This chapter does not peddle false hope, so to begin with, although there are solutions they can be very hard, and the worse the problem, the more difficult the recovery. Discouragement would be the natural course at this point, but God always provides an opening for those who are hopeless. There is a recovery process outlined in the Bible, and recovery is possible. So what does the Bible say about recovery from mental illness, maladies and distortions?
The Bible outlines a war in the soul which leads to mental dysfunction. If the Sinful Nature is not resisted and controlled, it will become the dominant force in the life of a person, both unbelievers and believers. The issue is not just sin, because no one is immune from it, and God forgives our transgressions. But rather it is about a coup in the soul whereby the Sinful Nature takes over the soul and replaces the Heart as the leader of the soul. And the process for this takeover entails changing thoughts and beliefs to align with Cosmic System thinking, which the Sinful Nature uses to gain advantages and leverage in the soul. So the key point here is that the Sinful Nature does not merely try to tempt us to sin, but more importantly it tempts us to reject the plan of God entirely, as well as reality and truth in general. Whatever reality and truth support, the Sinful Nature seeks the opposite. Occasional sin does not destroy the spiritual life as long as we continue to get back on track. But rejection of the plan of God will inevitably turn control of our soul over to the Sinful Nature if it is not reversed. The longer this continues, the more hardened the soul becomes, and the more difficult recovery becomes.
When people have gone down the wrong road for a long time, a hard dose of reality is often required to get their attention. It is one of the most effective ways to break the hold of the Sinful Nature, at least for a short while, and give the person an opportunity to change the course of their life. Arrogance must be broken down, and emotionalism must be suppressed, so reality and truth can get through in the form of real thinking in the Heart. If these opportunities are wasted, the likelihood of recovery grows dimmer.
For unbelievers who have no human spirit, the road to recovery must begin with salvation, which is believing in Jesus Christ as Savior. There is no other useful starting point for real solutions. But even this simple act of faith becomes much more difficult with the Sinful Nature in control of the soul, since it opposes anything related to God by distorting thoughts and thinking processes by inserting arrogance and emotionalism. For believers, the war is between the component which supports God's Plan (the human spirit) and the component which opposes God's Plan (the Sinful Nature). Those believers who have gone down the path of giving control of the soul over to the Sinful Nature must take the road to recovery by using the power from the Word of God, not by internal power. Therefore the believer is required by God to resist the Sinful Nature and feed the human spirit with the Word of God which is "alive and powerful" in order to understand and implement the spiritual life after salvation. Helpful drugs should not be rejected in this battle, since they can help quiet the soul and allow occasional windows of opportunity to accept God's plan to rehabilitate the inner human. This is a long and arduous process, and setbacks will abound. But it is the only long term solution. Taking the Word of God into the human spirit is like charging a battery which has been depleted, at first there is a total drain, then some energy which lasts only a short while, then the charge eventually has more and more power. It is a long process, not a quick fix.
Constant study and use of the Word of God which fills the human spirit with spiritual information forms a spiritual sword and shield against the Sinful Nature. Ephesians 10:6-18 says:
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 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. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
During the initial stages of spiritual growth the believer does not have enough understanding of the Bible to have a strong faith, so must instead rely on promises from the Bible to provide strength in times of testing and difficulty. The Bible contains many such promises, which are short phrases emphasizing the faithfulness and love of God toward the believer. An example of such a verse of promise is Isaiah 40:31 “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” The Bible is full of short and succinct verses which the believer can cling to during times of trouble, hardship, grief and distress. These are to some extent spiritual crutches for the growing believer until they have built up spiritual confidence once they understand in depth the Bible and as a result know God as an intimate friend, not as a far-off benefactor. Growth in the Word strengthens our faith, and the Bible tells us “we live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).
The Sinful Nature resides in every human, as we have noted. The Bible declares "there is none righteous, not even one." (Romans 3:10) We all are sinful because we have the Sinful Nature which trips us up from time to time. But beyond just sin, the Sinful Nature is also a distorting influence which negatively affects the ability to think clearly and logically. It is ultimately the source of all mental distortions. Therefore the key to avoiding mental distortions is control of the Sinful Nature. It wants to have its own way and direct the person into self-destructive patterns. It does not care about the harm it will do. It is a twisted and demented tyrant, and it must be resisted. And that resistance comes from the human spirit filled with the Word of God, the source of spiritual strength for the believer. We cannot will our way to spiritual advance. God has provided the Word of God as the spiritual power which can resist the Sinful Nature. Therefore the best way to resist mental distortions is to study and assimilate the Word of God from the time of salvation onward. For believers the human spirit is filled up with spiritual truths if that believer takes in spiritual food regularly under the teaching ministry of a Pastor who is well trained in the Bible. Parental discipline and hard knocks along the way also help keep the development of the Sinful Nature under some control, enabling the person to function in society. For those who start late in life trying to gain spiritual power, they are at the disadvantage of having to overcome a Sinful Nature which is already in control of the soul. At first the task seems hopeless and setbacks are numerous. But it is the only way. And it is possible because God provides a way of escape.
