Scar Tissue Of The Soul

THE ESSENCE OF THE SOUL

Before we can understand the problem of scar tissue of the soul, we need to understand something of the essence of the soul. Man is said to be created originally in the image of God (Gen. 1:26, 27). Since God cannot be seen, the image is a “shadow” or concept-type image and refers to the soul, not the body. Man has essence just as God has essence. God s essence is His perfect character: sovereignty, righteousness, justice, love, eternal life, omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, immutability and veracity. Man s essence is in his soul, which is located in the cranium and, like God’s essence, is real but invisible. There is no way you can see the characteristics of the soul by opening the skull.

The soul or essence of man is composed of six characteristics, but only the first five came from God. First, the soul has self-consciousness — we are aware of our own existence. Second, it has mentality, which has two areas — two lobes: one, the left lobe, is called the mind (“nous” in the Greek), which is for objective perception; the other, the right or dominant lobe, is usually translated “heart’’ (“kardia’’ in the Greek) and is for utilization and application of knowledge. Third, the soul has volition, where we make our decisions; fourth, emotion, which is the appreciator of the soul;

and fifth, the conscience, which is in the right lobe.

From the time that we learn vocabulary and something of the do’s and doubt’s and the mores of life, we develop a conscience. Our conscience has many norms and standards, which we acquire through parental and academic training, through culture, or our national background, through religion, and through contact with our peers and contemporaries in life. The conscience may or may not be accurate. Its accuracy can only be tested by the absolutes of the Word of God.

Finally, the soul contains an old sin nature, which has an area of weakness that produces sins, and an area of strength that produces human good. God did not create the old sin nature; therefore, it is not a part of the “breathing apparatus’ of the soul. It is not in any way connected with relationship with God. God is not the Author of sin; God can in no way cause man to sin or even tempt man to sin (Jas. 1:13). Since God is perfect, it is totally incompatible with His character for Him to bring man into some state of sin. Sin is the result of man’s own negative volition toward God (Gen. 2:17; Jas. 1:14), just as sin in the angelic creation was the result of Satan’s negative volition toward God (Isa. 14:13, 14). When the first man sinned, his human spirit was destroyed and an old sin nature took its place so that man became spiritually dead. Satan was the sponsor of the old sin nature in that he tempted the woman to sin.

When God designed a plan for man in eternity past, He also designed a way for man to receive and respond to that plan. In order to understand how man responds to God’s plan, we will describe the soul in terms of body analogy. The soul contains two “lungs” (the left and right banks) for breathing — inhale and exhale. Each lung has five apertures — one opposite each characteristic of the soul (with the exception of the sin nature, which merely evacuates sin and human good). Man has the opportunity of having relationship with God through the left bank of his soul and relationship with people and things in life through the right bank. In God’s plan, He initiates toward the believer with Bible doctrine. The believer’s response is “inhale’’ and “exhale” — that is, the doctrine is taken in and response is breathed out. Love toward God is exhaled out the left bank, while love toward right man or right woman and toward friends is exhaled out the right bank.

THE PROBLEM INTRODUCED

Now, in the middle of a discussion on growth and the edification complex of the soul in the fourth chapter of Ephesians, we are suddenly warned of a great danger to soul-breathing and spiritual growth C scar tissue ‘ of the soul.

This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind (verse 17). Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart (verse 18).

Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness (verse 19).

The word ‘’ his,'''' which begins verse 17, introduces the problem of scar tissue of the soul. It is based on the fact that the believers in Ephesus were primarily still children spiritually (verse 14). The whole objective of the epistle is that they ‘C e no more children, ‘’ Children are “tossed to and fro, and carried about by every wind of doctrine (false doctrine)’’; they are deceived by Satan, who uses human beings of ability and genius to disseminate doctrines of demons (1 Tim. 4:1), and other false concepts connected with “cosmos diabolicus”: human wisdom, cosmic wisdom, human good, and many other factors. These are described inverse 14 as “the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.” For this reason, since we represent the Lord Jesus Christ in the intensified stage of the angelic conflict and since every believer is in full-time Christian service, there must be a solution to the problem of lack of growth among believers in Jesus Christ. However, before a solution can be presented, the hindrance to growth must be discussed. So verses 17-19 take up the issue of scar tissue of the soul.

The word “say” (“lego”) in verse 17 is a very common word in the Greek, and because it is so common, the significance of its meaning is often ignored. In order to communicate, you must have words and a vocabulary in common with those to whom you communicate. Therefore, it becomes imperative to communicate the things of the Word of God as they are found in the Koine Greek. Often this demands, as was the case with the Koine, that we coin words (to use an expression from the Koine) — that is, give them a technical meaning assigned to them by the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul, in order to communicate the subject which is found in this passage had to have a very special vocabulary, and that vocabulary has to remain extant.

