Spirit – Soul & Body!
Revolutionize your Christian life with this study
I heard it once said that the Word of God is the plumb line, the acid test, on what truth is. Jesus asked His Father to sanctify us by His Word (John 17:17)! You won’t get any revelation, any impression, any thoughts that contradict God’s Word. If they do, it’s your flesh or either the devil, but it is not God. God will never teach anything that contradicts His Word.
Chpt. 1 – God’s Mirror
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 Thess. 5:23).
This is one of the clearest references in Scripture that we are three-part beings: Spirit, Soul, and Body. It’s obvious that we all have physical bodies. Likewise, it is easy to understand we have an inner part that the Bible refers to as the soul. For instance, we have emotions by which we can feel pain when no one has physically touched us. It’s not a physical pain, but it is in an inner part of us. This is what many call the personality. It is comprised of the carnal intellect, the emotions, memories, intentions, the will, and the conscience.
As believers, our born-again spirits are complete in every way. Paul made it very clear in this verse that it is God’s will for our entire person to be sanctified. Our souls and bodies will not experience the same degree of sanctification as our spirits until we go to be with the Lord or He returns for us. They can be blameless but not sinless. Our physical body is designed to sense things in the physical world.
God doesn’t do partial sanctifications. It’s a mistake to think that because our spirits are saved we can treat our bodies as if they don’t matter. We don’t “abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thess. 5:22) to make ourselves holy; we abstain because our bodies are the holy temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). “You have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:20).
In Christ, we are as holy as we will ever be (Eph. 4:24), but our behavior may not be perfectly holy. Just as His gift of salvation is something to work out in your life (Phil. 2:12), so is His sanctification. (NOTE: Holiness is talking about something special — something uncommon. Not something “religious.”)
Our spirit is the part of us that makes us spiritually aware or God-conscious. The spirit part of us cannot be perceived through any of our five physical senses (John 3:6). Therefore, the “natural man” cannot understand the existence and function of the spirit. The terms “spirit” and “soul” are commonly used interchangeably. Paul made a clear distinction between them here. The spirit part of Adam was the part of him that died when he ate of the forbidden fruit (Gen. 2:16-17); Adam’s physical body didn’t die until age 930 (Gen. 5:5). So, when Ephesians 2:1 says we were dead in trespasses and sins, it is speaking of a spiritual death. Our spirits were dead, or separated from God.
BUT, Praise God! At the new birth, our dead spirits are made alive unto God (Eph. 2:5). We Christians are completely new in our spirits. The rest of the Christian life is bringing the body and the soul under the control of our born-again spirit through the renewing of the mind .
That which is born of flesh (natural man) cannot inherit the kingdom of God (John 3:6; 1 Cor. 15:50). We all need to be born of the Spirit. We all need to be born again. Those who only experience natural birth are limited to only perceiving natural things. Those who receive the spiritual birth are able to understand spiritual things. Also, flesh is flesh and spirit is spirit. This is another way of saying that there is a separation between the two. We have to perceive spiritual things by the Spirit, not the flesh.
Paul’s beautiful prayer in Ephesians 1:17-20 is worth meditating on:
Ephesians 1:17-23 (NKJV) “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.”
The phrase “eyes of your understanding” is a metaphor referring to the ability to perceive with the mind. Just as we can’t see with our physical eyes if we have them closed, so none of us can see with our understanding if our minds are closed. We have to have our understanding opened by the Lord to perceive spiritual truth.
Wisdom and revelation can only be received as the eyes of our hearts are enlightened. Our way of thinking has to be illuminated in order to come to a more accurate and thorough knowledge of God. In fact, spiritual mindedness is the only way to true life and perfect peace (Rom. 8:5-6 and Isa. 26:3), and the renewing of the mind is the way to knowing the perfect will of God (Rom. 12:2).
Paul was praying that God would open up the eyes of our heart — that we would get the revelation of the hope of His calling. For Jesus was sent from heaven to save us in accordance with God’s will (John 6:38). Jesus died to deliver us from the prison of sin and elevate us to the high place of His Father’s favor. If we are saved it is because of His faith and His obedience to His calling.
The end result of this wisdom and revelation was that the Ephesians might know (1) “the hope of his calling,” (2) “the riches of the glory of his inheritance,” and (3) “the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward.” Without a revelation from God, no one can realize these blessings.
Notice that Paul said “the hope of His calling,” not our calling. Through our faith in Christ, we have become partakers of everything that Christ deserves! Hallelujah! It takes a divine revelation to understand this, and that is exactly what Paul was praying for in this verse. Thank You, Jesus!
Paul talked about “His” inheritance in the saints. Notice that the inheritance that is within us is His inheritance! Everything we have is all through Christ. It came through His holiness, not ours, and it remains because of His faithfulness, not ours. That’s good news! Most people picture the streets of gold and the wonders of heaven when they think of the glories of God’s riches. The treasures that are within every believer right now would bankrupt heaven! We are the Lord’s treasured inheritance! We are the reason Jesus did what He did!
