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.49

 

by Thomas Sadler, oil on canvas, 1684

There are several things that fall under this first head, upon which I would touch a little.

He that has lost himself will never be more at his own disposal.

(1.) He that has lost his soul has lost himself. Now, he that lost himself is no more at his own disposal. While a man enjoys himself, he is at his own disposal. A single man, a free man, a rich man, a poor man, any man that enjoys himself, is at his own disposal. I speak after the manner of men. But he that has lost himself is not at his own disposal. He is, as I may say, now out of his own hands: he has lost himself, his soul-self, his own self, his whole self, by sin, and wrath and hell hath found him; he is, therefore, now no more at his own dispose, but at the dispose of justice, of wrath, and hell; he is committed to prison, to hell prison, there to abide, not at pleasure, not as long and as little time as he will, but the term appointed by his judge: nor may he there choose his own affliction, neither for manner, measure, or continuance. It is God that will spread the fire and brimstone under him, it is God that will pile up wrath upon him, and it is God himself that will blow the fire. And 'the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it' (Isa 30:33). And thus it is manifest that he that has lost himself, his soul, is no more at his own dispose, but at the dispose of them that find him.

He that hath lost himself, is not at liberty to dispose of what he hath.

(2.) Again, as he that has lost himself is not at his own dispose, so neither is he at liberty to dispose of what he has; for the man that has lost himself has something yet of his own. The text implies that his soul is his when lost, yea, when that and his all, himself is lost; but as he cannot dispose of himself, so he cannot dispose of what he hath. Let me take a leave to make out my meaning. If he that is lost, that has lost himself, has not, notwithstanding, something that in some sense may be called his own, then he that is lost is nothing. The man that is in hell has yet the powers, the senses, and passions of his soul; for not he nor his soul must be thought to be stripped of these; for then he would be lower than the brute; but yet all these, since he is there, are by God improved against himself; or, if you will, the point of this man's sword is turned against his own heart, and made to pierce his own liver.

The soul by being in hell loses nothing of its aptness to think, its quickness to pierce, to pry, and to understand; nay, hell has ripened it in all these things; but, I say, the soul with its improvements as to these, or anything else, is not in the hand of him that hath lost himself to manage for his own advantage, but in the hand, and in the power, and to be disposed of as is thought to meet by him into whose revenging hand by sin he has delivered himself—to wit, in the hand of God.

So, then, God now has the victory, and dispose of all the powers, senses, and passions of the soul for the chastising of him that has lost himself. Now the understanding is only employed and improved in and about the apprehending of such things as will be like daggers at the heart—to wit, about justice, sin, hell, and eternity, to grieve and break the spirit of the damned; yea, to break, to wound, and to tear the soul in pieces. The depths of sin which the man has loved, the good nature of God whom the man has hated, the blessings of eternity which the soul has despised, shall now be understood by him more than ever, but yet so only, as to increase grief and sorrow, by improving the good and of the evil of the things understood, to the greater wounding of the spirit; wherefore now, every touch that the understanding shall give to the memory will be as a touch of red-hot iron, or like a draught of scalding lead poured down the throat. The memory also letteth those things down upon the conscience with no less terror and perplexity.

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.48

 

by Thomas Sadler, oil on canvas, 1684

OF THE LOSS OF THE SOUL.]

THIRD, I shall now come to the third thing which was propounded to be spoken to; and that is, to show you what we are to understand by the loss of the soul, or what the loss of the soul is—"What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?'

[He that loseth his soul loseth himself.]

First, The loss of the soul is, by nature, peculiar to itself. There is no such loss, as to the nature of loss, as is the loss of the soul; for that, he that hath lost his soul has lost himself. In all other losses, it is possible for a man to save himself, but he that loseth his soul, loseth himself—"For what is a man advantaged, if he gains the whole world, and loses himself?' (Luke 9:25). Therefore, the loss of the soul is a loss that cannot be paralleled. He that loseth himself, loseth his all, his lasting all; for himself is his all—his all in the most comprehensive sense. What is what a man gets, if by the getting thereof he loseth himself? Suppose a man goeth to the Indies for gold, and he loadeth his ship therewith; but at his return, that sea that carried him thither swallows him up—now, what has he got? 

