You are a three-part being, created in the image of God, with a spirit, a soul, and a body. Did you know that? Take a look at what the Bible says:

“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 Thessalonians 5:23 (ESV).

Notice it says, “your whole spirit and soul and body…” Why would he call these out separately? Because you have a spirit and a soul and a body.

Soul Wars

Before Christ, you existed as a body and soul, and each of these fought against each other for control. Your spirit was dead.

“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul” 1 Peter 2:11 (ESV).

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked…” Ephesians 2:1-2a (ESV)

After conversion, or receiving Christ in your life, your spirit comes alive. It comes online, and the Holy Spirit fills up the room of your spirit. Your spirit is meant to have dominion over your body and soul, because you are filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit of self-control. Let’s see what Jesus had to say about spirits when he was talking to a curious religious leader in John chapter 3:

Wind

“Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, “You must be born again.” The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit’” John 3:5-8 (ESV).

Your spirit is like the wind, because the Holy Spirit is like the wind, the breath of God. In fact, the Hebrew word “ruach” often translated “Spirit” is also translated as “wind” and “breath.” Isn’t it any wonder that Jesus breathed on his disciples after his ascension and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” John 20:22 (ESV)?

Fire

“John answered them all, saying, ‘I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire’” Luke 3:16 (ESV).

Your spirit is like a fire, because the Holy Spirit is like a fire. 

Water

“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”’ Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” John 7:37-39 (ESV).

Your spirit is like water, because flowing out of us from belief in Christ are rivers of living water, which John equates to the Holy Spirit. 

Does it make you uncomfortable to bring up wind, fire and water in succession? These are taught by the world as three of the four elements of nature (the fourth being ‘earth’). Or perhaps you’ve heard teaching that these are elemental spirits. These are all counterfeits of the real thing. God Himself created everything that exists, and He is the one who made these connections to His Spirit. Let’s give credit where it’s due.

The Three-Part Tabernacle

Now let’s look at the structure of the tabernacle, the Old Testament tent of worship. The Lord instructed Moses how to build it, with an outer court, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. A curtain was hung in between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The Ark of the Covenant, representing God’s presence was put in the room of the Most Holy Place. God would fill that room up with His glorious light. 

This tent of meeting, or tabernacle, is a representation of our three-part beings. The outer court that everyone could access and see corresponds to our bodies. The Holy Place that only a few priests could enter represents our souls. And behind the veil, the Most Holy Place, represents our spirits. God’s light and the Holy Spirit fill up the space inside our spirit. 

Three Sections of Mount Sinai 

Mount Sinai also represents our beings. When Moses was about to receive the law, we see the Israelites camped out at the base of the mountain. Moses and the leaders were invited up to the middle of the mountain to have a meal with God, and they could see God’s throne in Heaven (Exodus 24). 

But only Moses was invited to the top of the mountain, where he experienced Heaven. So the base of the mountain represents our bodies, the middle of the mountain corresponds to our souls, and the top represents our spirits. 

The Garden of Eden

A third analogy is the Garden of Eden, meaning “pleasure” or “paradise.” And, actually, it is better described as the Garden in Eden. The Lord created a place called Eden, and he planted a garden in the land called Eden (Genesis 2:8). In the middle of the garden appeared the Tree of Life. 

The land of Eden represents our bodies, the garden in Eden represents our souls, and the Tree of Life at the center represents our spirits. 

Third Heaven

The last analogy I’ll give is the heavens. There are three heavens (or at least three). Third Heaven is God’s Heaven, just as Paul said he was caught up to the third Heaven (2 Cor 12:2). Third Heaven represents the spirit. We live and experience this physical world, which is the first heaven. The first heaven corresponds to the body. And, if there’s a first and a third, there must be a second heaven. This realm represents the soul realm. 

Spirit or soul-spirit?

Now, it has been taught that the soul and spirit are the same thing, or that we have a soul-spirit. This is not correct teaching. It is a misunderstanding of the Word. A big difference exists between soul and spirit. How can we tell the difference?

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” Hebrews 4:12 (ESV) (emphasis added).

You can tell the difference between the soul and spirit realm by using God’s word. Remember, the soul consists of the mind, the will, and the emotions. Many people get confused with what pops into their minds, and they don’t realize their soul is receiving spiritual signals. Our souls help translate what is spiritual into something we can understand with our minds.

Let Your Light Shine

Our souls are tainted through the course of life and are in need of renewal. That’s why Paul encourages us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (souls). Jesus says to let your light shine. In other words, let the light of the Holy Spirit, shining in your spirit, out through your soul. 

Jesus says, “If the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness.” If your soul is painted black and not letting the light of the Spirit out, then there’s quite a bit of soul work to do. This is the ministry of deliverance as well as renunciation of past sins, even those in our genealogy. It also involves closing common doors or lopping off footholds that the devil and his minions use to afflict our lives, such as unforgiveness, bitterness, holding onto offense, sexual sins, drug use and witchcraft.

Anchor of the Soul

“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” Hebrews 6:19-20 (ESV).

In the Old Testament, once a year the High Priest would enter the Most Holy Place to atone for sins with blood of an innocent animal. They would tie a rope to his leg in case he broke protocol and died while inside this restricted space. In case the unthinkable happened, they would pull the High Priest out of the Most Holy Place back into the Holy Place. So, in our analogy, he was anchored to the soul realm and only entered the spirit realm once a year. 

But Jesus tore the veil for us and entered into the Most Holy Place, the realm of the spirit, as a forerunner on our behalf. Now, we get anchored into the spirit realm instead of the soul realm. In this we take after our Brother and Savior, Jesus Christ.

You Have a Spirit 

You all have a spirit. Your spirit has been made alive in Christ if you have received Christ. The Lord desires us to worship Him with our spirits. 

“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” John 4:23-24 (ESV).

Spirits Can Operate Independently

Your spirit can also move and act independently of your body, similar to the Holy Spirit. The Lord may give your spirit missions while your soul and body sleeps at night.This is not like the counterfeit, which is called astral projection. That is soul travel, and it operates only in the first two heavens. It is demonic and opens up a person to the kingdom of darkness. Your spirit has access to all three heavens. 

Paul’s Spirit

“For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord” 1 Corinthians 5:3-5 (ESV).

Paul clearly wrote that he would be absent in body but present in spirit. He traveled to different geographical locations, and his spirit could be miles away, helping with the ministry of the church. Seems incredible, doesn’t it? It makes you wonder why this hasn’t been taught in detail.

Elijah’s Spirit

Your spirit can have an assignment that extends before or after your body and soul existence on earth. Elijah’s spirit had a role to play before the coming of the Messiah the first time, and he also will be involved in the second coming.

“And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared” Luke 1:17 (ESV).

Glorious Inheritance

You have inheritances in the spiritual realm for your spirit, described as “glorious” in Ephesians 1:18. Weapons are available at your disposal. You have riches available. You have a realm available. For example, Abraham’s spirit, who, after he died, was used to create a realm of comfort for those waiting on Jesus’ resurrection (see Luke 16:19-31). 

Your spirit decodes spiritual truths to your soul. Just as the Holy Spirit searches the mind of God and makes known to us what He knows, so our spirits learn from the Holy Spirit and communicate those revelations to our souls. Our spirits can also intercede on behalf of our souls when we don’t know what’s going on in our own being. 

“And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual” 1 Corinthians 2:13 (ESV).

Spiritual Experiences

You can have spiritual experiences! In fact, God wants you to have spiritual experiences. Do you want to see God in a vision? Ask Him! Do you want to hear from God supernaturally? Ask Him to speak to you. Have you ever wanted to ask God a question, perhaps even saying, “When I get to Heaven, I’m going to ask God about this.” Why wait? Heaven is open. Ask Him now. 

Do you want to engage more with your own spirit? Do you want to experience more of the abundant life that Jesus has to offer? Have you been wondering if there’s more to this life than just trudging through the junk? Let me tell you: there is so much more to abundant life than we have experienced. So much is available for us. All we have to do is ask and seek and knock, and keep on asking, seeking and knocking. He’ll reveal Himself to us. He will fill us to overflowing with His Spirit. He is that good; in fact, He’s infinitely good!

Prayer

Father God, we come before You in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. To You belong all that we have and all that we are. Once again, we submit ourselves to You: spirit, soul, and body.  Holy Spirit, I choose to be in alignment with you. Holy Spirit, immerse and baptize me into your fire. 

Lord, we bless our human spirits. We remind them that they are like wind and fire and water, created by You to be like the Holy Spirit. Lord, we offer forgiveness to our spirits and ask for forgiveness from our spirits, if there have been any disagreements or wrongs done in the past. Today is a new day, and we desire to partner with our spirits for Kingdom work, for the good works that you wrote about and prepared for us to walk in.

O God, if there are any spirits who have been captured or bound up, we ask that You send Your angels or other spiritual agents to release these captives. It’s for freedom that Christ has set us free, and we declare that our spirits are free to operate in all the ways that You’ve ordained.

Partner with our spirits Holy Spirit

Help us to partner with our spirits, especially as our spirits are filled with the bright and glorious light of the Holy Spirit. Lord, please identify any area of our souls that need to be cleaned up, and we ask that You help us in this healing and deliverance work. God, adjust our thinking to match Yours. We repent, change our minds, and desire to think like You.

O Great Counselor, please continue to teach us spiritual truths according to Your Word. We cherish every moment we get to spend with You, hearing Your voice and obeying the promptings of Your Spirit. Give us sensitive hearts for You, O Lord. Thank You for making known to us the paths of life. In Your presence is fullness of joy, and at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

The Spirit of Christ

“Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 

For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. 

You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” Romans‬ ‭8:5-11‬ ‭(NLT)‬‬