When the Lord speaks of the new birth we have in Him, He says,

“That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
— John 3:6

So, we may refer to this new birth in Christ as being “saved in our spirit,” or even as “the salvation of the spirit,” since it takes place in our human spirit.

This new birth happens in an instant; the very moment we believe in Christ, we receive His divine life, through the Spirit:

He who believes in the Son has eternal life.
— John 3:36; cf. 20:31

And as a result, in that same instant we become children of God:

As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
— John 1:12-13

However, as Watchmen Nee points out, when the New Testament speaks of our soul being saved, it does so in very different terms. That is, while the New Testament clearly shows that our spirit is born anew, or “saved,” in an instant through simple faith in Christ, it also shows us that, in contrast, the salvation of our soul involves many dealings with the Lord, and with ourselves, by our experience of the cross, over a long period of time.

Brother Nee writes,

The salvation of the spirit is to have eternal life, while the salvation of the soul is to possess the kingdom [i.e., to reign with the Lord in His 1,000 year kingdom on the earth when He returns; Rev. 20:4-6].

The spirit is saved by Christ bearing the cross for me; the soul is saved by my bearing a cross myself.

The spirit is saved because Christ lays down His life for me; the soul is saved because I deny myself and follow the Lord.

The spirit is saved on the basis of faith….The soul is saved on the basis of following; it is a lifelong matter, a course to be finished.

The spirit is saved through faith, for “he who believes on the Son has eternal life (John 3:36). The soul is saved through works, because “then shall (the Lord) render unto every man according to his deeds” (Matt. 16:27).

Once the spirit is saved, eternal life is assured… Yet as to the salvation of the soul, nothing can be assured today, for whether or not the soul will be gained shall be decided at the coming again of the Lord [2 Cor. 5:10].

The salvation of the spirit is a current gift… The salvation of the soul, though, is a future reward to be given at the time of the Lord’s return to those who have faithfully followed Him.

— The Salvation of the Soul, Christian Fellowship Publishers, New York, 1978, pages 11-12, in the chapter, “Its Meaning: Self-Denial.”

Thus, according to Brother Nee, the salvation of the spirit, on the one hand, and the salvation of the soul, on the other, are two very different matters. And to fully understand what the New Testament shows us about salvation, we need to be very clear about this difference.

So, in the next Note in this series we will begin to consider those verses in the New Testament that speak of the salvation of the soul.

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— 27 June 2026 —