The Great Gospel of John
Volume 4
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus near Caesarea Philippi (cont.)
- Chapter 226 -
The relationship between soul and spirit.
1
(The Lord:) "The soul will always relate to the spirit, like the earthly body to the soul. The body of an even still so perfect soul has in a certain way also its own pleasure will, by which the soul can be spoiled, if she adheres to it. A proper educated soul will never adhere to the gluttonous will of the body and always stay a master over its body; but with spoiled souls such is quite possible.
2
Between soul and spirit, however, there always exists a relationship like between a primordial perfect soul and its body. The body on its own can have desires as many as it wants, and tempt the soul for allowance and satisfaction with all its often rather sharp stings, but the perfect soul will always say an effective 'no' to it! And precisely the same does My spirit in the soul, in which it merged completely!
3
As long as the soul adheres completely to the will of its spirit, everything takes place exactly according to the will of the spirit, what is also My will; however, if the soul because of her backward recollection wants a little more sensuous things, in such moments the spirit retreats and leaves the execution of the desire over to the soul only, from which normally nothing happens, especially if the will of accomplishment contains effectively very little or often even nothing at all of any spiritual content.
4
The soul, soon noticing her own weakness and clumsiness, will not before long let go of her self-desire dreams, reunites again with the spirit most intensely and let his will prevail. Then there is of course order and strength and power in all fullness again."
5
Asks finally again Cyrenius, however a little meekly: "Lord, by Your many words and admonishings, I have landed in a gorge in which I have noticed a main shortcoming of my recognition and notices it even better now!
6
You said earlier, that the individuality of the soul, even if Your spirit penetrates and takes it over completely, has not gone over to the spirit to such an extend that the soul could not separate from it for certain moments. Thus the soul still keeps its individuality and even can think and will for itself like before the rebirth of the spirit in its substantial being.
7
If the soul could have wanted and think before, it also must have a free, individual ability of recognition, and must therefore also recognize the immense advantage of this what is flowing into the soul from its spirit, compared to this what its own senses can provide. If the soul necessarily recognizes this, how is it possible that she ever want to think and want for herself, what the spirit has not breathed into her before?! I find in the continuous individualistic ability to think, to will and to recognize an imperfection of the spiritual being of man.
8
It also sounds strange, that the actually newly reborn soul in her spirit - who is supposed to be much stronger than the pure, primordial perfect soul of one of these moors, with whom there can be nowhere near any talk of a rebirth and with whom there was never one before - can do much less than a pure, primordial perfect soul of one of these moors! If such souls want something, it happens; but if a in her spirit reborn soul - what certainly is more than just a primordial perfect soul - want to do something out of herself, it cannot happen, because the spirit does not want it!
9
The souls of these moors will most likely also have the wondrous ability in the beyond, to at least be able to also perform the same wondrous things as here; however, our souls reborn in the spirit should then, so to speak for their own private pleasure, be able to do nothing? For that I find no reason, nor any for the reason acceptable clue. Thus have the mercy, to put this matter for us whites into a somewhat brighter light; since this is an indigestible food for us!"