 Back to Homepage 1 Goto Homepage 2 
The Spirit, Soul, and Body
We do not become a sinner by sinning. We sin because We are sinners.
This sin has corrupted all that we are: mind, soul, spirit, and body.
We are so engulfed in sin, so thoroughly touched by it, that there is
nothing in us that enables salvation (liberation from sin).
We are therefore born into a state of condemnation:
"...and [we] were by nature children of wrath (intense anger),
even as the rest" (Ephesians 2: 3).
This is not to say that we are as evil as we can be, rather,
that all of what we are is affected by sin.
It follows then that our understanding, reflection, feelings,
and experiences are all stained by sin.
So, the Bible reveals our true nature of life :
* cannot understand spiritual things (1 Corinthians. 2:14).
* are a slave of sin (Romans. 6: 16-20)
* do not seek for God (Romans. 3:11).
* are lawless, rebellious, unholy, and antagonistic (1 Timothy. 1:9).
It then follows that out of our utterly sinful condition,
only sinful desires and effects will follow.
The question must then be asked, "How can a sinful person ever desire God?"
SPIRIT AND SOUL AND BODY.
"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you
entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be
preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
HUMANS ARE CREATED AS TRIUNE (THREE IN ONE) BEINGS.
The Bible describes the complete makeup of a
human being with a combination of three different
words: spirit and soul and body.
A spirit is somewhat different from a soul or a body.
And a soul is somewhat different from a body or a spirit.
All three words are use to describe the complete or entire
makeup of a person. We are led to the thought that
each human being must be composed of three different
parts which are called: spirit and soul and body.
Body and Soul are Separate Entities.
This thought is reinforced as we consider the meaning
in context of each word in the Old and New Testaments.
Jesus spoke clearly of the distinction between the
soul and the body of a person when He told His
disciples that the soul of a person could not be
killed as could the body of a person.
"And do not fear those who kill the body, but are
unable to kill the soul;" (Matthew 10:28)
Spirit and Soul are Separate Entities.
The spirit and the soul are different parts of
the human being for the spirit can and should be
separated from the total influence of the soul. But
the three parts, spirit and soul and body, make up the
complete person as he lives on earth and even as he is
preserved to meet the Lord when He comes again.
Spirit, Soul, and Body are Separate Entities Within
One Complete Human.
The fact that each human being has been created
by God with three separate entities is strengthened by
our knowledge that there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all,
and in you all. (Ephesians 4:5-6)
God is referred to in the Bible as the Father,the Son,
and the Holy Spirit.
Since God has created human beings in His image, we are
led to expect that humans have been created as triune beings
also, with three parts, referred to in the Bible as
spirit, soul, and body.
"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image,
according to Our likeness;'". (Genesis 1:26).
WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT, AND SOUL, AND BODY?
"Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and
man became a living being (soul)." (Genesis 2:7).
The human body was formed by God "of dust from the
ground." God gave man a spirit when He "breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life". When God
formed the body of man from dust and imparted
life to him by "breathing (a spirit) into his
nostrils", "man became a living soul".
That the body is formed from the dust of the earth
is confirmed by Old Testament passages.
"By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you
return to the ground, because from it you were taken;
for dust you are , and to dust you shall return." (Genesis3:19).
"All go to the same place. All came from the
dust and all return to the dust."
That our spirit was given to us by God is also
indicated in Old and New Testament passages. "Thus
declares the Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays
the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of
man within him." (Zech 12:1).
"The spirit will return to God who gave it." (Eccl 12:7).
"He jealously desires the spirit which He has made to dwell in us."(James 4:5).
The original meaning of the word spirit in both Old
Testament Hebrew and New Testament Greek was "breath"
or "wind" (Ezekiel 37:9), a figure of speech illustrating
the fact that it was "breathed into", man by God. (Genesis 2:7).
Human beings, therefore, have both body and spirit.
But the human characteristic is neither body alone,
nor spirit alone, but is called soul.
Apparently the soul is the human personality.
Thus, "the first man, Adam, became a living soul." (1 Corinthians 15:45).
How does God intend for man to function within and in
relation to the rest of creation?
Only through the word of God does a person learn
about the spirit (proverbs 20:24), (Jeremaih 10:23).
The Bible reveals that Christians can and should
use their bodies to serve God.
"I urge you therefore, brethren, ....to present your
bodies a living and holy sacrifice." (Romans 12:1).
