[ecko_quote source="I Thessalonians 5:23"]Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit (man’s spirit), and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ [/ecko_quote]
Man is a spirit who possesses or has a soul and lives in a body. Your spirit is as real as you are. When you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, it is your spirit that is born again. Man’s spirit is the part of him that knows God. God is a Spirit, and God made man to fellowship with Him. God made man for His own pleasure. Man is not an animal. In order to fellowship with God, a man must be in the same category as with God. Pastor Kenneth Hagin gave an illustration and asked the readers this, He said, "Did you ever try to fellowship with an old cow? We cannot fellowship with cows because they are in a different kingdom, a different class from us. They do not worship God. However, we can fellowship with one another, and we can fellowship with God because we are in the same class of things, if we could call it that for understanding.
When you receive salvation, you become a new creation. The Spirit of God moves inside of your spirit to live not just for a visit. Your everlasting life begins at that moment. Your spirit will live for all eternity. Your death is recorded on the cross of Jesus (Romans 6:6). Death is now in your past and no longer in your future. In John 11:26 Jesus said, "Whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die". When you receive Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, it is your spirit that is born again, not your body. Your body will be glorified in the future, but that does not happen until the rapture of the church.
Jesus told the woman at the well in Samaria, “God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). We cannot know God or touch Him physically. He is not a man, He is Spirit. But we can reach Him with our spirits, and it is through our spirit that we come to know, God. For your understanding, the word “heart” and “spirit” are used interchangeably in the scriptures. Your heart is your spirit. When the word of God speaks about the heart of man, it is speaking of the spirit of man. The Apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 4:16, said though our outward man perishes (decaying), yet the inward man is renewed day by day. The outward man, or the body, is growing older and is decaying, just as the house you live in is decaying and needs constant upkeep and repairs. But the real you is not getting any older. Paul said, yet the inward man (spirit) is renewed day by day. In other words, my hair may become greyer, and I may get a few more wrinkles, but the real me will never become old. For the inward man is renewed day by day.
The outward man is seen, but the inward man is that hidden - unseen man. Too many people are defeated in life because they are looking at the wrong things. All they ever see is physical. Smith Wigglesworth once said, “I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe. The only way we can look at the unseen is by faith. Believing take place in the heart (spirit) and confessing with our mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord (Roman 10:9-10).
In 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 Paul said, “we are always confident…”. Paul knew what he was talking about. He was confident that while we (the inward man) are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord”. But when we (the inward man- the real man) are “absent from the body”, we are present with the Lord”. Our spirit (the inward man) lives long after our earthly house has returned to the dust.
Science has spent millions of dollars to develop the physical body of a man. Additional millions have been spent developing man’s intellectual processes, which are a part of his soul. But we know so little and have done so little about developing the spirit of man. However, man’s spirit can be educated and improved just as his mind can be. The spirit can be trained and built up just as the body. How, you may ask? Through the study of God’s Word. Jesus said, It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life (John 6:63). If God willing, I will continue our devotion on man's three-parts being.
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[ecko_quote source="I Thessalonians 5:23"]Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit (man’s spirit), and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ [/ecko_quote]
I am writing these devotions for those who have a desire to grow in the Word of God and in their Christian life. I would like to focus few devotions on the subject of “man’s threefold nature- spirit, soul and body”. We, as Christians, must understand this threefold nature. If we want to appreciate and understand the word of God clearly, we must know our three part being. Therefore, it is my sincere request and prayer that while you go through these devotions, the Holy Spirit God would reveal the truth into your spirit. I believe in my heart after concluding these series of devotions on this subject, it would revolutionise your understanding of the scriptures and also show you the areas where your ultimate focus is required. As you know, we are on the battlefield, and our battle is not against flesh and blood but principalities and powers which are operating through human beings. We must be aware of our weak and strong zones to put forth our resources to appropriate use. Therefore, it is essential for every Christian to understand their position and disposition. Unless you allow the Holy Spirit to give you revelation on this basic fundamental truth, your understanding of the Bible will be skewed.
The study of man’s three-fold nature always intrigued me. Over the years I sought earnestly to learn to differentiate between these three. It would be easy enough for us to distinguish between body and the other two. However, it is sometimes difficult to make a distinction between spirit and the soul. Nothing but the Bible can help you with that. Further misunderstandings on this subject abound. Much of the teachings have been taught in error, even from the pulpit. Some have said to me, I have always thought the spirit and the soul were the same. I have always preached in that way. However, I said to them that they cannot be the same. Otherwise, why would the Bible say, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit… (Hebrew 4:12). If they were the same, they could not be divided. If they were the same, Apostle Paul would not have said, “I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess 5:23).
