|
| Spirit, Soul, & Body |
|
| |
Spirit, Soul, & Body
For several months now I have been wanting to blog about this topic of Spirit, Soul, and Body. The truths that I have discovered while meditating on this teaching have revolutionalized my life. There is so very much to say on this topic, that I honestly feel like I can't get everything out in one blog. I can say that I have much more to learn in this area. I am going to make an attempt to present at least the basic concepts here, but more than likely, this blog is going to have to develop over time. Sometimes it is difficult for me to pull what I know to be spiritual truth into my soulish realm, and then pull it even further into the physical realm so that my fingers are able to put this into words.
I understand too that there are many people who believe that this is some new-age teaching. I have to blatantly disagree. There is a plethora of scripture that have set the foundation for this teaching. A few of them I will present here within. Some may have to be added later as the this revelation becomes more clear to the three of me.
At the end of this blog I am going to also post links to an Audio series that contains over 4 hours of teachings on this very topic. I strongly encourage you to take the time to listen to this series. This understanding has changed my life. I know that 4 hours of teachings sounds like a lot of time, but I cannot emphasize enough how much I have grown from learning this. It's has opened up a door for me to be able to have an even greater knowledge of who the Father is and how much He loves us. I also want to say that these audio messages are not dry, or boring. It's not hard to listen to. At the very least, listen to the first message of this series. I almost guarantee you will then want to hear the rest.
5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
4:12For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
These two verses alone make it very clear that we are composed of three parts. We are a spirit, we have a soul (mind, will, emotions, and conscience, or personality), and we live in a body.
Our spirit, is the very core of who we are. Our spirit is the part of us that is going to live forever. Our spirit is the part of us that got born-again the moment we made Jesus our Lord.
We are able to feel both our body and our soul. We can immediately take an inventory of either one. We know if we are feeling depressed, happy, angry, or any other emotion, in our soulish realm. And in our bodies we know whether we have pain, or a headache, or we are tired, maybe our adrenaline is pumping or maybe we can feel the sunshine warming our skin. However, your spirit cannot be accessed in any natural way.
Jesus said:
3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
What He is telling us is that there is no direct connection between the two. They are inter-related, but not directly related. That which is spirit is spirit and that which is flesh is flesh. You cannot contact your spirit through your emotions or your physical body.
If you don't understand this then it becomes very hard to understand when the bible tells you that you have the same power that raised Christ from the dead. We try to grab hold of this truth in our senses but without knowing that this power lies in the spirit realm it's almost impossible to fathom.
What about when the bible tells you that all things have become new?
5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
What old things passed away? What exactly became new? Our physical bodies certainly didn't become new. If you were fat or out of shape or sick the day you got saved, then you are still going to be fat, out of shape and could possibly still be sick the day after you got saved. Likewise, our soulish realm didn't immediately become new either. If you were stupid, or discouraged or lonely the day you got saved, it's quite probable that you could still be stupid, discouraged and lonely the day after you got saved. So what became new then? The answer is your spirit!
Your spirit became brand spanking new! The old sin nature that was inside of you, because you were a child of the devil, got put to death and the same spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead took up residency. Your spirit is the part of you that got born again! Praise God!
All things in your spiritual realm are brand new! Isn't that awesome?
So how then, you might ask, are we able to unlock the spiritual realm so that we can experience who we are and what we have in Christ? Since the spirit realm cannot be naturally seen or felt, the only way to perceive spiritual truth is through the Bible. You have to simply take God's Word and believe it!
Jesus said:
6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life.
If you want to know what your spirit is like, you must find out from the Word. You cannot just go by your emotions or some other type of perception. God's Word is spirit, and it is life!
You have never seen your spirit! So how do you know what your spirit looks like? By looking into the spiritual mirror. The perfect law of liberty!
1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 1:24For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 1:25But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
God's Word is an exact replica of who you are in the spirit. You have to look into the Word and trust that what you are seeing is a perfect reflection, or a mirror-image of your born again spirit. You are what God's Word says you are.