But this is but a lean similitude with reference to the matter in hand—to wit, to set forth the loss of the soul. Suppose a man that has been at the Indies for gold should, at his return, himself be taken by them of Algiers, and there made a slave of, and there be hunger-bit, and beaten till his bones are broken, what has he got? what is he advantaged by his rich adventure? Perhaps, you will say, he has got gold enough to obtain his ransom. Indeed this may be; and therefore no similitude can be found that can fully amplify the matter, 'for what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?' 'Tis a loss that standeth by itself, there is not another like it, or unto which it may be compared. 'Tis only like itself—'tis singular, 'tis the chief of all losses—the highest, the most significant loss. 'For what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?' 

A man may lose his wife, his children, his estate, his liberty, and his life, and have all made up again, and have all restored with advantage, and may, therefore, notwithstanding all these losses, be far enough off from losing of himself. (Luke 14:26; Mark 8:35). For he may lose his life, and save it; yea, sometimes the only way to save that, is to lose it; but when a man has lost himself, his soul, then all is gone to all intents and purposes. There is no word that says, 'he that loses his soul shall save it;' but contrariwise, the text supposeth that a man has lost his soul, and then demands if any can answer it—'What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?' All, then, that he gains that loseth his soul is only this, he has gained a loss, he has purchased the loss of losses, he has nothing left him now but his loss, but the loss of himself, of his whole self. He that loseth his life for Christ, shall save it; but he that loseth himself for sin, and for the world, shall lose himself to perfection of loss; he has lost himself, and there is the full point.

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f theLoss Thereof; What Shall A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul.47

 

The might of the soul further shown.

11. The soul, by God's ordinance, while this world lasts, has a time appointed it to forsake and leave the body to be turned again to the dust as it was, and this separation is made by death, (Heb 9:27); therefore, the body must cease for a time to have sense, or life, or motion; and a little thing brings it now into this state; but in the next world, the wicked shall partake of none of this; for the body and the soul is at the resurrection rejoined, this death, that once did rend them asunder, is forever overcome and extinct; so that these two who lived in sin must forever be yoked together in hell. Now, there the soul is joined to the body, and death, which before did separate them, being utterly taken away, the soul retains not only its own being, but also continues the body to be, and to suffer sensibly the pains of hell, without those decays that it used to sustain.

And the reason why this death shall then be taken away is, that justice in its bestowing its rewards for transgressions may not be interrupted, but that body and soul, as they lived and acted in sin together, might be destroyed for sin in hell together (Matt 10:28 Luke 12:5). Destroyed, I say, but with such destruction, which, though it is everlasting, will not put a period to their sensible suffering the vengeance of eternal fire (2 Thess 1:8,9).

This death, therefore, though that also be the wages of sin, would now, were it suffered to continue, be a hindrance to the making known of the wrath of God, and also of the created power and might of the soul. (1.) It would hinder the making known of the wrath of God, for it would take the body out of the way, and make it incapable of sensible suffering for sin, and so removing one of the objects of vengeance the power of God's wrath would be so far undiscovered. (2.) It would also hinder the manifestation of the power and might of the soul, which is discovered much by its abiding to retain its own being while the wrath of God is grappling with it, and more by its continuing to the body a sensible being with itself.

Death, therefore, must now be removed, that the soul may be made the object of wrath without molestation or interruption. That the soul, did I say? yea, that soul and body both might be so. Death would now be a favor, though once the fruit of sin, and also the wages thereof, might it now be suffered to continue, because it would ease the soul of some of its burden: for a tormented body cannot but be a burden to a spirit, and so the wise man insinuates when he says, 'The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity;' that is, bear up under it, but yet so as that it feels it a burden.

