John 6:63a (NKJV)
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.”
My Pastor said “You ARE a spirit – you HAVE a body”. I have been chewing on that a good bit lately. I know that we are eternal being, but the fact that we are already a spirit… I guess I never really thought about it. So I needed to break that down. How does me being a spirit impact who I am and how I live? These are my thoughts.
“You have a body”. Scripture says it is the temple of the Holy Spirit. (I Corinthians 6:19-20). So the body is really a type of house, and the life of the body is contingent on the presence of the spirit (James 2:26).
Our Soul is our mind, will, and emotions. Those seem easy enough to identify… I live with them and sometimes struggle with them every day.
“You are a spirit”. What exactly is a spirit? Here is where it gets harder for my analytical mind. We are made in the image of God and we worship God in spirit and truth (Genesis 1:27, John 4:24). In Genesis the Spirit of God moved over the waters (Genesis 1:2). All of these are clues. You can also tell the condition of the spirit of another person… a broken spirit, a contrary spirit, a helpful spirit. So even tho’ I can’t explain what a spirit is, I can identify it.
Why does it matter? I guess I want to make sure I’m not missing something in this life. I mean, what if I had a long lost great aunt who had gifted me with a fortune. It would do me no good if I didn’t know about it, receive it, or use it — right? What if I lived my life at the whim of every thought or emotion? What if I always did everything my body demanded (can anyone say ice cream)? My Pastor suggested that the key interaction between my spirit, body, and soul is that of authority. Knowing that my spirit has authority can have huge implications for how I live.
My body can rule me through hunger, pain, or pleasure. My soul can rule me through emotions, thoughts and decisions. But my spirit can hear from the Holy Spirit and receive power to rule over all of it. My choice to submit to the Holy Spirit requires that I relinquish ALL of my control and authority over to Him. He gets to say what is up and down… reveal what is right and wrong… and direct me in what I should and should not do. Submitting my authority to Him is the only way to receive the power to live the life God intended me to live.
The 20,000 foot view is what I’ve always known… I will live forever and my destination is based on whether I know Christ and He knows me. But the nitty gritty, one inch view is where I routinely choose what part of me will rule. The evidence of who my spirit submits to can be seen in how I think, act, feel, and look. I choose to submit the ruling authority over my body, soul, and spirit to The Holy Spirit. When my spirit is in tune, my body and soul fall in line. Then, the Holy Spirit has reigning authority over every part of me and can direct my life as He chooses.