Spirit, Soul and Body

The world tells you that you have a body and a soul

1 Corinthians 2.11 “the spirit of the man which is in him.”

1 Corinthians 5.4 mentions “my spirit.”

Romans 8.16 says “our spirit”

1 Corinthians 14.14 uses “my spirit.”

1 Corinthians 14.32 tells of the “spirits of prophets.”

Proverbs 25.28 refers to “his own spirit.”

Hebrews 12.23 record “the spirits of just men.”

Zechariah 12.1 states that “the Lord . . . formed the spirit of man within him.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23 ESV

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul refers here to the complete sanctification of believers, “sanctify you wholly.” According to the Apostle, how is a person wholly sanctified? By his spirit and soul and body being kept.

This is knowledge we must have. How do you know if someone we meet is from God or not.

It is equally as, if not more, important for a believer to be humble and willing to accept the teaching of the Holy Spirit. If so, the Holy Spirit will grant him the experience of the dividing of spirit and soul,

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4.12).

The Creation of Man

“And Jehovah God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2.7 ASV).

Man formed from the dust of the ground, and then breathed the breath of life into his nostrils.

As soon as the breath of life, which became man’s spirit, came into contact with man’s body, the soul was produced.

So, just like the Father, the son and the Holy spirit, we are a trinity.

Spirit

Soul

Body

Our spirit is our connection to God. Think internet connection

Our soul is our free will. Think the hardrive of your computer

Our Body is how we interact with the physical world. Think your computer casing

The Lord Jesus tells us “it is the spirit that gives life” (John 6.63)

Lets get technical.

Of the spirit, the soul and the body, the spirit is the noblest for it joins with God. The body is the lowest for it contacts with matter.

The soul lying between them joins the two together and also takes their character to be its own.

The soul makes it possible for the spirit and the body to communicate and to cooperate.

The work of the soul is to keep these two in their proper order so that they may not lose their right relationship—namely, that the lowest, the body, may be subjected to the spirit, and that the highest, the spirit, may govern the body through the soul.

To be without sin.

Genesis 2:24–25 (ESV)

25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

They were not ashamed because the were surrounded by a light.

Before the fall of man the spirit controlled the whole being through the soul.

Adams internet connection to God through his spirit was 100 percent

After the fall

After the fall his spirit was changed from 100 percent to about 19 percent

And all his dependents would be born with only a 19 percent connection to god, and worse, his spirit was no longer control, his soul was. And we were born with about a 19 percent connection to God.

But How?

English Standard Version Chapter 3

he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

You don't do it by being like the world, going to church on Sunday and not thinking of him again until the next Sunday

Revelation 12:11 (ESV)

11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

The Functions of the spirit

The Conscience

The conscience is the discerning organ which distinguishes right and wrong; not, however, through the influence of knowledge stored in the mind but rather by a spontaneous direct judgment.

Often reasoning will justify things which our conscience judges. The work of the conscience is independent and direct; it does not bend to outside opinions. If man 36 The Spiritual Man should do wrong it will raise its voice of accusation.

Intuition

Intuition involves a direct sensing independent of any outside influence. That knowledge which comes to us without any help from the mind, emotion or volition comes intuitively. We really “know” through our intuition; our mind merely helps us to “understand.” The revelations of God and all the movements of the Holy Spirit are known to the believer through his intuition.

Communion

Communion is worshiping God.

The organs of the soul are incompetent to worship God. God is not apprehended by our thoughts, feelings or intentions, for He can only be known directly in our spirits.

Our worship of God and God’s communications with us are directly in the spirit. They take place in “the inner man,” not in the soul or outward man.

The Unregenerate Spirit.

His spirit was hardened” Dan. 5.20

Daniel 5:20 ESV

But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him.

A downcast spirit dries up the bones” Prov. 17.22

His spirit was hardened” Dan. 5.20

The Functions of the soul

self-consciousness

It is the seat of our personality.

The elements which make us human belong to the soul.

Intellect, thought, ideals, love, emotion, discernment, choice, decision, etc., are but various experiences of the soul.

The Soul’s Faculty of Volition

The soul houses our emotions

The soul houses our desires

emotions, feelings, and sences

It is the organ of man’s free will, the organ in which spirit and body are completely merged. If man’s soul wills to obey God, it will allow the spirit to rule over the man as ordered by God

The soul, if it chooses, also can suppress the spirit and take some other delight as lord of the man

A) The Soul’s Faculty of Volition

“Now set your mind and heart (original, “soul”) to seek the Lord your God”

B) The Soul’s Faculty of Intellect or Mind

Here “knowledge,” “counsel,” “lift up,” “think,” etc

1) EMOTIONS OF AFFECTION

2) EMOTIONS OF DESIRE

) EMOTIONS OF FEELING AND SENSING