We see that, because of the sympathy that is between body and soul, how one is burdened if the other is grieved. A sick body is a burden to the soul, and a wounded spirit is a burden to the body; a wounded spirit who can bear?' (Prov 18:14). But death must not remove this burden, but the soul must have the body for a burden, and the body must have the soul for a burden, and both must have the wrath of God for a burden. Oh, therefore, there will be a burden upon burden, and all upon the soul, for the soul will be the chief seat of this burden! But this, is much to show you the greatness of the soul.

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f theLoss Thereof; What Shall A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul.46

 

The soul capable of diving into the depths and mysteries of hell.

9. But again, as the soul is thus capable of enjoying God in glory, and of prying into these mysteries that are in him, so it is capable, with great profundity, of diving into the mysterious depths of hell. Hell is a place and state utterly unknown to any in this visible world, excepting the souls of men; nor shall any forever be capable of understanding the miseries thereof, save souls and fallen angels. Now, I think, as the joys of heaven stand not only in speculation, or in the beholding of glory, but in a sensible enjoyment and unspeakable pleasure which those glories will yield to the soul (Psa 16:11), so the torments of hell will not stand in the present lashes and strokes that by the flames of eternal fire God will scourge the ungodly with; but the torments of hell stand much, if not in the greatest part of them, in those deep thoughts and apprehensions, which souls in the next world will have of the nature and occasions of sin; of God, and of separation from Him; of the eternity of those miseries, and of their help, ease, or deliverance forever. 

O! damned souls will have thoughts that will clash with glory, clash with justice, clash with law, clash with itself, clash with hell, and with the everlastingness of misery; but the point, the edge, and the poison of all these thoughts will still be galling, dropping, and spewing out their stings into the sore, grieved, wounded, and fretted place, which is the conscience, though not the conscience alone; for I may say of the souls in hell, that they all over are but one wound, one sore! Miseries as well as mercies sharpen and make quick the apprehensions of the soul. Behold Spira in his book, Cain in his guilt, and Saul with the witch of Endor, and you shall see men ripened, men, enlarged and greatened in their fancies, imaginations, and apprehensions, though not about God, heaven, and glory, but about their loss, their misery, their woe, and their hells (Isa 33:14; Psa 1:4; Rev 14:10; Mark 9:44, 46).

The ability of the soul to bear.

10. Nor does their ability to bear, if it is proper to say they bear those dolors which there forever they shall endure, a little demonstrate their greatness. Everlasting burning, devouring fire, perpetual pains, gnawing worms, utter darkness, and the ireful souls, faces, and strokes of Divine and infinite justice will not, cannot, make this soul extinct, as I said before. I think it is not so proper to say the soul that is damned for sin doth bear these things, as to say it doth ever sink under them: and, therefore, their place of torment is called the bottomless pit, because they are ever sinking, and shall never come there where they will find any stay. Yet they live under wrath, but yet only so as to be sensible of it, as to smart and be in perpetual anguish, by reason of the intolerableness of their burden. But doth not their thus living, abiding, and retaining a being(or what you will call it), demonstrate the greatness and might of the soul? Alas! heaven and earth are short of this greatness, for these, though under less judgment by far, do fade and wax old like a moth-eaten garment, and, in their time, will vanish away to nothing (Heb 1). Also, we see how quickly the body, when the soul is under fear of the rebukes of justice, how soon, I say, it wastes, molders away, and crumbles into the grave; but the soul is yet strong, and abides sensible to be dealt withal for sin by everlasting burnings.

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f theLoss Thereof; What Shall A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul.45

 

'Tis the soul that acts the body.

7. But a word or two more to conclude this head. The soul! —why, it is the soul that acted the body in all these things, good or bad, that seems good and reasonable, or amazingly wicked. True, the acts and motions of the soul are only seen and heard in, and by the members and motions of the body, but the body is but a poor instrument, the soul is the great agitator and actor. 'The body without the spirit is dead' (James 2:26). All those famous arts, works, and inventions of works, that are done by men under heaven, are all the intentions of the soul, and the body, as acting and laboring therein, doth it but as a tool that the soul maketh use of to bring his invention into maturity (Eccl 7:29). How many things have men found out to the amazing of one another, to the wonderment of one another, to the begetting of endless commendations of one another in the world. In contrast, in the meantime, the soul, which indeed is the true inventor of all, is overlooked, not regarded, but dragged up and down by every lust, prostrate, and made a slave to every silly and beastly thing. 

