Understanding Spirit, Soul, and Body
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:21-27
To live a victorious Christian life, we must understand who we really are and where true growth takes place. Scripture teaches that we are spirit, soul, and body—and confusing these three leads to frustration, condemnation, and unnecessary defeat.
An Apple That Explains the Christian Life
Think of a human being like an apple:
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The seed represents your spirit
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The flesh of the apple represents your soul (mind, will, emotions)
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The skin represents your body
When you are born again, only your spirit is born again. That spirit is the real you. The Bible says your new spirit is “created after God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). This means your spirit is not partially renewed, not immature, and not growing toward righteousness—it is already perfect, because it comes directly from God.
God is Spirit, and He recreated you as a spirit being. In your spirit, you are not less righteous than God—and you are not becoming more righteous over time. Your spirit is fully grown, complete, and incorruptible.
Full-Grown From the Moment You’re Born Again
Adam was created as a full-grown man. The moment God breathed into him, he had authority, dominion, and purpose. In the same way, when you are born again, you don’t become a “baby spirit.” You become a new creation, a new kind of being that never existed before—carrying the very nature of God in your spirit.
This helps us understand a challenging verse:
“No one who is born of God continues to sin, because God’s seed remains in them.” (1 John 3:9)
This is not saying Christians never sin. Scripture cannot contradict itself. What this verse is teaching is that your spirit cannot sin. Why? Because you were born again by the incorruptible Word of God—a seed that cannot rot, decay, or be contaminated.
Sin does not come from your spirit. Sin operates through the body and the unrenewed mind.
Where Growth Really Happens
If your spirit is already perfect, where does Christian growth take place?
Growth happens in the soul.
Your soul—your mind, emotions, and will—does not automatically change when you are born again. You still have the same thought patterns, emotional tendencies, habits, and memories. Your body also remains the same physical body, still subject to weakness and death.
Christian maturity is the process of:
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Bringing your mind into agreement with your spirit
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Bringing your body under the direction of your spirit
This is why Scripture says:
“Do not set your minds on the flesh, but on the Spirit.” (Romans 8:5)
What you focus on is what you give authority to. Many people spend significant time caring for their physical appearance but very little time feeding their spirit or renewing their mind. Yet it is the inner life that determines victory. The Word of God does not teach your spirit—it reveals your spirit to your mind. Your spirit already knows God’s will. Proverbs describes counsel as deep waters, and wisdom is drawn out. That counsel is already inside you.
Romans 12:1–2 shows us the process clearly:
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Present your body to God as a living sacrifice
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Renew your mind with God’s Word
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Experience transformation
As your mind is renewed, it begins to agree with what is already true in your spirit. When that alignment happens, you begin to walk in God’s good, acceptable, and perfect will.
Victory comes when you stop living from the outside in—and start living from the inside out.