The triune and salvation

Dr MN Ngcobo01 August 2009

Purpose

• Man as a being composed of 3 parts• Explain how vital each of these 3 parts is to

the fulfillment of God’s purpose• Genesis 2:7• 1 Thessalonians 5:23• Hebrews 4:12

From the moment of creation

• Genesis 2:7 “Jehovah God formed man with the dust of the ground” – mans body

• “And breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” – productions of man’s spirit

• “And man became a living soul”

Whole being

• All three – spirit, soul and body – each in its place constitute man “entire”

• Man, then, is a trinity; spirit, soul and body are the integral parts of his triune being

• A complete person has a spirit, a soul and a body

Romans 8:16, “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are God’s children”

Psalm 86:4 “Cause the soul of Your servant to rejoice…”

Matthew 9:4 “Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, Why are you thinking evil things in your hearts?”

•The Body•five senses •part which contacts the physical world.•outward frame •God’s provision for his existence •Allows us to exist in the material realm. •Originally, man was created with a pure, undefiled body •But due to man’s fall his body was changed in nature, transmuted, thus becoming the fallen flesh full of lust •Hence, man’s body is a corrupted body as Paul observed in Romans 7:18, “For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells. For I have the desire to do what is good, but cannot carry it out”

The functions of the spirit

• To contact God. John 4:24 “God is spirit those who

worship him must worship him in spirit and truthfulness”• To receive God. John 3:6 “…that which is born of the

Spirit is spirit…”• To contain God. 2 Timothy 4:22 “The Lord be with

your spirit”

The functions of the soul

• To express and reflect the lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18 – our soul is like a mirror designed to behold and reflect Christ.

• But our souls need to be purified by receiving the word (1 Peter 1:22) and to be transformed into the image of Christ by the renewing of the mind (Romans 12:2 and 2 Corinthians 3:18)

The functions of the body

• The organ for man’s existence

God’s salvation• The Human Soul Contaminated by Receiving Satan’s Thought,

Feeling and Will• Adam possessed a tremendous potential to express and represent

God• The serpent began his assault on the human mind by injecting it

with doubt- Genesis 3:1 • The serpent sowed a seed of resentment into Eve by lying to her

about God’s motive - Genesis 3:5-6• The Human Body Transmuted into the fallen Flesh• We should never have any confidence in our flesh- Romans 7:17• The Spirit Deadened• God has preserved the human spirit inviolate for Himself- Ephesians

2:1

Salvation• Regeneration in our Spirit• By this new birth a new element has been added to our spirit that

was not originally there according to our first birth: God’s own life- Ephesians 2:5 “Even when we were dead in offenses, [God] made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”

• Transformation in our Soul• We begin to think as God thinks, love as He loves, and choose as He

chooses- Romans 12:2: “be transformed by the renewing of the mind.”• Transfiguration of our Body• For this corruptible must put on incorruption- 1 Corinthians 15:52-

53: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye…we will be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

The divine life• Dispensed into our Spirit• Paul did not say that our spirit is living, but that our spirit is life-

Romans 8:10 “If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness.”

• Dispensed into our Mind• Just as the husband and wife become one couple, so the mind and

the spirit become an inseparable unit-Romans 8:6, “the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.”

• Dispensed into our Body• The Triune God dispenses His life until we become men of life

throughout our tripartite being-Romans 8:11: “And if the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.”

The tabernacle and its courtyard is a type of the threefold nature of man

Realizing the body of life• Our Body Presented for the Church Life• Present your bodies a living sacrifice- Romans 12:1 says, “I

exhort you therefore, brothers, through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service.”

• Our Mind Renewed for the Church Life• With such a renewed mind the Body life becomes possible-

Romans 12:2 says, “And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.”

• Our Spirit Fervent for the Church Life• When our body is presented, our mind is renewed, and our

spirit is burning, the body life becomes a vibrant, vital reality- Romans 12:11 “Do not be slothful in zeal, but be burning in spirit, serving the Lord.”