O the fantastic darkness that hath covered the face of the hearts of the children of men, that they cannot deliver their soul, nor say, 'Is there not a lie in my right hand?' (Isa 44:20), though they are so cunning in all other matters. Take a man in matters that are abroad, and far from home, and he is the mirror of all the world, but take him at home, and put him upon things that are near him, I mean, that have respect to the things that concern his soul, and then you will find him the greatest fool that ever God made. But this must not be applied to the soul simply as it is God's creature, but to the soul sinful, as it has willingly apostatized from God, and so suffered itself to be darkened, and that with such thick and stupefying darkness, that it is bound up and cannot—it hath a napkin of sin bound so close before its eyes that it is not able—of itself—to look to, and after those things which should be its chiefs concern, and without which it will be most miserable forever.

The soul is capable of having to do with the invisible.

8. Further, as the soul is thus curious about arts and sciences, and about every excellent thing of this life, so it is capable of having to do with the invisible, with angels, good or bad, yea, with the highest and Supreme Being, even with the holy God of heaven. I told you before that God sought the soul of man to have it for His companion, and now I tell you that the soul is capable of communion with Him when the darkness that sin hath spread over its face is removed. The soul is an intelligent power, it can be made to know and understand depths, heights, lengths, and breadths, in those high, sublime, and spiritual mysteries that only God can reveal and teach; yea, it is capable of diving unutterably into them. And herein is God, the God of glory, much delighted and pleased—to wit, that He hath made Himself a creature that is capable of hearing, of knowing, and of understanding of His mind, when opened and revealed to it. I think I may say, without offense to God or man, that one reason why God made the world was, that He might manifest Himself, not only by, but to the works which He made; but, I speak with reverence, how could that be, if He did not also make some of His creatures capable of apprehending of Him in those highest mysteries and methods in which He purposed to reveal Himself? 

But then, what are those creatures which He hath made (unto whom when these things are shown) that are able to take them in and understand them, and so to improve them to God's glory, as He hath ordained and purposed they should, but souls? for none else in the visible world are capable of doing this but they. And hence it is that to them, and them only, He beginneth to reveal Himself in this world. And hence it is that they, and they only, are gathered up to Him where He is, for they are they that are called 'the spirits of just men made perfect,' (Heb 12:23); the spirit of a beast goeth downward to the earth, it is the spirit of a man that goes upwards to God that gave it (Eccl 3:21;12:7). For that, and that only, is capable of beholding and understanding the glorious visions of heaven; as Christ said, 'Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which thou hast given Me; for thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world' (John 17:24). 

And thus the greatness of the soul is manifest. True, the body is also gathered up into glory, but not simply for its own sake, or because that is capable of itself to know and understand the glories of its Maker; but that has been a companion with the soul in this world, has also been its house, its mantle, its cabinet and tabernacle here; it has also been it by which the soul hath acted, in which it hath wrought, and by which its excellent appearances have been manifested; and it shall also there be its co-partner and sharer in its glory. Wherefore, as the body here did partake of soul excellencies, and was also conformed to its spiritual and regenerate principles; so it shall be hereafter a partaker of that glory with which the soul shall be filled, and also be made suitable by that glory to become a partaker and co-partner with it of the eternal excellencies which heaven will put upon it. In this world, it is a gracious soul (I speak now of the regenerate), and in that world, it shall be a glorious one. In this world, the body was conformable to the soul as it was gracious, and in that world, it shall be conformable to it as it is glorious; conformable, I say, by partaking of that glory that then the soul shall partake of; yea, it shall also have an additional glory to adorn, and make it yet the more capable of being serviceable to it, and with it in its great acts before God in eternal glory. Oh, what great things are the souls of the sons of men!

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f theLoss Thereof; What Shall A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul.44

 

The soul immortal.

