Spirit Soul and Body

The Natural Person Nature – the inherent qualities of anything / natural human instincts BODY All parts of the physical body FLESH (Rom 8:8) Though flesh can mean the body, it is the learned independence which gives sin it’s opportunity. The natural man who tries to find purpose and meaning in life independent of God is going to struggle with inferiority, insecurity, inadequacy, guilt, worry and doubts. SOUL which is made up of MIND, EMOTIONS AND WILL MIND obsessive thoughts / fantasy etc. EMOTIONS Bitterness, anxiety, depression etc. Always looking for satisfaction but never finding it in anything because only God can fill the void. WILL (Gal 5:16-18) - To walk after the flesh / immorality / impurity / sensuality / idolatry / sorcery / enmities / strife / anger / jealousy / disputes / dissentions / factions / envying / drunkenness / carousing. SPIRIT Man’s spirit is dead to God (Eph 2:1-3) thus the natural man is unable to fulfil the purpose for which he was created. Lacking life from God, sin is inevitable. In this condition he is called naturally alive but spiritually dead. God will not kill this man.This man has rejected the offer of life. On judgement day he will not receive spiritual life.

The Spiritual Person BODY The temple of God ( 1 Cor 6:19-20) present this as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1) FLESH (Rom 8:8) The crucifying of the flesh is the believers responsibility, on a day by day basis as he considers himself dead to sin by faith. Grace will overcome all and any sin as he believes. SOUL Which is made up of MIND, EMOTIONS AND WILL MIND Transformed (Rom 12:2) Single minded (Phil 4:6-8) Girded for action (1 Pet 1:1-3) EMOTIONS Peace (Col 3:15) and Joy (Phil 4:4) WILL (Gal 5:16-18) - To walk after the Spirit / love / joy / peace / patience / kindness etc SPIRIT (Rom 8:9) Salvation( Jn 3:3, 1Jn 3:9) Forgiveness (Acts 2:38) (Heb 8:16) Assurance (Rom 8:16) Security( Eph1:3-14) Acceptance (1Jn3:1) Worth (Eph 2:10)

The Fleshly Person BODY The temple of God ( 1 Cor 6:19-20) present this as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1) FLESH (Rom 8:8) The ingrained habit patterns still appeal to the mind to live independent of God SOUL Which is made up of MIND, EMOTIONS AND WILL MIND Double minded EMOTIONS Unstable WILL (Gal 5:16-18) - To walk after the Spirit sometimes but walks often after the flesh (independent to God) SPIRIT (Rom 8:9) Alive but quenched (1Thes 5:19)

Scriptures for Spirit /Soul/ Body

Fallen Man says We are made soul and Body . The bible never shows that the soul and spirit are one and the same

The Bible treats man as tripartite…..spirit,soul and body. 1Thes 5:23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

Therefore a person is wholly sanctified by his spirit soul and body being kept.

It is of supreme importance that a believer understands the difference of the tripartite or he will not be able to understand the spiritual life and will be stunted in his spiritual growth. Christians often account what is soulical as spiritual, and thus they remaining a soulish state and seek not what is really spiritual. How can we escape loss if we confuse what God has divided.

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Heb 4:14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

The writer in this verse divides mans non corporal elements into two parts “soul and spirit” The corporal part is here mentioned here as the joints and marrow - organs of motion and sensation. When the priest uses the sword to cut and completely dissect the sacrifice, nothing inside can be hidden. Even joint and marrow are separated. In like manner the Lord Jesus uses the Word of God on His people to separate thoroughly, to pierce even to the division of the spiritual, the soulical and the physical. and from this it follows that since the souls and spirit can be divided, they must be different in nature. It is thus evident here that man is a composite of three parts.

Gen 2:4 When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens - 5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground - 7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

As soon a the breath of life, which became mans spirit, came into contact with the mans body, the soul was produced. Hence the soul is the combination of the mans body and spirit. The Scriptures therefore call man a “living soul”. The breath of life became mans spirit; that is, the principle of life within him. The Lord Jesus tells “it is the spirit that gives life”

Jn 6:61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? 62 What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him."

This breath of life comes from the Lord of Creation. We must not confuse the spirit of man with God’s Holy Spirit. The latter differs from our human spirit.

