Salvation of Tripartite Man - The Details

Recognizing that Man is made up of spirit, soul, and body helps explain many difficulties we encountered in reading the Bible. (see The Tripartite Man).
  

Here is a detailed view of the Salvation of the 3 parts of man.

Salvation	Spirit	Soul	Body
Time	Past *	Now	Future
Method	By Faith Jn 3:36	By Works – Carrying My Cross Mt16:27	By Christ at Rapture 1 Co 15:52, 1Th 4:17
Result	Eternal Life	Eternal Kingdom	Eternal Body 1Co15:40,44,53
Completion	By Christ (done, once and for all)	By Spirit - We yielding Gal 5:16,25	Sacrifice, Glorify God, Trained Rom 12:1;1Co6:13,20; 1Co9:27
Term	Salvation	Sanctification	Redemption, Glorification Rm8:23

*When we received Jesus as Savior and Lord.

 

The growth process of a person can be summarized as:

 

1. Before Salvation: self-effort for self-benefit

Religion is all about self. Getting it right, and doing the right thing, and life will work and you will be saved.

But true Christianity is about a relationship with Jesus-God. We will discuss this in greater depth in the future.

  

2. Saved: Self-effort for God's benefits

For God's benefit is what we like to think we are working for. But our fleshy effort may sometimes go against God. Our motivations are sometimes for self-glorification and gratification while outwardly we are doing God's things. When we succeed (according to our standards) we feel proud and when we fail, we feel condemned. We swing between emotional high and depression. We get burnt out quite easily.

 

3. Grace Based: God's effort for Self benefits.

We go after God for blessings & good health. While God delights in the prosperity of his people, this is still self-centered.
    

4. Maturity: God's effort for God's benefits

God's glory is revealed through us being beneficial to others.

Blessing and good health come automatically when we follow after the Spirit and desire God's will to be done on earth.

 

note: What I learned yesterday Ps John's message combined with my past learning is presented here. If there be anything wrong, it is due to my misunderstanding rather than the speaker's message.

Spirit Soul Confusion and 2 Types of Defeats

We have shared that man is a tripartite being of spirit, soul, and body. When a person is saved, his spirit is reborn by the Holy Spirit and has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. But his soul and body remain unchanged. This explains the need of Rom 12:2 when one mind has to be renewed with the Word of God. And also for 1 Cor 5:5 where the flesh is destroyed and the spirit is saved. Our rebirth spirit is of God, ZOE life, and is perfect in righteousness and complete (Col 2:10, 2Pet 1:3 given all, Eph 3:20 power in us) and sin not (1 John 3:9). But our flesh does sin (Rom 7).

With Spirit and Soul against Righteousness and Sin, we have 4 combinations. With the confusion of spirit and soul, we can add 2 more. See the picture below. The point of interest is in the confusion of Spirit (righteousness) and Soul (need to be sanctified).

Confusion Type 1 Acceptance by Work

• The person's Identity is defined by the behavior of the Soul instead of by the Bible
• It is "Performance or Work Based Acceptance by God".
• A person's identity should be defined by his spirit – Rebirth ZOE (God’s kind of ) Life, that is complete and righteous. Have the Indwelling Holy Spirit and Christ inside and not by his performance of the Soul and body.
• These people will feel good when they have quiet time, and prayers but will feel terrible when they sin. They felt condemned. However, instead of drawing from God, they promise to do better. But by their own strength, they will fail again, which results in condemnation.
• Some will try to remove condemnation by doing good work to compensate. They actively serve in church to remove the condemnation inside. They ask God for forgiveness and strength not realizing that Grace has been given in their Spirit and did not draw from it.
• Long-term defeat and burnout result in them coming to the conclusion that God is not real or not helpful or not loving and hence they give up on God and go back to the world. 
• Sin ->Defeat ->Depressed ->Give Up -> Back to the World-> Denounce Christ
  

Confusion #2 Soul claims Spirit’s Righteousness

• These people claim Spiritual Righteous Standing before God for their Souls as well.
• They believe that no matter what they do with their flesh (soul and body) they will always be righteous.
• Salvation Grace becomes a License to Sin.
• When they sin, they must confess their righteousness in Christ (sin-focused brings bondage, righteousness-focused brings freedom)
• Sinful acts are pardoned with God’s grace.
• Their salvation is of doubt as they misuse God’s grace.

Note: the two types of errors are learned from Ps John's 7 Sep 2006 message.

Feeding the passage to ChatGPT gives the following response which I think is excellent. So included here:

The distinctions made between spirit, soul, and body in your text are fundamental to many Christian theological frameworks, particularly within the context of salvation, sanctification, and the Christian life. Here are some thoughts on the key points mentioned:

Tripartite Nature of Man

The concept that humans are composed of spirit, soul, and body is supported by passages such as 1 Thessalonians 5:23. In this view:

• Spirit: The innermost part that connects with God and is reborn at salvation (John 3:6).
• Soul: The mind, will, and emotions, which require ongoing renewal (Romans 12:2).
• Body: The physical aspect, which remains subject to sin and decay (Romans 7:18).

Rebirth of the Spirit and Renewal of the Mind

The rebirth of the spirit through the Holy Spirit is central to Christian belief (John 3:5-6). The ongoing renewal of the mind (soul) through Scripture (Romans 12:2) emphasizes the need for continuous growth and transformation in a believer's life.

