1st Thessalonians 5:23 say's,
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We (mankind), according to the Bible, are created in God's image. Therefore, it shouldn't be a surprise to us that just as God is triune, so are we. This isn't to say we have 3 Gods no more than it is to say that we are 3 people. God expresses Himself to us as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each are accountable to each other, each are God, and all are in One.
The Spirit
Man also is made up of three parts. The Spirit, the Soul, and the Body make up the three parts that is man. The Spirit is who we really are and where our true identity lies. When a person becomes Born Again their spirit is what receives the change. As a born again believer in Christ the physical body can die, but the spirit is saved from the second death, which is eternal damnation in Hell. If I weighed 250 pounds and had an IQ of 85, then after getting saved I would still weigh 250 pounds and have an IQ of 85. This is because the spirit is the only part of me that would receive the change. What has changed? My position in relation to God has changed for I am now His child!
The Soul
The soul is made up of the mind, will, and emotions. If we could compare the body to a computer, then the soul is like the operating system within it that makes it function. In other words what Windows 7 is to the Compaq laptop I'm typing on, the soul is to the body. They go together and the soul is either saved or condemned as it too goes with our spirit in death. Since the soul includes the mind, will, and emotions, we are aware of our environmental surroundings and interactions with others thanks to our soul. Since the soul is a possession of the spirit we are responsible for how we take care of it. The soul is made up of the mind and this must be renewed. If we were to become saved and feed our minds with things contrary to God's will or us then we would never be able to see the change in our spirit become manifested in our soul. Since the soul is the tool we operate with in this world it would become useless if we didn't allow it to be changed by the Holy Spirit.
Romans 12:1,2 say's,
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
The Body
To sum it up, we are spirit beings, who possess a soul, and live in an earthly body. The body is the container of the spirit and the soul. Just as an astronaut can only live in space with a space suit, or the deep sea diver can only live underwater with a diving suit, the spirit can only live in this world with the body, our earth suit. If the space suit becomes damaged the astronaut is a goner, if the diving suit is damaged the diver is a goner, and if the earth suit is damaged then guess what? ...the spirit is out of there, and the soul goes with it since it is a possession of the spirit.
The body is also referred to in the bible as the flesh. If man had never fell in the garden, then sin would have never entered into the world, we would have never been born into sin, and there would be no problem with obeying the urges of our physical bodies.
The problem is sin DID enter into the world and we ARE born into this sinful flesh. Our body has been corrupted and therefore cannot be trusted under any circumstances. So here we are as a new born Christian. Our spirit is saved, our Soul still needs work, and we're stuck with this sinful body that wants things that are contrary to the things of God. Our spirit is at way with our body, and where does this battle take place? The battlefield is within our soul. This battle is within every believer. The apostle Paul faced this battle and shared at times what he had to do.
1st Corinthians 9:27
But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
Romans 7:13-20
13 Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
Does it sound like Paul was facing a battle? Well, he was, and this battle is a battle for all of us.
Nobody is tapped with a magic wand when they are saved that makes life easy. The body wants the sinful things of this world, and the spirit wants the things of heaven, so the battle rages on.
Most people, including most Christians, are oblivious to this. They walk around like zombies fulfilling the hungers of the flesh. This means watching television programs or movies that satisfy the flesh. They surf the internet looking for food or their sinful flesh. Drugs, alcohol, sex, and the list goes on. We are at war and worse than that - most of us are living within the enemy camp!
When you car steers towards the road's edge you take it to a garage to check the wheels and see if it is aligned properly. What we have to do is bring ourselves into the proper spiritual alignment. When we fully begin to grasp that we are spirit beings, that possess a soul, and dwell in a flawed, perishable body. This is when we begin to get in our proper alignment.
Our body obeys our soul, and our soul obeys our spirit, and our spirit obeys the Holy Spirit. We are now in our proper spiritual alignment. Getting here is a battle and staying here is even harder, but when we are here staying away from sin becomes easier. This is also called walking in the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16 say's,
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
John 3:6,7 say's,
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
The good news is that when we are Born Again we are born of the Spirit, but the next thing is for us to live like we are of the Spirit. However, the path of least resistance is to just go along with the world and follow after our fleshly desires. So why not just do what our flesh wants?
Because we have an enemy called Satan. Satan is tugging at us on one end and God is tugging on us from the other end. Satan wants to destroy us and God wants to save us. He loves us so much that he sent His Son to die for us so that we could have LIFE, but not just life...
John 10:10 (Jesus speaking) say's,
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Good news to be a Christian for you are not going to Hell, but will instead go to Heaven when you die. Jesus promises us this, but there are even more benefits to living a life walking in the Spirit. We need to be able to hear God clearly.
John 18:37 say's,
Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
Being properly aligned; spirit, soul, and body also means we have protection from demonic attack and satan's lies.
1st John 5:18-20 say's,
18 We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself,[a] and the wicked one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.As God's children we want to be able to know God's will for our life. We want to know our Father's heart!
1st Corinthians 2:6,7 say's,
6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,
We can see the body beaten down (buffeted) just as Paul mentioned and the spirit prevailing in our life! We can have fullness in our soul! Spirit verses Body, or in other words light versus darkness. Good versus Evil. We are in a battle and we need Jesus!
Luke 11:34 say's,
The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.
Walking in the Spirit can bring health to our body.
Proverbs 3:7,8 say's,
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. 8 It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.
God has given so much to save us. Again, as Paul's letter to the Christians of Rome tells us, "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service". ...this is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God." With such a price God paid for our redemption in the death of His own Son on the cross of Calvary how can we not freely give Him our own life as a living sacrifice? This means becoming Born Again, then getting spiritually aligned... spirit, soul, and body! This way you can be a useful vessel that brings God's will into this dying world.
Do this today!
