Intro
We have completed a brief study in how to maintain a pure conscience. As a follow-up to that, I want to talk about “Caring for Your Spirit.” What do we need to do to maintain a strong, active spirit that is in communion with God and functioning effectively? How is the human spirit strengthened? That is where we are going in this series. To get there we must lay a foundation by answering crucial questions. What is a human spirit? What is the condition of an unbeliever’s spirit? What is the first thing that must happen for a person to be spiritual (pnuemaktios) in the way Galatians 6:1 uses the term? How does a believer’s spirit function in relationship to God and with that person’s own soul? What is the difference between your spirit and your soul? And why is it important to know that difference? The Bible has a lot to say about being a spiritual person. Most Christians live below their biblical privilege because they do not know these things.
Today we will talk about the difference between your spirit and your soul. We will talk about the resurrection of a dead spirit and what that means to your salvation. We will begin talking about how the believer’s spirit is to function. Next week we will explore what it means to walk in the Spirit and deal more fully with how the believer’s spirit functions in relationship with God and in relationship with the soul and body. What is the human spirit?
THE HUMAN SPIRIT
In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Paul addresses the three parts of who you are. He wrote to the Thessalonian Christians: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit (pneuma), soul (psuche), and body (soma) be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”i The three parts addressed are “spirit, soul, and body.” The body is the material part of you: your arms and legs and brain and lungs, etc. Your spirit and soul are the immaterial part of you. In a recent study we learned the Scripture uses of the heart as a metaphor for the immaterial part of a person. “Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). In our book Beatitudes of Christ,ii we taught how the heart is generally a reference to the spirit and soul. And because it includes the person’s spirit, it is the most fundamental part of who you are. Although your body is aging and will die, as a believer your spirit is alive in Christ.
This is one reason physical death is not a fearful thought for the Christian.iii For the believer, death is simply a change in locality. In this life, our dwelling is in a mortal body. At death, the immaterial part of you (spirit and soul fully conscious) leaves that dwelling to go be with the Lord. The new locality is better than the previous one. Physical death is a promotion for those who are in Christ. Psalm 116:15: “Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His saints.”
Therefore, when a fellow believer departs to be with the Lord, we do not grieve as the world
grieves. (1 Thess. 4:14). We miss our fellowship with that person because that is temporarily
interrupted. But we know the believer is in a better place, and we will be reunited at the coming
of the Lord.
There are two problems associated with this subject of spirit and soul that we must acknowledge
up front.
First, the use of language is not a laboratory test tube matter. Language evolves and a word is
often used in a variety of ways. For example, pneuma sometimes refers to breath, wind, fallen
spirits, the Holy Spirit, or the human spirit. In this study, we want to examine pneuma in
distinction from psuche (soul). Our focus is pneuma as a reference to the human spirit. Psuche is
sometimes used in reference to a person’s life. Sometimes it refers to the whole person. In other
texts it refers to the soul in distinction from the spirit as in 1 Thessalonians 5:23. Here it means
the rational mind, emotions, and will. That’s the way we are using it in this teaching. Because
these words are used in a variety of way, we could get bogged down in a multitude of technical
qualifications and caveats. I don’t want to get sidetracked with that. Instead, I want to teach a
couple of principles that are very important for your walk with God.
A second problem that we must acknowledge is this:
Distinguishing between soul and spirit can be challenging in our daily experience. Many
Christians cannot discern between a soulish emotion and spiritual stirring. The excitement of a
big crowd can feel spiritual when it is nothing more than soulish enthusiasm. A tear-jerking story
can feel spiritual. A well-done song can stir emotions when nothing spiritual is happening. A
carnal Christian can easily interpret all that as something spiritual. I’m not saying those things
are wrong. I’m simply saying we must learn to distinguish soulish excitement from spiritual
edification. And it is not always easy to do. The discernment begins with simply recognizing
there is a difference.
We are dependent on biblical revelation to teach us the difference between soul and spirit.
Hebrews 4:12 says: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged
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.” Biblical revelation (“the word of God”) rightly
divides soul and spirit. We need that revelation. Commenting on this verse, Andrew Murray
wrote, “In the soul the natural life has its seat; in the spirit the spiritual and divine.”iv
Unbelievers operate entirely out of the soulish natural life. Their spirit is dead in trespasses and
sin (Eph. 2:1).v Every unbeliever “walks in the flesh.” Since his spirit is dead and dormant, he
cannot “walk in the Spirit.” He relies entirely on his soul (his mind) for knowledge and direction
in life.
RESURRECTION OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT
The first thing a sinner needs is a spiritual resurrection. His dead spirit needs to be “made alive”
in Christ. The New Testament uses two metaphors to help us understand the first step in
salvation: the metaphor of birth and the metaphor of resurrection.
The metaphor of resurrection is used in Ephesians 2:1. Speaking to Christians, Paul writes: “And
you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.”vi When we are baptized in water, we are declaring this has happened in our spirit. Our spirit which was dead in sin has been resurrected to life in Christ. Romans 6:4: “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”vii So, when you put your faith in Christ, your dead human spirit was resurrected and made alive. That is one metaphor used to describe your initial experience in Christ.
