Body-Soul-Spirit OR Body and Soul/Spirit?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Carla on August 4, 2012 at 2:46pm

Colby,

Great discussion.

 when we are born anew, accepting Christ as our Lord and Savior and the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us, does our whole nature (body and spirit/soul or body, mind and spirit) become spiritual?

Biblically, I would have to say 'yes'...  We are called to be set apart from the world... To be 'holy'.  When Jesus saves us, He saves the 'whole' us.  We are to become as Jesus is.

When Jesus shares the greatest commandment -- You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (Matt 22:37) -- does this mean we are actually made up of five parts: body, soul, spirit, heart and mind? Are we to be pentachotomists?

Well...  we can just keep on adding body parts..  kidneys, gallbladder, bones etc...  as I ponder it now it seems that heart and mind are included in body/soul/spirit.  For instance, whatever comes out of our mouths shows what's in our hearts...this is directly related to what is in our minds, and physically we act it out .  We will dwell on and talk about, and spend our time on the things that are in our hearts and on our minds.  ...  It's all connected.  It all matters.  We can't leave body out of it.  If we let our 'physical body' sin, than we are revealing what is in our hearts... 

 

Great discussion.. 

Bless you,

Carla

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Colby on August 4, 2012 at 4:44pm

Carla,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts from a biblical perspective.  What you say makes a good deal of sense to me.  The questions I posted came to my mind as I was reading the responses posted to the discussion on the "Deliverance Ministry," which was recently closed. 

 

Some of the respondents in the "Deliverance Ministry" discussion claimed that evil spirits can inhabit the "flesh" of believers and can attack our minds and bodies, but not our spirits.  One said that "the Spirit is the only part of us that is born again," and that the body is not.  The example of the Apostle Paul was mentioned insofar as while he was a new creation alive in Christ, he was still battling his sin nature (Romans 7:20).  Another person referenced two views: one, that man is both body and spirit; the second, that man is body, soul and spirit.  What is the significance of one view versus the other?  

 

So the questions I posed arose in the context of trying to understand the distinctions that were made between body, mind, spirit and soul in the "Deliverance Ministry" discussion.

 

Faith, hope, love in Christ our Messiah,

 

Colby

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Leonard T on August 4, 2012 at 4:11pm

It is safe to say that we are material and immaterial beings with the material relating to the flesh and the immaterial relating to the soul/spirit or soul and spirit. This question cannot be answered from Scripture with absolute certainty.  I believe we are three part, but cannot hold a dogmatic position on it. You have listed one of the key verses is 1 Thessalonians 5:23. To those of us that see humans as having three sections this is pretty clear. For those who see us as two sections, they tend to leave the literal view (at least on this verse) and seek to view it metaphorically. I have a real problem with that. This verse is talking about the preservation of the whole man. Regarding Matthew 22:37, Carla has touched on it, but I will add a little. The body is made up of many parts. I have hands, feet, legs and arms. All are body parts and yet they make up one body. Our minds and hearts each have function and yet are a part of the bigger picture as our feet and legs are different pieces but part of the whole. Thus, the question is not do we have many parts, but how are we divided. Do we have three or two sections with both views recognizing sub-sections? 1 Thessalonians 5:23 tells us that there are three sections, 1 material and two immaterial. Hebrews 4;12 tells us that these two immaterial sections can be divided. A simple face-value reading leaves us with no other view, but there is a problem. The problem is that there is not enough information to truly call it a biblical doctrine. One cannot make a doctrine out of one or two verses. Therefore, there is enough to question the two section view and not enough to solidly hold a three section view. Where does that leave us? God evidently did not view this as important enough to give us specifics.

 

Regarding God saving the whole man there is an old view that I hold to and teach. It was commonly called “full salvation” or “complete salvation.” Our salvation is wholly dependent upon Jesus and His sacrifice (bloodshed, resurrection, etc), yet the reality of it is seen in three phases. These phases are 1) justification/regeneration, 2) sanctification and 3) glorification. Now, we need to understand that our salvation is fully assured the day we are born again and yet not fully realized until the last phase. Phase 1: We surrender to Jesus and receive Him as Savior. We are justified in that through Jesus death our penalty has been paid and thus we are no longer guilty. We also are regenerated. This means we are changed spiritually. The old is gone and the new has come (2 Cor. 5:17). Our spirits are brought to life from death. We are born again, born of the Spirit. Phase 2: Sanctification deals with holiness. Though we have been changed spiritually we must grow spiritually and this growth is to be in the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Phase 3: Glorification is when we receive our new bodies. The argument here could be that we receive new bodies and thus Jesus did not die to save the old body that must die. Let’ s back up a second and look at the regeneration process. We are born again. The old is gone (old dead spirit) and the new has come (new alive spirit). This really does not seem much if any different than the process dealing with the body. The old body will be gone and the new body will come at the resurrection. So, yes, Jesus saves the whole man … woman too :-) Note: The Scripture speak of salvation in three tenses. We see past, present and future presented. When we understand the three phases this makes sense.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Colby on August 4, 2012 at 5:47pm

LT,

 

Thank you for responding with a compelling and thorough answer based on the Scripture to the questions I posed about the nature of man.  Is man a two-part or three-part being comprised of body and spirit/soul or body, spirit and soul, respectively.  Your answer, which is that the Bible does not address this issue specifically, suggests that either point of view is supported.  Further, if God had deemed it important enough, he would addressed it with greater clarity in Scripture.  In any event, as you noted, Jesus saveds "the whole man."  I also appreciate the detailed recounting of the process by which we are regenerated by the Holy Spirit and the three phases of salvation, which you provided, too.

