Doctrine of the Emotions of the Soul
(1) - The Vocabulary Problem.
(A) - There is no vocabulary word in either the Hebrew or Koine Greek language for "emotion," as we have in English.
(B) - Therefore, other words must be substituted to indicate emotion.
(a) - The word "belly" as used in Prov 13:25, Prov 18:8, Rom 16:17-18, and Phil 3:19, refers to emotion.
(b) - The word "bowels" as used in Gen 43:30, I Kings 3:26, and Jer 4:19, refers to emotion.
(c) - The word "reins," as used in Psalm 7:9, 26:2; Prov 23:16; and Jer 17:10 refers to emotion.
(2) - Definition and Function:
(A) - Emotion is the responder and appreciator of the mentality of the soul.
(B) - Emotional response to the mentality of the soul produces the spectrum of happiness in the soul. This spectrum includes everything from tranquility on one end to stimulation and ecstatics on the other end of the spectrum.
(C) - Emotional response to the sin nature produces the misery spectrum. This spectrum includes frustration, instability, depression, and anxiety.
(D) - Since the emotion was never designed to dominate the soul, wide emotional swings demonstrate the inability of the emotion to handle authority or to assume authority in the soul.
(E) - The emotion does not contain either Bible doctrine or knowledge; therefore, it cannot by design dominate the soul.
(F) - God has designed the mentality of the soul to dominate the soul.
(G) - By definition, emotion is the appreciator and responder of the soul. By function, the emotion responds to the mentality of the soul.
(3) - The emotions are tested by God: Psalm 7:9; 26:2; Jer 11:20; 17:10; 20:12; Rev 2:33.
(A) - God does not test the soul and the emotions at any specific time, but His omniscience knew billions of years ago the status of every person's soul at any given point in time.
(B) - PRINCIPLE: you cannot "fool God." Because He read your mind, and your motivation billions of years ago. And He knew what you would think, and what your attitude, and your feelings would be billions of years before you were born.
(C) - The condition of your soul and your emotion known to Him at all times.
(D) - Since capacity for life is based on the amount of Bible doctrine in the soul, the testing has to do with the response of the emotion to this information.
(4) - The emotion can be destroyed: Job 16:13; Psalm 73:21; Lam 3:13.
(A) - The emotions are destroyed by responding to the sin nature rather than to the mentality of the soul.
(a) - By the three categories of sins: Mental attitude sins, sins of the tongue, and overt sins.
(b) - By lust patterns: approbation lust, power lust, materialism lust, sexual lust, etc., etc.
(c) - The emotions can also be destroyed by the production of human good, which is simply doing good things in the power of your sin nature.
(d) - This causes the emotional revolt of the soul.
(e) - In emotional revolt, the emotions, under the influence of the sin nature, reject the authority of the mentality of the soul.
(f) - The result is anarchy in the soul, chaos, with wide emotional swings, and temporary or permanent psychosis.
(g) - Not only does emotional revolt of the soul produce psychosis, but it explains such problems as apostasy, sublimation, degeneracy, and lack of capacity for life and love.
(5) - The emotion reacts to tragedy: Jer 4:29; Lam 1:20; 2:11.
(A) - This reaction occurs when the individual is in emotional revolt of the soul, in which the authority of the mentality of the soul has been neutralized or destroyed.
(B) - The mentality of the soul, not the emotion, contains Biblical information.
(C) - Emotional reaction is a revolt against divine design in the structure of the soul.
(D) - Under emotional revolt, and reaction to tragedy or pressure, the individual breaks under the pressure.
(6) - Emotion is the appreciator of love: Gen 43:30; I Kings 3:26; Phil 1:8; I John 3:17.
(A) - When the mentality of the heart has Biblical information, there is capacity for love.
(B) - When the mentality of the soul dominates the soul, emotional response makes the individual very much aware of the fact that he is in love and that love exists in the soul.
(7) - Emotion stimulates happiness: Prov 23:16; Philemon 7 & 20.
(A) - The frame of reference in the soul provides information for the memory center which stimulates response in the emotion. Hence, the emotion become the stimulus for happiness.
(B) - The conscience (norms & standards) also stimulates the emotion and causes the function of the priesthood, patriotism, and rapport with those whom you love.
(C) - The viewpoint of the soul provides stimulus in the emotions when someone expresses the divine viewpoint of life in public speaking or conversation.
