirit in the lives of men.

The theological basis for soul winning stems from the very nature of God himself. He has al­ways sought the fellowship of His human cre­ation. Man was designed to worship Him, but the relationship was severed by sin. It is God who has initiated the means by which that rela­tionship can be reestablished. He chose to send His Son to earth and to Calvary's cross on man's behalf. He sent the Holy Spirit to be the Paraclete to the Church. From first to last, salvation has its rootage in the initiative of God.

Having said that, however, it is important to realize that God has ordained that Christianity be a spoken religion (Matt. 28:18-20; Rom. 10:14). People are reached by others sharing

The deepest motivation for soul winning comes from the soul winner's love for God. It must be love for God, even more than concern for the lost, that impels him. There are many or­ganizations and agencies that care about people. The tragedy of the People's Temple cult in 1979 will ever underscore the fact that caring for peo­ple is not enough. Caring is certainly an incentive for soul winning as are church growth and other legitimate concerns; but they are not the deepest motivating force. That motivating force must be a love for God so deep and sound that the soul winner desires to help others to find that rela­tionship, apart from whatever other incentives there may be.

The methodology for soul winning has created considerable discussion in the Church. Scores of procedures have been developed by those who wish to share their faith with others. These range from intricate evangelism plans containing memorized Scripture and illustrations to simple one-line statements that are designed to elicit thinking in the direction of spiritual matters. The discussion has centered around whether or not these programs are manipulative and, therefore, lead to shallow commitment. The key issue to re­member is that Christ was the first soul winner— '"The Son of man came to seek and to save the lost'" (Luke 19:10, rsv). If the soul winner would be Christ's envoy, he must study the Master's characteristics and His spirit until those charac­teristics and that spirit are reproduced in him; re­membering always that only the Holy Spirit can use methods in the awakening of sinners.

See EVANGELISM, MISSION (MISSIONS, MISSIOLOGY), TESTIMONY (WITNESS).

What is explicitly being affirmed is that there is a moral order as well as a natural order, and that a fundamental principle of both is that ef­fects are the products of causes. In the natural order the farmer who sows wheat can expect to reap wheat, not corn. It is a simple but predict­able and inviolable "mechanism" of action and reaction, cause and effect—i.e., sowing and reap­ing. The same mechanism operates in the spiri­tual and moral sphere, and is equally predictable and inviolable.

We witness daily the operation of this law. Here is a teenager who has found a job, but he lacks transportation, because he can't get a driver's license, because he failed his driver train­ing course in high school, because he fooled around and, as a consequence of not studying, failed his exam. Here is a chain reaction, begin­ning with carelessness and ending (yet not ending—for the effects flow on) with embarrass­ment. This is a tiny sample of real life throughout the world around us.

The Scripture relates this law to God, who established it. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked." Wesley says that "to think to reap oth­erwise" than we sow is to mock God (Notes), for such thinking supposes we can outwit God and His law. But God stands back of the order which He has ordained. Both in the natural world and in the moral sphere the law is an expression of God's own holiness. The immutability of God's character makes His reactions and operations predictable and sure. Nowhere is this declared more precisely than in Rom. 11:22—"Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, good­ness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off."

The particular biblical expressions of this law—those cases which demonstrate and ex­emplify the law at its ultimate level of gravity— are the two fundamental life options: sowing to the flesh or sowing to the Spirit. We experience the law of consequences in many ways which are not ultimate, such as eating unwisely and pro­ducing stomach discomfort. But if we choose a life-style which pampers the self, which is marked by indulgence and appetite and impulse, we can expect to reap decay of body, soul, and mind, and ultimate damnation. If we choose to seek the things of the Spirit, to subordinate the



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physical to the spiritual, to set our "affection on things above" (Col. 3:2), and do it day after day as a consistent commitment and way of life, we may be equally sure of "life everlasting" (Gal. 6:8), plus greater richness of life now.

The biblical concept of sowing and reaping presupposes true freedom of choice, but not free­dom of consequences. The contrasting life-styles are not predetermined by heredity or environ­ment, certainly not by divine decree. They are true options. But the end result is not optional.

Yet the biblical concept of sowing and reaping must not be confused with either fate or Karma. Fate by definition is outside of personal control or cause. The term relates to what is destined to occur by unknown forces or causes; as such it is essentially pagan. Those who ascribe everything to fate live in pessimistic fear and helplessness.

