Soul And Body - Life in all its abundance
Man the being is unity of both the spiritual and the physical. Proper understanding of both these dimensions will help us locate the root causes of our problems much more easily and correctly.
Man has two dimensions to his being i.e. soul and body.
The soul is that dimension of man which consists of two faculties - mind and heart.
The mind is the place of the intellect. It enables to react or respond to events or happenings. It can think, reason, know, understand, memorize, recall, create, plan, visualize, etc.
The heart is the deepest part or core of the soul. From here arise all the desires. This is also the seat of emotions. Emotions are feelings corresponding to reactions or responses of the mind. This is the place where one exercises one's will to make serious, permanent and irrevocable decisions or choices.
Various other examples how the word heart is used:(e.g. from the heart means from the core or depth, keep in the heart means to treat as very important or valuable, heart of the matter means the most important part of the matter, believe in the heart means to have a firm faith, desire of the heart means a deep rooted desire, out of the heart means from the core or depth)
*** Everything that is contained in the soul is called spirit OR everything that is contained in the mind and heart is called spirit.
Other ways of understanding the word spirit:
1. The word spirit may be used to address anything that is from the spiritual or invisible realm just like the word matter is used to address anything in the physical or visible realm.
2. The word spirit may be used to refer to that faculty that enables to communicate with the spiritual realm. Its function is similar to the five senses of the body but in relation to the spiritual realm. Therefore it is often called the sixth sense. It enables us to see visions and receive inspirations. But these can be either from the Holy Spirit (God) or from the Evil Spirit (Satan).
The Greek language has separate words for spirit and soul. Unfortunately how it is used in various translations entirely depends on the choice of the translator. The word spirit is used sometimes to refer to the soul or just the sixth sense. The word spirit may be used to refer to all that is not physical in creation (e.g all that is contained in the soul). The word spirit is also used to refer to spirit creatures (angels and fallen angels called evil spirits or demons or unclean spirits). Still at other times the word spirit is used to refer to the vital animating essence of a person (broken in spirit), or attitude (took it in the wrong spirit), or a person's character ( has an unbending spirit), or to characterize a person (is an ardent spirit), or courage, energy, vivacity (played with spirit).
The body is that dimension of man which enables him to interact with the world through the five senses. The body is controlled by the brain which is just another organ of the body.
Other than some involuntary functions like heartbeat or breathing the mind can control the brain and hence the actions of the body. Breathing can be controlled but only for a limited time. Things that enter the brain through the senses of the body are stored in the mind. The mind reacts or responds to events or happenings around. The event and the reaction is recorded in the mind. The reaction is either good (pleasing to God) or evil (pleasing to Satan). Whether the reaction is good or evil depends to what extent the heart is polluted with disordered desires like pride, lust, wrath, greed, avarice, sloth and envy. Corresponding to the reaction in the mind a feeling of either love or hatred and happiness or sadness is experienced in the heart. Events that please us make us happy and events that displease us make us sad. Happiness from events that are displeasing to God will never lead to contentment. Joy is the highest form of happiness which comes directly from God and is independent of the situation around us. Joy leads to contentment. When we believe and trust in God our minds are in an orderly or calm state called peace. Otherwise our minds are disorderly or restless or troubled with fears, worries and anxieties.
The condition of the mind and heart influence our decisions and hence our actions. Mutual affection, appreciation is motivated by love. Resentment, criticism is motivated by hatred.
The mind can recall things from its storage. The mind is so vast that it is further sub divided into conscious, subconscious and unconscious. Things that are stored in the conscious are fresh in the mind but things that are stored in the subconscious and unconscious need to be recalled. Things get far-gotten and rarely forgotten. Whenever we do something contrary to the word of God stored in our mind we experience a state of unease called guilt. The measure of the guilt depends whether the word is stored in the conscious, subconscious or unconscious.
The mind should not be confused with the intelligence of a person as intelligence is dependent on the brain. The quality of the brain is dependent on genetic factors. The efficiency of the brain can be developed by systematic efforts (this is what our elementary education is supposed to achieve!!). Intelligence is the measure of how efficiently the mind and the brain interact with each other.
Therefore man can interact with the spiritual world through his spirit (sixth sense) and with the physical world through the body (five senses).
So man the being is not just soul or just body but the unity of soul and body. The quality of the soul received by everyone directly from God at the time of conception is identical but the quality of the body differs from person to person because it depends on parents. The information collected by the mind with its corresponding emotions begins from the time of conception. The condition of the soul defines the nature or personality of a person. This nature is called the flesh nature by St. Paul (Romans 8:5-9, Galatians 5:16-24, 6:8). It is called the flesh nature because it is always inclined towards the pleasure of the body.
