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THE VOICE OF THE SOUL
Like the eyes and the ears, the mouth is a gateway of the soul. The mouth is the “voice of the soul.” Unlike the eyes and ears, the mouth does not receive and process images and information. The mouth expresses and communicates thoughts and information it has received and stored in its databanks based on our will, motives, attitudes, and emotions.
A good man will bring forth (speaks out) the “good treasures” he has taken time to store in his heart. The treasures in the heart of a good man are the ones found in the “divine nature of Christ.” A good man is filled with righteousness, grace, mercy, and peace. An evil man will possess “evil thoughts” which are designed to “steal, kill, and destroy.” The heart of an evil man is FILLED with sin, idolatry, heresy and debauchery, among other things.
The Bible tells us to “guard our hearts (spirit) with all diligence for out of our heart flows the issues, or forces, of life.” (Proverbs 4:23). As Christians, we are admonished to guard ALL our “spiritual gateways.” What we receive and store through the gateways of our eyes and ears will eventually find its way out the gateway of our mouth. Our desires, attitudes, will, emotions and motives rule our hearts, thus many of our thoughts will proceed out of our mouth through the words we speak.
Our words are derived from thoughts which reside in our soulish realm. Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Whatever our hearts meditate and dwell on abundantly will find its way out of our mouths commensurately. Unfortunately, for many the thoughts and desires of their hearts are evil and demonically engendered.
Today immorality is found in many churches because Christ is not the head of the church, but a symbolic token. When Christ is the head of a church, the church will be sanctified and set apart from the rest of the world. It will be a “Holy Church” spiritually endowed with the “voice of Christ” crying out to lost, lonely, neglected and forgotten souls.
Holiness is the mark of a church which is set aside for the service of the Master. You will recognize those who are following Christ by the things they are saying and the things they are doing in relation to their love for Christ. You will know those who are righteous by the “fruit they bear.” You will know they are Christ-like because of their Christ-like love, attitudes, and motives toward others.
When we become filled with the “divine nature of Christ,” we will become Christ-like. Every Christian should desire to be CHRIST-LIKE. If we do not have a desire to mirror the “image of Christ” to others, we cannot be “disciples of Christ.” If we are not disciples of Christ, we will never learn and adhere to the disciplines of Christ.
And God said, “let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him: male and female He created them. Genesis, ch. 1, vs. 26-27.
God created man in His image. He created man to LOOK much like Himself physically--in ‘bodily form.” God created man to BE much like Him spiritually. After God created Adam, He “breathed into him His breath (Spirit of Life), and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7).
God created man to be a spirit being as well as a human being. After God created Adam He blessed him and enriched him with “His Spirit.” It was always God’s plan for man to be “spiritually minded.” Unfortunately, sin entered into the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned and ate the forbidden fruit. Subsequently, the souls of men by nature became corrupt, sinful and immoral.
Natural man rejects the things of God. The carnal mind is enmity with God and cannot process or understand godly precepts or principles. The concept of “spiritual truth” is illusive, illusionary, and incomprehensible to the carnal mind.
The Bible says, “the heart of natural man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.” (Jeremiah 17:9). “As in water face reveals face, so a man’s heart reveals the man.” (Proverbs 18:19). A man without Christ does not know God and is incapable of having godly thoughts or making godly decisions.
Natural man without Christ cannot understand or receive the things of God for they are foolishness to Him. The Bible says, “A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.” (Proverbs 18:7). Natural man can only speak of those things which he knows and understands. His thoughts are in conflict with and opposes spiritual truth, thus his words become his downfall and destruction.
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man. Matthew, ch. 15, vs. 18-20.
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The disposition of the heart will reflect the character of a man when he speaks. The thoughts which are preeminent in a man’s soul will rule his speech and behavior. James said “the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and is set on fire of hell.” (James 3:6).
Natural man does not have the ability to control his own tongue. The Bible says, “Whatever a man thinks in his heart so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7). Whatever evil thoughts and desires which are in an evil man’s heart will eventually proceed out of his mouth and defile him. We all become byproducts of the desires and intents of our heart. Our “soul man” affects everything we do and say.
We become the “voice of Christ” to others when we become born again. We have been recreated in the image of Christ to go forth and proclaim the gospel of Christ to a lost and dying world. We become the “voice of Christ” to those who are alienated from the truth.
In Christ our soul has been redeemed from the curse of the Law, and now we can proclaim “liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound in chains of darkness.” (Isaiah 61:1). In Christ, the words we speak by the Spirit become Spirit and Life to give understanding to those who live in darkness. We become the voice of Christ “crying out in the Wilderness” to those who are in need of a Savior and deliverer.
When we are clothed with the “divine nature,” our words will be “seeds” of Light and Life to give understanding to those who are spiritually blind. When we are clothed with the “divine nature,” we will glorify God with the fruit of our lips as we sing praises which honor and glorify Him. Out of the abundance of our hearts we will proclaim the goodness, grace, and mercy of God to all those who have need of change in their lives.
In Christ, the “voice of our spirit” will bring forth righteousness, joy, mercy and grace. The words which we speak will honor God and lead others to victory in Christ. Out of our mouths will proceed glad tidings, the voice of triumph, faith, peace, and love. Out of our innermost being will flow “rivers of living water.” (John 7:38).
We have access to God through the voice of our “soul gates.” The words we speak give us access to God. Because we acknowledge the truth our voices are heard in Heaven. When we pray according to the Word of God and offer thanksgiving and praise to Him, our lips are bearing the fruit of righteousness. The Bible says we are to “enter into HIS gates with thanksgiving and into HIS courts with praise.” (Psalm 100:4). As a sweet smelling savor, the voice of our “redeemed souls” will bring sacrifices of praise into the throne room of God. (2 Corinthians 2:15).