Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; What Shall A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul.39

The body clothing for the soul.

2. The body is called the clothing, and the soul is clothed therewith. Now, everybody knows that 'the body is more than raiment,' even carnal sense will teach us this. But read that pregnant place: 'For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened (that is, with mortal flesh); not for that we should be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life' (2 Cor 5:4). Thus the greatness of the soul appears in the preference that it has for the body—the body is its armor. We see that, above all creatures, man, because he is the noblest among all visible ones, has, for the adorning of his body, that more abundant comeliness. 'It is the body of man, not of beast, that is clothed with the richest ornaments. But now what a thing is the soul, that the body itself must be its clothing! No suit of apparel is by God thought good enough for the soul, but that which is made by God himself, and that is that curious thing, the body. 

But oh! how little is this considered—namely, the greatness of the soul. 'Tis the body, the clothes, the suit of apparel, that our foolish fancies are taken with, not at all considering the richness and excellency of that great and more noble part, the soul, for which the body is made a mantle to wrap it up in, a garment to clothe it withal. If a man gets a rent in his clothes, it is little in comparison to a rent in his flesh; yea, he comforts himself when he looks at that rent, saying, Thanks be to God, it is not a rent in my flesh. But ah! On the contrary, how many are there in the world that are more troubled because they have a rent, a wound, or a disease in the body than because they have souls that will be lost and cast away? A little rent in the body dejected and cast such down, but they are not at all concerned, though their soul is now, and will yet further be, torn in pieces, 'Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest he tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver' (Psa 50:22). But this is the second thing whereby, or by which, the greatness of the soul appears—to wit, in that the body, that excellent piece of God's workmanship, is but a garment, or clothing, for the soul.

The body, a vessel for the soul.

3. The body is called a vessel, or a case, for the soul to be put and kept in. 'That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor (1 Thess 4:4). The apostle here exhorts the people to abstain from fornication, which, in another place, he says, '…is a sin against the body' (1 Cor 6:18). And here again he saith, 'This is the will of God, that ye should abstain from fornication:' that the body be not defiled, 'that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor.' His vessel, his earthen vessel, as he calls it in another place—for 'we have this treasure in earthen vessels.' Thus, then, the body is called a vessel; yea, every man's body is his vessel. But what has God prepared this vessel for, and what has He put into it? Why, there are many things this body is to be a vessel for, but at present God has put into it that curious thing, the soul. Cabinets, which are very rich and costly things of themselves, are not made nor designed to be vessels to be stuffed or filled with trumpery, and things of no value; no, these are prepared for rings and jewels, for pearls, for rubies, and things that are choice. 

And if so, what shall we then think of the soul for which it is prepared, and that of God, the most rich and excellent vessel in the world? Surely it must be a thing of worth, yea, of more worth than the whole world besides. But alas! who believes this talk? Do not even most men so set their minds upon, and so admire, the glory of this case or vessel, that they forget once with seriousness to think, and, therefore, must of necessity be a great way off, of those suitable esteems that become theirs to have of their souls. But oh, since this vessel, this cabinet, this body, is so curiously made to receive and contain, what is that for which God has made this vessel, and what is that soul that He has put into it? Thus, in the third place, is the greatness of the soul made manifest, even by the excellency of the vessel, the body, that God has made to put it in.