“To say,” then, could better be translated “to speak” or “to explain,” because he is going to explain to the recipients something they can understand — something which is hindering their spiritual growth. The present tense recognizes that what Paul is about to explain is a part of the Word of God. The writers of Scripture were often conscious of the fact that what they were writing was a part of the canon of Scripture. The recognition of canonicity on the part of human authors has been subject to a great deal of debate; but once it is accepted that “say” is a technical word, then immediately it takes on new significance.

The active voice of “ego” indicates the principle of inspiration; for God the Holy Spirit, through the grace apparatus for perception (GAP), actually communicated this information to Paul, and under the filling of the Spirit, this became first of all “gnosis” to Paul (knowledge understood in the left lobe). But having “gnosis” was not enough. It had to be transferred BY FAITH into the human spirit where it became “epignosis” (a technical word describing the concept of storing doctrine in the human spirit for application: the means by which the believer has a full understanding of doctrine). From “epignosis” it was cycled back into the right lobe as a frame of reference, the formation of a new conscience, vocabulary and viewpoint. The doctrine was then exhaled out the right bank of his soul, using his vocabulary, his personality, his frame of reference, so that God’s complete and connected thought toward man was recorded; and we now have this epistle. All of this is involved in “saying.”

The word ‘’testify’’ adds strength to the concept of the technicality of “lego.” It means “to make a solemn warning,” and it is based on the fact that the believers in Ephesus and in the Roman province of Asia were not growing up; they were not progressing in their Christian life. Believers will never grow up or make it if they walk “as other Gentiles walk.” “Walk” refers to the entire pattern of life, including the soul pattern, the mentality, and the result in the overt pattern. “Walking” is an excellent way to illustrate the pattern of life because everyone has characteristics in his gait peculiar to that person only. Almost anyone can be distinguished by his walk. Exercise or other factors, however, can change a person’s walk. “Gentiles” is again technical nomenclature describing unbelievers. The principle is that believers are not to live as unbelievers live. Now living as an unbeliever is primarily thinking like an unbeliever: to have the soul characteristics of an unbeliever. In his self-consciousness, the unbeliever has a certain amount of pride or esprit de corps in the awareness of himself, which is incompatible with the plan of God and with grace. He thinks as Satan would have him think in this respect. He goes for cosmic wisdom; he makes decisions which are incompatible with the will of God. He has rapport with the things of this life without having any rapport with God or appreciation of God’s plan for either the universe or mankind. He has a conscience which has human norms and standards, and his emphasis is on human good. The sins in his life have only normal human restraint without having the restraint which comes from the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the erection of the edification complex through the function of GAP.

I know that when most people see this type of passage, they always think of overt sins. It is true that carnality imitates the unbeliever (1 Cor. 3:1-3); but in this passage we have the principle of the entire soul’s activity. The emphasis is on what happens in the soul. If in your soul you have human viewpoint, the norms and standards of an unbeliever or scar tissue, you are going to live as if you were an unbeliever. Your thought pattern, your soul activity will be that of a person who has never been saved. Now, you ARE saved when you believe in Jesus Christ; but whether you actually manifest this in life depends on the utilization of divine operating assets.

The great challenge here, connected with verse 14, gives us a good, clear picture as to what had happened to the original recipients of this epistle. First of all, they were minus growth; and as a result, they were imitating the unbeliever in the soul. This obviously had certain overt manifestations; but the emphasis in this passage is in the soul because through imitating the unbeliever and through the rejection of Bible doctrine, scar tissue is built upon the soul. In this particular passage, the principle is that it is impossible to distinguish between the scar tissue believer and the unbeliever

either in his overt actions or in his soul.

THE PROBLEM STATED

The phrase “in the vanity” in Ephesians 4:17 is literally “by means of the vanity” and indicates the means by which they were walking as Gentiles. VANITY is the key word to understanding the problem of scar tissue. It is “mataiotes” in the Greek and means “emptiness” or a “vacuum.” Again it is one of those technical words which must be related to the context. In this case, since we are dealing with the soul, it indicates a vacuum in the soul. When a vacuum in the soul exists, something foreign to God’s concepts for the soul is drawn into the soul.

In the volition of the soul and in the mentality, which the Greeks called the “nous” (or “noeo” when referring to thinking in the mind), the believer can go negative to Bible doctrine — either occasionally, frequently or totally. But any negative volition is going to have an effect. When you go negative, you begin to build up scar tissue on the left bank of the soul; and when that reaches a certain point, it opens up the vacuum (“mataiotes”).

