Knowing Our Human Spirit


	Lesson Eight Knowing Our Human Spirit In this lesson, we will cover: I. There is a spirit in man. A. The three parts of man (1 Thess. 5:23) B. Our regenerated (born again) spirit (John 3:6-7) C. Distinction between spirit and soul (Heb. 4:12) II. Functions of the human spirit A. To fellowship with God (John 4:24; Rom. 1:9) B. To distinguish right from wrong through the conscience (Rom. 8:16; 9:1) C. To perceive and be led by intuition (1 Cor. 2:11; 2 Cor. 2:12-13) Jessie Penn-Lewis Spirit And Soul Jesse Penn-Lewis (1861-1927) was bedridden when she was young. But even when she was confined to her bed, she would seek the Lord desperately. Therefore the Lord brought her into the truths of self-denial, faith, and love. Subsequently, she was very much used by the Lord to preach the truth of the cross, the reality of which has much to do with our human spirit. In the late 1800s, Penn-Lewis wrote, "The ignorance of Christians concerning the distinction between 'soul' and 'spirit' is very general, and is a primary cause of the lack of full growth in the spiritual life in many devoted and earnest believers." She discovered that the cause of this ignorance was the popular phraseology of soul and body and the treatment of the words spirit and soul as synonyms. Moreover, the synonyms "almost concealed man's tripartite nature in the versions of the English Bible." Penn-Lewis showed that biblically the soul is distinct from the spirit. The soul, she said, is "the seat of the personality." It is "a personal entity standing between the 'spirit' with its openness to the spiritual world, and the 'body' - open to the outer world of nature and sense - having the power of choice as to which world shall dominate or control the entire man." Penn-Lewis saw that the ignorance of believers concerning the distinction of soul and spirit posed a danger to their Christian life. They could easily mistake some soulish element as the spiritual element energizing their so-called spiritual pursuit. Penn-Lewis highlighted a soulish element that is "a mere bringing of willpower to bear upon a person through the exercise of the will of the soul." This could cause the person to mistake their so-called singing as true worship and their soul-force prayers (a term coined by Penn-Lewis) as true prayers. Penn-Lewis reminds us that the Bible charges us to pray in spirit and sing with our heart to the Lord. Reference: Jesse Penn-Lewis, "Soul and Spirit" There is a Spirit in Man Many Christians wonder, "How can I get to know God who lives so far up in heaven while I am way down here on the earth?" The Bible shows us that the secret to experiencing and enjoying the mysterious God is in our human spirit. The term spirit is often used in the secular world. A soccer coach may tell his players to have team spirit. A politician may claim that he has the right spirit to do his job if elected. Corporations may ask their employees to serve their customers with a proper spirit. What they all mean by spirit is simply a vital principle, a good attitude, or a pleasant mood. But when the Bible talks about spirit, its meaning is very different. In the Bible the word spirit refers to a part of man. "There is a spirit in man" (Job 32:8a). This spirit is the organ for man to contact God who is Spirit (John 4:24). [Note that Spirit spelled with a capital "S" refers to God Himself, but spirit spelled with a small "s" refers to our human spirit.] Sadly, this secret is not widely known among many Christians. Consequently, even genuine Christians do not know how to contact God with their spirit. It is important for us therefore to know that we have a spirit and to discover its functions. Once we learn this secret, a whole new realm of spiritual experiences is opened up for us. The Three Parts of Man First Thessalonians 5:23b speaks of "your whole spirit, soul, and body." Clearly, man has three distinct parts - the human spirit, the human soul, and the human body. From the beginning, when God created man, He made him with these three parts. Genesis 2:7a says, "The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground." This verse tells us that man had a body made from the dust of the ground. Next, "the Lord God…breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" (Gen. 2:7b). According to the original language of the Old Testament, this "breath of life" is the spirit of life, which became man's spirit. Without the spirit, the body is dead (James 2:26a). When the spirit of life entered into man's physical body, "man became a living being" (Gen. 2:7c). Again, according to the original language, "a living being" is the same as a living soul. Thus, man was created with a spirit, a soul, and a body. Of the three parts of man, the body is the easiest to recognize. Because it is physical, the body is visible to the eye. For example, we can see that the body has a head, a chest, two arms, and two legs. The soul is more difficult to recognize. This is because the soul cannot be seen with our eyes. Nonetheless, we can still recognize it since it makes up our personality. When someone tells you, "You have a nice personality," that person is talking about your soul. Your soul is composed of your mind, emotion, and will. Your thoughts come from your mind. Your feelings come from your emotion. Your determination and decisions come from your will. Hence, even though it is invisible, we know our soul exists because we can experience it. The spirit, however, is the most difficult to recognize because it is our deepest part. Before we became believers, our human spirit, in God's eyes, was dead (Eph. 2:1). This means that our spirit was unable to function. As a result, we did not know our spirit. In turn we could not know God inwardly. Our Regenerated (Born Again) Spirit The Bible shows us that God holds man's spirit in high regard in all His creation. Zechariah 12:1b says, "Jehovah…stretches forth the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him." The stretched-forth heavens and the earth's laid foundations are great matters. Yet, God put the human spirit which He formed in the same category as these great matters! This shows that in God's eyes our human spirit is important! Although we were created with a spirit, our spirit became dead after Adam's fall (Eph. 2:1). We did not have God's life in our spirit. As a result, we were not the kingdom of God. Thus the Lord Jesus says, "Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again'" (John 3:7). Everyone must be born again in order to see and enter the kingdom of God (John 3:3, 5). To be born again is not to be reborn through the mother's womb. To be born again is to receive another life - God's life - by having our spirit born of the Spirit. The Lord Jesus says, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). This is regeneration, which causes our spirit to be made alive and become life (Rom. 8:10). Distinction Between Spirit And Soul Some people think that they are made up of only two parts - body and soul. They considered their soul and spirit to be one and the same. This is not true. The Word of God, which is sharper than any two-edged sword, cuts "even to the division of soul and spirit" (Heb. 4:12). Our spirit is definitely distinct from our soul. It is crucial that we distinguish between our spirit and our soul since it affects our spiritual living. The Bible teaches that believers must deny and lose their soul life (Matt. 16:24-26). But it also teaches that they should live, serve, and worship God in their spirit (Rom. 1:9; John 4:24). This is why we must pray, sing, and fellowship in spirit (1 Cor. 14:15; Php. 2:1). We must also pray in spirit to receive the Word of God (Eph. 6:17-18). Our spirit enables us to know the mysterious things of God and the things of men (Eph. 1:17-23; 3:4-5; 1 Cor. 2:11). We are charged to be renewed in spirit and be filled in spirit (Eph. 4:23; 5:18). Our spirit is where God is mingled with us (1 Cor. 6:17). Our spirit is God's dwelling place (Eph. 2:22). Simply put, without knowing the difference between our spirit and our soul, we will confuse things of the spirit with things of the soul. Functions of the Human Spirit The human spirit basically serves three functions: to fellowship with God; to distinguish right from wrong through the conscience; and to perceive and be led by intuition. To Fellowship With God The Bible shows us that we can contact God subjectively only in our spirit. In other words, our spirit allows us to fellowship with God. To fellowship with God is mainly to worship Him and serve Him. "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve" (Matt. 4:10; Luke 4:8). John 4:24 says, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness." Romans 1:9 says, "God… whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son." These verses plainly show that we should worship God and serve Him in spirit. Just as we must use our ears to hear sounds and our eyes to see colors, only our human spirit can touch God who is Spirit. This is how God created us. Think about what it would be like if you decided not to use your eyes to see anymore. You could blindfold your eyes and try to go about doing your normal tasks. But you would no longer be able to live a normal life. Trying to contact God without your human spirit is like living in this world without using your eyes. You would miss a lot of spiritual experiences. God Himself is Spirit and therefore He created in man a spirit to fellowship with Him. When you contact God in spirit, He will no longer be an unknown God way up in heaven; He will be real and personal. To Distinguish Right From Wrong Through The Conscience Romans 8:16a says, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit" and Romans 9:1 says, "my