On the day that God created man, He created us in His own image and likeness - Genesis 1:26 - 27. And after creating us, He gave us His breath - Genesis 2:7, the breath of life. And we became a living being, complete in body and spirit. After He gave us His breath, He gave us power over every living thing - Genesis 1: 26 - 28.
Genesis 1: 26 - 28
Then God said, Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]; and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and over the entire earth, and over everything that creeps and crawls on the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them [granting them certain authority] and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subjugate it [putting it under your power]; and rule over (dominate) the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every living thing that moves upon the earth.
From the beginning we are called the children of God and we have God's nature in us all.
Ephesians 1:5
He predestined and lovingly planned for us to be adopted to Himself as [His own] children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the kind intention and good pleasure of His will - AMP
And before the world was made, God decided to make us his own children through Jesus Christ. This was what God wanted, and it pleased him to do it - ERV
God had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us his children—this was his pleasure and purpose - GNT
And because of His love for us, God connects with us through His Spirit. He cannot connect with us through any other way.
Remember that He said in various verses in His word that He is Spirit -
John 4:24
God is spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to mankind], and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
2 Corinthians 3:17
Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed and commissioned me
To bring good news to the humble and afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted,
To proclaim release [from confinement and condemnation] to the [physical and spiritual] captives
And freedom to prisoners.
Romans 8:14
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
1 Corinthians 3:16
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
God is Spirit.
Therefore as His own children we are a spirit, we have a soul and we are living in a body -
1 Thessalonians 5:23
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.
OUR SPIRIT
Man's spirit is joined to the Spirit of the Lord - 1 Corinthians 6: 17. And because of this we are one with the Lord, this is why we can hear God when He speaks to us His children that knows His Son as our Lord and Saviour. We can understand God more and recognise His voice when He speaks to us - John 10:27. And because we know His voice we can live in obedience to Him - Luke 11:28.
God is Spirit and as a Spirit we are called to worship Him in spirit and in truth - John 4: 23 - 24. And since we are one in spirit with the Lord, to worship Him will not be a burden to us but it will be a joy to be in His presence and as we do this the truth of who He is will be known to us His children, and the truth of His word will be revealed to us as well.
Because we are a spirit being the word of God instructs us not to put our confidence in the flesh - Philippians 3:3. The flesh is very dangerous and puts us in a lot of trouble according to the book of Romans 8: 1 - 8, the flesh can never please God who is Spirit and this brings death to us as we rely on the flesh which causes a separation from God.
As we allow our spirit to dominate us, the word promises us that we will have life and peace always. And in allowing the spirit to dominate us we can then submit to God's law. Romans 8 also records that we are not in the realm of the flesh but we are in the realm of the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in us. Those who are in the spirit cannot be controlled by Satan. But those that are in the flesh will always be controlled by Satan because they live in the flesh which is hostile towards God.
Since our spirit is joined to the Spirit of God and we are submitted to Him we can expect to live in His light always because He is the Light of the world - John 8:12. Our spirit is the candle of the Lord - Proverbs 20:27. Our spirit is eternal - Romans 8:11. Our spirit is joined to the Holy Spirit - Acts 2:38; Matthew 10:20; 1 Corinthians 6:19.
Our spirit is perfect simply because as Jesus is so are we - 1 John 4:17 and we are also the righteousness of God in Christ - 2 Corinthians 5:21.
Scriptures on the spirit
1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Galatians 5:16
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
John 14:26
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
OUR SOUL
According to the biblical definition of the soul
The soul is the principle of life, feeling, thought, and action in humans, regarded as a distinct entity separate from the body, and commonly held to be separable inexistence from the body; the spiritual part of humans as district from the physical part.
Or
The soul is the emotional part of human nature; the seat of the feelings or sentiments.
The soul is the way we feel, think and act, the soul is separate from our body. Our emotions is the soul, when we are sad, upset, happy and hungry, we can touch and we can be upset that refers to our soul.
Jesus said in the book of Matthew 10:28
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
This simply means that the body can be destroyed but not the soul, the soul will live on to eternity. 3 John 1:2 says we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind.
David said in Psalm 103:1
Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
With our soul we are to always bless the Lord and our soul is different from our spirit simply because it is with our spirit that we are able to contact God and our soul is where we can know the difference between good and evil, our soul will either follow our spirit or our body, we are not to let our body control our soul and we are not to let our soul control our body. Our spirit is to control our soul and the body should follow our spirit and our soul.
The word of God helps us to separate the spirit, the soul and the body according to the book of Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart.
The word of God will separate the truth from the lie and helps us to live according to the commandments of God. When we need to know what God says about a situation, the word is the best place to check on His promises, and we can then obey God through His word.
Scriptures on the soul
Psalm 62:5
For God alone my soul waits in silence and quietly submits to Him,
For my hope is from Him.
1 Peter 1:9
For you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Ezekiel 18:4
Behold, all souls are Mine;
The soul of the father
As well as the soul of the son is Mine;
The soul who sins shall die.
OUR BODY
The body is the part that houses our spirit and soul, the body and the flesh are not the same according to the book of Romans 8: 1 - 16
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who[a] do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Sonship Through the Spirit
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
The body can either be controlled by the spirit or the soul, our body is the part that should not control us but is to be controlled by the spirit, soul and then the body. we are to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice - Romans 12: 1 - 2, and this is the will of God for our lives and it also says we are not to follow the ways of this world.
The body is also the temple of the Holy Spirit that dwells in us - 1 Corinthians 6: 19 - 20. We were created by God in Jeremiah 1:5 and we are to honour God with our body - 1 Corinthians 6: 19 - 20. We are now the body of Christ - 1 Corinthians 12:27 and because of this we live and move and have our being in him alone - Acts 17:28.
The book of Psalm 139: 13 - 18 says this powerful word:
For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.
God who is the creator formed our inward parts and covered us up in our mother's womb before we were born and every individual is fearfully and wonderfully made in His image and likeness. God is good to us all and knows everything in us and about us all. Because of this we are to praise Him all the days of our lives for we are to let Him preserve our spirit and soul and body, so that we can be without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Scriptures on body:
Leviticus 19:28
You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord.
Philippians 1: 20
According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.
1 Corinthians 15:44
It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
Our spirit, soul and body is three parts, just as we have the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is one but as different personalities and we are also one with different personalities. But most importantly we are to live by our spirit and not be ruled by our body which is a natural body John 14:20; Job 33:4. Our spirit is connected ( joined ) to God's Spirit, this is why we can only go to God through our spirit man.
Jesus actually said so in the book of John 17: 20 - 23:
I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who [a]will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
God said in Galatians 4:6 that because we are His, He has sent us the Spirit of His Son into our hearts and through that we can call Him. "ABBA FATHER", Our Father that loves us so much as given to us the right to call Him by His name.
God is Spirit and we are all joined to Him.
Remain blessed in His presence always.
