Author Archives: jbwoodward

Unknown's avatar

About jbwoodward

John serves as Director of Counseling and Training for Grace Fellowship International. His main article archive is GraceNotebook.com

Differentiating Soul and Spirit

Posted on by
Reply
by Dr. JAMES FOWLER

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)
 
To properly understand the work of Jesus within the Christian, as He functions conjunctively as Lord and Savior, requires a differentiation of spirit and soul – of our spiritual condition and psychological behavior.

What a disservice theology has done for centuries by attempting to amalgamate spirit and soul as synonymous terms, even to the extent of regarding their differentiation as heretical.
The biblical evidence sufficiently differentiates these differing functionalities of our humanity. Writing to the Thessalonians, Paul indicated that to be “sanctified entirely,” our “spirit and soul and body must be preserved complete” (I Thess. 5:23). The writer to the Hebrews notes, “The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit . . . and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb.4:12).

When we fail to differentiate spiritual function and psychological function, we end up with a mushy merging of psychologized spirituality or spiritualized psychology. Christians are left with an inability to explain the fixed condition of their spiritual union with the Spirit of Christ, alongside of the behavioral conflict in their soul. This is the breeding ground of the false identities, insecurity, and hypocrisy, which are rampant in the contemporary Christian community.

Our Spiritual Condition

Many Christians have not understood what was brought into being in their spirit by spiritual regeneration. Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again,” explaining, “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5,6). If the life of the risen and living Lord Jesus has not been birthed in our spirit, then we are not Christians. “If any man does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Rom. 8:9), Paul wrote. On the other hand, if we have received the life of the Spirit of Christ, “the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom. 8:16).
Christians are those who are “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (I Peter 1:3). They are “alive unto God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:11), with the very resurrection-life of Jesus dwelling in them. A spiritual exchange has been enacted whereby they have been “converted from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18). Previously we “were by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3), but now the Christian has “become a partaker of the divine nature” (II Peter 1:4). This is a radical spiritual exchange, not to be considered as a joint-tenancy of two natures that allows for a dualistic and schizophrenic basis of identity, as well as a paranoid uncertainty of servitude. “No man can serve two masters” (Matt. 6:24), Jesus declared.

Much of the evangelical emphasis on being “born again” has been shallow and misleading. People have been led to think that just because they have raised their hand, walked an aisle, and repeated a creedal statement, they are promised a ticket to heaven with the future guarantee of eternal life. Christianity becomes an “escape hatch” or a “fire insurance policy” to avoid the terrifying threat of hell-fire.

If this is the extent of what it means to be “born again,” then it is no wonder that many have accepted the possibility of being spiritually “still-born,” with no life expression of growth, maturity, and developing sonship. Such a suggestion of spiritual “still-birth” is not far removed from that of “spiritual abortion” whereby those who are unwilling to go through the labor and pain of Christ being formed in them (Gal. 4:19) participate in the abortion of Christ’s life, though they might be adamantly opposed to physical abortion.

It is imperative that Christians understand that we are spiritually regenerated when we receive Jesus into our spirit, when His very Being is present and active in the spiritual core of our being.

“This is the mystery,” Paul advised the Colossians, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). He questioned the Corinthians, “Do you not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you – unless you fail the test?” (II Cor. 13:5). “It is no longer I who live,” he explained to the Galatians, “but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).

But even this glorious truth of the indwelling Christ in the Christian can degenerate into mundane statements of the location and placement where Jesus is deposited as a static commodity, failing to understand and appreciate that the living Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has become our life (cf. Col. 3:4).

This dynamic of divine life within the Christian disallows spiritual regeneration to be viewed as a static end in itself, and requires that we view regeneration as an initial receipt of the life of Christ, which must be dynamically lived out in our behavior. Regeneration is a crisis with a view to a process.

The spiritual relationship that the Christian has with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior must not be viewed as a casual acquaintance. In its broadest definition, a “relationship” is merely the locative proximity of two or more objects. The personal relationship of the Christian and Christ, however, is a dynamic relationship that goes beyond placement and proximity to a relational union with Christ.

“The one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (I Cor. 6:17). This is not an essential oneness of equivalence, but a relational union of interactive conjunction, wherein the character of God is allowed expression in human behavior.