This is why the Bible says discipline is required to teach children proper behavior early on. Discipline is not simply teaching good behavior, it also knocks back the Sinful Nature's influence and the arrogance which goes along with it. If not done early and along the way, catching up later in life becomes more difficult, since the Sinful Nature will gain certain advantages in the war inside the soul. And remember, we are not merely discussing the avoidance of sin as the means of battling the Sinful Nature, but rather we are discussing the proactive approach of suppression of the Sinful Nature and its arrogance as a means of keeping it under control for a lifetime. The antidote to the Sinful Nature is a soul filled with Biblical wisdom, which in turn provides appreciation for God, and eventually love for Him. Arrogance is the enemy of the soul, as it opens the way for the Sinful Nature to use the Emotion to attack the Heart and Mind. Of course, all humans fail and there are none who do things perfectly. God knows that we are weak. He knows we will fail. God forgives us. It is a matter of fighting against an internal enemy which seeks to take over the soul and implement a system of chaos inside the soul in order to distract and keep humans from thinking about God. This may seem simply self-destructive and not particularly a good plan for the Sinful Nature. That is correct, because the Sinful Nature does not care about such things. To it, destruction is equally effective as convincing. Countering God's plan occurs either way. The Sinful Nature is not a logical advisor to the soul. It is an illogical tyrant. It must be resisted and pushed back into a tiny hole with a lock on it, with a sign which says "Do Not Feed The Sinful Nature." Remember, it is the enemy within.
Although unbelievers have no salvation, they can still develop their soul's logical advisors into overall conformity with God's divine laws for every human, including such things as respect for parents, family values, monogamous marriage, hard work, playing fair, helping neighbors, and so on. An unbeliever can be outwardly very moral in actions, and appear to be not much different than many believers due to God's divine laws which encourage general decency among all people. This is a matter of promoting a stable society where all are free to choose for or against God. Therefore these divine laws are meant for the entire human race, unbelievers as well as believers. But it is more difficult for unbelievers to deal with mental dysfunctions since they have no human spirit. Salvation activates the human spirit for the unbeliever, then spiritual growth develops the human spirit, which provides the ultimate in human "mental development," which is in reality soul (and human spirit) spiritual development. Therefore unbelievers must first change their mind about God and accept Jesus Christ as Savior, at which point they will gain a human spirit. From there they can rebuild soul stability.
So it was left to God to provide a way of escape for sinful humans, and that escape starts with salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. That is eternal salvation, but it is not total deliverance from the ongoing effects of our own Sinful Nature which continues to reside in us while we are alive. Our Sinful Nature is the source of all disruption and distortion in the soul. We cannot expunge it, but we can fight it. And fight we must. And that is the second part, which as we have discussed, is fighting the Sinful Nature by God's Word inside of our human spirit. Then the human spirit influences the Mind and Heart to restore logical order in the soul, giving the soul stability.
Believers are twice born, and therefore twice have an empty vessel to fill up, first the soul at physical birth, and later the human spirit at spiritual rebirth. At the birth of any baby it is a blank slate in the soul. The five senses get to work quickly and start to develop pattern recognition, and the soul begins to put in place the basis of thinking. An empty soul cannot think, therefore the baby starts as a pure empiricist, meaning their learning is sensory based. They do not have rationalization skills or the ability to accept things by faith until they first understand some basics about how the world works and can accomplish some rudimentary bonding. Over time the ability to have basic thoughts will become possible, then learning by both faith and also rational thinking can begin. Then beliefs will be formed.
In a similar way, the second birth is regeneration of the human spirit, which is much like being a baby all over again. A spiritual baby. Jesus said we must be "born again" to have eternal life. The newly "reborn" believer has a new empty vessel to begin to fill up, so it can form new spiritual thoughts and beliefs. That is exactly what must happen for the believer after salvation, namely to fill up the human spirit with spiritual information. Otherwise the human spirit is as non-functional as the soul of a newborn baby. And unless the believer begins to learn from the Word of God, the only source of spiritual learning, that believer will never have any thoughts above the level of a newborn spiritual baby. That is the equivalent of living the spiritual life in the goo-goo-da-da stage, which does not glorify God or the Lord Jesus Christ. And it also does not resist mental dysfunctions.
After salvation God generally leaves believers on earth to develop the human spirit which is empty at the second birth. That enables the person to eventually grow spiritually, to learn to appreciate and love and glorify God and our Savior Jesus Christ. That is how believers fulfill the requirements of the Bible for living the kind of life it describes -- a spiritual one. The power to live a spiritual life is not out of the soul, but rather out of the human spirit. The soul can never accomplish what the Bible requires of believers because it is not a spiritual entity, even though it is an immaterial entity. We are not here to try to live out a soul-based existence -- that is what unbelievers do. We are here for a spiritual purpose, not a soulish purpose. And the only way to develop our human spirit which is blank at our rebirth in Christ is through learning the Word of God.