Since man has two dimensions any sickness (fault) in one dimension has an affect on the whole person. For example if the body is gravely sick for a long duration it can lead to depressing thoughts making the mind rebellious causing sadness in the heart and influencing the will to make a choice to rebel against God making the will sick and once the choice is executed it leads to the spirit being cut off from God leading to a sick spirit. Likewise a fault may begin in one of the other dimensions and then spread else where. A mind that is holding a grudge is sick which leads to a sick heart full of feelings of hatred and sadness influencing the will to refuse to forgive and living in the sin of unforgiveness making the spirit sick which can make the body sick.
Hence a grave offence against God blocks the spirit of man from having a relationship with God. Lighter offences may not cut us off from God but they definitely affect the quality of our relationship with Him. Ignoring light offences is the surest path towards grave ones.
Besides suffering in the body due to faults in the above areas a person may also suffer in the body due to the presence of an evil spirit or evil spirits (fallen angels or demons or unclean spirits) in his body. This is called possession. But unless a sin is committed no evil spirit can enter the body except in cases where there are sinful generational links (refer to the teaching on Blessings & Curses). Breaking the generational links and casting out these evil spirits will need the help of a christian having correct understanding of deliverance.
So whoever controls the mind of man has control over the whole being. The mind is the battle ground where God draws us to him by his word which is the truth and Satan by his word which is a lie. God will not use any pressure because he respects our will but Satan has no respect for us whatsoever and will use every trick to deceive us. The first humans and the majority today are trapped in the sin of unbelief. Therefore the first deliverance that man requires is from unbelief. As the word says in Romans 10:17
It is a absolute necessity to fill our minds with knowledge of God because the scripture says in the gospel of John 8:31-32
Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.'
We need to believe and trust in God and let go of all fears, worries and anxieties which make us sad. That is why Jesus tell us in the gospel of John 14:1
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.
We need to practice daily repentance so that we are filled with the Spirit of God as the scriptures tell us in Acts 2:38
We need to let go of grudges and forgive ourselves and others so that our hearts are free from hatred and and filled love. The scripture says in Matthew 6:14-15
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
When our mind and heart is clean and and our spirit is open to God we will be able to hear his promptings and be filled with Him and thus succeed in making choices that are pleasing to Him. This will give our body good health and we will be able to enjoy life in all its abundance not just spiritually but in every area that affects our earthly life (finances, relationships, education, opportunities, work, business, etc) just as Jesus promised in gospel of John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
*** The above teaching should not be confused with the suffering of the righteous (those who have a close relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ). These will be tested time and again in their spiritual life.
Other Scripture References:
John 4:24, 1 Thessalonians, Hebrews 4:12,
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Man has two dimensions to his being i.e. soul and body.
The soul is that dimension of man which consists of two faculties - mind and heart.
The mind is the place of the intellect. It enables to react or respond to events or happenings. It can think, reason, know, understand, memorize, recall, create, plan, visualize, etc.
The heart is the deepest part or core of the soul. From here arise all the desires. This is also the seat of emotions. Emotions are feelings corresponding to reactions or responses of the mind. This is the place where one exercises one's will to make serious, permanent and irrevocable decisions or choices.
Various other examples how the word heart is used:(e.g. from the heart means from the core or depth, keep in the heart means to treat as very important or valuable, heart of the matter means the most important part of the matter, believe in the heart means to have a firm faith, desire of the heart means a deep rooted desire, out of the heart means from the core or depth)
*** Everything that is contained in the soul is called spirit OR everything that is contained in the mind and heart is called spirit.
Other ways of understanding the word spirit:
1. The word spirit may be used to address anything that is from the spiritual or invisible realm just like the word matter is used to address anything in the physical or visible realm.
2. The word spirit may be used to refer to that faculty that enables to communicate with the spiritual realm. Its function is similar to the five senses of the body but in relation to the spiritual realm. Therefore it is often called the sixth sense. It enables us to see visions and receive inspirations. But these can be either from the Holy Spirit (God) or from the Evil Spirit (Satan).
The Greek language has separate words for spirit and soul. Unfortunately how it is used in various translations entirely depends on the choice of the translator. The word spirit is used sometimes to refer to the soul or just the sixth sense. The word spirit may be used to refer to all that is not physical in creation (e.g all that is contained in the soul). The word spirit is also used to refer to spirit creatures (angels and fallen angels called evil spirits or demons or unclean spirits). Still at other times the word spirit is used to refer to the vital animating essence of a person (broken in spirit), or attitude (took it in the wrong spirit), or a person's character ( has an unbending spirit), or to characterize a person (is an ardent spirit), or courage, energy, vivacity (played with spirit).
The body is that dimension of man which enables him to interact with the world through the five senses. The body is controlled by the brain which is just another organ of the body.
