And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  1 Thessalonians 5:23

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  Hebrews 4:12

Did you notice that in each of these two scriptures the total makeup of man is mentioned.  We are a body (our flesh), soul and spirit. We are made up of a visible (body), and an invisible, or non-material soul and spirit.

The spirit is the highest and most unique part of man. It enables us to know God and to communicate with him.  The spirit of all of us is dead until we are made alive through our faith in Christ Jesus. That means, we cannot know God until we are born again.

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Ephesians 2:1

When one is saved or born again, they are made alive unto God. This makes us sons and daughters of God.

The soul is the part of man that makes him conscious of himself; it is the seat of the different affections and passions, such as love, hatred, anger, sensation, appetite, and propensities of many different kinds. Our soul is what makes up our personalities.

The body of course is the physical, or the flesh, through which man expresses his self, and by which he is recognized.

Let me point out that sin has affected our entire being which includes the physical body, the soul and the spirit.

The spirit and soul are immortal, so they will live somewhere; forever! This is one of the many reasons it is so important to trust Jesus as our savior, so that when we die we will be able to live with him forever.

BODY

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, Genesis 2:7a

The scriptures tell us that God created man’s body from the dust of the ground. But one day, all born again believers will be resurrected, and glorified as an eternal body for our soul and spirit to live in forever. Scripture also identifies our body with different expressions which we shall consider in this study.

Originally man would have lived forever in this fleshly body had he not sinned.  As a result of sin, once a man dies his body will return back to the dust of the ground.  This body of flesh, corrupted over time by sin will grow old and begin to fail. Then finally it will die in the grasp of the grim reaper.

The Apostle Paul warns us not to allow sin to control our body. Sin is anything that displeases God.

Romans 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

The Apostle Paul also tells us that the third member of the God head lives in us who are believers. This is a mystery how the Spirit of God, of Christ and the Holy Spirit would live in our bodies and be with us no matter where we are.

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 1Corinthians 6:19

Furthermore, the Apostle Paul says we no longer belong to ourselves, because once we are saved we have been purchased by the blood of Jesus! He becomes our Lord and Master, and we are His servants. Then from this point forward we should pray, and study in order to grow. As we grow we should strive to accomplish His will for our lives. How important that every believer understands this if they want a blessed and meaningful life.

2Corinthians 5:6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

TABERNACLE

The Apostle Paul referred to our body as a tabernacle.  If you remember back in Exodus the Israelites worshiped God at a portable tent called a Tabernacle.  That is where God met with them. Later the Tabernacle was replaced with the beautiful Temple built by Solomon in a permanent location in Jerusalem.

Through these scriptures Paul tells us that the body we now live in is going to be torn down and replaced at death with a house from heaven. This will be a temporary house until we receive our glorified eternal body on resurrection day.

For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2Corithians 5:1

Apostle Paul reminds us that as long as we live this earthly life, we will be subject to hardships and struggles. Even he groaned from the sufferings he experienced in his life, yet he still constantly longed to be with the Lord.

We know now that he suffered greatly for the Savior throughout his travels all over the Roman Empire. Even so, he continued preaching the gospel, and sharing the great longing he had to be with Jesus.

You may think it odd that Paul would say he groaned. But my friend, it is alright to groan under the burdens, and trials of life. Yes, Paul groaned, and so it is scriptural for us who love the Lord to also groan.

2Corinthians 5:4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

This is one of the many great things that we all can think about now that will make going to heaven even more wonderful. There will be no more groaning!

There will be no more suffering of any kind, either. Better yet, there will be no tears! That’s right, no more tears after our God dries our tear stained eyes for the last time.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.  Revelation 21:4

The Apostle Peter also mentioned our body as a tabernacle.  He was aware he was about to be put to death by Nero for preaching the gospel. He remembered that Jesus had told him that this was going to happen to him.

Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.  2Peter 1:14

So we see in scripture, our fleshly body is the “house,” or tabernacle we live in while we are alive.

HOUSE

For those of us that are saved, our soul, and spirit departs the body at death, and will be with the Lord in heaven. Those who are not saved, their soul and dead spirit, go to torments in Hades where the rich man in Luke chapter sixteen went.

And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Luke 16:23

And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. Luke 16:24

This place appears to be in the center of the earth where all the unsaved of all ages are awaiting the great white throne judgment of Revelation chapter twenty.

The misery of the people in this God forsaken place is horrible. After this judgment they will be thrown into the lake of fire to spend eternity, and all because they rejected Jesus as the Savior. For those of us who believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, there will never be a horrible place such as this, as we will reside in heaven forever. “Praise the Lord”

2Corinthians 5:2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:

So my friends, let’s thank God that one day these suffering bodies we live in now will be redeemed.  Our soul and spirit have already been redeemed by faith in Jesus Christ, but one day, our bodies will be redeemed as well. We will live in our resurrected, incorruptible bodies for eternity, free from worry, and pain or any more problems of any nature. What awesome grace has been given unto us as a result of believing in Jesus as our savior.

In closing I want everyone to think about where they will spend eternity. If you are not saved, today is the day of salvation! You do not have to do anything to obtain salvation, and no one is worthy of any gift from God. But by simply believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as the one and only savior, and accepting him as your own personal savior you can receive the gift of Salvation.

It is a gift from God to all those who will trust Him. As a result of salvation you become one of the sons and daughters of God. Ask him into your heart today!

Heavenly Father, we praise you for the gift of salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Thank you for the cross of our Savior where our sin debt was paid in full.  Holy Father, help us to be usable children to reach others with the gospel message of salvation.  We always pray in Jesus name, Amen  

“Loving the Savior”  Preacher