Sunday, June 21st
Spirit SOUL and Body

Welcome to The Journey Church. I'm Pastor Paris Pasch.​

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Today I hope to help each of you understand that you are made by God to have 3 primary facets of life that you operate in; Spirit, Soul and Body.  This Sunday, God has asked me to spend a little time trying to help you see the multifaceted creation that each of you are and encourage you to maintain health in all three areas.  These unique facets are inseparable and yet each one affects the other at least until you shed your present body for an eventual new body at death.

1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 (NIV) May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

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BODY

It’s relatively easy to recognize that each of you has a body.  We have shape, flesh and muscle that encompasses a boney frame.  This body we possess is not who we are, but where we live on this material world.  It demands, whines and complains even more as it ages.  Amen?  Our body is designed by God to be subordinate to our mind and heart as we manage its care by feeding and exercising it.  Because of the fall of Adam, it will wear out and wither as it heads toward shutting down to make way for eternity.  It is subject to our environment and susceptible to abuse.  Some enjoy using it a lot and some prefer to just let it be sedentary.  If you don’t keep your body in a healthy condition, it will cause great challenges for you in life.  But the truth is that in this fallen world even healthy specimens are made susceptible to disease, frailty and decay.  Even in that, a major truth is that how you treat your body is relevant to your enjoyment of this life on earth.  The Bible tells us that God cares about your body and so should we.

Body (flesh) was made by our creator to be a vehicle to replenish the earth with more bodies.  Multiplication was part of the plan. One male body intertwined with one female body equals one new body.

Genesis 1:28 (NIV) God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

As believers we have a choice and a responsibility to use even our bodies for God.

Romans 12:1 (NIV) Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (NIV) Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Each facet of our God given make up has certain aspects for us to serve, manage, feed and receive benefit from.  Tragically our bodies are subject to perversions and disease from Satan himself who understands this truth and uses all three as avenues of attack.  

Luke 13:16 (NIV) "Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

If you’re sick, then Satan has found a crack in your body armor that he can find access.  He is the ultimate source of sickness and disease.  Our bodies are subject to decay and death because of Adam’s sin and now our sins.  Our bodies eventually die and return to dust awaiting the eventual new earth and new Haeven where we will be given resurrected bodies to live in forever.

John 5:28–29 (NIV) “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned."

Our confidence is found in our resurrected body, being joined to our soul and spirit in eternity, because we are like Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:6–8 (NIV) Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

SOUL

The second facet we will investigate is the Soul.  You are called by God to also steward this facet of your life.

Your Soul is described as being made up of your mind, your will and your emotions.  The soul is the seat of feelings like love, anger, joy, grief, disappointment and encouragement.  Managing your soul is important even when you don’t feel like it, you choose to obey anyway.  It’s when you seek God’s answer or God’s perspective above your human one.

Psalm 34:4 (NIV) I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.

Psalm 34:7–8 (NIV) The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. 8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

Psalm 34:13–14 (NIV) keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. 14 Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

Remember however that these verses are only useful if you know them.  They are found in your Bible, but you must mine for them regularly or their treasure will be useless to you.  If you don’t know what truth says, then you will not be able to recognize a lie.  There is a lie, that pain and death are the worst of all things for us to experience but listen to the truth.

Matthew 10:28 (NIV) Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Just like with the body, if you don’t maintain health in your soul, then you will be subject to Satan’s attack on it.  A poorly trained soul is a poor resource, because it only uses feelings and life experience as its measuring stick and guide. However, these are the most flawed and untrustworthy of all sources.  God speaks of the failure of trusting our unregenerate soul for advice.

1 Peter 2:11–12 (NIV) Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Proverbs 17:20 (NIV)  One whose heart is corrupt does not prosper; one whose tongue is perverse falls into trouble.

Investing in the godly health of your soul is essential to your future and those who don’t are destined for loss.

Mark 8:36–37 (NIV) What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

SPIRIT:

Soul and Body are extremely important to keep healthy, but at the end of the day do you fully grasp that you are a spiritual being above all.  The state of your spirit determines the state of eternity for you. The biblical fact is that you will continue to exist long after your body shuts down.  As a believer your soul and spirit will be the essence of you in heaven until you acquire your resurrected body.  Spirits are real, they have form and they have characteristics.  The best medicine for your spirit is God’s word put in your soul.

Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

God has a plan to receive all who come to Him through His son.  Statistics tragically show that most humanity believes it is going to end up in some form of celestial existence after this life.  However, this contradicts the biblical truth that Jesus Himself declares as truth.

John 14:6 (NIV) Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The Bible is emphatic on this topic so don’t be deceived by a pluralistic world that believes all roads lead to bliss.

Matthew 7:13–14 (NIV) “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

If you are one of the multitudes that believes the lie that every person is destined for bliss, then let me encourage you to heed the scriptures invitation to choose Jesus while there is still time and become born again into the kingdom of God.  

2 Corinthians 6:2 (NIV) For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.”  I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

Feed your spirit, soul and body the life-giving food of God’s word and you will become healthy.  Stop feeding the same three the destructive fuel of Satan and watch as God’s will and your will align.  This is when you will thrive and this is when you will prevail against those who search for our destruction.

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Message Questions

1. What are the three components of a person, and how are they distinguished from one another?

2. Which aspect of our being (body, soul, or spirit) do people most commonly neglect today? Why do you think that is, and what are the consequences?

3. What does it practically look like to offer your being as a living sacrifice and honor God with it as His temple? (1 Corinthians 6:19–20; Romans 12:1)

4. Why should we be cautious in trusting our soul (including personal emotions and desires) to determine what is true?

5. How might our relationships, decisions, and priorities look different if every part of our being was fully submitted to Christ?