Body, soul, and spirit
This theological talk of dichotomy and trichotomy. Whether man is merely body and soul or body soul and spirit.
The biblical data seems to fall onto the dichotomy side. Merely body and soul. Because the Bible seems to speak of soul and spirit being the same thing, or synonymous.
Yet in all the smart (i.e. strictly biblical) theologians they usually end up granting that there is some difference between the soul and spirit.
So what gives?
I see it this way: the spirit is contained within the soul. Thus where the soul is or where the soul goes there goes the spirit also.
What the theologians seem to miss though is how the spirit is different in a regenerated person.
At birth our spirit is connected to the Kingdom of Satan. After regeneration by the word of God and the Holy Spirit our spirit is then connected to the Kingdom of God.
The fact of and effects of regeneration seem to confuse theologians more than anything.
Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
We are a soul. We have a spirit.
Angels are spirit beings. We are soul beings. It is natural for a soul to be connected to a body. Spirit beings seem to be able to take on a body, but it's not their natural state. At death we are separated from our body, which isn't natural for us. Thus we will be given glorified bodies, which will have some connection to our present earthly bodies, yet a connection like that of a seed to a tree.
Our spirit, on the other hand, is all of us that is the image of God, developed to one degree or another. Our higher functions. Our qualities. Our inclinations. Our affections. Our wisdom. Our perception. Our consciousness. Our understanding, our will. Everything that has an analogy to our Triune God.
I think our spirit at birth being connected to the Kingdom of Satan means that it is captured and held, and not so much that it is pure evil.
11 Comments:
"I see it this way: the spirit is contained within the soul. Thus where the soul is or where the soul goes there goes the spirit also."
"I think our spirit at birth being connected to the Kingdom of Satan means that it is captured and held, and not so much that it is pure evil."
The question that came to mind while reading your talk is whether the spirit can be contained by the flesh or even the soul. I can see the soul being affected by the spirit. One glimpse of Jesus is enough to influence a Paul Washer to do what he does for the rest of his life. So whilst it's a fine point, perhaps we could say that the spirit touches and guides Christian's while we are in this world. -W
Interesting. I was not even thinking of the Holy Spirit. Upon current reflection though the phrase "Spirit speaks to spirit" gets at the difference. We do become a tabernacle of the Holy Spirit upon regeneration, yet we are also spirit as part of our original being. I'm sure the Greek would sort this out.
But think of the phrase the spirit of disobedience. The spirit of Satan.
Basically we have a spirit before regeneration, i.e. before the Holy Spirit enters us. That is the spirit meant in the term body, soul, and spirit.
The bible says that:
Genesis 2:[7] And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the *breath* of life; and man became a living being.
In Hebrew the word for 'breath' is neshamah. Apparently it's the same word that is translated to 'spirit' in Proverbs 20:27 [27] The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the inner depths of his heart.
So it appears that man has a spirit and God breathed that into us, which is the lamp of the Lord.
Here are some references to soul and spirit by Nicoll:
In the New Testament the two kinds of men are mentioned. One is called "the psychic man"—that is, the man who follows his soul. This is the mechanical man, for the soul, unless opposed, does not grow, and remains the point of the most intense desire and self-love. The second kind of man is the spiritual or pneumatic man (spirit). Christ speaks often about the necessity of being born of the spirit and becoming the spiritual or pneumatic man—a second man within the man of flesh. For this reason Christ says: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man goes against his soul for his friends." (John XV 13.) This is rendered "lay down his life" which does not include the full meaning. To go against one's soul is exactly what we have to do in this Work. If you understand that this undeveloped soul is the seat of every mechanical desire, of vanity, pride, jealousy, and all the rest, you will then understand why the Work opens, on its practical side, with the teaching that one must begin to go against mechanicalness in oneself. But it begins actually with self-observation, with observing what is mechanical in you.
"At birth our spirit is connected to the Kingdom of Satan. After regeneration by the word of God and the Holy Spirit our spirit is then connected to the Kingdom of God."