6. The soul is immortal, it will have a sensible being forever, and none can kill the soul (Luke 12:4; Matt 10:28). If all the angels in heaven, and all the men on earth lay all their strength together, they could not kill or annihilate one soul. No, I will speak without fear, if it may be said, God cannot do what He will not do; then He cannot annihilate the soul: but, notwithstanding all His wrath, and the vengeance that He will inflict on sinful souls, they yet shall abide with sensible beings, yet to endure, yet to bear punishment. If anything could kill the soul, it would be death; but death cannot do it, neither first nor second; the first cannot, for when Dives was slain, as to his body by death, his soul was found alive in hell—He lifts up his eyes in hell, being in torment' (Luke 16:23). The second death cannot do it, because it is said their worm never dies, but is always torturing them with his gnawing (Mark 9:44). But that could not be, if time, or lying in hellfire forever, could annihilate the soul. Now, this also shows the greatness of the soul, that it is that which has an endless life, and that will, therefore, have a being endlessly. O what a thing is the soul!

The soul, then, is immortal, though not eternal. That is eternal; it has neither beginning nor end, and, therefore, eternal is properly applicable to none but God; hence, He is called the 'eternal God' (Deu 33:27). Immortal is that which, though it has a beginning, yet has no end, cannot die, or cease to be; and this is the state of the soul. It cannot cease to have a being when it is once created; I mean, a living, sensible being. I mean by living, only such a being as distinguishes it from annihilation or incapableness of sense and feeling. Hence, as the rich man is after death said to 'lift up his eyes in hell,' so the beggar is said, when he died, to be 'carried by the angels, into Abraham's bosom' (Luke 16:22,23). And both of these sayings must have respect for the souls of these men; for, as for their bodies, we know at present it is otherwise with them. The grave is their house, and so must it be till the trumpet shall sound, and the heavens pass away like a scroll. Now, I say, the immortality of the soul shows the greatness of it, as the eternity of God shows the greatness of God. It cannot be said of any angel but that he is immortal, and so it is, and ought to be said of the soul. This, therefore, shows the greatness of the soul, in that it is as if it were abiding so like him.

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f theLoss Thereof; What Shall A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul.43

 

The soul a vessel for grace.

4. The soul of men is such as God counts worthy to be the vessels to hold His grace, the graces of the Spirit, in. The graces of the Spirit—what are they like, or where are they to be found, save in the souls of men only? 'Of His fulness have we received, and grace for grace' (John 1:16). Received, into what? into 'the hidden part,' as David calls it (Psa 51:6). Hence the king's daughter is said to be 'all glorious within,' (Psa 45:15); because adorned and beautified with the graces of the Spirit. For that which David calls the hidden part is the inmost part of the soul; and it is, therefore, called the hidden part, because the soul is invisible, nor can anyone living infallibly know what is in the soul but God Himself. But, I say, the soul is the vessel into which this golden oil is poured, and that which holds, and is accounted worthy to exercise and improve the same.

 Therefore, the soul is it which is said to love God—Say ye him whom my soul loveth?' (Song 3:3); and, therefore, the soul is that which exercises the spirit of prayer—With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early' (Isa 26:9). With the soul, men are also said to believe, and into the soul, God is said to put His fear. This is the vessel into which the virgins got oil, and out of which their lamps were supplied. But what a thing, what a great thing, therefore, is the soul, that that above all things that God hath created should be the chosen vessel to put His grace in. The body is the vessel for the soul, and the soul is the vessel for the grace of God. But,

5. The greatness of the soul is manifest by the greatness of the price that Christ paid for it, to make it an heir of glory; and that was His precious blood (1 Cor 6:20; 1 Peter 1:18, 19). We esteem things according to the price that is given for them, especially when we are convinced that the purchase has not been made by the estimation of a fool. Now the soul is purchased by a price that the Son, the wisdom of God, thought fit to pay for the redemption thereof—what a thing, then, is the soul? Judge of the soul by the price that is paid for it, and you just need to confess unless you count the blood that has bought it an unholy thing, that it cannot but be of great worth and value. Suppose a prince, or some great man, should, on a sudden, descend from his throne, or chair of state, to take up, that he might put in his bosom, something that he had espied lying trampled under the feet of those that stand by; would you think that he would do this for an old horseshoe, or for so trivial a thing as a pin or a point?  