When one becomes a Christian, it is the body which is "washed
with pure water" at baptism. (Hebrews 10:22). And the body
becomes a member of Christ to serve Christ.
"Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?" (1Corrinthians 6:15).
The body of a Christian becomes a dwelling
place of the Holy Spirit of God enabling him to
glorify God in his body. "Do you not know that your
body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you,
whom you have from God....therefore glorify God in
your body." (1 Corrinthians 6:19-20).
However, it is the body which lusts and can be used to
commit sin if one chooses to do so.
(Romans 6:12-13)"Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body
that you should obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting
the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness."
These scriptures reveal that the body is that part of
a person which senses the material and fleshly things
of this world, and through which the person can
exercise influence on material things. But in
referring to the functions of the body, each reference
refers to another part of a person which apparently
controls the body of that person.
Time after time the scriptures speak, not of "a body"
alone, but of "your" body, indicating that the body
does not stand alone but serves another part of the
person.
Through the senses of the body ,the soul of a person is
influenced by that with which the body comes in contact.
And through the members of the body the soul of a person
can put influence upon that with which the body comes in
contact.
WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT?
God gave man a spirit when He breathed into his
nostrils the "breath of life." or "spirit of life."
(Genesis 2:7). Jesus said, "a spirit does not have flesh
and bones." (Luke 24:39). But James said, "the body
without the spirit is dead." (James 2:26). James also
said God made the spirit for the purpose of dwelling
in us. (James 4:5). When the personal spirit of a
person departs from the body of that person, life is
gone from the body. The body of the person is said
then to be "asleep" or "dead". (Acts 7:59; Eccl. 12:7).
Thus we see that a function of the spirit imparted to the human
by God is to give life to the body and to dwell in
and sustain life in that body until the body dies.
Every spirit is not from God, said John, but "every
spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in
the flesh is from God", (1 John 4:12).
Here we are introduced to the fact that there are other
spirits with us here on earth besides our own personal
spirits and God's Holy Spirit.
These other spirits are not from God.
They will not confess that Jesus Christ has
come in the flesh. We must conclude that God intended
that it be a function of one's personal spirit to
confess Christ. If your personal spirit does confess
Jesus Christ, the grace of the Lord Jesus will be
"with your spirit." (Galatians. 6:18).
Paul speaks in (1 Corrinthians. 2:11-12) "Who among men
knows the thoughts of man except the spirit of the man
which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows
except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the
spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God."
We see here at least three types of spirits: the spirit
of man, the Spirit of God, and the spirit of the
world. We must conclude that a person can "receive" and
become influenced either by the spirit of the world or by
the Spirit of God (Romans 6:16). It follows that man who lives under
the influence of the spirit of the world is "with
blame"(corrupted). But man who lives under the influence of
the Spirit of God has been cleansed and is "without blame" (not corrupted)."
James said, "God jealously desires the spirit
which He has made to dwell in us." (James 4:5).
There is a clear intimation that some other spirit other
than the Spirit of God can dwell in us and influence
the lives of man. Perhaps 'James 4:5'
is recalling 'Ezekiel 36:26-27' which said, "Moreover, I
will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within
you....and I will put My Spirit within you and cause
you to walk in My statutes...."
Now we have a picture where man can be influenced by
God's Holy Spirit, or by the spirit of the world.
As we grow up from childhood, we are introduced
to, and receive influence from the spirit of the world.
But God desires to dwell in us with His Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16).
Both these spirits, the spirit of the world, and God's Holy
Spirit, cannot dwell together with our spirit in our
body as a temple, because no man can serve two masters.
Thus, if the Spirit of God is to dwell in a person, he must
be received as a new Spirit to completely replace the
spirit of the world. The spirit of the world must be resisted
(James 4:7) and then God's Holy Spirit can dwell in that person.
"And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him,
and He in him. And we know by this that He abides in us,
by the Spirit which He has given us. Beloved, do not believe
every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they
are from God; because many false prophets have gone out
into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God:
every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come
in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not
confess Jesus has come in the flesh, is not from God;
and this is the spirit of the anti-Christ, of which you
have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in
the world. You are from God, little children, and have
overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than
he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore
they speak as from the world, and the world listens to
them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us.
By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of
error." (1 John 3:24), (1 john 4:1-6).
Man must serve God, "the
Spirit of truth," or he will remain in bondage to
"the spirit of error".