Look at this verse:
6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
Your spirit got joined to the Lord the moment you got born again. You now have raising from the dead power living on the inside of you. This is the way and the reason that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. It is not from some outside source. You are not waiting for the Lord to reach down and give you strength. You and He are joined as one spirit. The power for everything you need in this life, and the power to perform the super-natural is already contained within you!
4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
Without the knowledge of the fact that you and Christ are joined as one spirit, this verse becomes very hard to understand. This is talking about Jesus. And it says that as He is, so are we, in this world. Not that we will someday be like Him, but we ARE like Him. Present tense. Right now!
Our spirit is joined with the Lord. That just rocks my world!
One third of our salvation is complete. Our spirit is as saved as it will ever be. Your spirit is the exact same today as it will be a million years from now. We are no longer waiting on the salvation of our spirit, that part is a done deal!
This is important, extremely important. It is for this very reason that we are able to come boldly into the presence of the Father, even if we have sinned in our physical and or emotional realms.
4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
God is Spirit. God operates in the realm of the spirit. When God looks at you He sees that born again Spirit. You are righteous and truly holy in His eyes, regardless of what you may be experiencing in your soulish or physical realm. Your spirit doesn't just become holy through your good works, or by your own thoughts, it was created that way!
4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
The new man? What is this saying? Remember 2 Corinthians 5:17? The new man is that born again spirit part of you. The part of you that is brand new. You didn't make it new. It was created that way! There is nothing you can do to change that!
This is another very powerful truth. If you were not the one who made your own spirit righteous and holy, because it was created that way, then likewise, nothing you can do can make your spirit unrighteous, or unholy. That's a powerful truth. You really need to get hold of that. You spirit is not only born again, but it has been sealed, forever!
4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
This verse is not talking about sealed as in with some sort of stamp of approval. It is saying that your spirit has been sealed, as in vacuum packed. Nothing you do in the physical or emotional realms can touch it. Your spirit has been born again! It was created in righteousness and true holiness!
You now have the Holy Spirit of God living inside of you!
Therefore, you have everything you need already within you. You lack nothing. You are not waiting on God to reach down and touch you from the outside. Everything that pertains to life and Godliness is within you!
1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Notice here that He hath given. Past tense. It's already done. Not some things, ALL things! Every spiritual blessing is already yours!
1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [places] in Christ:
You are one blessed individual. God has given unto you all things. He has commanded a financial blessing, He has healed every sickness, He has blessed your relationships. He has delivered you from the evils of this present world. It's a done deal! The spirit part of you has been made perfect, forever!
10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.
12:23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
God sees you as perfect if you are truly a born again believer and follower or Jesus. That is powerful! Extremely powerful!
Wow. I really have so much to share that I don't think I can say it all in one blog. But I realize that I have hardly even talked about the other two realms, our soul, and our bodies. One of the reasons is because we are commanded to be spiritually minded. Being spiritually minded is life and it is peace. That's the whole purpose of this blog really. I am trying to encourage you to realize that there is so much more to this life than what we can see, smell, touch, hear, and taste. Those are in the carnal realm. And not everything that is carnal is sin, but all sin is carnal. Carnal just means of the five senses, or fleshly. In other words, your soulish and physical realms. We are to walk according to the spirit.
8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
If we are not experiencing the abundant life that Jesus came to give, and or we are not experiencing that peace that surpasses understanding, then according to this verse it is only because we are carnally minded. That doesn't mean that we are sinning necessarily, it just means that we are focused more on what we can see, hear, smell, touch and feel, rather that who we are in Christ. Brand new creations.
So then, the key to this Christian walk is to be able to pull that which we ALREADY have, from our born again spirit and into the soulish realm. We have to renew our minds to the truth and that truth is revealed us from the Word.