Rom 8:12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

When the inbreathing of God entered mans body it became the spirit of man; but when the spirit reacted with the body, the soul was produced. This explains the source of our spiritual and soulical lives. We must recognize, though, this spirit is not God’s Own life, for “the breath of the almighty gives life”(Job33v4)
It is not the entrance of the uncreated life of God into man, neither is it that life of God which we receive at regeneration. What we receive at new birth is God’s Own life as typified by the tree of life . But our human spirit, though permanently existing, is void of “ eternal life.”

“Form, man of the dust of the ground” refers to man’s body; ”breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” refers to man’s spirit as it came from God; and “man became a living soul” refers to man’s soul when the body was quickened by the spirit and brought into being a living and self conscious man. A complete man is a trinity - the composite of spirit, soul and body. According to Gen 2v7 man was made up of only two independent elements, the corporeal and the spiritual; but when God placed the spirit within the casing of the earth, the soul was produced. The spirit of man touching the dead body produced the soul. The body apart from the spirit was dead, but with the spirit man was made alive. The organ thus animated was called the soul.

“Man became a living soul” expresses not merely the fact that the combination of spirit and body produced the soul; it also suggests that spirit and body were merged in this soul. In other words, soul and body were combined with spirit, and spirit and body were merged in the soul.

Adam in his unfallen state knew nothing of these ceaseless strivings of spirit and flesh which are matters of daily experience to us. There was a perfect blending of his three natures into one and the soul as the uniting medium became the cause of his individuality, of his existence as a distinct being. Man was designated a living soul, for it was there that the spirit and body met and through which his individuality was known.

God treated mans soul as something unique. As the angels were created as spirits, so man was created predominantly as a living soul. Man not only had a body, a body with the breath of life; he became a living soul as well.

Thus we find later in the Scriptures that God often referred to men as “souls”. Why? Because what the man is depends on how his soul is. His soul represents him and expresses his individuality. It is the organ of man’s free will, the organ in which spirit and body are fully merged. If mans soul wills to obey God, it will allow the spirit to rule over the man as ordered by God. The soul, if it chooses, also can suppress the spirit and take some other delight as the lord of man.

However, we must remember well that whereas the soul is the meeting point of the elements of our being in this present life, the spirit will be the ruling power in our resurrection state. For the Bible tells us “it is sown a physical body ,it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Cor 15v44)

Yet here is a vital point: we who have been joined to the resurrected Lord can even now have our spirit rule over the whole being. We are not united to the first Adam who was made a living soul but to the last Adam Who was a life giving spirit.

Respective functions of Spirit,Soul and Body

It is through the corporal body that man comes into contact with the material world. Hence we may label the body as that part which gives us world consciousness. The soul comprises the intellect which aids us in the present state of existence and the emotions which proceed from the senses. Since the soul belongs to man’s own self and reveals his personality, it is termed the part of self consciousness. The spirit is that part by which we commune with God and by which alone we are able to apprehend and worship Him. Because it tells us of our relationship with God , the spirit is called the element of God consciousness. God dwells in the spirit, self dwells in the soul and senses dwell in the body.

By his spirit man holds intercourse with the spiritual world and with the Spirit of God, both receiving and expressing the power and life of the spiritual realm. Through his body man is in contact with the outside sensuous world, affecting it and being affected by it. The soul stands between these two worlds, yet belongs to both. It is linked with spiritual world through the spirit and with the material world through the body. It also possesses the power of free will, hence is able to choose from among it’s environments. The spirit cannot act directly upon the body. It needs a medium, and that medium is the soul produced by the touching of the spirit with the body. The soul therefore stands between the spirit and the body, binding these two together. The spirit can subdue body through the medium of the soul, so that it will obey God; Likewise, the body through the soul can draw the spirit into loving the world.

Of these three elements the spirit is the noblest for it joins with God. The body is lowest because it joins with matter. The soul lying in between them joins the two together and also takes their character to be it’s own. The soul makes it possible for the spirit and the body to communicate and to co-operate. The work of the soul is to keep these two in their proper order so that they may not lose their right relationship- namely, that the lowest, the body, may be subjected to the spirit, and that the highest, the spirit may govern the body through the soul. Man’s prime factor is definitely the soul. It looks to the spirit to give what the latter has received from The Holy Spirit in order that the soul, after it has been perfected, may transmit what it has obtained to the body; then the body too may share in the perfection of the Holy Spirit and so become a spiritual body.