Karma, a doctrine deeply imbedded in Hindu­ism, Buddhism, and Jainism, recognizes the basic law of action and its fruit. But it falls short of the biblical doctrine in at least two respects. First, it presupposes that much that occurs in this life is the fruit of a previous life; and that this life deter­mines the happiness or unhappiness of the next. While this latter is similar to the Christian doc­trine, it is salvation by works apart from the in­tervention of a living Savior. The Christian doctrine is not that "life everlasting" is the prod­uct of sowing to the spirit (one's own) but to the Spirit. The acknowledgment that Paul is speak­ing of the Holy Spirit is the dividing line between a pagan works-salvation and the way of redemp­tion through Christ.

Second, Karma lacks the Christian mode of es­cape. By repentance one can cease sowing to the flesh and begin sowing to the Spirit. While he may still suffer some consequences of the old life, much will be softened by the power of God, and the ultimate outcome changed. The Atone­ment is man's sole hope of breaking the merciless chain.

See mortal (mortality), work (works), for­giveness, non-christian religions, providence.

For Further Reading: CC, 6:415ff; BBC, 9:117ff; WBC,
5:360 ff. Richard S. Taylor

SPEAKING IN TONGUES. See tongues, gift of.

SPIRIT. In man spirit describes that vital life force which, even though it is invisible in its essence, nevertheless energizes and directs all that consti­tutes the sphere of his human existence. The spirit is the seat of man's self-consciousness, emotions, and will. In reference to God, spirit describes what He is in His essence: '"God is spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth'" (John 4:24, nasb). It is this fact that both God and man are spiritual beings which enables them to enjoy a personal relationship. Though Jesus has ascended to the Father, His Spirit is mediated to human hearts by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit of God.

The Bible also recognizes the presence and power of demonic spirits, able to tempt, possess, and subjugate the human spirit. Satan, however, has more than met his match in Jesus, who came to destroy the works of the devil.

In the NT the "spirit concept" is not to be un­derstood in a Platonic sense as in contrast to the body or to nature. Rather, the Spirit is the super­natural power of God that stands in contrast to all that is human. That which belongs to the sphere of human existence is bounded by time, limited by finitude, and is always already passing away. So the one who lives "according to the flesh" (Rom. 8:4, nasb), i.e., centers his affections upon the human and natural order, is under the sentence of death.

That which is of the Spirit, however, is un­bounded, unlimited, and eternal. So the one who lives "according to the Spirit" (Rom. 8:4, nasb), i.e., fixes his heart upon God and that which is spiritual, in harmony with the tutelage of the Holy Spirit, is the one who knows true life and peace.

To live in the Spirit does not mean a disem­bodied existence, nor does it imply a denigration of that which constitutes the full range of human existence—body, mind, and soul. It does mean, however, that God's Spirit possesses, controls, and directs man's spirit in such a way that his energies are focused upon God, others, and eter­nal values.

See god, attributes (divine), man, soul, holy spirit.

For Further Reading: GMS, 257-60, 484-507; Wiley, CT, 1:313-15; 2:303-33; Taylor, Life in the Spirit, 109-48.

c. S. cowles

SPIRIT, HOLY. See holy spirit.

SPIRITS IN PRISON. See descent into hell.

SPIRITUAL DEATH. See death

SPIRITUAL GIFTS. See gifts of the spirit.

SPIRITUAL WARFARE. The modern pulpit accent is on comfort, affirmation, celebration, encour­agement, peace, and personal happiness. Very



SPIRITUALISM, SPIRITISM

499

little is said about the fact that Christians are in a real warfare with a real enemy. Less still is being offered to teach believers how to wage a spiritual war. But the Christian life is not intended to be a picnic or a dress parade; nor are Christians prom­ised exemption from hand-to-hand conflicts with the enemy. There is a "gory" side to the Christian life for which most are ill prepared.

The war is being waged on three fronts, the personal, corporate, and cosmic. On the personal front the biblical counsel is to "resist the devil" (Jas. 4:7) and to give no "place to the devil" (Eph. 4:27). In the matter of disciplining the offending church member at Corinth, Paul was anxious that the forgiveness be as prompt and ready as the discipline had been, "lest Satan should get an advantage of us" (2 Cor. 2:11). He follows with the statement "for we are not ignorant of his de­vices." But the tragedy is, most of us are. No more profitable effort could be made than to study in depth these and other biblical references, that we might acquire an understanding of the subtle and devious ways Satan, through demonic sug­gestion, influence, and maneuvering, presses his attack on the individual Christian. The mind, body, possessions, feelings, and interpersonal re­lations, are all the objects of vicious assault. Dec­laration of our faith in public testimony, combined with a reliance on the power and merit of the blood of Christ, are two means of over­coming (Rev. 12:11). To valiant fighters the promise is: "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son" (21:7).