Thomas Merton wrote, Christian holiness is not a mere matter of ethical perfection. Sanctity is not constituted only by good works or even by moral heroism, but first of all by ontological union with God “in Christ.” Our ontological holiness is our vital union with the Holy Spirit.

When the Christian is spiritually regenerated – i.e., brought into being again with the life of Jesus in the individual, and that facilitated by the receptivity of faith – a relational spiritual union is established that must allow for the outworking of Christ’s life in the Christian’s behavior.
Everything becomes new for the Christian. “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (II Cor. 5:17). Whereas once we were identified as an “old man” (Rom. 6:6; Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:9), we have been spiritually transformed into a “new man” (Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10). The “old man” identity has been crucified (Rom. 6:6), “put off” (Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:9), and eradicated – replaced by the “new man” identity of Christ’s presence in our spirit, allowing us to participate in “newness of life” (Rom. 6:4).

The “new heart and new spirit” that Ezekiel prophesied (Ezek. 36:26) has been given to us by the presence of the Spirit of Christ in our spirit. This was not a “heart transplant” or a “parts replacement,” but the enlivening of our spirit by Christ’s life as the “law of God is written on our hearts” (Heb. 8:10; 10:16).

The Christian is not just redeemed, a “sinner saved by grace,” but the Christian is restored to God’s intent for mankind.

We have “all things in Christ” (I Cor. 3:21-23), “all things pertaining to life and godliness” (II Peter 1:3), “every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 1:3). We are “complete in Christ” (Col. 2:10).

We need to be aware of our spiritual identity as “sons of God” (Gal. 3:26), “children of God” (John 1:12; I John 3:10), and “saints” (Rom. 8:27: Eph. 1:18; 4:12), who are now “godly” (II Peter 2:9), “righteous” (Eph. 4:24; II Cor. 5:21), and “perfect” (Phil. 3:15; Heb. 12:23).

Every facet of Christ’s character is available to us in the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22,23), and the entirety of His functional ministry is made available via the charismata, the gifts of the Spirit.
Everything that God wants us to have, for everything that He wants to do in us, is accorded to us by the indwelling presence and function of the living Lord Jesus.

The saving activity of the Savior has been completed in reference to the spiritual condition of every Christian. “For by grace you have been saved through faith” (Eph. 2:8). Spiritually, the Christian has been “made safe” from the dysfunction of satanic misuse and abuse. We are “safe sons,” who are “dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:11), and the Christ Who lives in us and has become the basis of our identity “does not sin” (I John 3:9), allowing for the possibility that we “may not sin” (I John 2:1).

The perfection of our spiritual condition must not, however, obscure the ongoing activity of Christ the Savior in our soul.

As “new creatures in Christ, all things have become new” (II Cor. 5:17) spiritually, but this is not to deny or disallow that there is a continued renewing (cf. Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23) still necessitated in the soul.

Joshua’s victory at Jericho still required the people of God to “take the land and overcome the strongholds.” In like manner, we who “have been saved” (Eph. 2:8) must still be “saved by His life” (Rom. 5:10). We who are “perfect” (Phil. 3:15) must still be “perfected” (Phil. 1:6; Col. 1:28). We who are spiritually “made righteous” (Rom. 5:19) must “present our members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Rom. 6:13).

Paul explained that the “new man” (Col. 3:10) continues to be renewed as he allows Christ to overcome the old ways of “anger, abusive speech, lying,” etc. (Col. 1:8,9).

Published online through IOMAmerica.net

James Folwer has authored over 20 books and manages http://christinyou.net/

A Biblical Question Answered

Posted on by
Reply

This is an excerpt from a respected topical book, 1001 Bible Questions Answered. The publisher notes:

“Serious students of the Word of God will find answers to questions in 43 categories. In this well-researched book, Pettingill goes to the original sources and puts things into the proper context in examining the “difficult” questions not found in a super-level reading of the Bible. The questions are answered from a dispensational perspective.” [1]

The author(s) answer this question: Please explain the difference between the soul and the spirit…