When the Son of Man ascended into heaven He was given all authority in heaven and earth and a name above all names (Matt. 28:18, Eph. 1:21; Phil. 2:9). But what He did not have, and what He is still waiting for, is His glorious inheritance in the church. We need to see the beautiful hope that led Jesus to come and rescue us. Paul went on to say that God raised Christ up from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places. “At His right hand” the Son shares His Father’s throne.
Someone might ask, “Didn’t the Ephesians already know these things?” It’s one thing to know about car engines; it’s quite another to have the expert knowledge of a mechanic. Paul’s prayer was that through a spirit of wisdom and revelation, the Ephesians would come to know the Father in a deeper, more perfect way than they had before. It is the Holy Spirit’s prayer for us today!
Here’s another AWESOME thing to meditate on: The instant we received Jesus as Lord and Savior we were placed in Christ and became a brand new creation (2 Cor. 5:17)! We received a new life – His life! Wow! We were joined in vital union with the Lord! Now we are a son or daughter of the Everlasting Father! This is talking about our new identity! Who we really are! In the spirit, you are brand new altogether (Gal. 6:15). We are a saint! 100 percent holy and righteous (Eph. 4:24; 1 Cor. 1:30). One with the Lord! We have the mind of Christ, the heart of Christ, and the desires of Christ. We have a brand new nature! This is ALL 100% true because Paul was talking about who we now are in our spirit (Rom. 6:6; Col. 3:3). We were born again of imperishable seed (1 Pet. 1:23). Wow! What a deal! We received a complete inner transformation!!! If this doesn’t make you EXCITED about your Lord and Savior and what He did, ….
Christ is our life. We stand on His faith and are cloaked in His love. Our present and passing imperfections are hidden within His eternal and sublime perfections. Again, Wow! What a deal!! When God looks at us, He sees who we are in eternity. He sees the real us, and from His timeless perspective we are faultless, blameless, and radiant with glory!
What a wonderful promise we have in John 14:12! Because of what Jesus did for us, because of His finished work, we can do the same works He did! Thank You, Jesus! Some people have focused on the greater works and forgotten Jesus said we would do the same works that He did. He healed the sick, cleansed the lepers, and raised the dead. He made blind eyes see and deaf ears hear. He made the lame walk. We can and should be doing these same works. God hasn’t changed (Heb. 13:8).
When we focus on the finished work of Jesus Christ, we are unlocking the spirit realm. And that’s when we will begin to see what Jesus promised in John 14:12, experience who we are and what we have in Christ! Simply take God’s Word and believe it! Why? Read John 6:63. God’s Word reveals spiritual reality! Spirit & life! Look into the Bible!! It’s a spiritual mirror! A perfect reflection of who we are in the spirit (James 1:23-25).
Every change that has taken place in our spirits was God’s doing (2 Cor. 5:18). “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (Eph. 2:10). There is no sin or corruption in the born-again spirit! Thank You, Jesus! Thank You, Father!!
Jesus purchased our glorified body through His death, burial and resurrection! Selah! Think about it!
Our body has been redeemed! It has been purchased. And when Jesus receives us again to Himself, in an instant, our body will be redeemed! We will have that new glorified body! No more wrinkles! No more dusting! No more makeup! No more sweat and tears from the heat outside! What a day that will be!
Think of redemption like this: Remember those S&H green stamps from so long ago? We used to receive empty books from S&H and we’d receive stamps after every purchase. We’d go home and quickly paste them into the books. One these books were filled, we were able to take them back to the store and redeem them for something we’d been waiting for! A free package of gum, a package of life savers, and even new bikes and much more.
In Christ we are heirs of salvation (Heb. 1:14), heirs of eternal life (Matt. 19:29; Mark 10:17; Eph. 1:14; Titus 3:7), and heirs of the blessed and gracious life (Eph. 1:3, 1 Pet. 3:7, 9)! Again, our wood is wet if this doesn’t fill us with joy!
Because of what Jesus Has already done for us, we have so much to be thankful for and to rejoice in! What a privilege it is for us to know and understand these things. Today lets start to acknowledge everything His finished work includes, including:
- Heirs of God Himself (Rom. 8:17)
- Joint-Heirs of Christ (Rom. 8:17)
- Qualified Heirs of the Kingdom (Col. 1:12; Jm. 2:5)
- Heirs of God’s promises (Heb. 6:12, 17)
- Heirs of ALL things (Jn. 17:10; Heb. 1:2; Rev. 2:17)
Change the way your soul thinks by believing God’s Word. Renew your mind, change your attitudes and conform your values to the Word of God! Acknowledge what’s already true in your beautiful born again spirit! That’s where the change is 100% complete! As believers, our spirits are without defect, flawless, and perfect in the highest sense of that word (Heb. 10:14 and 12:23)! Thank You, Jesus!!
To jump to Chpt. 2 – Release What You’ve Already Got, Click here: https://www.newidinme.com/chpt-2-release-what-youve-already-got/