Parts of Man
Part 1 of 2
Define the following terms:
Mind The part of us that thinks, reasons and understands.
Emotions The part of us that feels joy pain happy sad angry or peaceful
Will The part of us that drives us, desires things, motivates us and decides how we will behave.
Body The Body is our physical representation, structure and composition. We use it to interface with the world. It includes our eyes and ears, our brain, our arms and legs, our face etc. It limits what we can see, hear & feel, what we can understand and what we can do.
Soul The Soul is who we are. It is our identity. It is our live story. It is our memories, personality and character.
Spirit The Spirit is responsible for our attitude, our disposition, our orientation. It determines what sort of person we are (good or bad). It is the part of us that can fellowship with the Holy Spirit if he is living in our heart. It recognizes and knows things intuitively. It can arouse in us certain memories and feelings.
Heart The heart is an empty place within us where we store our treasure. It is the place where the Holy Spirit lives if we are saved or the place that we put our idol if we are not saved. What we set our heart on (or fill our heart with) determines the direction of our life. It affects our disposition. It is the gold standard by which we judge ourselves and others.
Flesh Flesh can refer to the body or our natural desires and instincts (or our unregenerated spirit)
Conscience The conscience gives us an awareness of the spirit. It is the voice of the spirit. It gives us a sense of right and wrong if God's word is living in us. When we are living will of God, we have peace joy.
Intuition This is our common sense or gut feeling. It is the part of the mind that overlaps with the spirit. It gives you a sense that something is true or false even if you can't explain why. It is often what leads us to God. That is why the Bible says that we believe with our heart.
Instinct This is the part of the will that overlaps with the flesh. It is what we are programmed to do from birth. It is concerned with survival and territory. It is part of our unregenerated nature.
Stress Stress occurs when there is a conflict of ideas. It is a tormented mind. Stress is when you can't decide what is right or wrong, true or false or when you can't decide what to do. Sometimes it is not a matter of right and wrong, but what is best. Stress often goes once the decision has been made. Sometimes, the brain malfunctions if there is too much stress.
Pain Pain can be physical, psychological or spiritual. It can result from injury to the body or malfunction of the body as a result of disease (physical). It can result from loss of something or somebody that we love and cherish (psychological). It can result if something or somebody that we believe in turns out to be false (spiritual). Pain can erode our faith. Pain produces changes in our emotions.
Frustration Frustration occurs when you do not get what you want. It is a tormented will. Eventually, this can lead to a state of hopelessness (depression).
What parts of us will be saved at the coming of Our Lord?
The body, the soul and the spirit.
If we are saved, our spirit has been regenerated, our soul is being transformed and our body will be transfigured. The Lord is faithful to complete the good work that he has begun in us.
What part of us dies when we become a Christian?
The Old Man.
The unregenerate man has a heart of flesh. He is like a creature of instinct. He is selfish and self centered and self seeking.
When we become a Christian, we die to self and live for God.
When we are born again the old man is cut of or burnt away and we become a new creation. The Holy Spirit comes and lives in our heart. Our spirit is regenerated and our consciences is made alive.
Gentiles are baptized in the Spirit and Fire and in so doing become circumcise inwardly. (The Jews were circumcised by the Spirit and had the law written on their hearts by the Spirit)
What is the object of our Salvation?
The salvation of our soul. 1Peter 1:9 Proverbs 23:14
What are the the three parts of man mentioned in 1Thes 5:23?
The body the soul and the spirit.
How does the soul interact with the mind, the emotions and the will?
The soul is who we are. It is our SELF. It is US.
The mind is the focus of our attention. It is what we are conscious or aware of . It is what we are thinking about. It is what we are thinking with. It is inseparable from the brain in which it is housed.
The emotions are what we feel and the will is what we want.
The mind, the will and the emotions interact with the soul, but they are not the same.
Our minds can be focusing on the flesh, the self, the world, or God etc. We try to think about these things in a logical way but our knowledge and understanding is often incomplete and quite patchy. (As a consequence we often must make decisions intuitively using our spirit to guide us.)
Sometimes our feelings, desires and perceptions do not line up with what we intuitively know is right. Sometimes our intuition is wrong. Should we follow our heart or our head? Our mind or our Spirit? Should we just listen to our emotions and do what makes us happy? We should seek guidance if circumstances permit - if not we can sometimes change our mind once things become clear. It is always good to keep a clear conscience.
We cannot change who we are or what has happened to us in the past. These are the things that shape our personality and character (defense mechanisms, values and coping style).
Our personality and character determine how we perceive and handle things (with our mind) what we feel (emotions) and what we want (will).
When we are born again, we become a child of God (who we are changes). We get a new Spirit (our values change). Where we are going and what we want changes. The things that have happened to us in the past takes on a whole new significance. Our personality and character changes. God gradually reconfigures our memories and transforms our soul. What we once thought was OK is no longer OK. What we once thought was to our detriment is for our good. What use to hurt us no longer does. What we use to avoid, we can now face.