  1. Man has a body. In this he is like all the creation of God throughout the animal and vegetable world. The brutes have living bodies, and so do the trees and plants.
  2. Man has a soul. In he is unlike the trees and plants, but he is like the lower animals. The soul is the seat of the emotions, the passions, the feelings, the desires, the desires, the likes and dislikes, the affections, and the will. All these things we have in common with the beasts.
  3. Man has a spirit. In this he is unique among God‘s creatures. “The spirit of man is the candle of Jehovah” (Proverbs 20:27), and it is this that is set aglow when he is born again; and then God Spirit testifies with man’s spirit that he is a child of God. God cannot be known by the body, nor by the soul, but only by the spirit. And even the human spirit is incapable of finding out anything about God or of knowing God except by revelation of the Spirit of God. “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man” (1 Cor. 2:11–15). The believer is spiritual only when he has ruled through his own spirit by the Spirit of God. If he is ruled by his body as dominated by his soul, he becomes a slave to his own affections, appetites, emotions, passions, and therefore is a willful, selfish man. The Word of God is extremely careful to distinguish between things of the soul and of the spirit, even judging “the thoughts and intents of the heart“ as to whether such thoughts and intents are spiritual or soulish (Hebrews 4:12). It declares that any wisdom which is not from above and therefore not from the Spirit of God, is earthly, soulish, devilish“ (James 3:15). It asserts that the false teachers of the end time are “they who make separations, soulish, not having the Spirit“ (Jude 19); and that having not the Spirit, they are “none of his“ (Rom. 8:9). And, finally, it gives us the glorious assurance that when we get our resurrection bodies (1 Cor. 15:44) they will be no longer be soulish (“natural” is incorrect here also), but spiritual: no longer dominated by selfishness and willfulness, but rather under the full and free control of the Spirit of God.[2]

The primary author was Pettingill. Both authors were leading figures in Bible institutes.”William Pettingill (1886-1950) was an American pastor, educator, and lecturer. In 1913, C. I. Scofield and Pettingill co-founded the Philadelphia College of the Bible, with Pettingill serving as dean. He wrote widely, served on the council of the Central American Mission, and was a staunch supporter of the fundamentalist movement … From 1928 to 1950, Dr. Pettingill traveled across North America, Central America, and Europe sharing his gift of stirring people to action from the word. “Keep looking up!” was his motto and it became the challenge to many.


______________

[1] e-Sword Bible software
http://www.biblesupport.com/e-sword-downloads/file/9343-pettingill-william-900-bible-questions-answered/

[2] William L Pettingill and R.A. Torrey, 1001 Bible Questions Answered, (New York: Bristol Park Books, 2011), 388-89.

Salvation of the Soul: Saving of the Life

Posted on by
Reply

“The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord,
Searching all the inner depths of his heart.” Proverbs 20:27

Arlen L. Chitwood’s book, Salvation of the Soul: Saving of the Life, presents an explicit body/soul/spirit view of man. He graduated from Tennessee Temple and completed is formal education at Bob Jones University. Chitwood is a preacher and author of many books, publishing through The Lamp Broadcast based in Oklahoma.

Chapter one has the subheading, “The Tripartite Nature of Man.”

“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” (I Thess. 5:23). Chitwood is explicit in applying this model of man:

“Man is a tripartite being comprised of spirit, soul, and body; and the salvation of man within its complete scope (past, present, and future) pertains to the salvation of man with respect to his complete being” (p. 3).

Chitwood gives a thorough explanation of creation, the fall, regeneration, sanctification and future glorification as clarified by the makeup of man. Regarding the Fall and regeneration, for example, he notes:

“The death of Adam’s spirit separated him from God (establishing the primary meaning of “death” in Scripture — separation from God), and this death (this separation from God) “passed upon all men” (Rom. 5:12). Scripture speaks of an unsaved person as being “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). With an unredeemed, inanimate spirit (spiritually dead), he is alienated from God, separated from God (Eph. 2:12). But once the person has been born from above, he is then spoken of as having passed “from death unto life,” as having been “quickened” (John 5:24; Eph. 2:5). Possessing an animate spirit, possessing spiritual
life (having been made alive spiritually), he is no longer separated from the One Who Himself is “Spirit” (John 4:24)” (p. 7).

