Thoughts from J M Boice
The Bible says that when God created man, He created Him in His own image. This means many things, but among them is the fact that since God is a trinity, man is a trinity also.
God exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Man also became a trinity when God created him with a body, soul and spirit.
Body: The part of man that we can see.
Soul: In addition to a body, man also possesses a soul -- the part of him that gives him his identity. It is with the soul that man thinks, feels, reacts and
aspires.
Spirit: In addition to a body and soul, man also possesses a spirit or (as we should probably say for all men since the fall) he possesses the capacity for one.
It is this capacity that sets man apart from the animal world. The spirit is the part of man that has consciousness of God. Consequently, man worships, while animals do not...
It is possible to describe salvation completely in reference to these three parts of man's being.
Man sinned, and man died -- body, soul, and spirit.
So when God begins to save a man He begins to work with his body, soul, and spirit, only in reverse order.
The salvation of the spirit comes first. This is justification; by it man receives a new spirit.
The salvation of the soul is second. This is sanctification; in sanctification men receives a new soul (for God does not merely patch up the old one).
The salvation of the body comes last. This is the resurrection in which man receives a new body.
-- From The Gospel of John, Volume 1, Chapter 31, by James Montgomery Boice
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone...then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep My laws. They will be My people and I will be their God.
Ezekiel 11:19-20
For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself wit the imperishable, and the moral with immorality.
1 Corinthians 15:52
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