Spirit, Soul & Body

Intro Blog to this message - Spirit, Soul & Body

I am more than what you see. You, your true self is more than your name! We are human, which was created as a three part being. Our true selves (our spirit) was created as an eternal spirit that is made in the image and likeness of God. We have a soul (which includes our mind, will & emotions). Then, lastly, we live in a physical body.

Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 NLT

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Hebrews 4:12 NLT

It’s easy to see the body we function with in life. In fact, some people believe that “they” are their body, and that is all that is involved with being human. There is so much more to being human than just considering our bodies. Our body is the least important part of our true self! Our body starts to die the day we are born and has a “life span”, but our spirit is eternal. With our physical body we contact and operate in this physical realm. This is the easiest part of us to distinguish since we live in this physical world. Everything physical can be touched and is tangible.

Our soul (our personality) is distinguishable by others as a part of who we are. This part of us can be the very aspect that true friendship grows from. Our soul includes the intellect, our free will, as well as all our emotions. With our souls we contact the intellectual and emotional realm.

In society people are encouraged to develop their intellect most of all. I know it’s important to study, learn and listen to teaching about different subjects. However, we can become so focused on our intellect that we minimize the importance of developing our spirits. We can also be so focused on our emotions that we think that is the most important part of life. Or we can allow it to control our lives through decisions made based on emotions. This is not how God intended us to be guided!

Some people have most of their focus on their body and physical appearance. It is good to exercise and eat healthy, but not at the expense of the time it takes to develop our spirits.

The bible progressively uncovers more revelation as we read and study God’s Word. In the Old Covenant (Old Testament) people had limited understanding about God and His plan. Today we can read what is revealed in the New Testament, especially in the letters of the Apostles (Epistles).

When my dad passed away in 1993 it was a total shock to me. He was only 69 years old and seemed to be healthy and in great shape. None of us siblings knew this, but two years before he had a medical emergency during the night. Mom called the ambulance, and they rushed him to the local hospital. Dad died in the hospital and was resuscitated. Mom kept this all a secret from the family because Dad didn’t want any of us to know. He did tell Mom that he had a near death experience.

Looking back, I could see that Dad had become a totally different man (his personality changed) the last two years of his life. He was suddenly happy and wanted to bless the family, especially towards my mom and he didn’t argue with my older brother like he used to. I am confident that he had asked Jesus into his heart because he was such a changed man. He (his spirit) had been born again and his soul also had a real experience which changed his personality!

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT

With our spirit we communicate with God because God is a Spirit. A good example of this is when Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 14:14. 14 For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying.

When we pray in tongues it’s your spirit that is praying and you may not understand (in your mind) what you are praying about at the time! That is a whole other subject, which we will cover in another teaching!

In 2005 Dale and I were driving down to a meeting in Kelowna. We were out of cell service for quite some time. I knew in my spirit that something was terribly wrong with someone in my family. I didn’t know who was in danger, but I just kept praying in the spirit. When we got into cell service again I noticed that one of my sisters had left a message. My oldest sister had been on a boat with her new husband and it had somehow flipped over. She had been trapped underneath and had drowned. By the time I heard from my sister the hospital had her body on life support, but unfortunately there was no brain activity.

I knew, based on scripture, that “she” was gone. The spirit and soul are so closely connected that when there is no brain activity (the soul), then the spirit is gone as well. The body is dead! After 3 days her husband and 3 children decided to take her body off life support. Remember in Hebrews 4:12 we read that the Word of God is able to discern between the spirit, soul and the body and that it exposes our innermost thoughts and desires!

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Hebrews 4:12 NLT

You may ask, “If I was praying for her so earnestly then why did she die?” I know that my sister had a free will. We should never pray to override the free will of someone. To do so would be a type of witchcraft. She had been raised to know that Jesus came as Saviour for each one of us. It’s difficult to think about, but I believe she had time to call out to Jesus before she died. It is very simple to call out to Jesus and receive Him into your heart (to be born again). We don’t need to recite a long formal prayer. It can be as simple as believing in your heart and calling out His name (confessing with your voice)!

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. Romans 10:9-10 NLT

When we ask Jesus to come into our lives and into our hearts to be our Lord, we (our spirits) are reborn. That is, our spirits are “born again”. This is what Jesus was talking about when He told Nicodemus in John 3:7 that “You must be born again.” Please read through this entire chapter of John to give some context to this conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus. I want to point out that in verse 6 Jesus stated that “Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.” NLT

For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. 29 No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people. Romans 2:28-29 NLT

I encourage you to start thinking of yourself in this way - you are a spirit who possesses a soul, and you live in a physical body. You are more than what you see in the mirror or how you feel emotionally.

This is a simple introduction into this subject. I feel there is always so much more that we can learn about any subject in the bible and the more we learn, the more we find out that we don’t know everything!

I also want you to know that I don’t have any special skills. Anyone can connect with God from their spirit and in prayer anytime of the day and in every situation.