Identity Series: Why No One Else Can be You - Interactions Between Body, Soul, and Spirit

We know that God made each person individually and that no 2 people are the same, not even identical twins. We each have our own set of fingerprints, irises, retinas, ears, lips, tongue, voice, toe print, teeth, gait (how you walk). Isn't that amazing? And that only covers the physical attributes; then there is the personality.

Why discuss this? We all need to know that we are the original piece of art and to value that fact. I can't be you and you can't be me so there is no need for envy and jealousy. We each have the same value to God - whether potential or realized. That makes jealousy of another person not only ridiculous but wasteful. Why would you want to be someone else? The world needs you to be you. Let other people be themselves.

A few days ago, in my post on "True Encouragement of the God Kind," I covered the difference between the soul and the spirit and the importance of first encouraging a person's spirit before building them up in their soul. That is, speaking over them the word of God as Holy Spirit reveals ensures their ability to receive the soul edification in a fruitful and beneficiary manner. Actually, in most cases, the word of the Lord to their spirit will have the effect of encouraging their soul. That's because a word from God causes everything in a person's life to rise.

In this post I want to focus on the intersections between the spirit and the soul, the soul and the body, and the spirit and the body. There is indeed a biblical hierarchy in the functioning of the human being as a triune being. There are numerous Scriptures on God's soul being delighted in someone upon whom He consequently pours out His Spirit. Jesus is a prime example at His baptism. See Isaiah 42:1; Matthew 12:18.

THE BLESSING OF INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY

This may seem somewhat out of place but it is very important.

Having been made individually unique by God means that we each have an individual responsibility to Him, particularly in terms of a relationship. Our first responsibility is to love and obey God, the to love everyone else, (Matt. 22:37-40) and obeying those whom God has placed in authority over us, (Ex. 20:12; Eph. 6:1, including government (Rom.13).

I Peter 1:22-23:

22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,

²³ having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,²⁴ because “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, ²⁵ But the word of the Lord endures forever.”

WHAT ARE THE BODY, SOUL, AND SPIRIT?

Your body is your physical presence; your soul is your mind, will, and emotions; and finally, your spirit is the part of you that connects with God (which is alive for the Christ-follower). However, the spirit of a person who does and is not connected to the leadership of Jesus Christ, is dead. (See post on "True Encouragement of the God Kind," for more details).

BODY AND SOUL INTERSECTION

For the average interaction for the average person on a daily basis. A person makes a decision and follows through with physical actions. In other words, you decide to get out of bed to go to work so you get out of bed, wash your face, brush your teeth, take a shower, get dressed, fix the hair (women do their make-up,) get in the car, and go to work. That's pretty self-explanatory. However, how a person makes certain decisions, particularly, those on which God has expressed an opinion, makes a difference. That is where the difference between someone who is saved and someone who is not would make a difference. And that is where the spirit and soul interaction would kick into gear. Knowing that God approves or disapproves something would make a difference to a Christ-follower but little to none to someone who has not given over control of his life to Jesus Christ.

SOUL AND SPIRIT INTERSECTION

This is where the Holy Spirit goes to work on a submitted repentant saved (Christ-follower) individual. This person has seen the need for a Savior and has accepted the Lord's gift of salvation to be redeemed to God the Father in fellowship. Now the soul, as we saw from the previous post mentioned above, is essentially what the Bible refers to as the flesh; it's the personality. It is comprised of the mind, the will, and the emotions. It's the "stuff" on the inside that makes you, you and not like any other person on the planet. The soul is the part that became unregenerate when Adam sinned and lost fellowship with God in the Garden of Eden. That loss of fellowship meant that all future human beings would have to live apart from God for eternity. His action banished theirs and all future mankind from God's presence for ever. That is why Jesus died - He obeyed the Father and came to earth to die to redeem that intimate relationship that man once had with God. That God's original plan when He made man, because He knew man would sin. He made a family, and He was going to get that family back if He had to come to earth and die Himself. What does that do to your definition of love?