Regarding the soul/spirit distinction he observes,

“And Scripture also carefully distinguishes between salvation in relation to the spirit and salvation in relation to the soul. Salvation in relation to the spirit is ALWAYS dealt with in a past sense, BUT not so with the salvation of the soul. Rather, the salvation of the soul is ALWAYS dealt with in present and future senses:
“Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls” (I Peter 1:9).
“Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21).” (p. 8).

Noting the three tenses of salvation Chitwood summarizes:

Within man’s triune being (body, soul, and spirit [I Thess. 5:23]), the eternal salvation which he either already has or can have through faith in Christ has to do, during present time, with his “spirit” alone, not with his “soul” or “body” (John 3:6). Salvation in Scripture is seen inseparably associated with the complete gospel message, the complete preaching of the cross, the complete man (spirit, soul, and body) comprising past, present, and future aspects of all. We have been saved (past, having to do with “the spirit”), we are being saved (present, having to do with “the soul”), and we are about to be saved (future, having to do with the realization of the salvation of “the soul,” along with “the body”). (p. 161)

A major orientation of his writings is the Kingdom of God, especially in its future expression.

Arlen L. Chitwood, Salvation of the Soul: Saving of the Life, The Lamp Broadcast, 1983; revised 2020. www.lampbroadcast.org/pdfbooks.html

The Pilgrim Bible Notes

Posted on by
Reply

The Pilgrim Bible, first published in 1948 by Oxford University Press, was designed to help young people learn about their faith. However, it soon became apparent that this book was an invaluable resource for new Christians regardless of their age, and the Pilgrim ably served thousands of readers for some forty years.[1]

On Genesis 1:26: “Of all the creation, only man was created like God, a Trinity. Plants have only a body. Animals have a body and a soul. Man is a trinity who has a body, a soul, and a spirit. Someone has likened the body to sense-consciousness, the soul to self-consciousness, and the spirit to God-consciousness … Man has all these characteristics: body, soul, and spirit. We must remember, however, that God is a Spirit (John 4:24). It is in His spiritual image that Adam was created, and not in His physical image. God has infinite intellect, sensibilities, and volition, and these attributes will bestowed upon Adam in creation, but in a lesser degree.”[2]

[1] Publisher’s note

[2] E Schuyler English, editor, The Holy Bible: Pilgrim Edition. New York Oxford University Press, 1952.

Major Ian Thomas: An Influential Legacy

Posted on by
Reply

Major W. Ian Thomas (1914 – 2007) was an evangelist, author, theological teacher and founder of the Torchbearers Bible schools. Many have been helped in their journey of Christian discipleship through his sermons and books. These include:

  • The Saving Life of Christ, (Zondervan 1961).
  • The Mystery of Godliness, (Zondervan, 1964).
  • If I Perish, I Perish: the Christian Life as seen in Esther, (Zondervan, 1968).
  • The Indwelling Life of Christ: All of Him in All of Me, (Multnomah, 2006).

Ian Thomas’ deeper life testimony is very significant, being recounted, for example, in They Found the Secret, by V. Raymond Edman (Zondervan) and briefly at https://deeperchristian.com/major-ian-thomas/

It is significant that Thomas’ biblical anthropology was clearly trichotomist. An earlier edition of The Mystery of Godliness featured a diagram illustrating man as body, soul (as mind, will and emotions) and spirit.

Here is an excerpt of his writing, “At His Disposal”:

“The moment you are redeemed through the atoning death of Christ upon the cross, you receive the Holy Spirit within your human spirit. You have “passed from death to life” – raised from the dead – and the Life which has been imparted to you by the Holy Spirit is the very Life of Christ Himself; ” He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ. He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him” (Ephesians 2:5, Amplified New Testament).

“The life that the Lord Jesus Christ lived for you nineteen hundred years ago ­ condemns you; but the life that He now lives in you ­saves you! The Christian life is the Life which He lived then, lived now, by Him in you. As He behaved in the sinless Humanity which the Father had prepared for Him then, so He wants to behave in your humanity presented to Him now.

