Ruachology - Part 1
I have been meditating on this subject for quite some time. I am not total sure where this will go or how it will eventually be cataloged, but I feel like I have to start somewhere.
The world has long studied the soul or as more modern folks would say, the mind. They have put all that research into a discipline called Psychology. Psychology, as many of you know, is from two Greek words psycho, meaning soul or mind and ology meaning, the study of.
They have gone far enough now that, I believe, they are branching into the study of the spiritual, or Ruachology as I term it, by telling people about the necessity of forgiveness. There is such a close relationship of the soul to the spirit in the makeup of humans that the Scriptures say that it is the Word of God that divides them asunder. So I think that it is difficult to study one and not branch out or cross over to the other.
Ruachology, as I term it, is the study of the Spirit of God, as well as the study of the spirit of humans. Ruach is the Hebrew word for spirit, breath, or wind.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:23 Paul says: May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that Paul, or rather the Holy Spirit, puts spirit first because if you get the spirit lined up with God then the soul or mind and body will follow. I have much to say on the subject of Ruachology so as you read this please be aware that I have not categorized this into a systematic teaching. The Bible describes humans as tripartite beings, having three parts. Spirit, soul, body. John Paul Jackson further delineates this and says that each of these three parts has three parts. Spirit is made up of wisdom, communion, and conscience. Soul or mind is made up of intellect, emotion, and will. Body is made up of flesh, blood, and bones.
To grasp an understanding of each, we can say, that the body gives us world consciousness through the five senses of touch, smell, sight, taste and hearing. We are conscious of the world around us through the five senses. The soul or mind gives us self consciousness. We know our selves better than anyone else does through our memories and the events that have shaped our mind, or soul. The spirit of humans gives us God consciousness. The only way to truly know God is by the spirit. Gods Spirit in communion with our spirit. The Scriptures say that God is Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24) In other words, you cannot worship God by the soul or the body without the spirit. I believe that when our spirit truly worships God, the soul and the body naturally follow. That is why we are commanded to love, or worship God with all our heart, soul, and strength, Deu.6:5. Heart for spirit, soul for soul or mind, and strength for body.
The discipline of worshipping God in the spirit has been called a mystic connection to God or mysticism.
I hear in conservative Christian circles that we should avoid mysticism, mainly because it brings to mind for most people eastern spiritism, which involves the worship, or connection to, something other than the One true God. The early Christians believed and understood mysticism to be the the only way to connect to God. In fact, a lot of the deep spiritual writings of these early Christians are called the writings of the mystics. Saint John of the Cross, Francis of Assisi, Teresa of Avila, and Brother Lawrence, to name a few.
