It was Jesus who outlined the total truth concerning how we operate as persons: “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise” (John 5:19). Everything else is a delusion.
It is the subtlety of the delusion that causes us to think that we somehow need to change in order to meet some indistinct standard. Notice Romans 2, “The gentiles who have no law are law for themselves.” This is the “indistinct standard”. In other words, the illusion of independence. And it is so no matter how it looks – whether it appears pious, good, kind or whatever. This is the “evilness” – the delusion: I am my own source.
Only the Spirit can reveal how far down the roots of the delusion goes and how we every day are tempted to think: “If only I had done so and so, or thought so and so….” We even try to correct our emotions when we think they are out of line, again gauged against some obscure standard. This temptation to improve or correct ourselves is so subtle.
There are no standards in the tree of life – only the Person living His life in the flesh….”the life I now live in the flesh….” (Gal 2:20).
To further hammer home the message Jesus exclaimed: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him” (John 3:16). We do not function any differently from Jesus. There is no such thing as an independent self. That’s the cross we have to carry and that is our rest and freedom as persons.
The Mystery Revealed 
Amen, Ole. Formerly we were led by our ‘soul-selves’ if you will, following our own selfish agenda’s, but now we are ‘led by the Spirit’ (Rom 8:14) because He is the ‘Father of our Spirits…Father’ (Heb 12:9). This is the ‘separating us from our mothers womb’ (ie law, Adam-life) and the revealing (and un-veil-ing) of the Son in me, as me…yet Him.
Do you mind elaborating, John? What do you mean by that we were led by the “soul-self”? Are you referring to before or after our conversion?
Before our conversion, ‘The first man, Adam, BECAME a living soul, the last Adam BECAME a life-giving spirit’. (1 Cor 15:45) We all ‘became’ what our first (and fallen) father was by default, ie a soul-directed, God-uninhabited self (this is the ‘formless waste and void’ of Gen 1:1 imho) and likewise have now, by grace, become life-giving, Spirit-directed…Spirits, again. This is of course, the True Man restored in God’s image. This is not to dis-avow the ongoing ascent or out-working as we are taught this ‘new and living Way’ more and more by Jesus, Himself! (Eph 4:21)
I believe even the animals have a ‘soul’ but unlike ours, theirs is base and tied to their physical, earthly bodies but ours is tied to our Spirits. This is why the constant reference in scripture and from enlightened ones over the centuries concerning the ‘beastly’ or ‘animal’ nature and why Christ was/is ever born in a ‘manger’, ie animal feeding trough, etc. Blessings bro…
Thanks for explaining John! I like this a lot!