Spirit, soul and body (part 3)

We are going to wrap up our study on the three fold nature of man. Remember the main truth: you are a spirit, you have a soul and you live in a body. In this blog we will focus on the physical body, the third part of man. The voice of the body (or flesh) is the feelings or emotions. The word of God is very clear that there is something we have to do with the body, not God. Romans 12:1 says, 'I beseech you therefore, brethern, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.' So we have a job to do if we want God's best in our life. Men it is time to stand and take dominion over your body.

First Corinthians 6:19-20 [amp.] says, 'Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own, You were brought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.'  We cannot take the attitude of , "It is my body, and I can do whatever I want with it;" or "I am not hurting anyone else, so what does it matter." As a born again believer the fear and reverence of God should be your mind set. Jesus was crucified, not you. Jesus went to hell so you can be redeemed by His blood. We are not our own. This means a believer cannot see, hear, speak or do what the unbeliever does with his body. You may be thinking, this sounds like a holiness message, or more do's and dont's. No it is the word of God. Romans 8:13 says, 'For if you live after the flesh, you shall die: but if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live.'  Stay with me now.

First Corinthians 9:27 says, 'But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection; lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.'  The Apostle Paul is talking about his spirit, dominating his flesh, through his renewed mind. The attitude towards the flesh has to be very strong, even violent. I do not want to tell you what you can or cannot do. You will have to work this out one-on-one with God. It is hard to say no and walk away from the desires of your flesh, especially when it comes to controlling the tongue. The main reason to keep the body under is so that our witness for Christ is powerful. The world will watch you a whole lot closer than it will listen to you.

Galatians 5:16 says, 'This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh'  The definition of walking in the spirit, is simply being a doer of the Word of God. This is a consistent obedient walk with God daily. Every time you resist the flesh you get stronger. In time you learn how to let your spirit dominate. The question on the table is, how much of the goodness of God do you want. God is fair and just. Why let this "earth suit" keep us from experienceing the glory and benefits in Christ now. We are not natural, having a spiritual experience. We are a spirit having a natural experience. Glorify God in your body everyday.

Say, "I am a spirit, I have a soul and I live in a body."
Praise God forevermore!