Margaret Ions Has a False Conception of Spirit and Soul
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Originally Posted by Margaret Irons
I have made up my mind about the issues you raise, and have come to different conclusions than yourself. I disagree that Nee’s theology has been “fully proven”.
We do indeed take issue with the tripartite description of man, as well as other Nee teachings. This does not mean we don’t believe man has a spirit. We believe it is more accurate to think in terms of the soul and the spirit being intertwined. At conversion the soul is infused with Life by the Holy Spirit, just as Adam became a “living soul” when God breathed into him.
There have been many a Christian who have testified to and experienced the dividing of their spirit, soul and body and know how detrimental it can be to mingle man's distinct parts. God's 3 Persons are distinct but not separate. The same is true of man. Nee is not unique in trusting God's word to receive from Him the "dividing of soul and spirit" (Heb. 4.12). Notice this verse doesn't say the "intertwining of soul and spirit." Scripture is clear, giving the spirit prominence as in 1 Thess. 5.23 to "sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire." Why then does God do this? Because people confuse their spirit and soul, and we all know who is the author of confusion and why man does this, because he is fleshly. When a person is regenerated the Holy Spirit enters through the window of our conscience to indwell our spirit. He does not dwell in the outer man of soul and body. Spirit touches and communicates with spirit. Whatever the Spirit imparts to man's spirit the spirit can communicate to the outerman to renew man's thinking, emotion and volition. When God breathed the breath of life, directly creating man's spirit, into man's body, the soul life was formed. Because the spirit came first, it is the innerman. Only through contact with the body is the soul life animated. Hence, we can say the outerman is soul and body. By intertwining man's 3 parts, inevitably confusion takes place, or is already clouded because dividing has not occurred either in experience or in knowledge of their respective laws and functions. It is God's desire for us to walk by the spirit, and the soulical functions exist to aid the guidance of the spirit's movements.
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I read TSM many years ago, probably around 1960. Austin-Sparks, by the way, was influential in Watchman Nee’s spiritual formation, particularly his views on ecclesiology.
Actually, T. Austin Sparks rejected Scriptural locality (I have evidence of this on my web pages).
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Now, many years down the line, I have read and heard ministry that convinces me of a different understanding of Scripture. Our main point in taking issue with Nee’s type of teaching is to warn people of the inherent weaknesses in it that pave the way for spiritual abuses. That is the main thrust of our website.
Through my response I have been able to show you how your view is a false teaching of mingling soul and spirit, and by doing so you create confusion. The evil spirit then has ground from which to work wherever there is confusion.
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For that reason we also warn about the weaknesses in Plymouth Brethren and Higher Life teaching. We have no doubt there are dear believers who follow Nee and the Brethren and the early Keswick teachers, and find much help in that teaching. Blessings on them. But there are also charlatans, wolves in sheeps’ clothing, who garb themselves in these very spiritual sounding theologies in order to gain unscriptural control over the Lord’s people and they are able to do it because of the weaknesses in these teachings.
The Philadelphia church period in Revelation 3 is identified as the Brethren movement because they have no name and because their teaching was spot on. Jesus said, they "didst keep my word, and didst not deny my name" (Rev. 3.8). They are called the Brethren movement by others, but they always insisted on no name other than Christians or members of the body of Christ. They held closely to God's word and did not sway like the denominations do or why a denomination is formed in the first place. They were meek and lowly, not a large operation. I am not referring to the Exclusive Brethren. That is not the same as the Brethren of 1828. "I know thy works . . . , that thou hast a little power" (v.8). Notice you don't have anything specific to address, but your accusation souped up in vagaries. This is always a sign someone who is not behaving forthright, behaving in their feelings instead of spirit.