The warfare on the corporate front is the battle for souls, first in evangelism and Christian mis­sions, and second, in the discipling of converts, that they may not be lost. In contemporary con­cern about church growth always lurks grave danger of monumental naivete. It is easy to for­get that the church will not succeed by adopting Satan's weapons and failing to utilize those God has provided (2 Cor. 10:4). Timothy was urged by Paul to "war a good warfare" (1 Tim. 1:18). He was to do it by remembering and adhering to "the prophecies once made about you" (niv) and by "holding on to faith and a good conscience" (v. 19, niv). Sadly some have tried to substitute fleshly methods for spiritual, even abandoning a good conscience; but in the end they have "ship­wrecked their faith" (niv) and that of others.

To speak of the cosmic front of the war is to be reminded that the forces of Satan are locked in deadly combat with the forces of the kingdom of God. The history and causes of this conflict can­not here be discussed. This conflict was utterly real to Jesus and to His apostles, including Paul, who declared: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph. 6:12, niv; cf. 1 John 5:19, nasb). The vastness and violence of the conflict is portrayed vividly and dramatically in the Book of Revelation.

Christ is "Christus Victor" and has actually won the war, though for the present Satan is per­mitted to continue a rearguard action. Oscar Cullmann made famous the concept of "D day" —the decisive turning point, which assured the final outcome.

Christians therefore should be wary, and avoid presumption, yet be bold and confident, know­ing that "greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4).

See SATAN, KINGDOM OF GOD, TEMPTATION, PA­GANISM, NEW COVENANT, ESCHATOLOGY, PRIN­CIPALITIES AND POWERS.

For Further Reading: Bunyan, The Holy War; Jessop, The Ministry of Prevailing Prayer; Lewis, Screwtape Let­ters; Aulen, Christus Victor; Cullmann, Christ and Time; Smith, ed., The Tozer Pulpit, 4:119-31; Booth, "It's Cow­ardly Service vs. the Real Warfare," Popular Christianity.

Richard S. Taylor

SPIRITUALISM, SPIRITISM. Spiritualism is a re­ligion which maintains that communication with the dead is possible, and such communication is the center of the religion. It maintains that af­ter the death of the body the spirit lives on in the spirit world. A medium, a person on earth sup­posedly sensitive to vibrations from the spirit world, holds meetings called seances to seek messages from the spirits.

Although this belief is an ancient one, the modern spiritualist movement in America began in 1848 in Hydesville, N.Y., when the Fox sisters heard strange knockings and interpreted them as sounds coming from spirits of the other world. Interest in spiritualism peaked in the early 20th century, then declined, but interest in the occult has recently been renewed. Spiritualists consider themselves Christians and have churches, minis­ters, and doctrine. Christ, however, is not consid­ered to be God, but the "great medium." Worship services are much like Protestant worship ser­vices, with the addition of messages from spirits of the dead.

A biblical example of communicating with the dead is the episode of Saul talking to Samuel in the house of the witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28). Asking a medium to do such a thing was specifi­



500

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cally prohibited, and this act itself was part of the reason for Saul's death (Deut. 18:9-14; 1 Chron. 10:13-14). The conversation on the Mount of Transfiguration between Christ and Moses and Elijah (Matt. 17:1-8) cannot be classed as an ex­ample of spiritism, for it was a unique action of God in His revelation of Christ as Son and Sav­ior.

Although it may be possible, God has forbid­den any attempt on our part to communicate with the dead through mediums (Lev. 19:31; 20:6; 1 Tim. 4:1; et al.). Spiritualism itself says little or nothing about communication with God because its interest is in man, not God.

See SORCERY, SATAN, DEMONS (DEMON POS­SESSION), OCCULT (OCCULTISM).