12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
The word that was translated as "transformed" here was the Greek word metamorphoo. It's where we get the word metamorphosis. That's a very powerful word. Metamorphosis is the word used to describe how a catapiller becomes a butterfly. You can completely transform your mind and train it to come in-line with your spirit. This is also very powerful. You have the mind of Christ within you, and the more you meditate and absorb the very Word of God, the more you are able to release this power from within. All wisdom, all knowledge, the very mind of Christ dwells within you!
2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
That to me is just awesome. We have the mind of Christ. We can begin to think like Him, act like Him, be like Him. We are no longer only human.
One-third of us is wall-wall Holy Ghost! That's amazing!
Your life is going to go the way of your most dominant thoughts. It is extremely important that we as believers, get our own minds in line with Christ's mind. Our thoughts are what control us. 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart [is] not with thee.
So then again, how does this affect our soul? Well, renewing our mind and walking in the spirit allow us to operate in all of the fruits of the spirit. These fruits are where the manifestation into the soulish and physical realms occur. 5:22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
These are the fruits of the spirit, that are where? Out there in the heavenlies somewhere? No. These are the fruits of the spirit that are already within you! They are always available. You can reach right down into your very own spirit realm and pull these out at any given time. Or better yet, all the time! Renewing your mind, our soul, is the key. Your emotions, desires, thoughts, feelings, habits, actions, and just about everything else has the ability to become completely transformed, a spiritual butterfly, if you will.
And our bodies? Well, these are really just our earth-suits. These are our houses for our spirits and our souls. Our bodies are going to react according to which one we let dominate it. When we are dominated entirely by our soulish realm, or I should say the un-renewed soulish realm, then we are often led according to the desires of the flesh. We over-eat. We sleep to much or too little. We don't take care of ourselves, or heaven forbid, fall into some form of fornication. However, when we walk according to who we are in the Spirit, then we are able to release healing into our bodies. We suddenly have a desire to be healthy and to get plenty of rest. We begin to exercise and protect the temple.
See, when our minds come in-line with our spirit, then it's two against one. The body is going to tag along with which ever one is the most dominant. This is the key to healing! Understanding that you have raising from the dead power already living inside of you then meditating on that to the point where you see yourself already healed. You can command your body to react accordingly. That's awesome!
I encourage you to spend a little time contemplating the diagram that I posted at the top of this blog. I think it does a pretty good job of depicting the message that I am attempting to relay. It indicates that how we can let things into our souls through the things of the world. What we see, hear, smell, touch, and feel are always trying to come in. That's not always a bad thing. But we have to carefully monitor those things. The cares of this world will always be trying to dominate your thoughts and drown out the spiritual truth that you are now, the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. But on the contrary, you can also begin to dig down deep into the very core of who you are and pull or draw the gifts, the fruits, the thoughts and the power of God Almighty from within you and allow those to become the driving force of your soul. This is the very key to victory in this Christian walk!
You will begin to walk and talk like Christ. You can lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. You can cast out demons, and you may, just may even begin to speak with new tongues! 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Wow. There is just too much for me to share on this topic in just one blog. I could speak on this for a week right now.
Below I am posting the links to the audio series that I first mentioned. I cannot emphasize enough how much this knowledge has changed my life. The teaching comes from Andrew Wommack. I have listened to it over and over and over gain. And I will continue to listen to it. It feeds me. It has fed me to the point where it is no longer just Andrew's message. It is now my message. God has given it to me. It has become one of my life messages and I am going to keep learning, and adding to it, and fine-tuning it to the point where I can take this message and give it to someone else. It's powerful.
Again I say, take the time to listen. You will not be disappointed. I tell you these things in love straight from the Father. He wants you to know who you are in Christ!
For those who are unfamiliar with MP3 files, I would suggest right-clicking on these links, then choosing "save target as". You will then be prompted for a location on your hard drive to store them. After that, they will open in Media Player, your IPOD, or some other device. Enjoy!