Rev. 3.7-13 THE CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA
The name “Philadelphia” is a combination of two Greek words “philo” and “adelphos”: “philo” means “love”, and “adelphos” means “brother”: and hence Philadelphia signifies “brotherly love”. Now you will notice that the words of the Lord to Philadelphia and to Smyrna are quite alike. Of the seven churches, five are reprimanded, and only two receive no reproof. These two are Smyrna and Philadelphia. Just as the trouble in Smyrna came from Judaism and the Jews, so the same is true with Philadelphia. To the church in Smyrna the Lord says: “Ye shall have tribulation”; to the church in Philadelphia He says: “I also will keep thee from the hour of trial, the hour which is to come upon the whole world.” To both of these churches the Lord mentions the crown. To Smyrna He says: “I will give thee the crown of life”; and to Philadelphia He says: “Hold fast that which thou hast, that no one take thy crown.”
Since these two churches have many similarities, they stand in the same line: the orthodox line of the Apostles. But though the church in Sardis is truly a restoration, the recovery is not perfect. For unlike the church in Philadelphia which receives praises, Sardis receives reproaches. We thus know for sure that Philadelphia is the Lord’s choice because it is an extension of the orthodox line of the Apostles.
In the last century* just past we have had a great movement in the church which surpasses the Reformation. And thus Philadelphia has given us that which the Reformation failed to give. We thank God, for the matter of the church is solved through the early Brethren movement. The position of God’s children is almost entirely restored. Nevertheless, the fame of the Brethren movement falls far behind that of the Reformation. For the Reformation broke upon the world with the aid of sword and gun, whereas the Brethren movement depended purely on the preaching of the word of God.
* Actually, the 19th century.
3.7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write”—Philadelphia: brotherly love. In what respect does God particularly praise Philadelphia? In their brotherly love, for the intermediary class that distinguished clergy from laity has been totally abolished. Moreover, in the church there are neither Jews nor Gentiles, neither freemen nor bondmen. All are brothers. Only after our eyes have been opened to this can brotherly love ever be possible. In the world, distinctions are glorious; but in the church, it is shameful. The church stands not on distinctions but on brotherly love.
“These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and none shall shut, and that shutteth and none openeth”—Holy is the Lord’s life; He himself is that holiness. And He is that reality before God, for He is God’s reality. The key of David means authority. Christ is the finality, and all problems are solved in Him. It is not a matter of force, nor of advertising, but of His opening the door.
3.8 “I know thy works . . . , that thou hast a little power”—One passage in the Scriptures may be associated with this verse: “Who hath despised the day of small things?” (Zech. 4.10) You should not despise the day of small things, that is, the day of the rebuilding of the temple. After the seventy years of captivity the remnant of the Jews returned to Jerusalem in weakness and in groups. They rebuilt the holy temple, thus serving as a type of the Brethren movement. Many of the older Jews who had seen the old temple wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of the house of God being laid. For how could the glory of this temple be compared with the glory of the temple of Solomon? But God spoke through the prophet Zechariah, saying that they ought not despise the day of small things. Comparatively speaking, the testimony of the church in the world is like a day of small things.
“And didst keep my word, and didst not deny my name”—On the side of strength, the Lord grants them two things: the keeping of His word and no denying of His name. The Brethren are noted for their knowledge of God’s word. A simple believer among them appears to have a clearer understanding of the Scriptures than some missionaries. And since 1828 the Brethren have maintained that they can only be called Christians. Many people insist on having denominational names, but these brethren have no other name than Christian. That they are called by the name Brethren (with a capital “B”) by others is something which they have never called themselves.
“Behold, I have set before thee a door opened, which none can shut”—To Philadelphia the Lord only mentions “open”. People may contend that if you preach according to the Scriptures all doors will be shut. The greatest hardship in obeying the Lord is when a person finds doors closed. Yet here is this extraordinary promise: “Behold, I have set before Thee a door opened, which none can shut”!
3.9 “Behold, I give of the synagogue of Satan, of them that say they are Jews, and they are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee”—There are at least four things which Judaizes Christianity; namely, an intermediary priesthood, a written code, a physical temple, and earthly promises. For those who truly know God, the influence of Judaism is completely nullified.