There are the verses that say after regeneration Christ comes to live with us:
2 Corinthians 13:[5] Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.
-W
Found this short, to the point article:
https://blog.biblesforamerica.org/gods-spirit-mingled-with-our-human-spirit/
That’s a good site, I actually found this link yesterday while doing some reading on the subject.
https://blog.biblesforamerica.org/what-is-the-human-spirit-in-the-bible/
The idea that our human spirit is connected to the Kingdom of satan from birth makes sense. Once our spirits are connected to the Kingdom of God that would be when Christ begins to live within us. It’s this connection to the human spirit that drives us whether we know it or not. Our will, worldview and all our actions are influenced by the will of satan prior to regeneration and the will of God after.
I may be mixing a few things up there but it’s an interesting way to see it.
-W
That link struck me as on-the-mark and cleared up the subject for me. Because it seemed right to think of the soul containing the spirit, so it follows that the spirit is the highest (deepest) part of us. And that it is what connects with God.
It forces pondering of other questions. So when the Holy Spirit resides in us maybe it's like having a corona surrounding our spirit?
Also, how do we develop our spirit? Does the Work, higher centers, play in here? Does spirit have something to do with essence? Does a developing spirit change our soul and body?
To worship God in spirit means...what?
I know some of these answers, I've just forgot. I'll write when I remember...
I searched how do you worship God in spirit. This article seemed overall the best, and it gave me Work impressions:
http://www.learnthebible.org/worship-in-spirit.html
It means you don't need a physical place. It means being in the third state. It means worshiping God with conscious labor and intentional suffering. It means worshiping God in truth as well. Biblical truth. Knowing who God is. It means approaching God the Father through Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. Walking in the Spirit means acting and thinking from the truth of the Bible rather than from life. This makes a connection with God. Or, this operates through our connection with God we have from regeneration.
This point is clarifying. I read this in Bavinck. Our soul is oriented toward our body. Animals have souls as well. Our spirit, though, is orientated toward God (when we are regenerated believers). Prior to regeneration our spirit is lost in the illusions and desires and fears of the Kingdom of Satan. Our spirit is in confusion.
For a Work person worshiping God in the two conscious shocks is probably pure worship in the spirit. This is how we connect with God anyway. Being in at least the Third State of consciousness. And in truth. Biblical truth.
"Also, how do we develop our spirit? Does the Work, higher centers, play in here? Does spirit have something to do with essence? Does a developing spirit change our soul and body?"
I'm not sure that spirit is what develops, it's breathed into us by God. What develops ( I think) is in our soul and it's connections to the spirit which intern deepens our connection with the Holy Spirit. The Work says that the higher parts of centers are already fully developed...this could translate to mans spirit.
There is not much mention of prayer in those articles but it almost seems obvious now that prayer is one of the ways a Christians faith and connection to God can be strengthened. But we have to be regenerated (the heart and soul put right) for that to happen.
The Work with the two conscious shocks is the knowledge (and doing) of how to work at it from this side. -W
But we say "our spiritual body" not "our soul body." And our spiritual body is something that develops.
I'm talking about spirit (small 's') not Spirit.
A few of the more reliable sites I read say even though it's called a spiritual body it's not pure spirit, unlike the Holy Spirit is pure spirit.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 NKJV
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
John 4:24 NKJV
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Romans 1:9 NKJV
For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,
Here is another good link at that site:
https://blog.biblesforamerica.org/the-three-parts-of-man-spirit-soul-and-body/
From that link above:
Our cooperation with God’s saturating
How can we cooperate with God’s intention to saturate our whole being with Himself?
Exercising our spirit is the key. Not only does our spirit have the ability to contact and fellowship with God, it’s also the place where He lives in us . We can turn to Him in our spirit to live by His life. By means of our spirit we can also receive more of Christ each day. From this “base” of His operation in us, He can then spread into our soul. The more we receive Christ by exercising, or using, our spirit, the more God will have a way to spread into our soul.
We can daily exercise our spirit by calling upon the name of the Lord, reading and even praying with God’s Word to be spiritually nourished, and obeying Him. The more we exercise our spirit, the more we allow the spreading and saturating of the God of peace to continue in us. Then we’ll be able to express God to everyone around us.
The New Testament Recovery Version has a number of other enlightening notes on 1 Thessalonians 5:23, including an important one on how God preserves our spirit, soul, and body complete. You can order a free copy of the New Testament Recovery Version here. We encourage you to read the notes and the verses they reference to gain a fuller understanding of what we’ve discussed in this post.
-W
https://youtu.be/WFLcGeG84oU
Post a Comment
<< Home