Body, Soul, Spirit

The Trichotomy of Mankind

I’d like to share an epiphany that I received this morning (July 28, 2021). I’ve been contemplating the relationships of the various parts of my being: Mind/Body; Soul; and Spirit. This morning was one of those times when it all just came together for me; a gift from Yahweh about what I wanted to know. Praise Him forevermore.

Mind and Body as One

In this epiphany, mind and body are one and the same. At least, they are as much a part of each other as any of the other parts. I had been leaning more toward the mind being a part of my soul and spirit, and not so much connected to the body. But it really makes more sense to me now that I see the mind (the invisible, etherial functions of thought, feeling, sensory perception, memory, personality and the like) is more attached to the body (think brain here, which is connected to the nervous system) than to the spirit or soul. When we think mind and body, we should be thinking of them as one unit. I mean, doesn’t it make sense that the brain holds the mind? Sure it does. Everyone knows this.

Soul and Spirit: A Connected Relationship

Once we understand this connection between mind and body—that the mind is housed in the brain, which is encased in the body—then we can use that as an analogy to understand the soul and spirit. Just as the mind is encapsulated in the brain and body, the soul is in the body as well, and is also encapsulated in the spirit (when brought to life). Just as the body serves the mind, feeding it with input from the senses, so the spirit serves the soul, feeding it input as well. Just as the mind controls the body, so the soul controls the spirit. And we can break up our being into these two major divisions in our understanding: There is mind/body; and there is soul/spirit. As long as the soul/spirit remain connected to the mind/body, the mind and body can continue to have life. The soul is connected to both body and spirit. It shares the mind with the body. It knows what the mind knows.

The Supremacy of the Soul

The life of a person is in their soul. This morning, I saw the soul as being one with the Father (after conversion). The Father is in my soul—which He created directly, I believe—and my soul is in the Father. At the very core, base, or center of my being I am one with the Creator. My life-force is one with Him. And just as the Father is supreme among the Godhead, so my soul is supreme within myself. Maybe this is a part of what it means to be created in God’s image. My soul is the Father of my being. It is one with the Father (now that I am saved). Nothing within me is more important than my soul—it is my life. It is the seat of my will; my sovereignty.

“Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7.

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” Matthew 16:26

“Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.” Ezekiel 18:4

Understanding the Spirit’s Role

Continuing in the idea of our being made in the likeness of God, my soul is wrapped in my spirit. (Perhaps the infinite Father is wrapped in His Spirit, like Hand in Glove, idk). They are connected and inseparable. Think of the soul as a more stationary thing and the spirit as a part of it that moves and interacts with the rest of creation, extending outward from the soul. Perhaps the Father is more soul than spirit? We are told He is Spirit, which is the closest thing to call Him compared to us, but maybe there is a difference in What He is, versus the Spirit. Anyway, my epiphany showed the spirit (mine) interacting with the world (or spirit realm) and my soul taking in whatever the spirit picks up and feeds it. Just like the mind taking in what the brain perceives through the physical senses, so the soul takes in whatever the spirit perceives. The spirit is like the senses for the soul. And since they’re both connected to the mind/body, they get all of that input as well.

Jesus and the Mind/Body

Jesus, of course, is the body of God—call Him the mind/body of God. At first, His body was mortal and frail, though not with any sin at all. That first body was mortal (sort of) and able to be killed, though He could have lived forever in it. But after His resurrection He took on a new, immortal body that is indestructible; glorified. I am still in my frail, mortal body, which is filled with sin, decay, and limits—it will not last very long. Jesus, being my Savior, now inhabits my flesh with me. He is in my mind and body. He gets what I’m going through because He is right here with me. And after this mind/body is done, He will give me a new mind/body just like His when He returns. (Looking forward to that!) Because of His mind/body sacrifice, I will be able to receive the new mind/body that He is preparing for me through faith.