“[The soul is now addressed as mind, emotion and will] Your mind placed at His disposal through the indwelling Holy Spirit; your emotions, your will, all that you are and have, made available to the Lord Jesus Christ as a living member of His new corporate body on earth, which is called the church.

This is the new law in action, the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus… Your ‘behavior mechanism’ once more wholly ‘Deo-centric’ instead of ‘Ego-centric’ ‘so that the commandment of the law may find fulfillment’ in you, whose conduct, no longer under the control of your lower nature, ‘is directed by the Spirit’ [Rom. 8:4]. A radical change of government!” [1]

His book, If I Perish, I Perish, makes much of distinguishing aspects of the believer’s makeup (body, soul, and spirit) with additional contrasts of the flesh and the Holy Spirit.

Ian Thomas’ emphasis and legacy continue through Torchbearers International (also known as Capernwray), an interdenominational Christian ministry operating centers in 20 countries that offer short-term Bible school programs, conferences, camps and retreats.[2]

JBW
___________

[1] The Mystery of Godliness, emphasis and bracketed content added

[2] https://torchbearers.org/

Apostolos Makrakis: The Trichotomy of Man in Greek Orthodoxy

Posted on by
Reply

About the man

“Dr. Apostolos Makrakis (1831-1905) was a charismatic and controversial Greek Orthodox lay theologian, preacher, ethicist and philosopher who was a leader of the “awakening movement” in post-revolutionary Greece, and arguably one of the most important religious personalities of the 19th century. He was an extremely prolific writer whose works were translated widely outside of Greece, however his vigorous religious movement eventually turned the Holy Synod against him, resulting in his being condemned and jailed several times.

“…Apostolos Makrakis made ten Gospel tours across the country in total during his lifetime, becoming the most influential figure on the development of the Greek Church in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

“As a preacher, he was a new phenomenon in newly reborn Greece. Preaching during that period mostly was an activity of the marginal competitors of the Church, so that preaching, especially outside the temples by non-authorized figures, was violently repressed.

“…Apostolos Makrakis, the inspired theologian and powerful preacher of blessed memory…was gifted with a great mind, a deeply cultivated Christian heart, and an enthusiastic soul devoted exclusively to the Savior Jesus Christ.”[1]

Makrakis belief about man as spirit, soul, and body:

“Heaven-roving and God-taught St. Paul shows man to be composed of three essences when in writing to the Thessalonians he says: ‘And the very God of peace render you entirely complete; and may your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Thess. 5: 23). Further the same Apostle in writing to the Hebrews says: “‘the Logos of God is so perspicuous that it separates the soul from the spirit.” So here you have three proved elements in man verified by reason and by experience and by the Holy Bible itself, namely, a spirit, a soul, and a body.”[2]

The doctrinal opposition to Makrakis

A biographer commented on the hostile motive of the bishop who rallied the synod to condemn Makrakis:

“…so long as Makrakis combated only Freemasonry and neither said nor wrote anything against the high priests, he was recommended by the latter as the Saviour of Orthodoxy, but when he proved certain high priests to be guilty of the crime of Simony [the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things] and demanded their dismissal in accordance with the sacred regulations of the Church, war began to be waged upon him as a heretic teaching that man consists of body, soul, and spirit. Makarios, Bishop of Karystia, published excommunications and anathemas in opposition to this belief.”[3]

Affirmations from a defender of Makrakis

[Here is a reference to his teaching about the nature of man, beginning with the creation of Adam in Genesis 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 being.” NKJV]