It is only through this vacuum that Satan can get to a believer, who cannot be demon- possessed because his body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). But once the vacuum is open, it sucks in Satanic thought, or Satanic viewpoint into his mind. Sometimes this is called “worldliness” but it is always false doctrine and false thinking. This is how a believer cant think in terms of how he feels rather than who and what God is and what His Word says; he thinks in terms of religion, legalism, panaceas, mental attitude sins and slavery to the details of life.

Notice that it is the “vanity (vacuum) of the MIND.” Remember, the mind has TWO LOBES. The “nous” or perceptive lobe, which does the initial thinking before it is categorized in the other lobe; and the right lobe, which has the direct pipe from Satan; and when you have gone negative toward Bible doctrine, the vacuum opens up. Under positive volition it is shut down.

Negative volition, then, is the great issue at this point because the emptiness of the mind is the result of negative volition toward doctrine. Now there are many reasons for negative volition. Let’s look at some of these.

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF NEGATIVE VOLITION

The first characteristic is perhaps a little more subtle than the others — indifference or apathy toward doctrine. Suppose we have a passage in which the first few verses deal with prophecy, the next two deal with the gospel, the next four with right man-right woman, then a few verses on the dispensational interpretation o history. Here are four different subjects. Maybe you are interested in some, and maybe you are not at all interested in the others.

Let’s say that the gospel is “old hat” to you, so you pay no attention to that. You’ve been “burned” relative to right man-right woman, so that subject leaves you cold; and you have no interest whatsoever in history. But you are a student of prophecy and you love prophecy; so you tune in only for the prophecy portion and tune out for all the rest. In other words, you can be sitting in church and yet be indifferent to certain doctrines for a number of reasons.

Apathy toward doctrine may develop because of subject matter. There are literally hundreds of subjects found in Scripture. Some may be of interest to you and others may not. But the command to the pastor-teacher is to preach the whole counsel of God, and this can only be accomplished by an exegetical teaching of the Word. You are not going to like some subjects, while you will like others. Some will be so contrary to your background that you will be in violent disagreement; and violent disagreement often leads to apathy or indifference.

A second cause for negative volition has to do with personality conflicts or antagonism with regard to the pastor. It must be remembered that with the gift of pastor-teacher there are a certain number of variables. The spiritual gift itself provides the ability as well as the authority to communicate doctrine. It does not provide what you might consider to be the “Pastor profile.” Most people think of a pastor as a ‘pleasing personality” — some very sweet person who always makes the proper sounds at the proper time, whether at a funeral or a wedding, in the pulpit, or merely when

walking down the street. This leads to the concept that in order to be a pastor you must have or assume a certain type of personality.

However, there is no stereotyped personality which goes with the gift of pastor-teacher. This is very difficult for people to understand. The fact that God uses a fantastic number of different personalities can be demonstrated from the apostles. Peter, for example, was very impulsive; John was aristocratic; Thomas was intellectual and humanistic; and Paul had a personality which was unique in many ways. There is also great variation in vocabulary. If you have been accustomed to hearing the Bible taught in a certain way, you will always expect to hear it presented that way. You may be shocked to hear some pastor communicate in “Koine” English! However, the main concern is that he functions properly within the framework of his personality.

No one’s personal concepts are the basis for the function of the gift of pastor. The basis is, does he have the gift, and does he teach doctrine? This is the reason the filling of the Spirit in GAP is so important, because it helps you to get the message without having to get entangled with the personality. A third cause of negative volition is antagonism or mental attitude sins toward other members in the congregation. You get hung up because of some person sitting in the congregation of whom you are jealous or against whom you are bitter or competing, or whom you can’t stand for some reason. This is another way you can be negative and yet be coming regularly to church.

The fourth is failure to utilize rebound when necessary. It is impossible to take in the Word, even if you are positive, unless you are filled with the Spirit; and the filling of the Spirit comes through the rebound technique.

The fifth reason is slavery to the details of life. These can be classified as money, success, pleasure, social life, friends, loved ones, health, sex, materialistic things and status symbols. All these things in their own area are innocuous — in fact, some of them are very ‘pleasant and very wonderful; but they are still details. If the details of life are more important to you than Bible doctrine, then obviously you will spend time making money when you ought to be spending that time with doctrine; you will be pushing toward success and excluding doctrine. Your pleasures, which might be anything from television to social life, can take the place of Bible class. Your friends may drag you away. You may omit Bible class in order to keep peace in the home. Health can be a factor — you feel either too good or too bad. In other words, any detail you put before doctrine means trouble!

The sixth characteristic of negative volition is the inability to cope with prosperity. This can also be success from the previous concept. With many people, difficulty and adversity are the only reasons for coming to Bible class; but when the suffering lets up, you don’t see them again until something else hits. They allow prosperity or lack of prosperity to be their gauge as to whether or not they need doctrine.