3.10 “Because thou didst keep the word of my patience”—This is joined with “partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patience which are in Jesus” (1.9). The word here is a noun, not an adjective: It is not My patient word, but the word of My patience, which is to say, the patience of Christ himself. Today the Lord is patient with those who revile Him. His word is the word of patience. He has no fame here on this earth. He is a humble Man, the Man of Nazareth, supposed to be the son of a carpenter. As we follow Him, we are told to keep the word of His patience.
“I also will keep thee from the hour of trial, that hour which is to come upon the whole world, to try them that dwell upon the earth”—The trial which is to come upon the whole world, all Christians know, is the Great Tribulation. But before the hour of trial is come we shall already be raptured. In the Bible there are two places which speak of the promise of rapture: one is found in Luke 21.36 and the other is in Revelation 3.10. We need to follow the Lord carefully, learn to walk in the way of Philadelphia, and ask the Lord to deliver us from all these things that are coming upon the world.
3.11 “I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast, that no one take thy crown”—This church shall continue on until the Lord’s return. “Hold fast that which thou hast”—What do the Philadelphians have? My word, My name. “That no one take thy crown”—To the other churches, it is a question of gaining the crown; to Philadelphia, it is a question of losing it. For the Lord says, you already have the crown. There is only one person in the whole New Testament who knew he had the crown, and that man was Paul. And of all the churches, Philadelphia alone knows she has the crown. Now then, says the Lord, do not let anybody take it away; by which He meant, do not come out of Philadelphia and forsake her place.
3.12 “He that overcometh, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out thence no more: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and mine own new name”—Just as Philadelphia frequently experienced ostracism in her history, so she will one day not be excommunicated any more. To be a pillar in the temple of God means to be permanently settled, because a pillar cannot be taken away. Philadelphia, like a pillar, will support the temple of God, having the three names of God, New Jerusalem, and Christ inscribed on her. The eternal purpose of God is then fulfilled. The Philadelphians satisfy the Lord as well as belong to the Lord.
3.13 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches”—Remember well that God has not given us alternatives to choose from; rather, He has laid out most plainly before us the way of the church.
3.14-22 THE CHURCH IN LAODICEA
To what does the church in Laodicea point? Many are unable to answer this question. Some may try to glean personal lessons from it, others may take it as representing the ruinous situation of the church in general. But the Lord is here prophesying.
3.14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write”—Her name is quite peculiar. It is a combination of two Greek words: Laos, meaning “people” or “laity”; and dicea meaning “opinion” or “custom”: hence Laodicea means the opinion or the custom of the people. We can see very distinctly that the church has fallen. What we see in Philadelphia is love, what we see in Philadelphia is the brethren. But here everything has become common. If God’s people do not stand stedfastly in the position of Philadelphia, they will change. Yet they will never change by returning to Sardis; instead, they will become Laodicea. That which comes out of Rome (Thyatira) is Protestantism (Sardis), that which comes out of Protestantism is the brethren (Philadelphia). And that which comes out of the brethren becomes the laity (Laodicea).
One day when the brethren fail to stand firm on the ground of the brethren, they fall from adelphos (brethren) to laos (laity or people). In Sardis, authority is in the hand of the pastors. In Philadelphia, authority falls on the brethren. Now, though, in Laodicea it is neither with the brethren nor with the pastors but with the laity. This means the opinion of the majority. In the people, you meet Laodicea; in the Lord’s will, you see Philadelphia.
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Folks who are coming out of intense, totalistic, legalistic groups are vulnerable to falling prey to them, and for that reason we sound a warning. It is difficult to do so in a balanced, objective way. When information is brought to our attention. we do the best we can to verify, and then we pass it on to our readers.
It sounds like you are leading people astray with unsound teaching because you teach the mingling of spirit and soul which directly violates Scripture as we have seen. That makes me sad because you are causing people to live in their naturally and then call that spiritual.
Margaret, try to understand I must reject your false teaching in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. May the Lord lead you to repent of this false teaching. Amen.