(8) - Emotion and spirituality in the dispensations of the Church and the Millennium.
(A) - The Church Age:
(a) - Christ is absent from the earth during the Church Age; therefore, the filling of the Holy Spirit produces the character of Christ and the glory of Christ without emotion being an intergral part of spirituality. Rom 5:5; Gal 5:22-23.
(b) - Emotion is never designed to produce character, but to respond to character.
(c) - Grace is the plan of God for the human race, and emotion as a responder appreciates grace, and responds to grace in a positive manner.
(d) - But emotion as an aggressor or dictator, supresses grace and promotes legalism.
(e) Remember that emotion cannot produce character, it can only respond to character.
(f) - Therefore, emotion and ecstatics cannot have spiritual content in the Church Age.
(g) - Emotion can respond to the filling of the Holy Spirit, or emotion can react to the filling of the Holy Spirit (grieving the Spirit), but emotion CANNOT BE the filling of the Holy Spirit.
(h) - If emotion was a part of spirituality today, we would never know what was real or what was false.
(B) - The Millennium:
(a) - Christ is present on the earth under perfect environment.
(b) - The angelic conflict is suspended due to the chaining of Satan and the imprisonment of all fallen angels and demons.
(c) - Because of the Millennial conditions, emotion is a bona fide part of the results of spirituality.
(d) - Why? Because in the Millennium the ministry of the Holy Spirit is designed to cause believers to appreciate Jesus Christ, who is present on the earth, rather than to produce the character of Christ in believers, as when He was absent.
(e) - Scripture on Millennial spirituality: Isaiah 29:19; 32:15; 44:3; Ezekiel 39:29; Joel 2:28-29; Zechariah 12:10.
(9) - The emotion of the negative believer hinders the learning of the Word of God. II Cor 6:11-12, "Our mouth is open to you (teaching), Corinthians; our heart is wide. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own bowels (emotion)."
(A) - The emotional revolt of the soul causes the emotions to respond to the sin nature.
(B) - To take over dictatorship of the soul, the emotion must become the aggressor and neutralize the soul where Bible doctrine is located.
(C) - Instead of responding to the soul, the emotion becomes a tyrant, an aggressive nag; and therefore it shuts out the Bible doctrine in the soul.
(D) - Consequently, emotional revolt short-circuts the entire learning process and causes malfunction.
(E) - The malfunction in the learning and application process frustrates God's plan and God's grace in the life of the believer.
(10) - Therefore, believers are commanded to separate from other believers involved in the emotional revolt of the soul. Rom 16:17-18, "I urge you brethren, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. KEEP AWAY FROM THEM. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites (emotion) ......."
(A) - Believers who live by their emotion are apostate, degenerate, and disoriented to truth.
(B) - The role of the emotion changes from responder to aggressor.
(C) - Believers with such confusion in their souls are troublemakers; therefore, other believers are commanded to separate from them.
(D) - This means separation from those involved in the tongues movement, healing movement, and any other religious activity where emotion is stressed.
(E) - The tongues movement, and anything that stresses emotion as a spiritual experience is in emotional revolt of the soul.
(11) - The emotional revolt of the soul:
(A) - In effect, the emotional revolt of the soul is analogous to the emotion fornicating with the sin nature instead of responding to the soul, which is the thinking part of the soul.
(B) - instead of responding to Bible doctrine in the soul, the emotion responds to mental attitude sins, lust patterns, and the human good of the sin nature.
(C) - Emotional fornication becomes emotional revolt.
(D) - Remember that emotion has no Bible doctrine content, no character; it can respond only to Bible doctrine in the soul.
(E) - Once the emotion revolts and becomes the aggressor, it loses all capacity for life and substitutes the misery spectrum (response to the sin nature) for the happiness spectrum (response to the soul).
(F) - The emotion is unfaithful.
(G) - The sin nature is the adulterer (lover) who turns the fornicating emotion into a tyrant-witch, upsetting the soul, and destroying all common sense and all true reasoning.
17. To convince all that are ungodly of all their ungodly deeds - The first phase of judgment that the unbeliever will experience is the Baptism of Fire. This judgment occurs at the Second Advent of Jesus Christ . The second phase of judgment for the unbeliever will be the Great White Throne Judgment.