THE BLACKOUT OF THE SOUL

There is a logical progression in Ephesians 4:17-19. One condition leads to a worsening condition if allowed to continue unchecked.

Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart (verse 18).

The word for (‘Understandings is “dianoia.” "Dia''' means “through,” while “noia” means “thinking .” When you put the two together, the word means “thinking through” or “having conclusive thoughts.” Whatever you think — whether it is mental attitude sins, occupation with Christ, capacity to love — whatever is real to you in your mind — that is actually what you are. The concept of “understanding” in verse 18 is delineated in Proverbs 23:7: For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he is.

Ephesians 4:18 describes a believer whose thinking has become darkened. Literally, it should read, “Having become darkened in the sphere of thinking.” Since “darkened” is in the passive voice, it means “to receive darkness’; and this believer is one who has received darkness with the result that he has a blackout in the mind or soul. First, he went negative to doctrine, which caused scar tissue to build on the left bank of the soul. As the scar tissue continued to build up through negative volition, it opened up “mataiotes” into the mind. This vacuum actually sucks into the mind false viewpoint of life — Satanic doctrine. It could be in any area of life — theology, religion, politics, social or economic life, etc. There is a Satanic viewpoint in every facet of life!

The blackout of the soul causes the believer in Jesus Christ to be disoriented. The expression of the old sin nature is one problem; but the blackout of the soul is worse than that. It has to do with the whole thought pattern. This is the problem with Christians who think they are living good Christian lives; yet they are motivated by guilt reactions and are trying to make up something to God. They are actually living like reformed unbelievers. This is a fantastic passage from the standpoint of orientation to what God expects under grace (1 Cor. 2:5).

The blackout of the soul, then, results in failure to orient to grace because of rejection of doctrine outright, or because of negative volition to doctrine. It not only builds up scar tissue on the soul, but it also causes a breakdown in GAP; there is therefore no frame of reference, no discernment nor exhale, and consequently, no edification complex in the soul and/or no maturity. Because we live in the period of the intensified stage of the angelic conflict as well as in a time of great apostasy, the believer must take in doctrine on an intensified basis. There is no way to survive the principle of this passage unless you are consistent in taking in the Word of God DAILY!

Failure to orient to grace through GAP results in failure to orient to the plan of God; and such failure sets up false standards, false criteria, false doctrine and false function of the mind. This is described in the next phrase of verse 18: ; alienated from the life of God through ignorance. ‘ The believer without doctrine operates in darkness of soul, which results in subjectivity, soul fainting (Heb. 12:2,3), frustration and unhappiness. From there, the person goes into a frantic search for happiness, which inevitably leads to slavery to the details of life. The reason believers become dissatisfied and begin to SEEK happiness is that they have not found it in the daily intake of doctrine. Part of the edification complex in the soul is inner happiness. But this must be based on the foundation of doctrine and built upon the other floors grace — orientation, mastery of the details of life, a relaxed mental attitude (free from mental attitude sins), and the capacity to love in all three categories (toward God, toward right man or right woman and toward friends).

The search for happiness always puts the details of life first. When this happens, isolation from Bible doctrine becomes even more intensified and produces in that believer a state of apostasy. As scar tissue continues to accumulate on both banks of the soul, neuroses to negative volition is self-righteousness. You begin to depend upon your own ability or your own morality rather than what God is and what He has provided. If this continues long enough without check, there is maximum scar tissue of the soul, and this condition will result in the sin unto death (1 John 5:16). The sin unto death is not loss of salvation, but is a divine, maxi- mum punitive measure whereby the believer is removed from the world before his time. The believer has become a casualty in the intensified stage of the angelic conflict.

Now look again at verse 18: “having become darkened in the sphere of thinking” — the first stage of the blackout of the soul; “being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them” — the second stage, disorientation to Phase Two; “because of the blindness of their heart” — the third stage. The believer who is alienated from the life of God is alienated from God’s grace, from His plan and from His function. The verb suggests that it is possible for a believer to live his life as a Christian on this earth and still be totally out of phase with God’s plan for his life. This is what happens to any believer who is negative toward doctrine. The word “life” is interesting. It is the Greek word for the “concept of life,” in contrast to the other word for “life” which means “the function of life.” The “life of God” is referring to a grace concept in Phase Two.

Phase One is salvation: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shall be saved” (Acts 16:31). One second after we are saved, we enter Phase Two. We belong to God; we are in His plan, and the plan calls for living in the Devil’s world in the intensified stage of the angelic conflict, or the Church Age. Of course, there will be a time when the Church Age will terminate or we will experience physical death — whichever occurs first. The moment we die, we enter into Phase Three, which is eternity.

