Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

Although we are one body, we are composed of constituent parts. These parts are connected together to function as one so that we can be classified as fully human. If we were to use the Greco –Roman motif to try to describe the make-up of the body, we could easily forget that the different parts of the body, work together to function as a whole and not as individuals. Let me explain this further. We may say that the body is made-up of spirit, soul and flesh. Moreover, these constituent parts work together to make the whole.  This means that although the individual parts are individual, they cannot be individual on their own and must exist in unison with the other part or else they cannot function. This Greco-Roman model is useful but can be confusing is taken on its own to describe the functionality and make-up of the human being. On the other hand, the Jewish motif sees the whole body and one. Therefore, when they use language to describe the functionality of the body, they are describing the entire body and not just the part that they are speaking about at that particular time. For instance, when the Psalmist says “Lord I praise you with my whole heart” (Psa. 138:1), he does not mean that his organ that pumps the blood around his body is praising God, his whole person is involved in praising God and not just his lips which utters the words.  Bearing this is mind we can say that for the Greco-Roman perspective the human being is body, soul and spirit.

Using terms as tri-partite does not convey the whole essence of how we are ‘made’ and is too simplistic a model to describe the complexity of human. Each section is a motif to describe the functionality on a micro and then a macro level. On a micro level, the body consists of bones, flesh and blood. The bones give the body structure, whilst the flesh gives it mobility and flexibility and the blood give it life. Similarly, the soul of the individual can be defined as, the mind, the will and the emotion. The mind is the major part of the person while the will determine how the mind functions and the emotions are the outworking of the functionality. Finally, we can define the spirit of an individual as comprising; the conscience, connectivity to God and the intuition. Again, the conscience is the major part, whilst the connectivity to God and the intuition determines how the conscience functions.

If any part of the human make-up is damaged then the body will suffer and will not function properly. By pronouncing that an individual is a slave, their soul is the first part that is affected. This drastically reduces their will to live. This in turn affects their spirit and then eventually their body. The whole purpose of the slaver is to break or damage the will of the individual. This has the knock on effect of altering their conscience (spirit) and changing then forever.

To change the way we behave towards each other, the first thing that must happen in us is that our minds are completely renewed. By doing this we enliven our consciences and rejuvenate our bodies. We hear sports coaches telling us that ‘the game is won in the minds of the individuals’ before a ball in kicked or a bat wielded. For us as Christian, once we win the micro battle, the macro one is a fore gone conclusion.

Question, are you body, soul and spirit or all heart?

Read Romans 12 for a synopsis for what I am talking about.