However, most believers fail to fulfill their spiritual requirements. They leave their human spirit in a status of being a newborn. Although they may have some mild appreciation that they are saved, they are still spiritual babies for their entire life. As Paul told the Corinthians, who had not grown spiritually and lived just as they had prior to their salvation: "Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly." (1 Corinthians 3:1-3) The human spirit requires constant feeding from the Word of God to function properly, starting with the basics, and then moving on to advanced spiritual understanding. Without that constant intake of spiritual food, the human spirit is empty or close to it, so the Holy Spirit has little to use to empower the spiritual life of the believer. Those who exercise their human spirit and feed it spiritual truth will grow in spiritual strength and provide the Holy Spirit with what He requires to empower the believer to have impact for the Lord.
With the consistent intake of spiritual food, the human spirit stores up information the Holy Spirit can use to empower an effective spiritual life of the believer. We are in the midst of spiritual warfare with the forces of darkness, and we must be armed to fight the spiritual battles. As the human spirit is exercised and trained in spiritual truth from the Word, the believer will grow in spiritual strength and have impact for the Lord in this spiritual warfare. It is a sad reality that most believers do not adequately utilize their human spirit. Over time the person will develop mental dysfunctions as a result of neglecting the growth of their human spirit.
When the believer builds up the human spirit with the Word of God, the Plan of God starts to become the number one priority in life, as learning and applying the Word becomes much more important than the mundane things of everyday life. Circumstances gradually become less and less the source of our happiness. The desire to please God by knowing and applying His Word through the human spirit, the only spiritual part of the human, is what our spiritual life is all about. A real relationship with God unfolds through the human spirit, so that circumstances of life and problems fade as we have inner peace through understanding and comprehension of the Word, which provides a happiness in the inner human spirit and blessing from God as a result.
The human spirit filled with the Word of God is able to generally control the lusts of the Sinful Nature, and directs the soul to fulfill the will of God for us. That is the spiritual life -- living out of the human spirit, which directs the soul to properly interface with the outside world and with God on the basis of the Word of God. At this point "the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7) This means the person has a quiet soul with the Sinful Nature generally under control and living out from the human spirit. And a quiet soul in not possible when the Sinful Nature is in control of the soul.
Colossians 3:16 says “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom.” And where does the "word of Christ" dwell in us if not in our human spirit? Then the human spirit becomes better able to control the thoughts and intents of the Heart, to focus the Mind on figuring out life's issues with the Word of God as its frame of reference and standard for what is right and wrong. Now we are discussing changing beliefs. The actions of the believer follow the directions of the human spirit through the soul, and all based on God's Word. This is how we change our behavior. We build up spiritual information in the human spirit and that in turn allows the human spirit to exert greater influence over both the Sinful Nature and the entire soul. We are strengthened by the Word of God in our human spirit, which in turn changes our beliefs and drives our decisions and actions as the human spirit directs the soul. Power for our lives is through the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit is instrumental in helping us learn the Word of God if we study it. The power is in the Word, the Word which has been put into our human spirit by the mentoring of the Holy Spirit, and only then do we live a spiritual life with impact.
Believers may understand at a surface level that God will provide for them, but if they merely believe that from very limited input from a nearly empty human spirit providing input to their soul it will not have any staying power. It is only what we believe from the human spirit based on deeper levels of understanding of God's Word which provides deep faith and power. And this provides opportunity for the Holy Spirit to help us apply that spiritual information more effectively. As that spiritual structure in the human spirit is built up, the faith and spiritual dynamics of the believer increases. When the Word of God fills the human spirit and becomes the primary advisor to the Heart, these two become aligned to enable the Heart to have a consistent divine viewpoint which expresses God's Word in the majority of what the believer thinks, says, and does. That is a Heart which pleases God because it is controlled by the human spirit filled with Bible wisdom.
The only spiritual part of a human is the human spirit. It must develop the ability to function by growing just as the soul grew by continuous learning from the point of birth onward. When did anyone shut down their soul and refuse to take in any more sensory information, or learning? The human spirit must continuously "grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 3:18) Otherwise it is not making spiritual progress. In fact, the neglected human spirit goes backward and shrivels, losing any spiritual advances which had been previously made. Mental maladies are the result. The growth of the human spirit must be the lifelong mission of the believer, because we are required to grow up spiritually after our rebirth. 1 Peter 2:2 says "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation." Growing up spiritually is ultimately why we remain on earth after salvation, because it gives us the means of glorifying God.
Therefore the only way to counter and overcome the Sinful Nature-Emotion lock on the soul is through a very intensive study and application of the Word of God. But this is very difficult due to the deeply rooted reactions which will come from the Emotion, and the resistance from the Sinful Nature which has taken over control of the soul. Once it has gained control, it is difficult to depose. But this is the only rehabilitation process. It is hard and takes a very long time. Results will be spotty at first, and setbacks will abound. But it is the only road back. And with God and His Word it is possible.