Nay, would you not even of yourselves conclude that that thing for which the prince, so great a man, should make such a stoop, must need to be a thing of very great worth? Why, this is the case of Christ and the soul. Christ is the prince, His throne was in heaven, and, as He sat there, He espied the souls of sinners trampled under the foot of the law and death for sin. Now, what doth He, but comes down from His throne, stoops down to the earth, and there, since He could not have the trodden-down souls without price, He lays down His life and blood for them (2 Cor 8:9). But would He have done this for inconsiderable things? No, nor for the souls of sinners neither, had He not valued them higher than he valued heaven and earth besides. This, therefore, is another thing by which the greatness of the soul is known.

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f theLoss Thereof; What Shall A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul.42

 

The soul God's desire.

3. Another thing by which the greatness of the soul is made manifest is this, it is that—and that only, and to say this is more than to say, it is that above all the creatures—that the great God desires communion with. He 'hath set apart him that is godly for himself,' (Psa 4:3); that is, for communion with his soul; therefore, the spouse saith concerning him, 'His desire is toward me,' (Song 7:10); and, therefore, he saith again, 'I will dwell in them, and walk in them' (2 Cor 6:16). To 'dwell in,' and 'walk in,' are terms that intimate communion and fellowship; as John saith, 'Our fellowship, truly our fellowship, is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ' (1 John 1:3).

 That is, our soul-fellowship; for it must not be understood of the body, though I believe that the body is much influenced when the soul has communion with God; but it is the soul, and that only, that at present is capable of having and maintaining this blessed communion. But, I say, what a thing is this, that God, the great God, should choose to have fellowship and communion with the soul above all. We read, indeed, of the greatness of the angels, and how near they are also to God; but yet there are not such terms that bespeak such familiar acts between God and angels, as to demonstrate that they have such communion with God as He has, or as the souls of His people may have. Where has He called them His love, His dove, His fair one? And where, when He speaks of them, does He express a communion that they have with Him by the similitude of conjugal love?

I speak of what is revealed; the secret things belong to the Lord, our God. Now by all this is manifests the greatness of the soul. Men of greatness and honor, if they have respect for their own glory, will not choose for their familiars the base and rascally crew of this world; but will single out for their fellows, fellowship, and communion, those that are most like themselves. True, the King has not an equal, yet He is familiar only with the nobles of the land: so God, with Him none can compare; yet since the soul is by Him singled out for His walking mate and companion, it is a sign it is the highest born, and that upon which the blessed Majesty looks, as upon that which is most meet to be singled out for communion with Himself.

Should we see a man familiar with the King, we would, even of ourselves, conclude he is one of the nobles of the land; but this is not the lot of every soul—some have fellowship with devils, yet not because they have a more base original than those that lie in God's bosom, but because they, through sin, are degenerate and have chosen to be great with His enemy—but all these things show the greatness of the soul.

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f theLoss Thereof; What Shall A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul.41

 

The soul is called God's breath.

1. It is called God's breath of life. 'And the Lord God formed man,' that is, the body, 'of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul' (Gen 2:7). Do but compare these two together, the body and the soul; the body is made of dust, and the soul is the breath of God. Now, if God hath made this body so famous, as indeed He has, and yet it is made but of the dust of the ground, and we all do know what inferior matter it is, what is the soul since the body is not only its house and garment but since itself is made of the breath of God? But, further, it is not only said that the soul is of the breath of the Lord, but that the Lord breathed into him the breath of life—to wit, a living spirit, for so the next words infer—and 'man became a living soul.' Man, that is, the more excellent part of him, which, for that which is principal, is called man, that bearing the denomination of the whole; or man, the spirit and natural power, by which, as a reasonable creature, the whole of him is acted, 'became a living soul.' But I stand not here upon definition, but upon demonstration. 