We are alienated from or disoriented to the plan of God in Phase Two through, or literally, because of ignorance. Here is the greatest failure in the Christian life. The greatest virtue in the Christian life is knowledge of doctrine. Without it there is no way to ever understand God’s plan. Another great enemy to understanding God’s plan is emotion. We have a tendency to

live by our emotions, to derive our stimulation and our happiness from our emotions. The emotions must never be used as criteria in life. They are designed to appreciate things in life, but never to be the basis of the Christian life or to determine success or failure in the Christian life.

The emphasis in Christianity today is on how you feel or what you experience. Christians are bragging about or deriving pleasure or comfort from their experiences. Yet it is not experience or even production which is the primary function in the Christian life. In this intensified stage of the angelic conflict, knowledge of doctrine and orientation to the plan and grace of God are first and foremost; and these inevitably lead to the production of divine good. Most believers are producing

so much human good, they are out of it! Human good goes with emotion as the criterion or the emphasis on experience. These believers actually reject any doctrine which doesn’t jibe with their experience. To them, experience is greater than the Word of God. In the life of any believer there is always a problem, to a greater or lesser extent, as to what is reality. Reality is what the Bible says, not experience! If our experience doesn’t agree with what the Bible says, the experience is WRONG

as far as the plan of God is concerned.

Now, what is the cause of all this? “Because of the blindness of their heart.” “Blindness” is the Greek word for scar tissue (“porosis”) It also means “callousness.” “Heart” (“kardia”) is always used for something immaterial. Although in the Greek it is the literal heart, it is never used in the New Testament for the blood-pumping organ. It is used primarily for the right lobe. Now we have all the ingredients which neutralize the believer in the angelic conflict: the negative volition toward doctrine, the build-up of scar tissue on the soul and the resultant darkness in the soul, the darkness leading to subjectivity, and the subjectivity alienating from the life of God because of ignorance and because of scar tissue.

At this point, we should develop the doctrine of scar tissue categorically in order to understand its full scope as well as its repercussions in the life of the believer.

SCAR TISSUE

(1) Scar tissue is the concept of “hardening of the heart,” and it is accumulated on the left bank of the soul through negative volition toward doctrine. The heart or right lobe becomes “hardened” toward God and doctrine, and the believer has no capacity to love God. This opens up “mataiotes,” the vacuum which actually sucks Satanic concepts into the mind (1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 4:14).

(2) Scar tissue must be accumulated on the left bank of the soul before it accumulates on the right bank. In other words, there are certain sins that will put scar tissue on the right bank if you already have scar tissue on the left bank. These sins include promiscuity or adultery (Prov. 6:32; Eph. 4:19; 5:3 — overt sins), which hinder Category Two love; and mental attitude sins (1 John 2:9-11), such as, pride, envy, jealousy, bitterness, vindictiveness, implacability, hatred, fear, worry, anxiety, which hinder Category Three love, or any other category of love.

(3) Whatever scar tissue has been accumulated on the lungs of the soul of an unbeliever is removed instantaneously at the point of salvation (Isa. 43:25; 44:22).

(4) After salvation a believer can develop new scar tissue on both banks of the soul. How do you recover and how is scar tissue removed? The first factor is rebound; however, rebound does not remove scar tissue once you have it. It merely gives you the filling of the Spirit. In other words, you can be filled with the Spirit and still have scar tissue. While rebound prevents scar tissue, it is only the first step in getting rid of scar tissue. Secondly, the filling of the Spirit makes the grace apparatus for perception function. That means if you are going to remove scar tissue, you must switch from negative to positive volition toward Bible doctrine. If you turn on to positive, your first step is to rebound, which leads to the filling of the Holy Spirit, and the filling of the Spirit makes it possible for you to take in doctrine. At this point, the apertures of the soul are not closed in entirely. But it is much more difficult to take in doctrine if there is any scar tissue on the soul, for it means that all doctrine comes to you under pressure.

So positive volition toward doctrine resulting in the DAILY function of GAP is the crash program that will remove scar tissue. Remember, under GAP, after doctrine is taken into the perceptive lobe, it must then be transferred by faith (positive volition toward it) into the human spirit where it becomes “epignosis,” or residual doctrine. The actual mechanics of removing scar tissue is the exhale of “epignosis” doctrine from the human spirit out the left and right banks of the soul, or the application of doctrine to experience. As you exhale, you are also ‘’building,’’ So the erection of the edification complex in the soul is your protection against scar tissue. The edification complex and scar tissue cannot coexist. One of the signs of spiritual maturity in a believer is that he has no scar tissue on either bank of the soul.

At all times believers are either building scar tissue through negative volition or building toward an edification complex in the soul through positive volition. This is the difference between a progressing and a retrogressing believer (2 Cor. 10:8; Eph. 4:14). The objective of the communication of doctrine is for edification (Eph. 4:12). The only true basis for unity in a congregation is the edification complex of the soul (Eph. 4:13,14).

