By Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel

“1 Thessalonians 5:23 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole Spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

In this above scripture, Paul reminds us of our identity as believers. We are spiritual beings, we have a soul and live in a physical body. We sometimes overlook or dismiss this truth, but it is indeed significant. Just imagine if we didn’t understand our own identity; it is similar to believing that knowing who we are doesn’t hold any importance. However,  understanding our identity enables us to connect with others of our kind and engage more effectively within our community. Imagine navigating through life without knowing whether you’re human, an animal, or simply air. How would you interact with your surroundings with such confusion?

Identifying Ourselves Correctly

Every believer in Christ Jesus is a spiritual personality born of God’s spirit. This spiritual rebirth forms the foundation of our identity and shapes our understanding of who we are in relation to God and others. Embracing this truth empowers us to live in alignment with our divine purpose and calling.

John 3:6-7 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”

In Christ, we are transformed into new creations, infused with the divine life of God, and called to emulate His character in all aspects of our lives. Our physical bodies serve as a dwelling place for our spiritual essence. As described in 2 Corinthians 5, our earthly bodies are like temporary tents, and when they are no longer needed, we anticipate receiving heavenly bodies, fashioned by God Himself for eternal existence. While our current bodies may grow weary, we eagerly await our heavenly bodies that God has promised us when we leave this earth. This transformation from mortal to immortal is about being clothed with incorruptible ones. Our Spirit will be clothed with an incorruptible body which is unlike this corruptible earthly tent. 

1 Corinthians 15 :53 “For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.” God has orchestrated this transition, and as a pledge, He has bestowed His Holy Spirit upon us.

The soul is a product of our human experience, not a separate spiritual entity.  Gen 2:7 “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” 

The human spirit was brought into existence by the breath of God. Initially, when God formed man from the earth, there was no life within him, hence no emotions, will, or feelings. He lacked a soul; he was merely a body shaped from the earth, devoid of vitality. Then, with God’s breath, he became a human spirit, infusing life into his earthly form. This marked the commencement of human physical life, distinct from the human spirit.

Scripture indicates that this earth-formed body became a living soul, characterized by emotions, will, and feelings—the essence of human life. The sequence is clear: first, God breathed life into the earth-formed man, bringing the human spirit into being. Through this human spirit, God granted life to the earth-formed man, initiating human existence. The body without the spirit is depicted as lifeless, lacking will, emotions, and feelings—it is through the human spirit that God imparts life to the body.

An important lesson to grasp is that God operates through the human spirit, not directly with the physical body. The human spirit serves as the channel through which God imparts life, revelation, and all blessings. As highlighted in James 2:26, the body without the spirit is dead, emphasizing the necessity of the spirit for life.

The human spirit, created by God’s breath, acts as the conduit for life to the earth-formed man, igniting human existence. This newfound life brings about emotions, reasoning, willpower, and feelings, all inherent to human life. However, when the spirit departs the body, human life ceases. The essence of will, emotions, and feelings resides in human life; they form the core of the soul. Without human life, there is no soul or its associated activities. These aspects of human experience, being carnal, cannot connect with the spiritual realm. Therefore, they cannot provide insight into God’s actions, as God is a Spirit, transcending the physical realm.

Essentially, we are spiritual beings residing within physical bodies, with our souls stemming from our human life. The three parts of the human being has different functions. 

• • Through our spirit, we engage and connect with the spiritual realm.
  • Utilizing our physical body, which houses our spirit, we engage and interact with the physical world.
  • With our soul, reflecting our human life, we engage and interact with the intellectual aspects of the physical realm exclusively.

If we are unaware of these distinctions, we might attempt to connect with God, who is a spirit, using only our soul (comprising will, emotions, and feelings), resulting in ineffective communication. We can only connect with God through our spirit because God is a spirit. Understanding this, we recognize that faith originates from the spirit, not from the body or the soul. True belief comes from the heart; it cannot be based solely on feelings, emotions, or will, as they are unreliable and cannot comprehend God. We should never rely on our own understanding.

Romans 10:10 says “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” In this context, the “heart” refers to the innermost being or the hidden person within us.

1 Peter 3:4 describes it as “the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.”

This hidden person of the heart is not perceivable by our senses but is just as real as the physical world. It is a person, albeit concealed. As a person, it is a spiritual entity rather than a physical one. This spiritual personality is the one that interacts with God, comprehends His Word, and can have faith in it (1 Corinthians 2:14)

Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel is the Senior Pastor of Fountain Of The Living Word Church, New Jersey.