How does Romans 5 to 8 work in a Human Being? (Part 1 - One Human, Three Parts)

How does Romans 5 to 8 work in a Human Being? (Part 1 - One Human, Three Parts)

The following post is a personal interpretation of my understanding of the tri-part structure of a human being, and how the living Word (or Spirit) of God works within these parts. The focus of the extended study is not so much on the different parts of the human, but rather to investigate how the Word of God works within the human, and which part of them it affects most. There is an interesting twist in the study, as Paul also introduces two lives, or two 'laws' within the human, that is of greater significance, and to which this study will invest more time to understand.

The Tri-part Structure of a Human Being

The Bible tells us that every human is a tri-part being. Spirit, soul, and body. Let's see what the Word has to say about this.

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

The above verse tells us that it is the Spirit (or breath) of God in the human body (the flesh) that makes that person a living soul. So, although we use the expression, "We are a spirit, we have a soul, and we live in a body", that is not exactly accurate according to the above verse. Yes, we have the Spirit, or breath of God in us, but we ourselves are not that spirit. The breath of God is the life force in us. The Spirit of God, breathed into the outer shell of an inanimate flesh body causes that body to live, and that living body becomes a living soul.

Paul confirms this tri-part unity of spirit, soul, and body in the first letter to the Thessalonians. He says the following:

1Th 5:23  And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blamelessly at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Gods spirit breathed into the flesh produces the living soul. The Spirit is that part which is the life of God. The body is that lifeless clay container. The soul is the resulting entity that is produced when that clay shell is animated by the life of God. What is interesting is that the soul can be initially seen as an empty container that will hold the unique expression of the person that gets formed over time.

To bring even more clarity, consider a newborn 'natural' baby that has just come out of its mother's womb. That baby is a shell of flesh. The flesh contains the breath of God that gives it life. So far, so good, right? But what about the soul? Well, to start with, based on our understanding above, we know the baby is a living soul since the scripture in Gen.2:7 tells us that when the breath of God's Spirit enters into that inanimate shell, a living soul is created. So, now we have a tri-part being. But note one thing here. The living baby is, for lack of better wording, a blank slate. It is without a character, personality, knowledge, standards, ideals, dreams, goals, and so forth.

Here is another way to explain it, literally comparing the newborn baby to a computer. This is just an assimilation. I do not personally view babies as computer apparatus. However, consider the following. The computer hardware is representative of the flesh of the baby. The soul is representative of the software that must still be installed onto the hardware. The electrical outlet that supplies the power to the computer is representative of the breath of life from God. What is clear from this example is that even if the hardware is plugged into the electrical source, the computer is useless and blank. Although it is switched on, it cannot do much, as it has no software installed to provide it with functionality. In the same way, a newborn baby has no character and personality as no knowledge and decision basis has yet been developed or instilled in it. In essence, the container of the soul is still empty.

In order for this living soul to become unique, and a fully functioning human being, the soul container needs to be filled with the issues of life. Growth must happen. Understanding must be formed. Learning must take place. Character must be honed. A personality must develop. Choices, reasoning, ideals, goals, and dreams must be fashioned. All of this, over time, will contribute to a unique and fully functioning person, which is the soul of the human. 

In the next part of this series, I will add another component to the diagram and discuss a deeper detail of the construction of a human being in relation to how the Word of God operates within them.

Go to the next part here: Part 2