I love you brothers and sisters,
Michael
Audio files:
|
|
| To add a comment to "Spirit, Soul, & Body" |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| August 17, 2008 |
 |
|
|
There are a couple of reasons why I like your blogs, first and formost, you let God duide your thoughts, they are clear and easy to follow and last, YOU MAKE THE TYPE BIG ENOUGH FOR ME TO SEE! (haha) |
|
|
| August 17, 2008 |
|
|
|
Thank you Patti!
I am glad you are easily able to follow the thoughts that God has given me. And I can completely relate to why you like the large text. Sometimes I have to use the magnify button, which is the lower right hand corner of your browser window, to make the text appear larger. I have yet to renew the part of my mind that controls my eyesight!
Bless your heart! |
|
|
| August 17, 2008 |
|
|
|
| That is a great graphic! I always though this was new-agish because it is a part of Jungian philosophy, but who is to say he did not get it from scripture? I think most of us get the soul and body part of us, we live that all the time...since it is the Spirit man that has to be "woken up" and since it really takes us renewing our minds and learning how to think Gods ways once we have been renewed (our ways are not His ways) it takes us a while to come into these concepts even thought it is all right there in scripture. Heck, some Christians never get there. Swallowing this takes stepping outside of what we generally have heard in church, looking at scripture in a new light, and being willing to go beyond the realm of our senses into the actual spiritual realm...for example do we REALLY believe that the power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead and seated Him at the right hand of the father resides in US? (Eph 1:19 I believe) Well, that is what scripture says, now that is some serious power....don't think I have truly seen anyone tap into it yet..honestly...so what are we missing as the body of Christ? Me included...Just sayin' Great blog...as usual.... |
|
|
| August 17, 2008 |
|
|
|
Hi Lori!
"Swallowing this takes stepping outside of what we generally have heard in church, looking at scripture in a new light, and being willing to go beyond the realm of our senses into the actual spiritual realm..."
Exactly! This is precisely my point!
"that is some serious power....don't think I have truly seen anyone tap into it yet..honestly...so what are we missing as the body of Christ? Me included"
Me either. But if the Word says I have it, then I am going to do everything I can to begin to walk in it!
Have an awesome day! |
|
|
| August 17, 2008 |
|
|
|
This is not a new age belief...it is the truth....have studied it myself for years and it is right on target! Hummmm, must be Holy Spirit lead bro.
Have a great Sunday brother. |
|
|
| August 17, 2008 |
|
|
|
Definitely Cheryl. Definitely Spirit led!
Love you sister! |
|
|
| August 17, 2008 |
|
|
|
I agree Michael, you are on to something. This is crux of the "good news". We ARE one spirit with the Lord (I Cor. 6:17) IF we are born again (born from above)!
There is no need to pray and ask the Lord to change us or help us. We are ONE spirit with the Lord NOW! We need to begin to see things from God's perspective, not ours. It will revolutionize our lives. This IS the renewing of our minds..seeing and thinking as God does and has revealed in His book.
Watchman Nee has written a wonderful book, The Spiritual Man (3 volumes) dealing with body, soul and spirit). So many passages open up when you see that man is a tripartite being -- spirit, soul, and body. |
|
|
| August 17, 2008 |
|
|
|
Thanks Da Fellers:
I agree. So many scriptures have come alive to me since I began to grasp this truth. Like this one:
1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Why would the bible talk about being double-minded if we didn't have two minds? Is it possible that we can actually operate using the mind of Christ that is within our spirits rather than our physical or carnal mind? Hmmm?
4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
The spirit of our mind? Is it possible that this verse is talking about the mind that is in our spirit?
I believe so. We have two minds. The question is, which one is doing the most of our thinking?
|
|
|
| August 17, 2008 |
|
|
|
That verse has always been a mystery to me. I'm wondering if our heart is the link between the mind of the soul and the spirit of the mind.
