1 Thessalonians 5:23
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

John 6:63
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I (Jesus) have spoken to you are spirit and life.

1 Corinthians 2:11-12
For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.

Romans 8:5-6
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

You are a triune entity consisting of a spirit governed by a soul residing in a body.

When you align yourself with the knowledge and understanding of the relationship between your body, your soul, and your spirit, then you have a stronger grasp of how you can best operate to fulfill your human potential. In our previous writing, we highlighted your soul and body. This time we emphasize your spirit.

The Bible discusses different type of spirits:

Spirit of man (Zechariah 12:1, Proverbs 20:27, Job 32:8)

Spirit of God (Matthew 12:28, Romans 8:14, 1 Corinthians 2:14)

Holy Spirit (John 14:26, Luke 1:41, Luke 4:1)

Unclean spirits (Mk 5:8, Matt 12:43-45, Lk 6:18)

Evil spirits (Lk 8:2, Acts 19:12, Lk 11:26)

There is a constant battle going on between your spirit and the spirit in the world. We read of the encounter between Jesus and Satan in the desert at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Satan (evil spirit) tried to seduce Jesus with immediate gratification of his life goal if HE yielded to Satan’s temptations. Jesus prevailed and the rest is history.

Most of us allow outside spiritual influences to invade and overcome our spirit. When the spirit falls, the soul and body soon follow into decay. But Jesus came with a solution. When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you become engaged to marry him; and the Holy Spirit and your spirit become one with the Triune God. The more you submit yourself to Him, the more you become like Him. And you join Him in his victory over Satan and the evil spirits of this world.

The Bible explains the continual struggle between our physical desires and spiritual needs. Most of the time, we satisfy the physical rather than the spiritual which leads to immediate satisfaction but produces long-term frustration and pain. Instead of placing the spirit first on our list of priorities, we make the outer casing, the body, the short-term winner. Only after we come to the place of realizing when the spirit is given top priority, the outer body also reaps the benefits of a wholesome, full life. And even when there may be short term pain for the body for emphasizing the spirit, the eternal reward makes it worth the effort.

In short:

Your spirit is a conduit which networks with God and others. You have direct access to the God who sustains the universe via your spirit. Likewise, your spirit bonds with others in a unified fashion. When two kindred spirits meet, there is a mutual bonding of mind and thought. On the other hand, when one walks in spiritual darkness, there is a repulsive battle between themselves silently screaming for help. Those who have been there recognize the situation and approach with their spirit on guard to help.

Your spirit is influenced by other spirits – some good, others bad. The good spirit is the Holy Spirit, God Himself. He produces good fruit in his children. The evil spirits are your demons and the dark forces working within the culture. Everyday, people are being swayed by the spirit of greed, fear, lust, covetousness, hatred, lies, etc. If you allow your spirit free range to inhale everything that comes your way, you will find yourself captured by unwanted hosts. Like a computer without virus software, you will find yourself soon non-operatable. Without a strong defense, which a healthy soul provides, the path only leads to destruction and pain. However, God has given us equipment to battle and defend our internal habitat. The solution is found in Jesus Christ and expounded throughout the Bible.  

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Author of e-Books

 *  Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

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1 Thessalonians 5:23

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So, glorify God in your body.

Your body is a wonderful masterpiece of form and functionality. The precise detail of each cell and organ integrated together and working in harmony is a marvel beyond scientific and engineering design. A combination of your brain, skeleton, nerves, veins, and muscles working together to form an organic machine designed for the purpose of duplicating God’s image (in a limited, physical capacity) glorifies HIS genius. When combined with your soul and spirit, you have a triune entity we simply call a human person.

Though wonderfully made, the body requires maintenance to fully function at its highest capacity. The majority of us understand the importance of exercise and nutrition to keep the body operating at peak performance. However, what many of us ignore and abuse is the relationship between our bodies and our soul and spirit.

Mankind, apart from God, has made the body the central core of life. The body is glamorized, adored, and pampered by western civilization. The commercialization of products and services are designed around glorifying the outer shell of the person. The soul and spirit may be implied, but never given their time under the sun.

From God’s perspective, HE doesn’t look at humans from our outer image, but from our inner heart. For example, He chose David, the youngest of his family to be king of Israel. Samuel, who was sent by God to identify the next king, was more impressed by his older brothers. But God looks at the soul of a person. Again, Jesus himself would repeatedly get upset when he looked at people and recognized the hardness of their heart (their soul). Throughout the Bible, people would choose leaders based on their physical appearance, but not God. He chose based on the condition of their soul.

The body is the outer casing that houses your soul and spirit. The body and soul complement and submit to each other. When both are healthy, along with your spirit, we experience the fullness of being human. When one of the three is hurting, the scars are felt by the person.

Yes, we need to care for our bodies which have been redeemed by Jesus. Now as HIS, our bodies house the Spirit of God. This is why Paul writes that we are God’s temple and our bodies are to glorify HIM.  

Our biggest challenge is to bridle the passions of our human nature which causes harm for our soul. I Peter 2:11 reads “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul”.

When we understand the soul is the governing agency and needs to be buildup and strengthen to effectively manage our bodies rather than allow our carnal desires to influence the soul; only then will we maturely experience the Christ-like life HE spoke about.

The daily struggle for us Christ-followers is to channel more of God’s Holy Spirit toward our soul and deflect more of our carnal desires away from our soul.

Paul writes in Romans 13:14 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires”.

Or how I like to state it, “More Christ, less me.” When you place Jesus as the center of your life, your soul will begin to take the lead instead of the physical desires to satisfy the self-centerness of our flesh. You realize your body is designed to glorify God and not you. You will take care of your body as best as you can so you can move through life serving your King and physically ready for every opportunity to do good work.

I left below a few Scriptures highlighting the challenge and battle between the body and soul. Read responsibly.

Romans 6:12

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.

Luke 11:34

Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.

Colossians 2:23

These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

Romans 7:18

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

Mark 14:38

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Jeremiah 17:5

Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.

Psalm 90:10

The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.

Next week we will discuss your spirit.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Author of e-Books

 *  Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

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Copyright 2013-Present | Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved