Living Lessons on IdentitySýnishorn

In order to help us separate personhood and behavior and understand other things Jesus did on the Cross besides save us from our sins, it will be easier if we see that we humans have a spirit, a soul and a body. There are various ways to describe these parts and sometimes the descriptions cause controversy, but for our purposes here, we will look at them this way: Spirit-Soul-Body. Today let’s look at the spirit.

Part One: The Human Spirit: "the real us," "the heart"

When I speak of the human spirit, it will mean the part of us that is the “real us.” The human spirit is sometimes referred to as the “heart.” The heart is like the eyes and ears we have towards God where we hear His voice for guidance, conviction and loving comments. It is the place inside of us in which the Holy Spirit comes to live after we receive Jesus. 

Before the Holy Spirit comes to live in us, the human spirit is “dead to God.” God told Adam and Eve if they ate the fruit, they would die. They did not die physically at that moment, they died spiritually. They lost their innocence with God. Ephesians 2:1 says, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins.” When our human spirit is united with the Holy Spirit, we are alive to God. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ. . .” Ephesians 2: 4-5

Application:

Have you ever thought about yourself as being Spirit-Soul-Body? Meditate on the verses in this devotion. Tomorrow we’ll look at the soul.