“That the soul and the spirit of man are two different constituents of man can be proved by the Holy Bible itself and by the Fathers of the Church, as Apostolos Makrakis has shown. For every soul has received a body analogous to its nature and destiny, as is attested by the Bible, which says: ‘“‘Let the earth bring forth a living soul after its kind, quadrupeds and reptiles and wild beasts of the earth after their kind: and it was so. And God made the wild beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and all the reptiles of the earth after their kind: and God saw that they were good” (Gen. 1: 24-25). According to this passage God took the soul of every animal out of the earth, whether it were a wild beast, or one of the cattle, or a reptile, and invested it with a body analogous to its nature and destiny; accordingly, every animal was formed as a composite of soul and body. Similarly He took the soul of man out of the earth and moulded a body for it analogous to its nature and destiny. And for this reason the Bible says: “‘And God formed man out of the dust of the ground,” meaning, the soul together with the body, and not a body without a soul, as the irrational and arbitrary interpretation offered by modernistic theologians would have it by distorting the sense of the words of the Bible, which goes on to say: “‘and (God) breathed into his person a breath (or spirit) of life; and the man became a living soul’ (Gen. 2: 7), vivified by the Spirit of God, who had already made the soul… The word man as signifying a human being, of either sex and of any age, denotes the two constituents of a human being, namely, the soul and the body, both of which, according to the Bible, were taken out of the earth; thereupon there was added the spirit breathed in, by virtue of which the soul received the additional attribute of life, and man thus became a tricomposite creature consisting of three distinct essences, namely, body, soul, and spirit, and not bicomposite.”

[Concerning I Thessalonians 5: 23] “These positions concerning the soul and concerning the tricomposite constitution of man were shown by the teacher Makrakis directly from the beginning to be true by means of countless testimonies of Scripture and by means of logical proofs, which the enemies of the truth were unable to traverse, except by the offer of unwitnessed and unproved calumnies and slanders. Thus, in the first place they garbled the positions of the teacher by omitting the words immaterial, immortal, and substituting therefor the contrary words material, mortal, and afterwards traducing and slandering him…”[4]

Other testimonies of trichotomy in Greek Orthodoxy of the day.

“GREGORY PARAMICHAEL, [was] a contemporary of A. Makrakis and a professor of theology in the National University of Athens, Greece. He wrote the Preface to the Practical Sunday Sermons on the Gospels, by Constantine Callinicos, former parson of the Greek Orthodox Community of Manchester, England. Among other things in the Preface he writes the following: ‘According to the three components of man, namely, the body, the soul, and the spirit,’ etc. (Edition of Alexandria, 1916, page xii). Here is clear and unmistakable evidence concerning the tricompositeness of man and taught by a professor of theology, and one belonging officially to the clergy of the Church of Greece.”[5]

Conclusion

Note that this influential, scholarly, Greek Orthodox preacher taught man as trichotomous with strong arguments from the Bible, and Church history, and contemporary Orthodox teachers. The debate about dichotomy versus trichotomy continues in the Protestant church also.

JBW

[1] Quotes from https://orthodoxwiki.org/Apostolos_Makrakis

[2] The Paramount Doctrines of Orthodoxy by Apostolos Makrakis Translated by D. Cummings. Chicago: The Orthodox Christian Education Society, 1954
( Referenced at www.Archive.org )

[3] https://orthodoxwiki.org/Apostolos_Makrakis

[4] The Paramount Doctrines of Orthodoxy

[5] The Paramount Doctrines of Orthodoxy

An Expositor’s Clarity

Posted on by
Reply

William-MacDonald (1917-2007) was a Plymouth Brethren theologian and author of 84 published books. He served as President of Emmaus Bible College for 6 years, followed by international Bible teaching for over 40 years. [1]

This is his commentary on a key passage about biblical psychology— 1 Thessalonians 5:23:

“The apostle also prays for the preservation of the Thessalonians. This preservation should include the complete person—spirit, soul, and body. Notice the order. Man always says body, soul, and spirit. God always says spirit, soul, and body. In the original creation, the spirit was of first importance, the body last. Sin reversed the order; man lives for the body and neglects the spirit. When we pray for one another, we should follow the biblical order, putting spiritual welfare before physical needs.

“From this verse and others, it is clear that we are tripartite beings. Our spirit is that part which enables us to have communion with God. Our soul has to do with our emotions, desires, affections, and propensities (John 12:27). Our body is the house in which our person dwells (2 Cor. 5:1).

“All of our parts need to be preserved entire, that is, complete and sound. One commentator has suggested the needs for preservation as follows:

“The spirit from (a) everything that would defile it (2 Cor. 7:1); (b) everything that would hinder the testimony of the Holy Spirit to the saints’ relationship with God (Rom. 8:16); or (c) everything that would prevent the worship which He seeks (John 4:23; Phil 3:3).
The soul from (a) evil thoughts (Matt. 15:18, 19; Eph. 2:3); (b) fleshly appetites that war against it (1 Pet. 2:11); and (c) contention and strife (Heb. 12:15). The body from (a) defilement (1 Thess. 4:3–8); and (b) evil uses (Rom. 6:19).