So here is the big picture of the epiphany. My soul, which is my very life-force, is inhabited by the Father, Who is akin to God’s Soul. My soul is one with Him and He is one with my soul. We are inseparable. The Spirit of God is one with my own spirit, which He brought to life when I believed. Wherever my spirit may go, He is there with me. When He moves, I move. We are inseparable. My mind and body are one with Jesus. This sinful mind/body that I am stuck with for now belongs to Jesus. It’s His to use as He sees fit. And when He returns to Earth, He will give me a new mind/body that is not corrupted by sin. Here and now we are inseparable; then, when He returns, we will be inseparable as well. God and I are connected forever and ever. For now, the Father connects to the soul, and His Spirit connects to my spirit, and Jesus is in my body/mind (until He gives me a new one, or I am absent from the body/mind and in His presence in heaven).

“I and the Father are one.” John 10:30

A Spirit Brought to Life by the Holy Spirit

Now, the Holy Spirit is the One Who brings life to the spirit of mankind.

Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.

John 3:6, NLT

This subtly tells me that the unregenerate soul (someone who isn’t saved) has either no spirit or one that is not alive somehow (meaning no connection to God). It tells me that when the Holy Spirit gives me a spirit I am more alive than before that. We know that the soul lives on forever, either in heaven or torment. Every person has a soul. Even animals might have a soul. But that is not how we commune with God. The soul is very much attached to the body. It is inside of it and can feel what the mind feels (physically, mentally, or emotionally). That means that my body, with its mind and heart (the emotional part of the mind), are very much connected and controlled by the soul. And I think that the soul receives input from the spirit as well. It receives from both inputs.

“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” Romans 8:16

“So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.” 1 Corinthians 15:42-44

The Struggle Between Flesh and Spirit

When God (Holy Spirit) brings a person’s spirit to life, that person is now connected to God, through God’s Spirit. And so the soul, now having a spirit, can listen to either the mind or the spirit. And sometimes it may cause a real conflict. But the spirit, being connected to God’s Spirit, is stronger. It is the flesh that is weak; not the spirit. So the soul is now caught in-between two opposing points of view: the mortal flesh gives earthly input; the spirit gives godly input. To what part? the soul. That is because you are your soul and your soul is you. You are a soul with a spirit in a body. The body connects you to the Earth and the material, whereas the spirit connects you to God and His Spirit and the spirit realm. This is where the conflict comes in. The struggle we face, according to Paul is fighting the good fight. I take this to be the fight between these two inputs. On the one hand, I hear, see, feel, taste and smell the physical; on the other, I can see, hear, feel, smell and taste in the spirit. One gives one kind of input and the other gives a new kind that would not be possible without God giving it to me.

“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.” 1 Corinthians 2:14

“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 2 Corinthians 5:1

“But I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Romans 7:23-24

“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.” Galatians 5:17

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” Romans 8:5-6

Trichotomy vs. Dichotomy: A Difference of Belief

This position is at odds with those of other believers, whom we all love in Christ, who believe that man only has two parts to him: a dichotomy of soul/spirit, considered as one; and body/mind, also considered as one. That is different than what I have just shared. I show three parts, they show two. Trichotomy is three and dichotomy is two.

Other believers might say that you are a spirit with a soul. But this makes less sense to me, in that how do people live on Earth without a soul? Without having the spirit connection with God, they cannot connect to Him. But they are still “alive” in their soul on Earth. The body dies when the soul leaves it. My question to these believers is how does anyone live on Earth without a spirit, if the soul is not their life and they have not been born of the Spirit of God yet? I don’t see how that works. I’ve listened intently to teachings on this from that perspective and cannot agree with being a spirit with a soul. They say you are a spirit with a soul in a body. I remain unconvinced by their arguments.

You are a soul with a spirit, if given spiritual life by Holy Spirit, and you live in a body for now. If not given spiritual life, then you are just a soul in a body and have no direct connection to God. Your soul lives on, but without spiritual life. You are spiritually dead. (Not good.)

“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 Thessalonians 5:23

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

“Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:17

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27

Closing Thoughts

I hope that you will explore this epiphany with your own study into these things and by way of prayer with Yahweh. Hear what He has to say about these things for you to understand.

In Him and His love,

Gary