(5) What happens when scar tissue completely covers the apertures of the soul? Both believers and unbelievers can get maximum scar tissue of the soul; and when they do, they enter into a disaster situation. Two illustrations of unbelievers with maximum scar tissue are the Pharaoh of the Exodus (Ex. 7-14) and Judas 1scariot (John 13). Pharaoh lost his firstborn (Ex. 12:29), while Judas Iscariot committed suicide (Matt. 27:5). For the believer, we have already seen that he can bring upon

himself the sin unto death. Saul, the first king of Israel, is the classic example of this in 1 Chronicles 10:13, which says that he was destroyed for rejecting doctrine.

(6) The antithesis of scar tissue is the edification complex in the soul (Jas. 1:17). Once you accept Christ as Savior, your soul is saved. However, the soul has deficiencies at the point of salvation. It must have “pleroo,” or implementation. Only doctrine, building the edification complex can fill that deficiency.

THE RESULT OF SCAR TISSUE ON THE LEFT BANK OF THE SOUL

Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness (Eph. 4:19).

“Who” is the believer with scar tissue on the left bank of his soul. This scar tissue is there because of failure to take in the Word of God daily. It may be a believer who has found a one-shot gimmick of some sort, or one who has become involved in a church program or some experience for spirituality, or even a believer who has discovered rebound and assumes that this is the end of the line. No matter what has produced the negative volition toward doctrine, the believer with scar tissue on the left bank is said here to be “past feeling.” The Greek word means “to become calloused.” It has a preposition of ultimate source with it, which indicates that from the source of something — negative volition — scar tissue is developed. The perfect tense means that the scar tissue is constantly being developed, with the result that it accumulates and remains. Every person develops his own scar tissue, and every believer-priest must take responsibility for his own scar tissue!

The believer who gets scar tissue on the left bank of the soul is first of all going to be tripped up by mental attitude sins, because as soon as you divorce yourself from the daily study of the Word and “mataiotes” opens up and darkness comes into the soul, that darkness is characterized by mental attitude sinning. The believer with scar tissue on the left bank will easily become jealous, bitter or vindictive.

But you can also be negative toward doctrine and be very self-righteous or religious or proud of what you assume to be a great Christian testimony. The neglect of Bible doctrine more often than not accompanies this type of activity. You may be so busy giving your testimony, so busy trying to witness to ten people a day, so busy making points in a program that you do not have time for Bible doctrine. Yet this very Bible doctrine is the real key to the Christian life.

BETRAYING ONESELF

“Who having become scar-tissued, have given themselves over,” or literally, “have betrayed themselves.” Once you develop mental attitude sins, the rest is easy. In this verse there is a betrayal to promiscuity. The aorist active indicative of “betrayed” means “in a point of time that follows scar tissue.” Promiscuity, which is described here, is the result of scar tissue on the left bank of the soul. There are two betrayals; first, the inner betrayal, or the mental attitude sins which continue constantly unchecked; second, an overt betrayal, which is used to recognize and to illustrate the inner betrayal.

“Unto lasciviousness” is the first category in relation to the overt betrayal. The Greek word means “ promiscuity, fornication, sexual activity” outside of Category Two love. It isn’t the general word for adultery; that is relationship of wrong man with wrong woman. “Lasciviousness” includes all sex perversions — homosexuality, lesbianism, etc. Second category, “to work all uncleanness.” “To work” is to make a business of something — a trade or profession. One of the routes a person takes who has scar tissue on the left bank of his soul through neglect of Bible doctrine is to make a business of promiscuity. But “uncleanness” denotes both mental and overt impurity. The third category, “with greediness.” This word connotes a frantic search for happiness.

Once a believer has scar tissue on the left bank of his soul, he cuts off the possibility of happiness in his relationship with God. All true happiness depends ultimately on one’s attitude toward the Word of God. This will also affect the right bank of the soul and cause mental attitude sins which bring on self-induced misery and intensify unhappiness. Unhappiness expresses itself in several ways. One of the greatest expressions of unhappiness is frustration. Others include boredom, soul agony and the attendant compensations of trying to break out of the unhappy situation. “Operation break-out often leads to some form of promiscuity. Let’s look at the principle behind this.