“Some deny that the unsaved have a spirit. Perhaps they base this on the fact that they are spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1). However, the fact that the unsaved are spiritually dead does not mean that they have no spirit. It means that they are dead as far as fellowship with God is concerned. Their spirits may be very much alive, for example, as far as contact with the world of the occult is concerned, but they are dead Godward.” [2]

MacDonald was another respected Bible teacher who affirmed man as spirit, soul, and body.

[1] Wikipedia and William-Macdonald.org

[2] Believer’s Bible Commentary: Second Edition, by William MacDonald, Arthur L. Farstad (Thomas Nelson, 2016). See the post from this commentary about Hebrews 4:12

Nancy Missler: The Temple Symbolism

Posted on by
Reply

Author and conference speaker, Nancy Missler, did extensive Bible study on Biblical psychology and used the symbolism of Solomon’s Temple to illustrate the important distinctions of man’s spirit, soul, and body. Here are sample quotes from her:

In 1 Corinthians 3:16 Paul says, “Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” What is Paul really saying here?

… I would like to investigate further the spiritual significance of Solomon’s Temple, because I believe it’s a perfect model or blueprint of a New Testament believer indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Truly, as Paul says, we are the Temple of God and the Spirit of God does dwell in us.

…The Holy of Holies in Solomon’s Temple, I believe, is analogous to a believer’s new spirit (pneuma) … and the Outer Court represents a believer’s body (soma),which is the vehicle by which we express our life (soul). Together, our soul and body are known as the “flesh.”

As a born again believer (one who has asked Jesus to come into his heart), the Spirit that now dwells at the core of our being is not our “old” human spirit anymore [Rom. 6:6], but a totally new spirit [Eph. 4:24]. It’s now God Himself (the Father, Son and Holy Spirit) dwelling in us. This is exactly what being “born again” means.

It means receiving a totally new power source or life source. God has united our spirit with His and we have become one spirit with Him. 1 Corinthians 6:17 validates this, “…he that is joined unto the Lord is [now] one spirit [with Him].” So, our spirit is now the new energy source that will create God’s Life within us.[1]

In an unbeliever, that power source is going to be the human spirit (Job 32:8), whereas in a born again believer his “spirit” will be united with God’s Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17). This is exactly what it means to be born again. It means our human spirit has been united with God’s Spirit, so we now have a new power source or life source.[2]

[The Christian] recog­nizes that the soul of man grows out of the interaction between the body and spirit and is the means by which man communicates to the outside world. Through faith in Jesus Christ, the believer possesses the indwelling source of God’s life from whom he is possessed with joy, fulfillment, and victory.

The field of psychology is ultimately doomed to frustration since it cannot penetrate beyond the psyche (soul). It is impossible to infer the inner structure of man from only observing his external behavior. This is just as futile as attempt­ing to ascertain, from its external behavior, the internal architecture of software running on a computer since it is also a self-modifying entity operating inside an infinite state machine.[3]


Nancy went beyond the writers who focus on the simpler model of the Mosaic Tabernacle— She compared the Holy Place with the believer’s new heart, the soul with the inner court and the body with the outer court. She also addressed the need for deeper renewal of the subconscious through the analogy of the Temple’s storage chambers. For more detail, see her book, Be Ye Transformed.

Nancy went to be with the Lord in 2015 at age 77. She and her husband, Chuck, were married for 58 years. Nancy published 13 books including: The Way of Agape, Be Ye Transformed, and Faith in the Night Seasons. Her materials have transformed lives and marriages around the world.

Nancy is the founder of The King’s High Way Ministries; an international ministry dedicated to encouraging and teaching Christians how to “walk out” their faith in God’s Love. She always focused on the practical application of Biblical principles.
(Bio adapted from http://kingshighway.org/nancy-missler/)

J.B.W.