For Further Reading: "Spiritism" and "Spiritualists,"
New Catholic Encyclopedia, 13:576-77, 593-94; Wright,
Christianity and the Occult, 105-60; Martin, The Chris-
tian and the Cults. RONALD L. KOTESKEY

SPIRITUALITY. Spirituality may be most simply defined as the character or quality of spiritual-mindedness as opposed to worldliness and sen­suality. In NT context an infusion of the Holy Spirit is always presupposed for a person to be considered spiritual. Paul affirms that to be spiri­tual is to be totally controlled by the Spirit (Rom. 8:1-17).

Although there is a difference in the Spirit's activity between the Old and New Testaments, it is helpful to look at two OT models of spiritu­ality, especially since these are confirmed by NT writers. The first is the "friend of God" concept which was modeled by Abraham (Isa. 41:8; 2 Chron. 20:7). Several factors immediately present themselves as one thinks of Abraham. The first is suggested by James, "Abraham be­lieved God" (2:23). Abraham is not remembered because he dressed differently or acted in a pecu­liar fashion or was a bit "spooky." His image is embedded in biblical memory because he be­lieved God despite humanly insurmountable ob­stacles.

The picture received is not one of a super­human personality who never made mistakes, but of a man who believed through all delays and all apparent modifications of what he be­lieved God's will to be. Here is a man, very much a man, with all of the desires of a man, one in every way representative of the human race, who was able to demonstrate a faith in the verac­ity of God that could not be shaken. God had given him a staggering promise which could not possibly have been fulfilled in his lifetime, but he "staggered not . . . through unbelief" (Rom.

4:20)—even when God asked him to sacrifice the child of the promise (Gen. 22:1-11). As a friend of God, Abraham demonstrated constant trust, instant obedience, unwavering loyalty, costly magnanimity, and consistent service. An intense study of the choices of his life reveals a coher­ence and consistency compatible with the quality of life which can properly be designated as "spir­itual."

A second OT concept helpful in understanding the term spirituality is "A man after God's own heart" as applied to David (1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22). This could be said of him because of the intensity of his devotion to God. With the excep­tion of his sin with Bathsheba his life was marked by a spontaneous turning to God for guidance, deliverance, and strength, in every sit­uation. God could say of him, "a man ... which shall fulfil all my will" (Acts 13:22). And in re­spect to his grievous sin, there was profound sor­row and repentance. His prayers are models of humility, remorse, and contrition. Such qualities as a forgiving spirit, a nonretaliatory attitude to­ward undeserved wrongs, and a quickness to confess errors and sins make him in the biblical sense a consistent example of a truly spiritual person.

As one turns to the NT, the apostle Paul ap­pears as a model of spirituality. He assures us that he speaks words taught of the Holy Spirit, "comparing spiritual things with spiritual" (1 Cor. 2:13-14). The qualities of spirit observed in Abraham and David—obedience, and a spirit malleable in the hand of God—begin to flow to­gether as one studies the life of Paul and consid­ers the sharp contrast he makes between the spiritual and the worldly (Rom. 8:1-17).

It has been suggested by some that the pos­session of spiritual gifts is a mark of spirituality. Paul, who has more to say about spiritual gifts than any other biblical writer, emphatically de­clares that it is love, not gifts, that marks the spiritual person. This is the full intent of 1 Corin­thians 13. In actual experience some naturally gifted persons tend to exercise their gifts for other than purely spiritual purposes while claim­ing solely spiritual aims for themselves. A natu­ral credulity in human nature makes the "gift test" a persuasive measure for spirituality, while in reality it becomes a deceptive type of logic leading to erroneous conclusions. It was not the gifts that the apostle possessed which made him a spiritual person, but it was his courage in the face of grave physical suffering and danger, and his tenacious persistency in fulfilling the calling of God in his life (Acts 20:18-35).



STANDING AND STATE—STATE, THE

501

Not all Christians are spiritual. "Ye which are spiritual," Paul writes to the Galatians (6:1), im­plying that some among them are not. The same differentiation is made in writing to the Corinthi­ans (1 Cor. 2:6-15). The primary hindrance to spirituality is carnality (3:1-4). The possession of gifts did not prove the Corinthians spiritual nor make them such.

See HOLINESS, DEVOTE (DEVOTION), PRAYER, OBE­DIENCE, FAITH, SECOND WORK OF GRACE.

For Further Reading: DeWolf, Responsible Freedom,
144-78; Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life, 61-80;
Wiley, CT 3:65-70. FLOYD J. PERKINS

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