Charlie |
|
|
| August 17, 2008 |
|
|
|
That's a very good question Charlie. I was really expecting someone to bring it up. I really wish I had a great answer too, but right now I don't.
I have been studying on that to some degree though. I am beginning to believe that out heart, as the bible speaks of it, is both in the soulish and the spiritual realm. The bible says love God with all your heart, right? So that is almost indicative that we can love God with only a portion of our heart. I suppose it is possible that our heart is dwelling in two realms at the same time. The word also says to "purify you heart". But it also says that we have been given a new heart, and a new spirit.
This is an area that I am seeking revelation in.
Again, that's a great question. Much to think upon, with both minds I presume. |
|
|
| August 17, 2008 |
|
|
|
The heart can be deceitfully wicked but at the same time God plants desires in our heart. Our Spirit can affect our heart and change it, Satan can also change our hearts....I believe once our Spirit is renewed it is totally renewed and perfect, our hearts are a work in progress. There do seem to be parts of my heart though once touched don't seem to be able to be turned to evil again. I don't know how to explain that but I suspect anyone reading this will know what I mean. I could not purpose deep evil, I could not plot to kill someone at this point, I would die for my children. I will live for my children. I was pretty much suicidal before I had children, I never felt that way in my heart once I had them. Those are just some examples of how I believe my heart has been renewed through the years, but it has been a process, although some events that took place made those changes somewhat instantaneous...I hope this makes sense.
I don't know if this is different for women than men, I don't really believe so, I think that is a myth, I do think personalities play a part more than anything. At the HEART of things I think once we are saved we all are more alike than different but that is my experience. When I talk to other Christians I find I am so much alike them I find such a common thread and bond and it seems often times to be a HEART felt thing. Often times we call this a kindred spirit but really isn't it a kindred HEART? I'm just throwing that out here... |
|
|
| August 17, 2008 |
|
|
|
| I think the heart of man being deceitful is the unregenerated man and heart. Once we are born again, we receive a NEW heart and spirit (Ez. 18:31, 36:28,). Man looks on the outside, but God looks upon the heart (I Sam. 16:7). |
|
|
| August 17, 2008 |
|
|
|
| read it again, still think its the bees knees! |
|
|
| August 17, 2008 |
|
|
|
Very good word, MichaelA! |
|
|
| August 18, 2008 |
|
|
|
Lori, you said, "Those are just some examples of how I believe my heart has been renewed through the years, but it has been a process, although some events that took place made those changes somewhat instantaneous...I hope this makes sense."
Yes, that makes complete sense to me. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us. That was beautiful.
|
|
|
| August 18, 2008 |
|
|
|
Excellent points indeed Charlie. And for the most part I agree. I really want to do some more studying on the heart of man, from a biblical standpoint, of course.
I think we can all agree that it is not talking about that blood pumping organ in the center of our chest. Many people believe that the heart and the spirit are the same. I don't necessarily believe that to be entirely true. I am still leaning towards the heart being partially in our spirits and partially in our soul.
If any of you have some input as to this matter it would be great to hear from you. I am thinking this will be the topic of one of my future blogs!
|
|
|
| August 18, 2008 |
|
|
|
Hi there again Patti! The bees knees? I don't get it. Then again, I don't get a lot of things!
Hello Kentucky Lady. Thanks and it's good to see you again!
It's good to see you as well Eden. I am glad you came by!
|
|
|
| August 18, 2008 |
|
|
|
Bless your heart Carrie Ann!
Thanks a bunch. I am glad you enjoyed.
Love you my sister! |
|
|
| August 18, 2008 |
|
|
|
| Michael, you don't get the bees knees? Its kinda like the cream of the crop or the best of the west. so good you want to slap your mama...how is that? |
|
|
| August 18, 2008 |
|
|
|
I can honestly say that I have never even heard the term "bees knees". Wow, I learned something new today! Awesome!
 |
|
|
Follow this blog