  1. http://kingshighway.org/inspiration/articles/your_temple/spiritual/
  2. http://kingshighway.org/inspiration/articles/your_temple/ourmind/
  3. http://kingshighway.org/inspiration/articles/your_temple/sub/

The History of the Soul – von Schubert

Posted on by
Reply

Amazon’s store gives this description of an influential book by German philosopher/theologian/psychologist, von Schubert:

Die Geschichte der Seele (Cambridge Library Collection), German Edition
“This is the fourth, revised and expanded 1850 edition of an influential two-volume work originally published in 1830 by the German scientist and philosopher Gotthilf Heinrich von Schubert (1780–1860). Schubert studied theology and medicine, and taught natural history at Erlangen and Munich, specialising in botany, forestry and mineralogy. He also lectured on topics including animal magnetism, clairvoyance and dreams, and attempted to reconcile Enlightenment philosophy with Christian faith. This book sets out Schubert’s views on human nature as body, soul and spirit, and on humankind’s place in the natural order. Volume 2 focuses mainly on the ‘soul’, which Schubert differentiates from the ‘spirit’ that clothes and feeds it… Schubert refers frequently to Classical and early Christian philosophers as he probes phenomena now assigned to psychology, including cognition and discernment.”

Wikipedia notes,

“Schubert aimed to create a religiously-grounded interpretation of the cosmos .… Schubert advocated an ecumenical “awakened Christianity” which found evidence for God both in Nature and in the human soul. Synthesising the Bible with the philosophy of Schelling, he was a major figure in the “later Enlightenment”. In his History of the Soul (1830), Schubert again attempted to fuse the philosophy of Herder and Schelling with the Christian tradition.”

The significance of von Schubert’s writings in this blog is to observe how trichotomy was a significant model of anthropology in the 1800’s.

Avenues of Healing

Posted on by
Reply

Thomas Ronfro M.D. is an advocate for holistic health. In 1996 he was diagnosed with stage 4 mantle cell lymphoma, an aggressive, cancerous malignancy. In addition to medical treatment, Renfro was the recipient of much prayer and biblical counseling. He made a miraculous recovery and has written this testimonial, informative book.

Dr. Renfro sees the importance of man as spirit, soul and body. Chapter 13 is titled We are a Three-Part Person. Here is an excerpt:

“3 John 2 ‘Beloved, I wish above all things that
thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.’

“God created man as a three-part person. Genesis 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 combination of dust, (body) with the breath of God, (spirit) makes us a living soul. God is represented as a trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. We, being created in the image and likeness of God, we are also a trinity, the body, soul, and spirit.”

“We are a three-part person woven together into one, overlapping… We all have a physical body that interacts with our environment though the five senses. We all have a spirit that is reaching toward God to learn of him, developing our morality and to follow his ways. Between our physical body and spiritual aspect is our soul, which consists of our mind, will, and emotions. All parts directly interact and influence the other parts of our being. Our reactions to any situation depend on which aspect of our being is exerting the most influence… “(p. 85)

Dr Renfro’s trichotomy is holistic. He goes on to explain,

“Our overall health depends upon the health of all three aspects of our being. When the body is compromised, sick, or injured, this can adversely affect the other parts of our being. Sickness in the body affects us mentally, making it harder to think, to concentrate, and even clouds our judgment. Sickness with its misery impacts our emotional state, giving place to more worry, anxiety, and frustration leading to depression. Emotional stress is manifested physically
through our ‘body language’ of joy or sadness, calm or panic, worry or assurance. Physical illness even compromises our spirit, weakening our faith in God and his word, leading to despair and hopelessness.

“This seems to be the natural progression when the physical body is injured, fighting cancer or chronically ill. The physical illness and misery of the body tends to pull down the rest of our being.

“But why do we have to allow the physical problems so much influence over our soul (mind, emotions and will) and spirit? Is there a way to rally the forces of our soul and spirit to help this body in its battle with sickness and disease, injury, or disability?” (p.86).

This is the primary purpose of his book, giving inspiration and counsel about three dimensional health. His healing testimony was included in a TV program; the video is on his web site: DrRenfro.com

JBW

Thomas E Renfro, Avenues of Healing: Reaching for the Healing Power of God (Xulon, 2020)