When right man and right woman are involved, either sexually or soulishly in the marriage relationship, they will derive great happiness from that relationship, even though they are unbelievers and have a miserable life otherwise (Eccl. 9:9). Sex was a divine principle for the expression of human happiness in the right man-right woman relationship during the entire period of man’s innocence on the earth, just as the coming of Jesus Christ into the Garden each evening was the expression of spiritual happiness. Adam and Eve derived great happiness from their relationships both with the Lord and with each other. Sex in the right man-right woman relationship is one of the precedents, which, along with the divine institutions, survived the fall and continues in the state of sinfulness as a basis for happiness. Therefore, it is inevitable that people who are frustrated by scar tissue on the left and right banks of the soul are going to move toward sex as a sublimation. Yet Ephesians 4:19 warns us that with scar tissue on the left and right banks, promiscuity under this condition will only build up a great frustration in a frantic search for happiness.

The pattern is always the same: when the person tries some form of sexual activity or perversion he adds to the scar tissue already there; and when it does not produce the desired happiness for which sex was designed, the frustration and pressure in the soul increase until sex is finally abandoned entirely, and the person becomes an alcoholic or sublimates in some other

way. This continues until the apertures of the soul are completely filled with scar tissue. Now, we are talking about BELIEVERS, in case anyone is in any doubt! These people are always prime subjects for psychiatric treatment When they seek such help, the psychiatrist’s diagnosis is often that they need to GET AWAY from “religion,’’ that they should relax a little bit, and even have an “affair.” However, the Word of God is completely antithetical to such a solution. Before we discuss the Biblical solution to the pattern of promiscuity, we need to see the effects of adultery in both the man and the

woman.

ADULTERY

Since God designed a right woman for a right man, and no one else will do. He has prohibited adultery. This prohibition is the protection of the right man-right woman relationship (Ex. 20:14; Dent. 5:18; Matt. 5:27). God also condemns mental adultery (Matt. 5:28) because this affects the soul. You are what you think, not what you do! God, in His fairness and grace, has designed that all members of the human race, believers and unbelievers, have a soulish and physical relationship of right man-right woman so that when each person waits for right manor right woman, there is fantastic happiness.

The person involved in adultery punishes himself. There is also divine punishment; but the frantic search for happiness through adultery can only result in self-induced misery. The frustration and punishment of adultery is in the body as well as in the soul. The male and the female bodies are designed for sex relationship, the male as an aggressor and the female as a responder.

Since the male and the female are different in anatomy and physiology, the effect of adultery on each is also different.

In the male, promiscuity results in loss of aggressiveness, inability to copulate, impotence and even the loss of pleasure for which he was designed as he provides pleasure for his opposite number. All of these things are destructive to him. The most miserable type of man in the world is the ex-roue; and there is nothing sadder than the roue who finally finds the right woman, but he does not have the ability to be aggressive toward her because he has put so much scar tissue on his soul.

What is the effect of adultery on the woman? Although it varies with the individual, generally speaking, adultery in the woman results in either frigidity or nymphomania, both of which destroy her happiness. Many such women start drinking and often end up suicides.

The principle is described in 1 Corinthians 6:13-18. The effects of adultery on the human body in both male and female result in the destruction of certain pleasures in the relationship between right man and right woman. These destructive factors can be so great that they become a bona tide basis for divorce (Matt. 5:32; 19:9; Luke 16:18). The scar tissue which results from adultery and its physiological effects destroys compatibility between a husband and a wife. However, there is an area where these can be overcome, discussed in 1 Corinthians 7.

There are certain principles in life that are great as long as God is sponsoring them. The same principles can become distorted when He is not behind them. For this reason, God has provided a framework for protecting it which we call “marriage.” Marriage is the sanctification, the protection and the framework of Category Two love (1 Thess. 4:3,4; Heb. 13:4). In principle, when two people marry, it is a declaration of right man-right woman, and it means everyone else

stay out! God designed marriage for the same reason He designed nationalism — to mark out entities. This is why it is so important for everyone to marry the RIGHT person.

To accept fornication or adultery is to accept a substitute in order to gratify a biological or emotional urge. Faith-rest recognizes this principle and flees from fornication (1 Cor. 6:18). Scar tissue destroys any benefit from meeting the right man or the right woman. For that reason, fornication is prohibited in strong terms (Eph. 5:3).

Before we leave the three verses relative to scar tissue in Ephesians 4:17-19, let’s get a literal translation of them:

This I explain and give you a solemn warning, that you no longer walk as the Gentiles (the unbelievers) walk, by means of the vacuum of their mind, Having become darkened in the sphere of thinking, having become alienated from the concept of life from the ultimate source of God because of ignorance that is in them, because of the scar tissue of their heart (right lobe): Who having become calloused with scar tissue, have betrayed themselves to all promiscuity, making a business out of all uncleanness in the sphere of insatiable lust and/or a frantic search for happiness.

Now God never states a negative in His Word without giving a positive solution.

THE SOLUTION TO SCAR TISSUE

In the Believer.