The other metaphor is the new birth. In John 3:3 Jesus told Nicodemus: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Without the new birth a person is cut off from the life of God, his spirit is dead and inactive, he cannot draw on the life of God, and he cannot operate in (or even “see”) the kingdom of God. He can be religion. He can be moral by human standards. But he is separated from God because his capacity (spirit) to interact with God is not functional. Jesus told the woman at the well that worship of God must be “in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). Communion with God happens spirit to spirit, not soul to spirit. When a person is born of the Spirit, he is then equipped to live in communion with God who is a Spirit.viii
So, the first thing every human being needs is this spiritual birth. The other metaphor given to help us understand that event is that his dead spirit must be “made alive” (KJV: quickened) in Christ. The spirit of every true believer is alive and has the capacity to interact with God. “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Make sure that has happened in you.
How can we know that we have been born again or resurrected in our spirit? There is an internal evidence and an external evidence.
The internal evidence is subjective but essential. Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit Himself [the Holy Spirit] bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” In your inner-most being an intuitive knowing occurs that assures you that your sins are forgiven and God has given life to your spirit.ix Notice, this assurance happens Spirit to spirit. It is something between God and the individual. Man’s assurance is not enough. Ritual cannot substitute for it. If you don’t have that assurance, seek God until you do.
The external evidence is lifestyle. A resurrection of your spirit into newness of life will manifest in the way you live. If your religion produces no change in your daily behavior, you need to be concerned. The new birth brings the divine nature into the core of the person. The Holy Spirit is joined to the person’s spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). The Holy Spirit is holy; he is righteous. And our union with him makes our spirit righteous through the blood of Christ. Instead of your spirit being dead in sin, it is alive unto God in righteousness. That naturally produces the fruit of righteousness in the person’s behavior. The change is instantaneous in the human spirit, but it is progressive in the soul. Therefore, the change in behavior is progressive yet real. The Apostle John wrote, “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous (1 John 3:7).x A righteous lifestyle is the fruit of the righteous life of God in the believer’s spirit.xi
Everything we will teach on this subject of spirit and soul means nothing without the new birth. The human spirit must be given life by the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, a person cannot commune with God spirit to Spirit. “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).
Conclusion
After the new birth, Christians must learn to “walk in the Spirit” and not function the way they did as unbelievers. In Galatians 5:25 Paul says to believers: “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” The word walk is a metaphor indicating the way you live your daily life. The life of God is in your spirit; conduct yourself accordingly. Notice that verse is an exhortation. It is possible for a believer to be alive in Christ, yet not “walk in the Spirit.” The person has a freewill. Therefore, believers must choose to walk in the Spirit. Otherwise, they will revert back to relying on their own natural soulish life for knowledge and direction. The Christian who does not walk in the Spirit operates much like the unbeliever whose spirit is dead. “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” The Amplified Bible Classic Edition embellishes the verse by adding: “If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.” Is your conduct guided and controlled by the Spirit?
The original language does not have capitalization. So, when the Scripture tells us to “walk in the Spirit,” is it referring to the Holy Spirit or your resurrected spirit in Christ? In practice, it does not matter because the two are joined according to 1 Cor. 6:17: (a) To walk in the Holy Spirit is only possible by walking in your resurrected human spirit. (b) Additionally, the Holy Spirit communicates with and through your human spirit to direct your life. Translators of Galatians 5:16-25 correctly use a capital “S” to translate pneuma. However, the statements are true if pneuma were understood as the human spirit of the believer. First Corinthians 6:17: “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.”
Next week we will explore the subject of walking in the Spirit in contrast to walking in the flesh. What does it mean to walk in the Spirit? How do we live that way?
ENDNOTES:
i All Scripture quotes are from the New King James Version unless indicated otherwise.
ii Richard W. Tow, Beatitudes of Christ: Pathway of Blessing (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2024).
iii Heb. 2:15; 1 Cor. 15:53-57.
iv Andrew Murray, The Holiest of All: An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews (Old Tappan, NJ: Revell, n.d.), 160.
v This is a consequence of Adam’s fall passed on to the human race through procreation. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12). The most fundamental aspect of death is to the human spirit which is the core of personality. Of course, the consequence extends to the body as well. At its most fundamental level, death is separation from God. The separation of the soul from the body at the conclusion of this life is secondary.
vi The translators are justified in adding “He made alive” because verse 5 clearly states this: “Even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” The word translated “made us alive together” is suzopoieo. The prefix “su” indicates together. “Zopoieo” is to make alive.
vii See also Col. 2:12-13. Our union with Christ in his death and resurrection is an important truth for Christians to understand.
viii Like communicates with like. I cannot communicate with an ant because our natures are radically different.
ix Later, we will discuss the acquisition of knowledge in one’s spirit in contrast to knowledge in the soul acquired through the five natural senses and processed through rational thought.
x For an exposition of this verse see Richard W. Tow, Authentic Christianity: Studies in 1 John (Bloomington, IN: Westbow Press, 2019), 170-189. Also see Matt. 7:21-23; James 2:17-18; 1 John 2:29
xi Cf. Matt. 7:17-21.
