Spirit, Soul, and Body

Did you know that you are a spirit being? Man is a spirit made in the image of God, he has a soul(a mind or conscious), and lives in a body. When you are born again, it is your spirit that experiences the rebirth process, hints the name born again. But when you look at man and you see that he has been born again you really can't tell any difference just by looking at his physical features. This is so hard for many who don't believe to grasp, because they are looking for obvious changes. And at first there are no changes really to show, because the new spirit of man has just received the Holy Spirit, but still needs to learn to commune with Him. Now some have in the past and still do believe that the soul and spirit are the same, however I believe that we have scripture to support that they are different. Look in Hebrews 4:12 in the NLT it says,"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." So you see they are separate. But what is the difference you say? I am glad you asked.

If you look at probably the most asked question that everyone asks it has to be, Why do evil things happen to good people? Or something to that nature, but if you think about it, this truly explains why. This may get deep but follow along and I believe that you will understand if you are a believer in Christ Jesus. You see when you are born again, it is your spirit that is renewed, but your mind or soul is still the same just as your physical body or flesh. At this point, if you died right then and there, your spirit is going to make it to heaven. Now, what needs to take place for your soul or mind is you need to renew your mind. And the only way we can achieve this is by getting into the word of God. If you do not let the spirit man take over your soul (mind) and body(flesh), then you give place to the devil. So many bless their hearts think that demons find their way into the body which is actually just the clay pot containing the spirit and soul, but if you know anything about demons, they have no authority over the children of the light. So the only way they can possess our bodies is if we give them their place in our life. Ephesians 4:27 talks about how you give the devil place in your life.

Once we establish that there is a difference between the spirit, soul, and body, then it is easier to grasp the importance of keeping your mind sharp with the word of God. The blood of Jesus has bought and paid for the redemption of our spirit and we are now in the family of Jesus Christ, but you see Jesus said that He came so that we may have life, and that we may have it more abundantly(John 10:10). What this means is that there is power in the blood of Jesus Christ. The Bible says that Satan is a defeated foe. So as born again Christians we fall under the protection of Jesus Christ. Which means the only way that Satan can have any effect on us is out of our own consent. What I mean is if we give him place in our life. The only way Satan can get in to our lives after we are born again is through our mind(soul) and body(flesh). Our spirit has already been purchased with the blood of Jesus. What Jesus did on the cross was defeat Satan once and for all. That is why on the cross Jesus said,"It is finished." The path to Eternal Life has been paved by our Lord Jesus Christ, and He paid our dues, He died our death. He went through all that torture for us because He loves us that much.

Now in order to rest in our faith, we have to feed or nourish our spirit with spiritual food just like we need to nourish our physical bodies. The food for our spirit is being doers of the word of God(James 1:22). If you look in John 4:34 Jesus says,"My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and finishing His work." The nourishment we need for our souls comes from the word of God. This means reading God's word everyday. In order to keep our focus on God, we have to continue reading in His word. I am not saying that it is essential to your salvation to read the Bible, we already established the born again believer has already obtained that. No what this means is in order to keep the thoughts and deceitfulness of Satan out of your life you need to nourish your mind with the word of God. Then your thoughts become in tune with God, and you won't ever give Satan his place, because you are equipped with powerful packed words of faith. Philippians 4:8-9 says,"And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you." You see all these traits are of our God the Father. If we let Satan have his place in our lives and we start focusing on things that are of the flesh such as hatred, sexual immorality, material gain, etc. then we fall in to the snare of the devil and the outcome of it brings evil things to our lives, even if we are born again Christians.

Saints lets keep our focus on Him and feed our spirits, soul, and body with the wonderful things of God. Do not give Satan any part of your life. Live life as God intended, more abundantly. Look to Him and His will for your life and He will make sure all your needs are met, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Glory be to God!!! Happy New Year to you all!!!

In Christ,

Eric R. Cox