The spirit is the noblest part of man and occupies the innermost area of his being. The body is the lowest and takes the outermost place between these two dwells the soul, serving as their medium. The body is the outer shelter of the soul, while the soul is the outer sheath of the spirit. The spirit transmits it’s thoughts to the soul and the soul exercises the body to obey the spirits order. This is the meaning of the soul as the medium. Before the fall of man the spirit controlled the whole being through the soul.

The power of the soul is most substantial, since the spirit and the body are merged there and make it the site of man’s personality and influence. Before man committed sin the power of the soul was completely under the dominion of the spirit. It’s strength was therefore the spirits strength. The spirit itself cannot act on the body; it can only do so through the medium of the soul.

The will, intellect and emotion are in the soul. As the spirit is used to communicate with the spiritual world and the body with the natural world, so the soul stands between and exercises it’s power to discern and decide whether the spiritual or the natural world should reign. Sometimes the soul itself takes control over man through it’s intellect, thus creating an ideational world which reigns. In order for the spirit to govern, the soul must give it’s consent; otherwise the spirit is helpless to regulate the soul and the body. But this decision is up to the soul, for therein resides the personality of the man.

The soul is the pivot of the entire being, because man’s volition belongs to it. It is only when the soul is willing to assume a humble position that the spirit can ever manage the whole man. If the soul rebels against taking such a position the spirit will be powerless to rule. This explains the free will of man. Man is not an automaton that turns according to God’s will. Rather man has full sovereign power to decide for himself. He possesses the organ of his own volition and can choose to either follow god’s will or resist Him and follow Satan’s will instead. God desires that the spirit controls the whole being. The will, the crucial part of individuality belongs to the soul. It is the will which determines whether the spirit, the body, or even itself rule. In view of the fact that the soul possesses such power and is the organ of man’s individuality, the Bible calls man a “living soul”. Inasmuch as we have seen how soul is the site of our personality, the organ of volition and the natural life, we can easily conclude that this soul is the ”real I” – I myself. Our self is the soul. In many passages of the Bible we find the word “soul” is translated as self.

How Adam was before the fall

Adam possessed a spirit similar to the angels and at the same time had a soul resembling that of the lower animals. When God created Adam He gave him perfect a freedom. Adam was not a machine run by God; instead he had perfect freedom of choice. If he chose to obey God, he could ; if he decided to rebel against God , he could do that too. Man had in his possession a sovereignty by which he could exercise his volition in choosing to obey or disobey. This is a most important point, for we must realize that in our spiritual life God never deprives us of our freedom. Unless we actively co-operate, God will not undertake anything for us. Neither God nor Satan can do any work without first obtaining our consent, for man’s will is free. This was God’s choosing.

Man’s spirit was originally the highest part of his entire being to which soul and body were to be subject. Under normal conditions the spirit is like a mistress, the soul like a steward, and the body like a servant. The mistress commits matters to the steward who in turn commands the servant to carry them out. The mistress gives orders privately to the steward; the steward then in turn transmits them openly to the servant. The steward appears to be the lord of all, but in actuality the lord over all is the mistress. Unfortunately man has fallen; he has been defeated and has sinned; consequently, the proper order of spirit, soul and body has been confused.

God accorded numerous gifts to the human soul. Thought and will and intellect are among the prominent portions. The original purpose of God is that the human soul should receive and assimilate the truth and substance of God’s spiritual life. He gave gifts to men in order that man might take God’s knowledge and will as his own. If man’s spirit and soul would maintain their created perfection, healthiness and liveliness, his body would then be able to continue forever without change .We know Adam ate from the tree of “knowledge of good and evil”. By eating this fruit man’s soul life would be stiffled . This means man will lose the true knowledge of God and thus be dead to Him. God’s forbiddance shows God’s love. The knowledge of good and evil in this world is itself evil. Such knowledge springs from the intellect of a man’s soul. It puffs up the soul life and consequently deflates the spirit life to the point of losing any knowledge of God, to the point of becoming as much as dead.

After being tempted Eve gave her verdict. To begin with, the tree was good for food”. This is the “lust of the flesh”. Eve’s flesh was the first to be stirred up. Second, ” it was a delight to the eyes”. This is the lust of the eyes”. Both the body and her soul was now enticed. Third, ”the tree was to be desired to make one wise”. This is the “pride of life” Such desire revealed the wavering of her emotions and will. Her soul was now agitated beyond control. It no longer stood by as a spectator but had been goaded into desiring the fruit. How dangerous a master the human emotion is!

Why should Eve desire the fruit? It was not merely the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes, but also curiositys urge for wisdom. In the pursuit of wisdom and knowledge , even of so-called ” spiritual knowledge ” activities of the soul often can be detected. When one tries to increase his knowledge by doing mental gymnastics over books without waiting upon God and looking to the guidance of The Holy spirit. His soul is plainly in full swing. This will deplete his spiritual life. Because the fall of man was occasioned by seeking knowledge, God uses the foolishness of the cross to “destroy the wisdom of the wise”. Intellect was the chief cause of the fall; hence, in order to be saved one must believe in the folly of the Word of the cross rather than depend upon his intellect. The tree of knowledge causes man to fall, so God employs the tree of folly to save souls.

1Pet 2:23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

1Cor 3:18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness" ; 20 and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile." 21 So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future--all are yours, 23 and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

And….

1Cor 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written:

"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."

1Cor 1:20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.

Eve was deceived but Paul tells us that “Adam was not deceived”, indicating that Adams mind was not befuddled on that day. The one who was feeble minded was Eve.

1Tim 2:14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.

According to the record of Genisis it is written that ”the woman said the serpent beguiled me and I ate”; but the man said “the woman gave fruit of the tree and I ate”. Adam obviously was not deceived; his mind was clear and he knew the fruit was from the forbidden tree. He ate because of his affection for the woman. Adam understood that what the serpent said was nothing more than the enemy’s deception. From the words of the Apostle we are led to see that Adam sinned deliberately. He loved Eve more than he loved himself. He had made her his idol, and for her sake he was willing to rebel against the commandment of his Creator.
How pitiful that his mind was overruled by his emotions; his reasoning overcome by his affection.
Satan moved Adam to sin by seizing his will through his emotion, while he tempted Eve to sin by her will through the channel of a darkened mind. When man’s will and mind were poisoned by the serpent and man followed after Satan instead of God, his spirit, which was capable of communing with God ,suffered a fatal blow. Here we can see the law which governs the work of Satan. He uses the things of the flesh to entice man’s soul into sin; as soon as the soul sins, the spirit descends into utter darkness. The order of his working is always from the outside inside. If he does not start with the body he will start with the mind or the emotion in order to get to the will of a man. The moment mans will yields to Satan he possesses mans whole being and puts the spirit to death.

God always works from the inside to the outside. God begins working in a mans spirit and continues by illuminating the mind, stirring his emotion, and causing him to exercise his will over his body for carrying into execution the will of God .All satanic works originate from the outside inward; all divine works from the inside outward. We may in this way distinguish what comes from God and what comes from Satan. All this additionally teaches us that once Satan seizes a man’s will, then he is in control over that man.
We carefully note here that the soul is where man expresses his free will and exerts his own mastery. The Bible therefore often records that it is the soul which sins

Mic 6:7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

Eze 18:3 "As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. 4 For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son--both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.

The books of Leviticus and Numbers mention frequently that the soul sins. Why? Because it is the soul that chooses to sin. Our description of sin is “The will acquiesces in the temptation”. Sinning is a matter of the souls will; atonement accordingly must be for the soul. Since it is the soul that sins, it follows that the soul needs to be atoned. And it can only be atoned, moreover, by a Soul!!!

Is 53:10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

Is 53:11 After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.

The tree of life was Jesus. This represents dependence of Jesus.
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil suggests independence. Or rather self dependence. This is because man strived by the exercise of his will for the knowledge not promised, for something not accorded him by God. His rebellion declared his independence. By rebelling he did not need to depend on God. The difference between the spiritual and the soulish is crystal clear. The spiritual depends totally upon God, fully satisfied with what God had given; the soulish steers clear of God and covets what God has not conferred, especially “knowledge.”