 

Thanks again for your thorough and clear treatment of my questions.

 

Faith, hope, and love in Christ our Messiah,

Colby

 

Colby

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Amanda on August 4, 2012 at 4:20pm

You referenced it but I will show it -- the Scripture of 1 Thessalonians 5:23, New International Version (NIV)
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.

I think of the soul as being the mind, will, emotions and intellect; the heart is the spirit; the body is the flesh (but I am not sure if the body is more than the flesh or if those two words are always used interchangeably in all cases in Scripture.)

We are saved. Our spirit is made new; we have a new heart. Our soul is being sanctified. Our body awaits glorification. Salvation has three parts -- justification, sanctification, glorification. The work has begun in us at the moment our spirit is born again when we are given a new heart ... or perhaps even before then, as the Father draws us to Jesus.

Philippians 1:6
New International Version (NIV)
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:30 further speaks of the work God is doing in us -- only it is all put in past tense there, which means "done deal" (or, that's how I have heard someone say it, anyway :)

I believe where Ezekiel 36:22-32 speaks of a "new heart" and "new spirit" -- it is the promise of spiritual regeneration.

My current understanding is that we are body, soul, and spirit and we are spiritual beings. But I remain teachable :)

Now, I will ask you a question: is the brain the mind? :) No answer necessary.

 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rita Cullimore on August 4, 2012 at 4:47pm

Amanda,

Good answer and one that I believe.

Blessings...

Rita

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Colby on August 4, 2012 at 5:05pm

Amanda,

What you've written makes a good deal of sense to me, it's the three-part process of salvation that I hold to, which is clearly revealed by the Scripture, and you've done an exemplary job of summarizing it.  On that I am clear. 

 

What I don't understand are claims made in the "Deliverance Ministry" discussion (now closed) by some to the effect that  we are not unified body-soul/spirit beings, but rather that each of these is compartmentalized in some way.  For example, I read that evil spirits can inhabit our flesh and can attack our minds and bodies, but not our spirits. 

 

Further, it was said that the Spirit is the only part of us that is born again (the body is not), and that the born-again Spirit can't sin.  Does that mean Christians don't sin?  So that led me to wonder about the significance of these distinctions that some were making between body, soul, and spirit, especially in light of Scripture that says believers are "temples of the Holy Spirit."

 

Are the terms "soul" and "spirit" as used in the Bible interchangeable or do they refer to two different things?

 

Faith, hope, love in Christ our Messiah,

Colby

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Amanda on August 4, 2012 at 5:30pm

Colby, my understanding is that being born again means God has given us eternal life and we become children of God. The spirit is completely saved and the soul is being sanctified, made holy, and the body will be changed eventually by the resurrection, or for those alive when the rapture occurs, will be changed in the twinkling of an eye. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are already new creations -- body, soul, and spirit.

P.S. That discussion gave me many questions, too, along the same lines you are wondering about. I read through many of the links that were posted in it.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Colby on August 4, 2012 at 6:07pm

Amanda, 

I like the imagery you used to explain our body-spirit-soul nature.  The spirit is saved, the soul is being sanctified, and our bodies will eventually be glorified by the resurrection. What a lovely way to connect the dots!

Faith, hope, and love,

Colby

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Amanda on August 4, 2012 at 5:59pm

I hope it is safe to add that I don't see how we can compartmentalize our being and still remain whole. That, to me, would be like having spiritual schizophrenia, or something. Our soul expresses itself through our body. Our spirit rules soul and body but is ruled itself by Christ Himself sitting on the seat of our new hearts. Our spirit communicates with God. But our soul does spiritual things, too, like pray and worship, and our body participates as well in singing psalms and hymns and taking communion, submitting to water baptism, being the vessel that is filled with His Spirit and doing the works He created us to do etc ...

This is my opinion though and I could be wrong. Body soul and spirit are all connected though IMO.

I see how we can compartmentalize salvation, but not our beings.

Basically, if a demon were embedded in my flesh, my soul and spirit would both be suffering IMO.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Colby on August 4, 2012 at 6:24pm

Amanda,

That's how I understand our two or three part nature.  Each part--body and soul/spirit or body, soul and spirit--operates in union with each other.  We are "temples of the Holy Spirit."  We are vessels filled with the faith giving and life giving presence of the Holy Spirit who abides in us gradually conforming us to the character of Christ.

• My soul is in anguish. How long, O LORD, how long? (Ps 6:3)
• Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and delight in his salvation. (Ps 35:9)
• And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. (Lk 1:47)

Faith, hope and love,

Colby

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Amanda on August 4, 2012 at 7:04pm

Romans 12:1
King James Version (KJV)
12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

How could we ever do this if, even though our spirits are born again, demons have the ability to enter our flesh and mind? If sin gives them a foothold, then we would have to become perfectly sinless before we could ever do this.

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next ›
• Page