You must know that you are a three-part being consisting of spirit, soul and body. They are three distinct, different Greek words- spirit (pneuma), soul (psuche), and body (soma). One way of saying is, you are a spirit, you live in a body, and you have/possess a soul. I knew without an argument that with this physical body, we contact the world. The body deals only in the physical realm. No one disputed that. Then, as I studied further, I saw that it is the spirit of man that can contact God, for God is a Spirit. You were created in the likeness and the image of God. God is a three -part-being; Father, the Word (Jesus) and Spirit (I John 5:7). The new birth is a rebirth of the human spirit, for Jesus told Nicodemus… you must be born again (John 3:7). Nicodemus, being natural, could only think naturally, so he said, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?”. Jesus answered, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”.
In brief, a man’s three-fold nature is this:
| spirit | soul | body |
| Spiritual realm | Mental realm | Physical realm |
| Fellowship with God | Man’s intellect, emotions, feelings; reasons and thinks | The house in which we live |
| Know's God | The sensibilities and will | Five senses |
I want you to begin thinking of yourself in this new light. Don’t think of yourself as just a physical being. Think of yourself as a spirit being who possess a soul and lives in a body. Today, I just covered the introduction. I will continue our devotion into explaining man’s three part being in our forthcoming daily devotions. Please don’t miss it.
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[ecko_quote source=" Matthew 7:11"]If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? [/ecko_quote]
Two sparrows were resting on the house top and observing people who were passing by. Looking at those people, they thought to themselves, they were so restlessly going on with their chores and going from one place to another. One of the sparrow’s said, "Why are men so full of worries and cares?". Insightfully, the other sparrow replied, "Maybe they do not have a heavenly Father as we do". This is just a story in our perspective, but the Bible says "Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will" (Matthew 10:29) Not one of them is forgotten before Him. (Luke 12:6) So will He forget you, who are of more value than all these sparrows?
How true it is, we live and act as if we are orphans and forgotten. We want to live our lives in our way instead of depending on our heavenly Father on a daily basis. Sadly, we often forget that we have been created as dependent creatures. The Ministry of Jesus was primarily an encouraging ministry. He put forth several parables and stories to illustrate our Heavenly Father’s Love towards us. Jesus came into this world to show us the Father’s Love.
Further, Jesus said, "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they (Matthews 7:26) And if your heavenly Father feeds the birds of the air, how much more will He feed you, His precious, beloved child! One of my brother in his recent testimony said to us that, when you call "Father", our Heavenly father instantly look at us from Heaven and respond to our need.
At one time, my son came from his University and told me that he need a particular computer for his studies and that he needed it immediately. As soon as he finished putting forth his petition, he simply walked away joyfully telling his mother about the computer he was getting. However, the burden was on me to sort out the finances and buy this item as per my son’s desire. Being an earthly father with several shortcomings, I know my responsibility. To provide my children with the best things to excel in their field of study. Our Heavenly Father (we are His offspring – Acts 17:29) is challenging us how much more He can do for His Children with His full of power, authority and wisdom. When we see our God, as a Heavenly Father, the real relationship would be evident in the way we depend on God. Nevertheless, our Father is a God, Creator, Lord and more but for the redeemed children, He is the "Heavenly Father".
The above scriptures are explained by a comparison taken from our earthly parents, and their readiness to give their children what they ask. Parents are often foolishly fond, but God is all-wise; he knows what we need, what we desire, and what is right for us. Let us never suppose our heavenly Father would bid us pray, and then refuse to hear, or give us what would be hurtful.
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[ecko_quote source="Acts 1:8"]But you shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit has come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. [/ecko_quote]
Recently concluded Olympics at Rio, P.V.Sindhu bought India a silver medal in badminton event. Before her Rio Olympics, her coach Gopi Chand approached several companies and advertisement agencies and recommended them to choose her as their brand ambassador and to witness/ advertise their products and services. But he received lukewarm responses from these organisations. However, after Sindhu’s success, I have heard that several agencies and companies are in line to take her on board. These companies want to market their products and services using celebrities like some well-known people, film stars and sports stars to witness growth in the sales of their products and services through various forms of advertising. Their job is just to witness and support their companies’ products. The advertisement focusing on these celebrities’ personal experiences and their personal witness is the great marketing tool to reach many individuals increasing the sale volumes.