Other than some involuntary functions like heartbeat or breathing the mind can control the brain and hence the actions of the body. Breathing can be controlled but only for a limited time. Things that enter the brain through the senses of the body are stored in the mind. The mind reacts or responds to events or happenings around. The event and the reaction is recorded in the mind. The reaction is either good (pleasing to God) or evil (pleasing to Satan). Whether the reaction is good or evil depends to what extent the heart is polluted with disordered desires like pride, lust, wrath, greed, avarice, sloth and envy. Corresponding to the reaction in the mind a feeling of either love or hatred and happiness or sadness is experienced in the heart. Events that please us make us happy and events that displease us make us sad. Happiness from events that are displeasing to God will never lead to contentment. Joy is the highest form of happiness which comes directly from God and is independent of the situation around us. Joy leads to contentment. When we believe and trust in God our minds are in an orderly or calm state called peace. Otherwise our minds are disorderly or restless or troubled with fears, worries and anxieties.
The condition of the mind and heart influence our decisions and hence our actions. Mutual affection, appreciation is motivated by love. Resentment, criticism is motivated by hatred.
The mind can recall things from its storage. The mind is so vast that it is further sub divided into conscious, subconscious and unconscious. Things that are stored in the conscious are fresh in the mind but things that are stored in the subconscious and unconscious need to be recalled. Things get far-gotten and rarely forgotten. Whenever we do something contrary to the word of God stored in our mind we experience a state of unease called guilt. The measure of the guilt depends whether the word is stored in the conscious, subconscious or unconscious.
The mind should not be confused with the intelligence of a person as intelligence is dependent on the brain. The quality of the brain is dependent on genetic factors. The efficiency of the brain can be developed by systematic efforts (this is what our elementary education is supposed to achieve!!). Intelligence is the measure of how efficiently the mind and the brain interact with each other.
Therefore man can interact with the spiritual world through his spirit (sixth sense) and with the physical world through the body (five senses).
So man the being is not just soul or just body but the unity of soul and body. The quality of the soul received by everyone directly from God at the time of conception is identical but the quality of the body differs from person to person because it depends on parents. The information collected by the mind with its corresponding emotions begins from the time of conception. The condition of the soul defines the nature or personality of a person. This nature is called the flesh nature by St. Paul (Romans 8:5-9, Galatians 5:16-24, 6:8). It is called the flesh nature because it is always inclined towards the pleasure of the body.
Since man has two dimensions any sickness (fault) in one dimension has an affect on the whole person. For example if the body is gravely sick for a long duration it can lead to depressing thoughts making the mind rebellious causing sadness in the heart and influencing the will to make a choice to rebel against God making the will sick and once the choice is executed it leads to the spirit being cut off from God leading to a sick spirit. Likewise a fault may begin in one of the other dimensions and then spread else where. A mind that is holding a grudge is sick which leads to a sick heart full of feelings of hatred and sadness influencing the will to refuse to forgive and living in the sin of unforgiveness making the spirit sick which can make the body sick.
Hence a grave offence against God blocks the spirit of man from having a relationship with God. Lighter offences may not cut us off from God but they definitely affect the quality of our relationship with Him. Ignoring light offences is the surest path towards grave ones.
Besides suffering in the body due to faults in the above areas a person may also suffer in the body due to the presence of an evil spirit or evil spirits (fallen angels or demons or unclean spirits) in his body. This is called possession. But unless a sin is committed no evil spirit can enter the body except in cases where there are sinful generational links (refer to the teaching on Blessings & Curses). Breaking the generational links and casting out these evil spirits will need the help of a christian having correct understanding of deliverance.
So whoever controls the mind of man has control over the whole being. The mind is the battle ground where God draws us to him by his word which is the truth and Satan by his word which is a lie. God will not use any pressure because he respects our will but Satan has no respect for us whatsoever and will use every trick to deceive us. The first humans and the majority today are trapped in the sin of unbelief. Therefore the first deliverance that man requires is from unbelief. As the word says in Romans 10:17
So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.
It is a absolute necessity to fill our minds with knowledge of God because the scripture says in the gospel of John 8:31-32
Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.'
We need to believe and trust in God and let go of all fears, worries and anxieties which make us sad. That is why Jesus tell us in the gospel of John 14:1
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.
We need to practice daily repentance so that we are filled with the Spirit of God as the scriptures tell us in Acts 2:38
Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Christians cannot be baptized again but can take part in the sacrament of confession. The Holy Spirit is the divine helper given to be with us to teach, guide, remind, inspire and animate us. We need to be always conscious of His presence with us.We need to let go of grudges and forgive ourselves and others so that our hearts are free from hatred and and filled love. The scripture says in Matthew 6:14-15
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
When our mind and heart is clean and and our spirit is open to God we will be able to hear his promptings and be filled with Him and thus succeed in making choices that are pleasing to Him. This will give our body good health and we will be able to enjoy life in all its abundance not just spiritually but in every area that affects our earthly life (finances, relationships, education, opportunities, work, business, etc) just as Jesus promised in gospel of John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
*** The above teaching should not be confused with the suffering of the righteous (those who have a close relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ). These will be tested time and again in their spiritual life.
Other Scripture References:
John 4:24, 1 Thessalonians, Hebrews 4:12,
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.