KEY SCRIPTURE:1Th 5:23 KJV And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

A good understanding of the nature of man will help us to walk effectively with the Spirit of God. Our key scripture shows us that, Man is a three-fold being. He is a spirit, soul and body. From the book of beginnings, that is Genesis, God created man in the image and likeness of God Gen 1:26. The ‘image’ in this context  talks about appearance as in the physical form, and the likeness talks about the nature of God. The physical appearance of God is like man. The nature of God is a Spirit. John 4:24 KJV “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” If man is like God, then man is also spirit. Our spirit is fundamentally our true or real nature, for God cannot relate with our souls or bodies, but rather relates with our spirit. Pro 20:27 KJV” The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.”

God deals with man   from his spirit. Job 32:8

The body of man is an earthly house for his spirit which is immortal.  2Co 5:1 KJV For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. The body houses the senses. These include,

1. Sight

2. Taste

3. Feeling

4. Hear

5. Touch

The state of the body determines how much the spirit can go in a number of instances. Matt 26:41 KJV “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” The body can be trained to cooperate with the Spirit.

We also  saw from our key scripture  that , man also has a soul. The soul is  the self conscious aspect of a man. It is made up of the mind, emotions and will. The soul is immortal as the spirit. The spirit and soul are used interchangeably in certain portions of the scripture, yet there is a clear division between the two. Heb 4:12 KJV 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.’ From this scripture the bible shows us, there is a division between the spirit and the soul. The soul and spirit functions together, as the soul receives information and is processed in the mind, reacted on by the emotions, and acted on by the will. When the Spirit of God shows, or tells the spirit an information, it is passed on to the soul, through the mind and the body through the brain becomes aware of it. To be continued.

PRAYER

Father, give us the understanding to know who we are and how to operate effectively with your Spirit, and the world around us, to bring glory to your name.

FURTHER STUDIES

Job 32:8 KJV” But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.”

Jas 1:21 KJV” Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”