There is a phrase in I Thessalonians that offers some cool insight into us humans. It’s easy to glide right past but one day I really saw it and from there, the Lord clarified some truths for me. Chater 5, verse 23 - Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Truth be told, there is a whole lot of divine treasure in that one little verse!!!! But we are just looking at one little phrase - “spirit and soul and body”.
I grew up hearing the words “soul” and “spirit” used interchangeably and for a long time, never pondered if there was any difference between them. But one day, I got to wondering :)
So I investigated. What I learned was helpful to me so I want to pass it along to you in case you get to wondering too :)
Everyone has a body (sometimes we don’t like the one we’ve been given but that’s another post!). That part of “who we are” is easy to grasp. One day, these bodies of ours will each one cease to exist in this form and those of us in Christ will receive a new body. (Hallelujah!) One that is imperishable, will not die, incorruptible, incapable of sin, and eternal. (I Corinthians 15:35-58 tells us about this glorious truth!) But we know that we are not merely physical bodies. Our bodies are not the essence of “who we are”.
That is where “soul” comes in. Everyone has a soul. (Christians and non-Christians alike). This is the essence of “who we are” - our minds, emotions, wills, personalities, etc. Like the body, the soul is created by God. It will survive our physical death and pass into either Heaven or Hell. As George MacDonald said, “You don’t have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.”
What about the spirit?
It’s like three concentric circles that we see on a target. The outer circle represents the body, which we can see. The middle circle represents the soul. And the very inner circle symbolizes the spirit. Before we are in Christ, we do not have this circle. Scripture says we are dead in our sin - no spirit. But when Jesus comes to live within us, in the form of the Holy Spirit, we then have this third circle! The presence of the Holy Spirit within us is what works to sanctify our soul and will one day transform our mortal bodies into immortal ones. That is the distinction between our soul and our spirit.
That is what I Thessalonians 5:23 is talking about. And Philippians 2:12,13 which exhorts us to work OUT our salvation, for it is God who is at work within us, changing our will and our ways to please Him. The work of the Spirit within us to transform our souls is what Scripture means by “sanctification”.