Repentence from self

The soul is the essence of the self; who we are. The personality and almost all of what we see and know about ourselves is what we are not. This is because the flesh and the world fortify themselves against  God. The personality engage is one with, is prosperous and “sleeps”(spiritually), with and in the world. The spirit of all nations, cultures, and groups are under the power and values of the world along with all individual personalities. Personalities are what we and others see in the world. Our personalities and our national, cultural and group identities are part of and are measured by men and belong to the spirit of the flesh and the world. 

The soul, which is what a man (and woman) is, waits for its mate, God….. 

“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” Psalm 27:14 

….This soul is not visible to the carnal mind and the world. 

Repentance is not just from our sinful behavior but from our very selves in regards to the perceptions, attitudes and personal policies that we have used in rebellion against God in the unbelieving and dead spirit we were born in before receiving a new, resurrected spirit.   It is God who gives the power to repent of the self that can be known by giving the hope of His kingdom directly to the heart of one who God saves. This is a deeper and more genuine self that we cannot see with the familiar self of our developed  personality; 

“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 

Jesus Christ (both man and God) did not have a personality. A personality is identified with the carnal world and with sin. The process of repentance from the self that we know and identify with, to our soul relationship with God is done by God in what is referred to as becoming “born again. 

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”   John 3:3 

There is a work that the believer does in grateful response to being born again. This work is the systematic and constantly repeated allowing of God to convict believers in their own sin. To allow God to do this, the believer must look deep into the defects of their selves. 

“Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like; He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock:…..” 

The earth that is to be dug here is the spiritual earth of a man’s personal “self”, the self that he has become familiar with. God allows him to know what earth to dig by convicting him (revealing the true nature) of his own sin. 

“…..and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.”   Luke 6:47-48 

 The spirit and soul of a man is united with God upon being born again while still living in a carnal body of sin and the foundation, or “rock” of this unity is Jesus Christ.  Despite living in this body of sin, the spirit of a believer lives in the resurrected spiritual body of Christ.