Why can't a works religion save a person if the soul and spirit are invisible?
A works religion cannot save a person because the soul and spirit are invisible, and no human can see, touch, or access that realm by external rituals or efforts. Salvation therefore must be a miraculous work of God, who alone operates in the invisible area, not something achieved by human works.
Les explains that salvation cannot be a human work because the soul and spirit belong to the invisible realm. No person can touch or enter that realm, so how could someone in a works religion hope to make it when they cannot even see or touch their own invisible personality? It must therefore be a miraculous work of God, who alone can work in the invisible. He notes this is not just a quirk of Corinthians; Paul brings it out repeatedly, for example in Ephesians 2. The timeline shows God calling Abraham, forming Israel with covenant promises, law, and priesthood, then sending Messiah so Israel could bring the knowledge of Jehovah to the Gentiles, but they rejected and crucified Him.