Paul said, "For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the
preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness." (Romans. 1:9).
We can be influenced by the Spirit of truth and serve
God. Or we can be influenced by "they" of the world,
and serve these spirits of the world.
But "the one who joins himself to the Lord is one
spirit with Him." (1 Corrinthians. 6:17).
"For all who are being led by the Spirit of God,
these are sons of God." (Romans. 8:16).
But if we have not received the Spirit of God, we have received
"a spirit of slavery leading to fear." (Romans. 8:15).
Who are "they" from the world from whom we may
receive a "spirit of error" and a "spirit of slavery"?
The Bible informs us that the Holy Spirit said
"they" are "demons." "But the Spirit explicitly says
that in the later times some will fall away from the
faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and
doctrines of demons." (1 Timothy. 4:1).
John warns us in the Bible about these demonic spirits in the Revelation.
"And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon (Satan) and
out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of
the false prophet three unclean spirits like frogs;
for they are spirits of demons, performing signs,
which go out to the kings of the whole world, to
gather them together for the war of the great day of
God, the Almighty." (Revelation. 16:13-14).
Satan himself, with his servants, the beast and
the false prophet, are spoken of as demons who send
out "unclean spirits." These "unclean spirits" try to
enter into people to take the place where God desires
His Holy Spirit to dwell.
But God has instructed us all in the New Testament
how to get rid of these "unclean spirits."
"If indeed you have heard about Christ and have been
taught in Him, just as truth is in Christ Jesus, that,
in reference to your former manner of life, you lay
aside the old self, which is being corrupted in
accordance with the lusts of deception, and that you be
re-new in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new
self, which in the likeness of God has been created in
righteousness and holiness of the truth." (Ephesians.4:21-24).
The most important function of a person's own
spirit is that, within the person, he becomes
united with God's Holy Spirit (Romans 8:16),
providing an avenue of communication to God.
God intended that the body of a person becomes
the holy temple where God's own Holy Spirit might
dwell and where communion between the person and
God's Holy Spirit might take place. (1 Corrinthians. 6:17-20).
But the Scriptures indicate that man is influence
to communicate with evil spirits such as the "spirit of the world," the "spirit
of the anti-Christ," the "spirit of slavery," or the
"spirits of demons." (Ephesians 6:12)
These unclean spirits are trying to corrupt the soul of
man, and trying to stop any possibility of communication
with God's Holy Spirit.
"If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of
sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness." (Romans. 8:10).
We can commune with God's Holy Spirit again and can
"serve God" in his spirit. (Romans 1:9). Also,
we can "pray" and "sing with the spirit." (1 Corrinthians 14:15).
Apparently, God intended that it be the spirit's
function to instruct the thoughts, and actions of
a person so that the person can know the things
freely given to him of God (1 Corinthians 2:11-12).
"The one who joins himself to the
Lord is one spirit with Him" (1 Cor. 6:17), and
"The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we
are children of God." (Romans 8:16).
The evil thoughts, and actions of a person can corrupt
that person's soul. And, when Paul tells us that the spirit
is alive because of righteousness, we know that without
the righteousness imparted to us by God, the soul is "dead."
We must conclude that a person's soul which has not been
cleansed from corruption, is without righteousness and is
not alive, therefore is "dead."
WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF THE HUMAN SOUL?
(Matthew 16:25)
The soul of a person is the combination of his
spirit (which is his life), and his body (which was
formed from the dust of the ground) (Genesis 2:7).
Peter tells us in (1 Peter. 2:11) that while we live on
the earth we should "abstain from fleshly lusts, which
wage war against the soul." We have already noted that
it is the body that lusts after the things of the world,
which influences the soul in an unhealthy manner.
This influence can be such that the soul will do evil (James 4:4).
It is clear that the soul of a person can yield in
obedience either to do good or to do evil (Romans 6:16).
The soul can either abstain from, or partake of fleshly lusts.
The soul of a person can yield to the temptations of evil spirits,
or can yield to the commandments and law from God contained in
the Scriptures. The soul can weigh evidences and can
accept or reject evidence. This shows the intellectual
function of the soul. Furthermore, the soul has the
ability to know and understand the consequences of
choices, especially those consequences which are
clearly announced in the Scriptures. The soul is
warned of tribulations, distress, and even death if
wrong choices are made.
It is this death of the soul that Jesus referred to
when He said, "Do not fear those who kill the body but
are unable to kill the soul, but rather fear Him who
is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew.10:28).