conscience… bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit." Compare these two verses and you will see that the conscience is a part of the spirit. The conscience functions to distinguish the difference between right and wrong. The conscience also bears witness to what we do in our living and leads our thoughts to accuse or excuse us (Rom. 2:14-15). Before we became believers, our conscience had a standard of right and wrong that was determined by our parents, our family, our society, our friends, and even influences such as television. Now that we have been born again, our conscience should measure up to a new standard of what is right and what is wrong. This is the conscience that is without offense toward both God and men (Acts 24:16). The Bible charges us to have this good conscience (Acts 23:1; 1 Tim. 1:19). For example, consider the matter of lying. When we speak lies, we may dull our conscience as though we are searing it with a hot iron (1 Tim. 4:2). But if we take care of our conscience and speak the truth in Christ, our conscience can bear witness with us in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 9:1). In addition, the Bible says that "for conscience' sake" it is necessary to pay taxes (Rom. 13:5-6). We should "render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Owe no one anything except to love one another; for he who loves another has fulfilled the law" (Rom. 13:7-8). Furthermore, we should take care of others' conscience in whatever we do in the church. For example, Paul tells us not to eat the food of an idol sacrifice, so that the conscience of those saints who might be sensitive in this area will not be defiled (1 Cor. 8:7-11). Otherwise, "when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their conscience, you sin against Christ" (1 Cor. 8:12). To Perceive And Be Led By Intuition First Corinthians 2:11a says, "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?" This verse tells us that our spirit knows the things of man. Unlike our mind that knows by reason or by experience, our spirit can perceive the things of man without reason and experience. For example, consider Mark 2:8: "Jesus, knowing fully in His spirit that they were reasoning this way." Jesus could know fully in His spirit because He had intuition. Intuition is the ability to perceive in our spirit. In addition, intuition is the sense of enlightenment in our spirit. "The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inner depths of his heart" (Prov. 20:27). It is an "instinctive feeling" within our spirit that can also be a leading from the Lord. For example, Paul testifies, "When I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia" (2 Cor. 2:12-13). Suppose you are about to argue with your wife. Your conscience bothers you, telling you that to argue is wrong. In addition, you get an "instinctive feeling" within your spirit that you should stop whatever you are doing and help your wife with her work instead. If you want to grow in your Christian life, you must learn to be sensitive to the intuition in your spirit. The conscience lets you know right from wrong, but the intuition enables you to sense God's leading. You will not hear an audible voice in your head from God, saying, "Stop what you are doing and go help your wife!" That is not what we mean by a direct leading from God. Instead, learn to sense the "instinctive feeling" inside you. The more you pay attention to the "instinctive feelings," the more you are able to sense them. Discussion Questions 1) Based on the Bible (e.g., Gen. 2:7) and your observation of people, explain how man is made of three parts. 2) Compare the condition of your spirit before you were saved with its condition after you were born again. 3) Why is it important to distinguish between your spirit and your soul? 4) Why must you use your human spirit when you fellowship with or worship God? 5) Can you think of an experience where you fellowshipped with God in spirit? 6) What are the parts and functions of the spirit? Practical Tips Remember, knowing your human spirit is for you to contact God. Having the knowledge that you have a spirit is not to satisfy your quest for mental knowledge. Rather it is for you to experience God. Therefore, open up to God and ask Him for this very thing. As a help, use John 4:24 to pray to God. You may also want to pray-read this verse (see Lesson 13). Be filled in spirit. You can be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit in your human spirit. According to Ephesians 5:18b-21, there are four ways to experience this: (1) When you are with other believers, speak to them and let them speak to you in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. (2) Sing and psalm with your heart to the Lord. (3) Give thanks at all times for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father. (4) Be subject to other genuine believers in the fear of Christ.