The Lord said to me…”I will test my people with a Plumbline, Amos 7:8 (TLB)

The Plumbline is a blog to encourage the Body of Christ.

SPIRIT, SOUL AND BODY # 1

The Infallible Word of God

THE ORDINARY CONCEPT of the constitution of human beings is dualistic-soul and body. According to this concept soul is the invisible inner spiritual part, while body is the visible outer corporal part. Though there is some truth to this, it is nevertheless inaccurate. Such an opinion comes from fallen man not from God; apart from God's revelation, no concept is dependable. That the body is man's outward sheath is undoubtedly correct, but the Bible never confuses spirit and soul as though they are the same. Not only are they different in terms; their very natures differ from each other. The Word of God does not divide man into the two parts of soul and body. It treats man, rather, as tripartite-spirit, soul and body. 1 Thessalonians 5.23 reads: "May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." This verse precisely shows that the whole man is divided into three parts.

BODY:

The amazing human body consisting of numerous systems; cardiovascular, digestive, immune and lymphatic, male and female reproductive, muscular, nervous, respiratory and skeletal systems. Add to these fleshly desires and appetite,

SOUL:

This is where our personality or self resides. It further houses our mind or intellect. Our emotions, sensibility and affections likewise abide in man’s soul. The soul is the center for man’s will and the power of choice, As a Pentecostal believer I believe in the soul's existence, Like, Calvin, many believe in the immortality of the soul and its conscious existence after death.

SPIRIT:

The word “spirit” when used in the Scriptures has several meanings. Whenever the word “Spirit” appears used with a capital letter, it has but one meaning. It is the name of the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit of God. The word “spirit” spelled with a small letter may have one of several different meanings. It can have direct reference to the spirit of man which is as much a part of the tripartite nature of man as the Spirit of the living God is a Person of the Holy Trinity. Or it can indicate an evil spirit such as any agent of the Devil. We will confine ourselves here to the Biblical usage of the word only as it relates to the spirit of man, one of the three constituent parts of his being. The natural man has a spirit even though it is unrelated to God.

Here are some proof texts;

·      Job 32:8 “There is a spirit in man.”:

·      Ecc 3:21; 11:5; 12:7 “The spirit shall return unto God”: 

·      James 2:26 “The body without the spirit is dead”.:

·      Acts 7:59 “Lord Jesus receive my spirit.”:

·      1 Cor 2:11 “The spirit of man which is in him.”;

·      Zech 12:1 “The Lord…formeth the spirit of man within him”.

The Christian doctrine of immortality cannot be understood apart from the right conception of the tripartite nature of men. Many think that man is a physical being only. There is a great danger of any man thinking thus of himself. In his desire to satisfy the needs of the body there is the tendency on man’s part to lose sight of the fact that he is immortal. There have been persons who have lived all of their lives either in ignorance or willful neglect of a life after death, but upon their death-bed they suddenly realized that they were more than physical beings.

·      Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV) For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

.