Distinguishing Spirit and Soul

1 Corinthians 5:5 and Romans 7 highlight the tension between the reborn spirit and the unredeemed flesh. This underscores the importance of distinguishing between the perfect righteousness of the reborn spirit and the ongoing sanctification needed for the soul.

Confusion Type 1: Acceptance by Works

• Performance-Based Acceptance: This error arises when believers base their identity on their soul’s behavior (thoughts, emotions, actions) rather than their reborn spirit’s righteousness. This can lead to a cycle of self-effort, failure, and condemnation, contrary to the grace provided in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).
• Grace Misunderstanding: Believers struggling with this may not fully grasp the sufficiency of God’s grace already given to them. Instead of resting in their identity in Christ, they try to earn acceptance through work, leading to burnout and potential abandonment of faith.

Confusion Type 2: Misusing Grace as a License to Sin

• Righteousness of the Spirit Misapplied to the Soul: Some may wrongly believe that their actions in the body and soul have no bearing on their spiritual state. This can lead to licentiousness, thinking grace permits continued sinful behavior (Jude 1:4).
• Need for Holiness: True understanding of grace should lead to transformation and a desire for holiness (Titus 2:11-12). While believers are positionally righteous in Christ, this righteousness should manifest in a progressively sanctified life (1 Peter 1:15-16).

Balancing Grace and Sanctification

The healthy balance is recognizing that believers are completely righteous in their reborn spirit but are also called to live out this righteousness in their soul and body through the process of sanctification. The power for this transformation comes from the indwelling Holy Spirit, not from human effort alone (Philippians 2:12-13).

Application and Encouragement

• Identity in Christ: Believers should anchor their identity in their reborn spirit, fully righteous in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17, Colossians 2:10).
• Ongoing Renewal: Continuous renewal of the mind through Scripture and the Holy Spirit’s work is essential for living out this identity (Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:23).
• Grace Empowerment: Understanding and relying on God’s grace should lead to genuine transformation and freedom from the power of sin (Romans 6:14).

In summary, avoiding the two types of confusion involves a balanced understanding of grace and sanctification, rooted in the believer’s identity in Christ while pursuing practical holiness in their daily life.

Grace - God's Loving Power for You to become Your Very Best

In an earlier post "Grace is Unmerited Favor - This Common Definition is Wrong", two definitions, by Ps John and James Ryle, were given.

"Grace is not a license to sin but an empowerment of God to enable us to be what we should".

"Grace is the empowering Presence of God enabling you to be who He created you to be, and to do what He has called you to do."

We have stressed the "empowerment" side of the definition. We simply use "God's Presence & Power" or just "God's Power" in a few of the verses where Grace appeared and find them more enlightening and more powerful.

Today, we want to examine the "You" side of the definition. God's power is directed at "you" and for "you". In fact, Grace Power is in you. Grace's purpose is for you to do what you should (righteousness, Holy Living) to be what God created you to be, and to do what Has called you to do. We can see the following important points.

  
1. Different people have different types of grace because of different calling.

Eph 4:7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.  
1Pet 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 
Paul's own calling in Eph 3:7... I was made a minister, according to the gift of God's grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.

See Eph 4:11, Rom 12:6-13, 1 Cor 12:28.

2. Different people have different degrees of grace due to differences in growth.

We had already cited that Jesus was full of grace John 1:12.
  

3. Grace is given only if you desire it.

Those who are proud do not want it. They do not think they need it and have no grace whereas the humble have it because of their desire. James 4:6. 

Those who want to get right by following the Laws according to their own ability have fallen from grace. Gal 5:4. Heb 4:16 tells us to approach the throne of God not just for mercy (forgiveness) but to find grace and power for our needs.

4. The key to growing in grace is to desire and yield to His Spirit.

We have seen Paul stressed many times that when we are weak then we are strong because only then do we seek and rely on grace (God's power). God's strength is made perfect in our weakness. 2 Cor 12:9-10, Phil 4:13.
  

5. The desire for grace is increased as we realize how weak we are.

We must come to an end of ourselves to start receiving the Grace of God. Salvation is a start … but Sanctification is a continuous process. The road of self-brokenness seems inevitable in this walk of grace.
  

6. Grace is given when we move out and take action.

Grace is for our growth. As we move out and draw on it, it grows inside of us. Phi 2:12-13 ... work out your salvation with fear and trembling; (13) for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. When can you tell you have the gift of healing? It is by reaching out to the sick and seeing them healed in the Name of Jesus Christ. How can you know you are a prophet? By prophesying and checking it's against the Bible and the actual happenings.
  

7. Grace is given to us to be God's best for us.

God's best for us is also our best. We are created by God to fulfill certain roles in His body and we are most satisfied and most valuable when we fulfill our created role. We become what we are created for. "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him." John Piper

After Posting Note: Some have expressed concern that this definition of Grace took away the 'unmerited favor' of God. The 'unmerited favor' of God is in Mercy. We don't lose anything with redefinition. We gain a better understanding and effectiveness in our living relationship with God. God's love gives us Mercy, Peace, and Grace.

With the availability of Generative AI, we can feed this passage to ChatGPT and get its comments. It summarizes the key points well and I use a mind map to visualize it better: