What is the difference between spirit, soul, body? Learn to discern your personal spirit, soul, and body to know Jesus more intimately.
The other day a severe storm rolled through our area. Lightning and thunder cracked as I watched the waves rush further up the shore toward me and the wind rip under and around my RV. As my trailer shook, I wondered if I should go up the street to a more secure place.
I simply asked, “God what should I do?” And I heard in my heart, “You are going to be fine; everything is going to be ok.” I felt peace and assurance in my spirit all was well, so I read and waited peacefully until the storm passed.
You see I am learning how to discern between what God says and what my body, soul, and spirit are telling me.
That day my body, soul, and spirit senses were telling me to leave. I could have panicked or been afraid, but that day I found peace in His holy presence.
How to Recognize Jesus’ Presence Despite our Pain
The religious leaders of Jesus’ time had a difficult time recognizing His presence by the Spirit. If they had known the Spirit of God to a greater degree in their personal spirits, they would have recognized Jesus as God.
The prophetess Anna recognized Him immediately, so did Simeon in the Temple. Some people recognized Him, yet many did not.
After Jesus’ resurrection, even His disciples still had trouble recognizing Him by His Spirit on the road to Emmaus.
They were acutely aware of their own disappointment and grief in their physical senses but did not perceive by faith in the Spirit.
To their credit, they were aware to some extent because they said, “Did our hearts not burn within us?”
Yet, it was not until they invited Him to stay and eat that their eyes were opened to fully recognize Him.
When we stay on the outside the intimacy Jesus desires, we may not recognize His life-changing presence working in our lives. We must seek Him with all our hearts.
When we invite Him to come into all areas of our life, without reserve, we will notice more and more of His presence. We will begin to discern more of His ways and leading.
Grow Strong in Our Personal Spirit
Near the end of Paul’s third missionary journey, he spoke candidly with the elders at Ephesus what the Lord had been telling him about his future.
He said, “And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that chains and afflictions await me” (Acts 20:22-23).
Obviously, no one wants to be beaten or put in chains. But Paul knew in his personal spirit by the Holy Spirit he was supposed to go to Jerusalem for a purpose.
He was not afraid of the uncertainty surrounding him.
He was willing because his personal spirit by the Holy Spirit was stronger than his personal desires for comfort and security.
Even if we are not called to go to prison for the sake of the gospel, we can learn to discern more clearly between what our body, soul, and spirit tells us versus what the Holy Spirit tells us.
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged 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.” Hebrews 4:12.
The Difference Between Spirit, Soul, and Body
“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Theses 5:23).
The Bible teaches that the believer’s goal in life is to be conformed to the image of Christ in body, soul, and spirit (Rom 12:2, Rom 8:29, 1 Pet 1:14).
Most of you probably have already heard teaching on the differences between body, soul, and spirit. We know God created our physical body and our spirit in the image of our Creator, who is Spirit.
What is Our Soul versus Our Spirit?
Yet, some of us may not have heard that we can understand our soul as our mind, will, and emotions.
Our soul is where we make decisions, where we sense things, and where we decide how we feel about things. It is our soul that gives us our personality.
Our soul is also the mediator/agent/arbitrator between the spiritual world and the physical world.
Our soul can determine how we receive outside stimulus into our personal spirit.
It is the filter that determines how we receive the things of God and the things of this world.
For example, if we happen to come from a negative family, our soul filter can be clogged with negativity. So what we receive from other people can seem to be negative, even if it is not.
If our filter is clogged, even when we receive spiritual things, they can be contaminated by our own trauma, hurts, mindsets, and attitudes. Thus, we may not perceive or discern clearly.
In Christ, our spirit is reborn immediately, but we continue to struggle to be conformed to Christ’s image in our soul.
And the enemy works overtime to corrupt our mind, will, and emotions.
Therefore, it is important to guard our soul closely.
We should continue to seek healing mentally and emotionally from traumas in our past and work to bring our personal will in line with God’s will.
Those who gain spiritual maturity in the kingdom of God continue to practice exercising their spiritual senses. They learn to discern between their body, soul, personal spirit, the natural world, and the spiritual world (Heb 5:14).
Here are some practical first steps:
How to Discern and Grow Strong in Your Spirit
Action Steps:
- Pray to cover your spirit, soul, and body with the blood of Jesus. Pray to loose every hurtful thing you can think of from your soul. Since the enemy likes to come attach to your hurt places to keep you hurting, tell the enemy to go! Then ask Jesus for healing in that area. Ask Jesus to stir up the rivers of living water (Holy Spirit) in your spirit until you overflow. This brings healing and refreshing!
- Become more aware of the differences between spirit, soul, and body by building up your personal spirit. Jesus himself grew strong in spirit and soul (Luke 2:40). When we spend time in God’s word, presence, and prayer, we grow strong in spirit and soul.
- Listen as your Lord says to you right now, “Come closer little lambs, come closer to my side. Let me show you how much you are loved. I long to heal your trauma and hurts. Invite me closer into every area of your heart. I will begin to show you more things than you can possibly imagine!”
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