Dutch Sheets is an influential Christian leader through his promotion of spiritual awakening and revival. Of his 23 books, Intercessory Prayer, is the best known, having sold over 1 million copies. Dutch Sheets also has a large audience through his blog, Give Him 15®. 

In his post titled “An Incredibly Harmful Misunderstanding” Dutch Sheets warns about reducing repentance to a change of mind, a decision of the will, or an emotion of remorse.[1]  (Each of these faculties refer to man’s soul.) 

In developing a more adequate definition of repentance Sheets goes into detail about how the Fall (Genesis ch. 3) affected the spirit of man and corrupted his inner governance. He writes,

Biblical repentance – a change of mind – is the result of revelation, which literally means “lift or remove that which hides or covers” (apakalupsis)(10). 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 tells us a veil or covering came to the heart of humans at the Fall, “blinding” us to God’s truth and perspective.

This occurred when Adam chose his own “knowledge of good and evil.” When he did, his own mind and intellect took over, gaining ascendancy over his fallen spirit, which had lost God’s life and Spirit. He no longer operated according to and under God’s truth and logic, but according to his own fallen, carnal, fleshly thoughts. Adam’s soul, his psuche(11) (Greek: mind, will and emotions) was now in charge. The New Testament actually calls fallen man a psuchikos(12), from psuche, this Greek word for soul. Usually translated “natural man,” it literally means “of the soul,”(13) referring to one who is led by their soul, not their spirit. In contrast, a “spiritual man” or person in the New Testament is pneumatikos(14), from pneuma(15), the word for spirit. Humans went from being pneumatikoses led from their spirit, which was filled with Holy Spirit and God’s life, to being psuchikoses, led by their souls and whatever information or emotions were held there. James actually tells us the knowledge that originates in this exalted psuche is “earthly, natural and demonic” (James 3:15). Unredeemed humans now live by and from this soulish knowledge, and Scripture tells us “A natural person [psuchikos – ‘man of soul’] does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness [moria – ‘moronish’] to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14 NASB).

Since the Fall, because of this shift in power from spirit to soul, and the ensuing veil, we humans have needed revelation – “a lifting of the veil” – in order to see and understand truth, God’s logic, at a heart level. When this revelation occurs, THAT IS REPENTANCE! … The biblical process of change: Remorse, revelation and repentance, turn back to God.

Therefore, Dutch Sheets makes an explicit distinction between man’s soul and spirit as he explains the results of the fall and the need more spiritual revelation in true repentance.

JBW

[1] Givehim15.com, Jan 5 2024
Bold font added – JBW
Footnotes in the article “An Incredibly Harmful Misunderstanding”
10. James Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, ref. no. 602.
11. Ibid., ref. no. 5590.
12. Ibid., ref. no. 5591.
13. Ibid., ref. no. 5590.
14. Ibid., ref. no. 4152.
15. Ibid., ref. no. 4151.