The human spirit and spirituality

According to the Bible (especially the New Testament) man has three parts to his being:

1.) spirit

2.) soul

3.) body


There are three aspects of Christ;s salvation which relate to these three parts of man:

1.) human spirit - needs Regeneration

2.) human soul - needs Transformation

3.) human body - needs Transfiguration


So full salvation requires the regeneration of the human spirit, transformation of the human soul, and transfiguration of the human body.

Here is one passage which nicely demonstrates the need for all three parts of man to be saved:

"And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

The innermost part of man in the spirit,
Surrounding the spirit is the soul.
Surrounding the soul and the spirit is the human body.

Then from the center to the circumference we need to be sanctified "wholly" - meaning completely. That is all three parts.

No, I do not know everything. No, I cannot answer all questions about this. But I know something about it.

But many people would say "But I thought spirit and soul were the same thing."

There are a number of clear passages which demonstrate that the human spirit and the human soul are distinct parts.

"And the God of peace Himsef sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thess. 5:23)

The three parts are seperated by the conjunction "and" - spirit AND soul AND body.

But this passage draws a distinction specifically between soul and spirit even though both are immaterial.


"For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two edge sword, and piercing vcen to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)

The word of God, like a sharp two edged-sword is able to pierce to the "dividing of soul and spirit". So soul and spirit are two distinct parts of man.

The whole woman is composed of spirit and soul and body. The word of God is a spiritual sword that can divide within a person the human soul and the human spirit.

As the marrow is inside of the bones - so the human spirit is within the human soul. The word of God can pierce and penetrate down deep into a person's being and divide the soul from the spirit.

No, I do not understand these things so totally that I can defend the teaching against all attacks. For those who are interested I share some of the things that I do understand.


I will repeat a lot. The immaterial part of man consists of the soul and the spirit:

"The word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit ..." (Heb 4:12)

The revelation of the division of the human soul and the human spirit is progressive in the Bible. Some passages seem to indicate that the two terms are interchangeable. These mostly occur in the Old Testament. Gradually as the new covenant salvation is made more and more clear the three parts of man are also made more and more clear.

We were all born into this world with a damaged human spirit. It was comatose, deadened.

The human spirit was meant to be the highest part of a person giving them communion and fellowship with God the Spirit. But the human spirit was made comatose from the fall of the first man Adam.

So there is a small s spirit which needs to be resurrected, made alive, healed, and enlivened. And the only thing that can do this is the capital S Holy Spirit Who is God.

This passage shows the capital S Spirit coming to enliven and give life again to the small s human spirit:

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6)

This passage discribes the phenomenon of regeneration. The deadened and comatonse human spirit is made alive by the touch of the capital S Spirit of the Triune God. The deadened human spirit is born of the Spirit Who is God Himself.

Here again shows that man is in three parts.

A human spirit to contact the spiritual realm including God, Christ, the Holy Spirit and the regenerated human spirits of other believers.

The human soul to contact the psychological world.

The human body to contact the physical world.

"And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thess 5:23)

So the New Testament speaks of "my spirit" and "our spirit" and also "your spirit".

These passages refer to the regenerated human spirits of the believers in Jesus.

First the Apostle Paul served God in the realm of his regenerated spirit:

"For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son ..." (Rom. 1:9)

Paul's human spirit was also comatose. But he got born again in his spirit of the Holy Spirit. Then he learned to serve God in the sphere and realm of his new regerated spirit.

Then Paul refers to "your spirit" refering to Christians like him who had been born of God in their human spirit. Because the Spirit was with their spirit, the Lord Jesus Christ was with their spirit:

"The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you" (2 Tim. 4:22)

The Lord Jesus was with their spirit because their spirit had been not only born of the Spirit of God but joined TO the Spirit of God:

"He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit" (1 Cor. 6:17)

This is why believers can say that they know Jesus today some 2000 years latter. This is mystery to the world. But our spirit has been born of the Spirit and the made one with the Spirit so that the Lord is with our spirit.

Since the Lord Jesus in His spiritual form is with our spirit and one with our spirit we can say that the enjoyment - ie. the grace of the Lord is with our spirit also:

" The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." (Phil. 4:23)

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen" ( Galatians 6:18)

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit" (Philemon 25)

The grace of the Lord is the enjoyment of the Lord, the subjective partaking of the Lord, and having the living Lord Jesus move and act from within your own innermost being.

Wow, that is four utterly spellbinding posts, but could you run all that past me one more time please, in case I might have missed something.?

Originally posted by muppyman
Wow, that is four utterly spellbinding posts, but could you run all that past me one more time please, in case I might have missed something.?

First I gave some indication that man is created in three parts - spirit and soul and body.

Then I tried to show that in God's full salvation there is a plan for each of the three parts. The spirit needs regeneration. The soul needs transformation. And the body needs transfiguration.

I tried to show that this salvation begins with the resurrection of the deadened and comatose deepest part of man, the human spirit.

This website is very good on the subject of regeneration

www.regenerated.net

Most of the other passages were on the difference and relationship between the captital S Spirit which is the Third of the Triune God (Holy Spirit) and the small s spirit which is the human spirit.

My final verses were on regeneration of the comatose human spirit causing the Lord Jesus Christ to be with the believer's spirit. He enlivens the spirit. He joins to the spirit to make the human spirit "one spirit" with the eternal Divine Spirit which is Christ Himself -

"The last Adam became a life giving Spirit" (1 Cor.15:45)

Originally posted by jaywill
First I gave some indication that man is created in three parts - spirit and soul and body.

