Total Health: Body, Soul & Spirit

3 John 2 ESV

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.

Thesis

God’s healing is complete, from the inside out.

1). God Made You In 2 Parts

We are made up of body and soul, and together, this makes us human. (Some would add a third component of a spirit, but Scripture uses them interchangeably with the soul.) The soul is the intangible part of us that is the seat of our attitudes and emotions. And God gave us the body as our method of interacting with this physical world.

2). You Have A Tendency to Self-Destruct

Nobody gets holy by just sitting on the couch, waiting for change to come. We either get better, or worse. We either move forward or backward - there is no such thing as neutral. So to state it plainly, if you feel stuck spiritually, you are regressing into spiritual apathy. Or, you may feel like you’re doing just fine, but as the rapper Lecrae says, “I was on cruise control, that’s how you lose control.”

This is when we become less dependant on the Holy Spirit and we seek other things to satisfy our soul. We drink, we smoke, we spend money we shouldn’t spend, etc. We become focused on the trappings of the world instead of seeking God like our lives depended on him.

This is a meter gauge for the soul. Since soul and body are connected, our body will eventually reflect the condition of our soul. Paul says it like this:

Romans 6:20–23 ESV

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So if we are going to reverse-engineer our lives, we have to not only ask the question, “Is this right or wrong,” but whether or not something is wise or unwise, healthy or unhealthy - does this promote life or death.

Many of us choose death on a regular basis. See, drunkeness isn’t just morally wrong, it displays a lack of dependence of the Holy Spirit, and it destroys our kidneys physically. Smoking (which is also dissipation, shows a lack of dependence in the Holy Spirit, and it rots our lungs. Gluttony is greed and it destroys our body.

And before these habbits (to name a few) kill us physically, they rob us of a better quality of life. (I’ve learned this the hard way with my diet, for example.) We don’t have the energy to serve God fervantly, and love for God with our everything is the summary of the law.

Matthew 22:34–40 ESV

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

3). Jesus Heals You From the Inside Out

Prove that Jesus’ healing is complete is the paralyzed man in the gospels. The story is wild when you slow down to think about it. Four crazy friends have enough faith to believe that Jesus will heal their friend, so they are determined to get him to Jesus. It’s another day in the life and ministry of Jesus. He is preaching the gospel in Peter’s house, and its standing room only! They see that there’s no way they can push to the front to get to Jesus, so they climb up the side of the house and bash through Peter’s clay roof. (Aren’t you glad you’re not Peter?) They then lower their friend on his bed in front of Jesus and it is profound what Jesus says to him at first:

Mark 2:5 ESV

And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Jesus’ main way of healing people is forgiving their sin. As we see if you look at John 9:1-3, the Jews believed that physical suffering was a result of inward sin. So when Jesus heals people, he forgives them. This is total healing from the inside out. This is explains the connection to what Jesus says next:

Mark 2:6–12 ESV

Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

4). God Lives Inside You

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 ESV

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Many times this verse has been used to challenge people not to self-destruct with their body, and that can be seen within the context of this passage. But, perhaps what is more convincing is the idea of convergeant space, our very bodies being the place where heaven meets earth, where God chooses to dwell.

When Christians talk about being the “hands and feet of Christ,” this is what they are talking about. God’s main way of acting on earth is through his church, and his church is made of individuals members like you and me.

Prayer

Jesus, thank you that you have sent the Holy Spirit to give all we need to get through this life. Forgive me, forgive us, for all the times we have turned to something or someone to be comforted, when we have actually used them to self-medicate, destroying ourselves. Holy Spirit, remind us to rely on you for comfort and for guidance, every day, especially when we are at the limits of our humanity. Amen.

Q&A

Is it true that the Bible is the inspired word of God but not everything in it should be taken literally, word for word?

All of the Bible is true, but it is key to note that the Bible displays that truth in different ways. What I mean is that the Bible has various genres, and anyone who studies literature will remark that genres are interpreted differently. Nehemiah is history, the Psalms are poetry, and Romans is a letter filled with closely reasoned logic. The imagery of the Psalms should not be read as literally as Romans.

So to say this another way: sometimes the Bible states things plainly, while other times it uses allegory. You might wonder why.

Take David’s adultery story (recorded in 2 Samuel 11–12). When the prophet Nathan confronts David about his sin, he could’ve just come out and say plainly, “You committed adultery!” But he doesn’t. He tells a parable, a little story that evokes the right response out of David. David can listen to this story while feeling removed from it, and then Nathan applies the antagonist of the story to David: “Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man!’” (2 Samuel 12:7, ESV).

God is the master artist of communicating. Just like we have various modes of sending a message, (text, phone call, letter, social media post, blog, video, etc.) and we pick the method best suitable to the situation, God does the same thing.

Do you believe that the incidents that occurred in Genesis actually happened as described, or do you think Genesis is largely a parable?

I believe that Genesis is history, not fiction. More important than what I think, you should see all the times Jesus quotes Moses (who wrote Genesis) as if it was trusted Scripture, and it is. If Jesus believed Moses, so do I.

What verses are the Messianic psalms?

The two main messianic Psalms are Psalm 2 and Psalm 110. Psalm 2 is my favorite one because it asks why the world is so wicked and rebellious and it provides the answer. Sinful humanity is in constant rebellion against Jesus, the king of the universe, who is coming back to judge all those who buck against his authority. Psalm 110 is Jesus’ favorite since he quotes it often and it illustrates the same point - that he sits at God’s right hand, how he is honored and victorious, and how Jesus’ enemies will be humbled as his “footstool.” Amazing stuff.

Do you read the Bible as God's love letter to you?

Since I’m a guy, I don’t tend to view it as a “love letter,” but it’s perfectly fine if you do. I do read the Bible devotionally (as well as academically). I’m a nerd and I love getting into the historical, exegetical, archeological, details of the Bible, but more importantly, the Bible is food food for my soul. As Jesus said, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”” (Matthew 4:4, ESV)

Was the apostle Paul possibly the most gifted messenger of Christ in the Bible?

“Gifted” is a loaded term. It depends on what metric you are looking at. In general, Paul contributed the most work and content to the Church and the Bible. He wrote more letters than the other apostles. He traveled farther than anyone else, bringing the gospel as far west as possible, possibly Spain. Paul worked harder than anyone else.

But Paul wasn’t the only talented leader. There were other great leaders in the church, which is why everyone was so decided (1 Corinthians 1, 3). While Paul was a great theologian, he was a poor speaker. Not Apollos, though! He was a great orator though we have none of his writings. (Hot take: I believe he possibly wrote Hebrews!)