Independence is the special mark of the soulish. That thing is – no matter how good it looks or sounds ,even worhipping God – is unquestionably the soul if it does not require complete trust in God and instead calls for reliance on one’s own strength. The tree of life cannot grow within us together with the tree of knowledge. Rebellion and independence explain every sin committed by both sinners and saints.

When Adam sinned his spirit died. His spirit had lost it’s spiritual instinct. He still had his spirit; yet it was dead to God. The Bible to men living in this state as dead. A man in this state may talk about God and even preach about God, reason about God, but he is still dead to God. Man is not able to hear or to sense the voice of God’s Spirit. Consequently in the New Testament God often refers to those who are living in the flesh as dead.

The death which began in our forefathers spirit gradually spread until it reached his body. Though he lived on for many years after his spirit was dead, death nevertheless worked incessantly in him until his spirit, soul and body were all dead. His body, which could have been transformed and glorified, was instead turned to dust. Because his inward man had fallen into chaos, his outward body must die and be destroyed.

Henceforth Adams spirit and the spirits of ALL his descendants, fell under the oppression of the soul until it gradually merged with the soul and the two parts became closely united. The word of God shall pierce and divide the spirit and the soul.

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

One of the reasons the dividing is necessary because spirit and soul have become one. While they are intimately knitted they plunge man into a psychic world. Everything is done according to the dictates of intellect and feeling. The spirit has lost it’s power and sensation, as though dead asleep. What instinct it has in knowing and serving God is entirely paralysed. It remains in coma as if non existent. This is what is meant in Jude 19

Jude 1:17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." 19 These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

This does not mean that the human spirit ceases to exist, for Numbers 16v 22 distinctly states that God is “ the God of the spirits of all flesh”. Every human being has a spirit, although it is darkened by sin and impotent to hold communion with God.

Once a man is completely under the dominion of the flesh he has no possibility of liberating himself. Soul has replaced the spirit’s authority. Everything is done independently and according to the dictates of his mind. Even in religious matters, in the hottest pursuit of God , all is carried on by the strength and will of man’s soul, void of the Holy Spirit’s revelation. The soul is not merely independent of the spirit; it is additionally under the body’s control. It is now asked to obey, to execute and to fulfill the lusts, passions and demands of the body. Fallen men are governed completely by the flesh, walking in response to the desires of their soulish lives and physical passions. Such ones are unable to commune with God. Sometimes they display their intellect, at other times their passions, but more often both their intellect and passion. Unimpeded the flesh is in firm control over the man.

Jude 1:17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." 19 These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

1Cor 2:14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:

The soulish man does not receive the gifts of the spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

They may be exceedingly intelligent, able to present masterful ideas or theories, yet they do not consent to the things of the Spirit of God. They are unfit to receive revelation from God. Such revelation is vastly different from human ideas. Man may think human intellect and reasoning are almighty, that the brain is able to comprehend all truths of the world; but the verdict of God’s Word is “vanity of vanities”.

While man is in his soulish state he frequently senses the insecurity of this age and so he too seeks eternal life of the coming age. But even if he does, he is still powerless to uncover the Word of life by his much thinking and theorizing. How untrustworthy are human reasonings! We often observe how very clever persons clash in their different opinions. Theories easily lead man into error. They are castles in the air, tumbling him into eternal darkness.

How true it is that without the guidance of the Holy Spirit intellect not only is undependable but also extremely dangerous, because it often confuses the issue of right and wrong.

While man is fleshly he may be controlled by more than just the soul; he may be under the direction of the body as well; for soul and body are closely entwined. Because the body of sin is abounding in desires and passions, man may commit the most hideous of sins. As the body is formed of the dust, so it’s natural tendency is towards the earth. The introduction of the serpents poison into man’s body turns all it’s legitimate desires into lusts. Having once yielded to the body in disobeying God, the soul finds itself bound to yield every time. The power of the body becomes so overwhelming that the soul cannot but become the obedient slave.
God’s thought is for the spirit to have the pre-eminence ruling our soul. But once man turns fleshly his spirit sinks into servitude to the soul. Further degradation follows when man becomes “bodily” ( of the body ) , for the basest body rises to be sovereign. Man has then descended from “spirit-control” to ”soul-control” to “body-control”. Deeper and deeper he sinks. How pitifull it is when the flesh gains control.