Then I tried to show that in God's full salvation there is a plan for each of the three parts. The spirit needs regeneration. The soul needs transformation. And the body needs transfiguration.

I tried to show that this salvation begins with the resurrecti ...[text shortened]... h is Christ Himself -

[b]"The last Adam became a life giving Spirit" (1 Cor.15:45)[/b]

Neat! Can you also reconstruct the theology of Zeus?

Originally posted by jaywill
According to the Bible (especially the New Testament) man has three parts to his being:

1.) spirit

2.) soul

3.) body


There are three aspects of Christ;s salvation which relate to these three parts of man:

1.) human spirit - needs Regeneration

2.) human soul - needs Transformation

3.) human body - needs Transfigura ...[text shortened]... ow everything. No, I cannot answer all questions about this. But I know something about it.

Would you like to speculate on the nature of the link between soul, spirit, and mind, on the one hand, and the brain, on the other?

To what extent are neurological process causally or ontologically involved in mind, soul, and spirit?

This is the bit I always have trouble with.

Originally posted by Pawnokeyhole
Would you like to speculate on the nature of the link between soul, spirit, and mind, on the one hand, and the brain, on the other?

To what extent are neurological process causally or ontologically involved in mind, soul, and spirit?

This is the bit I always have trouble with.

I don't know.

The mind is part of the soul.

The three functions of the soul are Mind, Emotion, Will.

The spirit of every one born since the fall of Adam is in a deadened an comatose state. No one in the whole universe can enliven the deadened spirit except Jesus Christ.

The fact that He is the unique Righteous One is absolutely related to His ability to have our spirit resurrected.

"But if Christ is in you though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness." (Rom. 8:10)

Paul writes to the regenerated believers - " ... the spirit is life because of righteousness".


The deadened and damaged human spirit is made alive and reborn only because of Christ - righteousness. We receive Christ and immediatly experience Justification. Because of righteousness now, which we lacked, the human spirit is quickened and made alive.

Christ the Rightoeus One, in His form as the captital S Holy Spirit then "bears witness" deep within the believer, with his spirit that there is now an intimate and organic relationship between he and the Father:

"The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Romans 8:16)

Within the one who has been justified by receiving Christ there is a deep inner bearing of witness - God is now his Daddy, His Father.

"He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit" (1 Cor. 6:17)

Because the believer's regenerated spirit is now mingled and one with the Lord Who is Spirit, the two are "one spirit".

Because the two are made "one spirit" the believers senses that "the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God".


Christ, the Righteous One has touched the deepest and innermost part of the believer. And because of Himself AS the new righteousness that we possess, the human spirit is made the divine life of God:

" ... the spirit is life because of righteousness" (Rom. 8:10)


How can a Man who lived two thousdand years ago come into our being? How can this happen? It can happen because this God-Man Jesus put Himself in a form in which He can come into our spirit. He became a life giving Spirit.

" ... the last Adam became a life giving Spirit" (1 Cor. 15:45)

The last Adam is Jesus Christ. The life giving Spirit is the Third of the Trinity - the Holy Spirit. Christ became the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit of God is eternal. But after the resurrection of Jesus the Man Jesus brought His humanity into this eternal Spirit. He became the life imparting, life dispensing, life infusing Spirit.


Now the thing that you must grasp, and that requires many repetitions to understand is that the term LIFE in the New Testament, when it is translated from the Greek ZOE means God's life. It means God Himself. It means the uncreated and divine Person Who becomes eternal life to the beleiver.


To receive this ZOE life from God is to be JOINED to God. It is an organic union deep within by which one is spiritually reborn:

"He who is JOINED to the Lord is one spirit" (1 Cor. 6:17)

The enlivening is the joining.

The bearing witness is also in the joining.

The Lord being with our spirit in regeneration is also in the joining.

The grace of the Lord, ie. the enjoyment of the Lord's power is also in the joining.

Originally posted by jaywill
The spirit of every one born since the fall of Adam is in a deadened an comatose state. No one in the whole universe can enliven the deadened spirit except Jesus Christ.

The fact that He is the unique Righteous One is absolutely related to His ability to have our spirit resurrected.

[b] "But if Christ is in you though the body is dead because of s ...[text shortened]... the Lord, ie. the enjoyment of the Lord's power is also in the joining.

Two things here confuse me slightly.
You mention that the human spirit is "quickened" and "made alive". What is the difference between those two things? Surely they have the same meaning. It's like saying something is finished and ended.Can you explain please?
Also, presumably, Christ-righteousness is not to be confused with Krishna-consciousness. or am I mistaken?

I forgot to mention, I saw somewhere a text which said "Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness" Does that mean old Abe was given a special dispensation to bypass Christ-righteousness?

Originally posted by jaywill
The spirit of every one born since the fall of Adam is in a deadened an comatose state. No one in the whole universe can enliven the deadened spirit except Jesus Christ.

Yeah, because this all just makes so much sense. Right, everybody?

Originally posted by LemonJello
Yeah, because this all just makes so much sense. Right, everybody?

I've found it particularly riveting. 😵

Originally posted by LemonJello
Yeah, because this all just makes so much sense. Right, everybody?

Right.