So the lost soul became corrupted by sin after the Fall and the Bible says that the flesh, or soul, is naturally at enmity with God. That enmity remains until a person come to God in repentance and receives His Son's gift of salvation. At that point, the Holy Spirit comes and begins the sanctification and transformation process and the spirit awakens from death. It is a form or resurrection. That means the difference between the unsaved and the saved is the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to live inside the new believer to transform the person until they meet Christ face to face. In other words, it is a transformation that lasts a lifetime.

The Holy Spirit is constantly revealing Christ to us so that we can walk in the Way of the Lord Jesus Christ. What is the way of the Lord Jesus Christ? He had one aim, to obey the Father's wishes at every turn, As One Who is, and was, one with the Father never operated outside of the Father's will. The Holy Spirit's job, so to speak, is to make us an exact replica of the Son within the unique person God has made you and I to be.

Some scripture references to the soul and spirit connection:

1 Thessalonians 5:23

 ²³ 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.

Hebrews 4:12

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. 

Isaiah 26:9

With my soul I have desired You in the night, Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early; For when Your judgments are in the earth, The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. 

SPIRIT AND BODY INTERACTION

I have on several occasions made a decision to do or not do something and "found myself" doing the opposite of what I had decided. Sound odd? Once I remember making a decision to stay home on a snowy day instead of going to see David Wagner, a prophet. I found myself going to my closet, choosing an outfit, getting dressed, and going to the event. I was happy that my spirit obeyed God's directions to go and moved my body to do so. I can only count a few occasions of this as normally, you make a decision in your will then follow up with physical movement of your body. I find that the Lord will do this for those who have submitted their will to Him as the One Who knows best for them anyway. I was making a decision not to attend something I had already intended to attend, only to renege on that decision based on the weather, as if God has no control of the weather. Thank God because I was really touched during that meeting.

However, on the other side of things is doing what you know is not good and what God has forbidden because it is not beneficial to us or anyone else. Even the Apostle Paul had the same struggles we do.

Romans 7:15-20 New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁵ For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. ¹⁶ If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. ¹⁷ But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. ¹⁸ For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. ¹⁹ For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. ²⁰ Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

CONCLUSION

No matter who you are or whether you feel like it. I am telling you, you are unique and special, God's rare jewel that no one can imitate. Once we discover our need for God and get into a right relationship with Him,  we are able to discover, often with some guidance, our reason for being. Knowing why you are here and getting on the path to accomplishing you destiny gives you a spark to operate in a passion that can only come from knowing who you are in Christ. It is how you begin the journey to  becoming the men and women He created us to be. That may take a lifetime, and is designed that way so that in dependence on God we can finish our journey well. Please realize that God is not looking for perfection as in without mistakes, before He can use us in His Kingdom, He can use anyone who is willing to become His child operating in childlike faith. He is looking for those who will walk in the type of perfection that says I will follow Christ's example in obeying my loving Father and letting Him, by His Holy Spirit, direct my life. That is entirely our decision.

The goal is to submit to God so that your human spirit aligns with God's holiness, continually transforming your soul, which in turn commands your body to act in agreement with God's ways. That is how we live lives of blessing. Deuteronomy 28 is full of the promises of God for complying with His ways, as well as the curses that come from ignoring and disobeying them. That's because disagreement with God leaves us open to the wiles of the evil one. It is how we got into this predicament in the first place, where the Garden residents decided to question what God had already told and shown them. Now we know that all of the commandments come down to only 2: 1st loving God (through obedience) - most importantly, and 2.) Loving each other - 2nd most important.

My prayer is that you discover Him so that you an discover the true you and avoid the need to imitate others in ways that threaten the essence of the amazing person He has made you to be. Paul said, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ." That means there is only one person we imitate, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Author of salvation.

God bless you!