Understanding the Human Body, Soul, and Spirit in Biblical Context
Explore the Biblical concepts of body, soul, and spirit, and their interconnection in the context of demonization, oppression, and deliverance. Learn about the differences between these components and their significance in the Christian faith.
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Freedom Training THE INNER MAN: BODY, SOUL, SPIRIT DEMONIZATION AND OPPRESSION
Overview The inner man Biblical terms: body, soul, spirit (extra-Biblical terminology will not be covered) Flesh versus spirit Our new spirit and the Holy Spirit Deliverance Demonization and oppression Biblical examples Rebuking evil
Humans: spirit, soul, body Biblical terminology. Each human is made of several interconnected parts: body, soul, and spirit. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ 1 Thes 5:23 There is a difference between soul and spirit For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart Heb 4:12 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? I Cor 2:11
Body, soul, spirit When our body dies our spirit and soul go to hell or heaven and in heaven we get a new body we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord II Cor 5:8 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matt 10:28 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead James 2:26 [Jesus] will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body Phil 3:20-21
Heart Heart is a more vague term, similar to soul and spirit You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind Matt 22:37 This verse is not describing distinctly different parts of a human but rather are making an emphasis of using our entire being to love The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks Luke 6:45 Both believers and unbelievers have a heart that produces thoughts and feelings In English terminology (not Biblical), some refer to Jesus being in their heart , which in this usage would indicate it is part of the spirit
Flesh Flesh usually refers to that which is not spirit (part of body and soul) We see the terms flesh and spirit used as contrast: That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit John 3:6 A believer is being immoral with his stepmother you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord I Cor 5:5 Flesh does NOT mean physical body. Physical matter is not evil (see Colossians). Our bodies are important and meant to be whole: and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless I Thes 5:23.
Flesh And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. Ephesians 2:1-3 The body and mind were active in carrying out their sinful desires
Human: spirit, soul, body For the rest of this discussion: body, soul, and spirit body organs, skin, brain, touch, taste, hearing, sight, smell (possible sin issues) soul thoughts, emotions, desires, mind, will, feelings, imagination, conscience, memory, reason and affections (possible sin issues) spirit indwelled by the Holy Spirit and connected to God if we are a believer, dead and unconnected if we are an unbeliever (ex. faith, hope, reverence, prayer, and worship can be part of spirit life)
Unbeliever Children of wrath: carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and ensnared by the devil to do his will The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. I Corinthians 2:14 God may perhaps grant them [unbeliever] repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. II Timothy 2:24-26
Alive spirit Believers have spirits that are new, alive, and righteous but for unbelievers they are dead ButGod, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved Ephesians 2:1,4-5 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3:3-6
Alive spirit Our spirits have not been merely transformed by Christ. Rather, our old self died and we now have new life and a new spirit. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:9-11
Holy Spirit in the believer Believers have a new living human spirit and the indwelling Holy Spirit Do you not know that youare God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? (I Corinthians 3:16) If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8:9-10 For believers the Holy Spirit in us is at war with our flesh For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do Gal 5:17
Extra-Biblical theories (Not a part of this training: whether helpful or not ) Other descriptive metaphors for how the inner man is comprised: Psychology or New Age personality types: Myer-Briggs or enneagram soul types - like ruler, teacher, helper, pieces of the soul function, guardians, emotions (HeartSync) seven spirits parts of the spirit metaphors from the tabernacle: will, heart, emotions, mind, We will only use Biblical language of body, soul, and spirit
Demonized or oppressed Possessed: is a poor Bible translation gives a connotation that evil has complete control over a person all the time Demonized, oppressed, tormented, had a demon used by newer Bible translations attribute less power to the forces of darkness. This child was mute but not constantly seizing: Teacher [Jesus], I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. Mark 9:17-18
Demonized man This demonized man still had the power to come to Jesus [In the country of the Gerasenes] And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, always crying out and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him And Jesus asked him, What is your name? He replied, My name is Legion, for we are many. they begged him, saying, Send us to the pigs; let us enter them. So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea. Mark 5:1-13
Oppression That evening they brought to him [Jesus] many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a wordand healed all who were sick. Matthew 8:26 So his [Jesus] fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. Matt 4:24
King Saul Regarding King Saul: Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the LORD tormented him. And Saul's servants said to him, Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well. Behold, [David], who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the LORD is with him. And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him. I Sam 14:16-23
Demonized girl What does it look like to be demonized? She is declaring truth but it greatly annoyed Paul. As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation. And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And it came out that very hour. But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas Acts 16:16-19
Christian oppression Can a Christian be possessed or oppressed or demonized? The Bible does not explicitly say either way Christians have a new spirit and the indwelling Holy Spirit. But the soul and body are still being sanctified and can be afflicted at times with disease (and we can infer also demons) Disease and demons do not always leave our soul/body the minute our spirit is made new in Christ We sometimes acquire diseases as Christians, it is also possible to acquire oppression as well From practice, deeply committed Christians have had demons leave them. Usually this comes after a time of repentance or breaking curses put on them or soul wounds healed (acts of sanctification)
Oppression Two people may be in the same sin pattern and one has demonic oppression from it Two people may have been abused and one has demonic oppression from it Two people may have mental illness and one has demonic oppression Two people may have been cursed and one has demonic oppression Two people may be blind and one has demonic oppression causing it Discernment is needed
General Teachings Most Christian literature: some hold that demons can only afflict the soul and body, not the spirit you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord I Cor 5:5 many infer a demon is a result of a stronghold (repetitive pattern of ongoing or historic sin) and repentance is required Repentance is may not always be the fix: break curses and heal abuse Never assume the person is in unreprentant sin (babies can be demonized)
Causes of oppression/demonization Christian girl got into satanic music and had pentagram jewelry. Result - angry, rebellious Christian boy got into satanic music, started bowing before it and worshipping it. Result - demonized fits Lady had dizzy spells, had been given an amulet on the street and kept it in her purse Christian woman had curses put on her by family members. Result - mental illness, depression, and suicidal tendencies A woman pursued relaxation techniques from someone in witchcraft. Result extreme mental illness A man made an agreement with an evil spirit as a child to protect him A woman had not forgiven her abuser Years ago, a man had lived with his fianc before they were married. Never thought to specifically repent of it after becoming a believer. A woman became blind the same day her blind father died.
Rebuking You must speak out loud to refute evil forces But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke you. Jude 1:9 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him [Jesus refutes the devil by quoting scripture three times]. Then Jesus said to him, Be gone, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. Then the devil left him Matt 4:1-12
Proactive Victorious Life Bible study read a passage and listen to what God has to say to you specifically Journal things you hear from God (during Bible study, dreams, listening time) or encouraging or prophetic words from others believers Listening to the Bible or sermons, podcast, or other Biblical teachings Prayer, proclamation, and Intercession: actively proclaim truth and blessings about yourself and others Actively singing psalms, hymns, and spirituals songs; and praying in tongues (also soaking and listening to worship) Take every though captive. Out loud rebuke/refute the enemy when he speaks Community Christian community with relationships Rest giving all burdens to Jesus, sleep, exercise, Thankfulness and generosity thanking God throughout the day and giving to others
Activations Ask the Holy Spirit to show you a symbolic picture of your spirit what is it doing? Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to remembrance a feeling or time you felt Him in/on you Have you ever quoted scripture or rebuked evil, then felt or seen something change? Briefly, share about when you initially came to know Jesus as your Savior. (get in groups of three- leader will give three one minute timed segments to share)