Again, "For what will a man be profited, if he
gains the whole world, and loses his soul? Or what
will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew.16:26).
What is the nature of death of the soul?
The soul that sinneth it shall die (Ezekiel 18:4); (in hell)
Man cannot kill the soul the same way as he can kill the body.
Jesus continued in (Matthew. 10:28) "But rather fear Him
who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
We must conclude that the only death for the soul is
death in hell, eternal separation from God, caused by
sin, to be imposed by God on unrepentant souls on the
day of judgment (Hebrews 9:27).
Although God did not create in man a living soul just
to have that soul die; death was passed unto all men,
for we all (all souls) have sinned. (Romans 3:23).
Our Soul can lead us to sin against God, if we
do not abstain from the evil of this world.
However, God has provided redemption for the soul
of the sinful man, by sending his only begotten
Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins and rise again,
so that we through him will have everlasting life.
Souls can and often do choose to accept God's provision
of redemption. David of old said, "He (the Lord) restores
my soul." (Psalms 19:7).
Peter tells us in 1 Peter. 1:9 that "salvation of your
souls" is "the outcome of your faith" in Jesus Christ.
It becomes clear that our soul can be saved from the
consequences of sin through faith and obedience
to the word of God.
Although the "body" is baptized by water baptism (Hebrew. 10:22),
it is the soul whose sins are forgiven by God's grace
through faith in Jesus Christ (1 john 1:9). It is the soul
that chooses to accept and obey God's plan of salvation.
It is the soul of the person which directs the body
of the person to submit to the word of God.
After the soul is renewed in mind and spirit through
the acceptance of Jesus Christ in the word of God,
it is the soul which motivates us to continue doing
the will of God through our belief in Christ Jesus
from the heart (soul)." (Ephesians 6:6).
The soul is that part of a person which has the ability
to submit to the principle of love in the word of God,
and to direct the body of the person to exercise the
love of God.
(Matthew. 20:28).
The admonition from Jesus to His disciples that they must
"lose" their souls in order to save them refers to selfish
characteristics which men have inherited from "the flesh".
Inevitably, our soul leads us into selfishness, pride, and
willful actions, with rejection of a humble submission
to the leadership of God.
Jesus teaches that we must "lose" these evil
characteristics if we are to successfully commune
with God and be useful in God's service.
When the soul comes in contact with the material world,
it has an influence on, or receive influence from the
spirits of the world. The soul, through hearing and
believing the word of God, will receive the spirit of
Jesus Christ which is given by God's grace through faith
in Christ Jesus to give life to the soul (Ephesians 2:8).
However, in no way can the souls of people strike out
"on their own," or dictate their communion with God.
Without Scriptural revelation from God, we would not
even know about the spiritual realm or that we have a
personal spirit to provide communion within the
spiritual realm. Our spirit does not operate within
our consciousness, but rather behind the fleshly
scenes in "other dimensions" of the spiritual realm.
But the revelations of God found in the Bible tell us
something of this unseen realm of spirits.
God has created us with the ability to think in terms
of the expanded dimensions of the realm which we inhabit
as He reveals their existence to us in his word.
Paul reminds us in (Romans 8:18)
that "the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed."
God has put knowledge about Himself within every one of us.
God has written His laws in the heart of every one of us.
It is up to each one of us to seek God who has been revealed to us through his word.
But each of us, being in the world where Satan is allowed to roam, falls under
temptation and we have to make choices just as Adam did.
Sooner or later everyone will succumb to Satan's temptation and commit sin.
But, even then, we are not abandoned by God. Sinners have opportunity to forsake
Satan's world and become Christians, sons and Daughters of God! And, praise God, many do.
CONCLUSION
Each person, Christian and non-Christian alike,
has been created in the image and likeness of God.
Man has a "spirit, and soul, and body."
The "soul" is the eternal essence of a person,
created to self-manage all aspects of the person with
exercise of unique intellect, freedom of choice, and emotion,
all in the likeness of God the Father.
The "spirit" provides the person's communication terminal with
the spiritual realm, receiving and transmitting spiritual messages
through exercise of communion, conscience, and intuition,
all in the likeness of God the Holy Spirit.
The "body" is a person's temple for his soul and spirit,
created as suitable for God's physical universe.
all in the likeness of God the Son
Back to Homepage 1 Goto Homepage 2
|