“But ye have not so learned Christ’’ (verse 20). Any solution to a spiritual problem in this case, scar tissue must be connected with the Word of God. “Learned” means that the believer has information communicated on a categorical basis. The aorist tense refers to any point of time in which Bible doctrine is communicated and in which the believer receives it under the true function of the grace apparatus for perception.

“Christ’’ here does not refer to the Person of Christ, but to His relationship with the Church, as illustrated by right man - right woman. As the right man is the aggressor toward his right woman, so Christ is the Aggressor toward the Church through doctrine. “Ho Christos” (“the Christ”) is used technically here for the “mind of Christ’’ (1 Cor. 2:16). Since Christ is absent from the earth. He must leave something of Himself behind for the Church, and He has done so through the canon of Scripture.

While verse 20 emphasizes the communicator, verse 21 emphasizes the receiver — the believer-priest: “If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus.” “Heard him” is again not referring to Christ personally, but to His mind — the Bible. Believers who have positive volition toward doctrine are “receivers,’’ and this is how Christ communicates to the believer today.

The mechanics are given in the next phrase, “have been taught.” “Taught” is in the passive voice to indicate that the believer is a receiver, even as the woman is the receiver or responder to the right man. The pastor-teacher represents the right man in the communication of doctrine. “The truth (doctrine) is in Jesus.” All Bible doctrine is the “mind of Christ.” So the proper ingredients for the inculcation of doctrine include the various provisions of GAP.

The next two verses, Ephesians 4:22,23, actually describe the function of GAP, while verse 24 concludes with the erection of the edification complex in the soul, which, as we have seen, is the only permanent and consistent solution to scar tissue, for scar tissue cannot coexist with an edification complex. That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts (verse 22). The “old man” is one of the designations used in Scripture for the old sin nature. As unbelievers, we lived according to the pattern of our old sin nature. But as believers, we have the means of laying aside our former manner of life, and that is done first of all by rebound. Rebound is the starter for the grace apparatus of perception and is the means by which we are filled with the Spirit.

It is impossible to build an edification complex in the soul apart from two principles: one, the filling of the Spirit; and two, a constant exposure to correct exegetical, categorical teaching through the function of GAP. For this reason, we have a negative purpose to denote that the objective is to bring the old sin nature under control so that the Holy Spirit can execute the Christian life and begin to erect an edification structure in the soul.

“And be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (verse 23). The previous verse sets forth the means of getting out of the state of carnality in order that GAP might function. In this verse we have the actual function of GAP. “Renewed” means “to be restored again and again,” or to start building again. The believer receives restoration (passive voice) through the DAILY function of GAP. The “spirit” here is the human spirit, which is the target for GAP. “Receive restoration by means of the human spirit from the source of your mind,” literally. Restoration doesn’t come either from having a human spirit or a mind, but from transferring doctrine from the mind to the human spirit, where it becomes “epignosis,” and forms building material for the edification complex.

The problem of scar tissue began when the believers in Ephesus failed to mature spiritually. Now the apostle brings us back to the original premise they must move on to maturity. And how is this done? First, there must be rebound and the filling of the Spirit, followed by the function of GAP as doctrine is taken in consistently. As a result, the believer begins to grow. He begins to have the characteristics of maturity in his soul the grace orientation, the mastery of the details of life, the relaxed mental attitude free from mental attitude sins capacity to love in all three categories, and finally, the penthouse God’s happiness. In other words, he erects an edification complex in his soul, which is called the ‘new man’ in verse 24.

And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

“New” is “new in species” rather than “new” in a point of time. cc an’’ indicates that the real person is in the soul; therefore, to be a new person, something must happen on the inside. The soul must be clothed (literally); but it must be clothed “according to the standard of God.” And what is God’s standard? Bible doctrine! Bible doctrine creates the edification complex as GAP functions in the believer.

The soul without doctrine is in chaos. The old sin nature constantly throws up lust signals, scar tissue is accumulated on the banks of the soul, and the vacuum for Satanic viewpoint opens up. Through Bible doctrine and the function of GAP, order is brought out of chaos, and the soul begins the process of construction!

In the Unbeliever. The solution to scar tissue in the unbeliever is positive volition to the gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-4).

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand.

By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.

Scar tissue is developed in an unbeliever every time there is rejection of the gospel. It is possible for a person to reject so many times that the apertures of his soul are completely blocked up with scar tissue and he CAN’T believe, as in the case of the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Yet God is “not willing that any should perish ‘ (2 Pet. 3:9). Jesus Christ bore the sins of every person who ever lived or who ever will live. “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly’’ (Rom. 5:6). Now salvation and eternal life are offered freely to all who will believe:

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him (John 3:36).

Consequently, we must ask the question in the words of the writer of the Hebrews, “HOW shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation’’ (Heb. 2:3)? “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation’’ (2 Cor. 6:2)