A witness is one who sees or observes an event. Typically, this refers to a crime or accident, but this can be any event. This implies two things. First, that a witness has personal experience of the event, and next, because of this personal experience, the witness has a knowledge of the truth. The world knows how to use marketing tool of witness to sell their products/services. Although most of the times what they say about the product and the actual product vary in many ways. However, we have incorruptible work and excellent sacrificial work our Lord Jesus who paid it all for our sins and redeemed our souls ... This is the Good News. Our Lord Jesus gave us the great task to witness the good news of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. God is making his appeal through us. Therefore, we are the ambassadors for Christ. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20).This has been Christ’s ambassador's responsibility. Application of these two elements will enable us to understand what it means to be a witness for Christ. It is evident that we as a Christian must first have a personal experience of Jesus Christ. In doing so, we will have access to the truth, and thus we can be a credible witness for Him.
Our sole job in this world is to spread His good news. It’s a God’s chosen method to tell all people. God could have used angels, but He did not. Only those who experienced Him, only those redeemed sinners can tell lost sinners about Christ. Because it is God’s desires to save all people (Act 4:12). Witnessing for Christ means simply telling others what we have personally seen and experienced of the Lord Jesus. When we receive Him as our Saviour, our first reaction might have been to share about our experience of salvation with our best friend, that is, to witness to them about Christ. This is what Philip did in John 1:45.
Only through our witness, we can bring forth souls into the Kingdom of God. We have to do it now, and postponement will cost the souls for eternity. Therefore, it has been a serious business. I read a famous evangelist once ended a revival meeting in Chicago by advising the unbelievers who were present that night to go home and seriously consider the claims of the gospel. The following night he prepared and returned with a decision to conduct the altar call inviting the souls to accept Christ. But on that same night, October 8, 1871, the tragic Chicago fire broke out. Before it was finally extinguished, nearly four miles of buildings were consumed, and 250 people had died. The evangelist then vowed never to end a service without giving the invitation to accept Christ immediately.
The question as to when we should witness and share our faith is directly tied to when a sinner should accept Christ. The Bible is clear that God’s allowed time is today (Hebrew 3:15). The reason for this is very simple- sinners have no assurance that they will live to see tomorrow (proverbs 27:1; Luke 12:19) Thus, we are to witness any time, all the time, in any place and all places.
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[ecko_quote source="Proverbs 16:18"]Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. [/ecko_quote]
I have seen many people, Pastors and Fellowships including Churches that have fallen apart because of various reasons. When you analyse these falls, you will see that the core problem is” Pride”. Lucifer (Satan) possessed the ability to choose his actions. He was a morning star, son of the dawn! And he who weakened the nations (Isaiah 14:12-13). Evidently, because of his beauty and splendour, he chose to rebel against God. His sin was a self-caused action that led to his losing his position, his place, and his possessions. Further, every subsequent fall was associated with pride. The ambition for power makes people blind, and power & pride always work together.
The scripture states that many Kingdoms had fallen, and Kings were utterly defeated because they allowed pride to reign their hearts. Today, we also can see in our Churches/ fellowships that people hunger for power and positions without even being spiritually qualified for that. They choose to go to any extent to gain that position. Even at the cost of their brothers and sisters who supported them wholeheartedly in their initial journey. In my early Christian life, I have witnessed one of my Pastors who had fallen from the grace of God for a wrong doing. Instead of confessing and forsaking it, he defended his actions when the congregation sought an explanation. I haven’t seen any progress of his ministry, but it declined rapidly. Now he regrets allowing such pride into his heart.
Did you know that Pride is the root of all sin? When Adam and Eve decided they knew better than God and went against His orders, that was pride. No longer humble, they wanted more. They wanted to be puffed up, and they wanted to be like God. The fall of man and fall of Lucifer are similar, and it was due to pride (Genesis 3:5; Isaiah 14:12-13). God hates pride. It is one of the seven deadly sins. Proverbs 6:16 says these six things doth the LORD hate: yes, seven are an abomination unto him a proud look, and that’s the ultimate result of pride.
Why is pride so sinful? Pride is giving ourselves credit for something that God has accomplished. Pride is taking the glory that belongs to God alone and keeping it for ourselves. Pride is essentially self-worship. Anything we accomplish in this world will not have been possible if it is not God who enabled and sustained us. “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” – (1 Corinthians 4:7). That is why we give God the glory—He alone deserves it.
“Pride is our greatest enemy; humility is our greatest friend.” So said the late John R.W. Stott. Make no mistake about it as it is the devil’s most effective and destructive tool. Humility which is our greatest friend increases our hunger for God’s word and opens our hearts to his Spirit. It leads to intimacy with God, who knows the proud from afar, but dwells with him “who is of a contrite and lowly spirit” (Isaiah. 57:15). It imparts the aroma of Christ to all whom we encounter. It is a sign of greatness in the kingdom of God (Luke 22:24–27).
Smith Wigglesworth, preacher and man of great faith who was used by God to do many miracles, signs, and wonders, said, “The way to get up is to get down.” We read in 1Peter 5:6 “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time”.
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