The body, that noble part of man, had its origin in the dust; for so says the Word, 'Dust thou art (as to thy body), and unto dust shalt thou return' (Gen 3:19). But as to thy more noble part, thou art from the breath of God, God put forth in that a mighty work of creating power, and man 'was made a living soul' (1 Cor 15:45). Mark my reason. There is as great a disparity between the body and the soul, as there is between the dust of the ground and that, here called, the breath of life of the Lord. And note further, that, as the dust of the ground did not lose, but gained glory by being formed into the body of a man, so this breath of the Lord lost nothing by being made a living soul. O man! dost thou know what thou art?

The soul is God's image.2. As the soul is said to be of the breath of God, it is said to be made after God's own image, even after the similitude of God. 'And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.—So God created man in His own image, in the image of God, He created him' (Gen 1:26, 27). Mark, in His own image, in the image of God, created He him; or, as James hath it, it is 'made after the similitude of God,' (James 3:9); like Him, having in it that which bears semblance with Him. I do not read of anything in heaven, earth, or under the earth, that is said to be made in this manner, or that is at all so termed, save only the Son of God Himself. The angels are noble creatures, and for present employ are made a little higher than man himself, (Heb 2); but that any of them are said to be made 'after God's image,' after His own image, even after the similitude of God, that I find not. This character the Holy Ghost, in the Scriptures of truth, gives only to man, to the soul of man; for it must not be thought that the body is here intended in whole or in part. 

For though it be said that Christ was made after the similitude of sinful flesh (Phil 2), yet it is not said that sinful flesh is made after the similitude of God, but I will not dispute; I only bring these things to show how great a thing, how noble a thing the soul is; in that, at its creation, God thought it worthy to be made, not like the earth, or the heavens, or the angels, seraphim, or archangels, but like Himself, saying, 'Let Us make man in Our own likeness. So He made man in His own image.' This, I say, is a character above all angels; for, as the apostle said, 'To which of the angels said He at any time, 'Thou art my Son?' So, of which of them has He at any time said, This is or shall be, made in or after my image, my own image? What a thing is the soul of man, above all the creatures in heaven or earth, being made in the image and similitude of God.

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.40

 

The body a tabernacle of the soul.

4. The body is called a tabernacle for the soul. 'Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle' (2 Pet 1:14), that is, my body, 'by death' (John 21:18,19). 'For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God,' etc. (2 Cor 5:1). In both these places, by 'tabernacle,' can be meant nothing but the body; wherefore both the apostles, in these sentences, personate their souls and speak as if the soul was THE ALL of a man; yea, they plainly tell us, that the body is but the house, clothes, vessel, and tabernacle for the soul. But what a famous thing, therefore, is the soul!

The tabernacle of old was a place erected for worship, but the worshippers were more excellent than the place; so our body is a tabernacle for the soul to worship God in, but must need to be accounted much inferior to the soul, forasmuch as the worshippers are always of more honor than the place they worship in; as he that dwelleth in the tabernacle hath more honor than the tabernacle.8 'I serve,' says Paul, God, and Christ Jesus 'with my spirit (or soul) in the gospel' (Rom 1:9), but not with his spirit out of, but in, this tabernacle. The Tabernacle had instruments of worship for the worshippers; so has the body for the soul, and we are bid to 'yield our members as instruments of righteousness to God' (Rom 6:13). 

The hands, feet, ears, eyes, and tongue, which last is our glory when used right, are all of their instruments of this tabernacle, and to be made use of by the soul, the inhabiter of this tabernacle, for the soul's performance of the service of God. I thus discourse, to show you the greatness of the soul. And, in my opinion, there is something, if not very much, in what I say. For all men admire the body, both for its manner of building and the curious way of its being compacted together. Yes, the further men, wise men, do pry into the wonderful work of God that is put forth in framing the body, the more still they are made to admire; and yet, as I said, this body is but a house, a mantle, a vessel, a tabernacle for the soul. What, then, is the soul itself?9 But thus much for the first particular.