Sin has slain the spirit; spiritual death hence becomes the portion of all, for all are dead in sins and trespasses. Sin has rendered the soul independent: the soulish life is therefore but a selfish and self willed one Sin has finally empowered the body; sinful nature accordingly reigns through the body.

Salvation
Death entered the world through sin.

Rom 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned-- 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.

Death has permeated the spirit, soul and body of all men; there is no part of a human being into which it has not found it’s way. It is therefore imperative that it receive God’s life. The way of salvation cannot be done in human reform, for “death” is irreparable. Sin must be judged before there can be rescue out of death. Exactly this is what has been provided by the salvation of the Lord Jesus. The man who sins must die. No animal or angel can suffer the penalty of sin in man’s stead. It is man’s triune nature that sins, therefore it is man who must die. Only humanity can atone for humanity. But because sin is in his humanity, man’s own death cannot atone for his sin. The Lord Jesus came and took human nature upon Himself in order that He might be judged instead of humanity. Untainted by sin, His holy human nature could therefore through death atone for sinful humanity. He died as a substitute, suffered all penalty of sin, and offered his life a ransom for many. Consequently ,whoever believes on Him will be judged no more.

Jn 5:24 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.

When the word became flesh He included all flesh in Himself. As the action of one man, Adam, represents the action of all mankind, so the work of one man Christ, represents the work of all.

When Jesus suffered all of him suffered, not his body only. His soul suffered. His spirit suffered. When he carried our sin, his spirit was split asunder from God. Sin affects most deeply the spirit; consequently ,holy as the Son of God was, still He had to be wrenched away from the Father because He bore the sins others. His spirit endured God’s desertion on the one side and resisted the taunting of Satan on the other.

Man’s human spirit has so separated itself from God, exalted itself, and followed the evil spirit that man’s spirit must be totally broken in order that it may no longer resist God and remain allied with the enemy. The Lord Jesus became sin for us on the cross. His inner holy humanity was completely smashed as God passed judgement upon unholy humanity. Forsaken by God, Christ thus suffered sin’s bitterest pain, enduring in darkness the punative wrath of God on sin without the support and love of God or the light of his countenance. To be forsaken by God is the consequence of sin.

Now our sinful humanity has been judged completely because it was judged in the sinless humanity of the Lord Jesus. In Him, holy humanity has won it’s victory. Whatever judgement should come upon the body ,soul and spirit of sinners has been poured on Him. He is our representative. By faith we are joined to him. His death is reckoned as our death, and His judgement as our judgement. Our spirit, soul and body have altogether been judged and penalized in Him. It would not be any different had we been punished in person. “ There is therefore now no condemnation (judgement) for those those who are in Christ Jesus.”

This is what he accomplished for us and is now our standing before God

Rom 6:5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

Positionally we have already died in the Lord Jesus; it only awaits the Holy Spirit to translate this fact into our own experience. SO We are Becoming what we already are!!!!
The cross is where the sinner –spirit, soul and body- is altogether judged. It is through the death and resurrection of the Lord that the Holy Spirit of god is able impart God’s nature to us. The cross bears the sinners judgement, proclaims the sinners worthlessness, crucifies the sinner, and releases the life of the Lord Jesus. Henceforth anyone who accepts the cross shall be born anew by the Holy Spirit and receive the life of the Lord Jesus.

Regeneration

The concept of regeneration as found in the Bible speaks of the process of passing out of death into life. A man’s spirit before regeneration is far away from God and is considered dead, for death is dissociation from life and from God Who is the fountain of life. Death is separation from God. Man’s spirit is dead and therefore unable to commune with Him. Man’s spirit needs to be given new life because it is born dead. The new birth Jesus spoke about is the new birth of the spirit. It is not a physical birth nor is it a soulical one. We must note that the new birth imparts the very life of Jesus (God) into the spirit of man.

2 Cor 5:16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

We must note that a new creation has taken place. Not a repairing of the old. Paul is emphasing a point that must not be missed. New creation. Not a repair. “ The old has gone and new has come!” What wonderful news! The old life in our spirit; the very life of the spirit has gone and has been completely renewed and replaced with His Life!!

Col 1:24 Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness-- 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Whatever life you had in your spirit has died!!!

Col 3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

2 Tim 2:11 Here is a trustworthy saying:

If we died with him,
we will also live with him;