A very important verse in the New Testa
A very important verse in the New Testa ment is 1 Thessalonians 5:23: "And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Man is of three parts: the spirit, the soul, and the body. These are three distinct and sepa rate parts of one human being.
It is easy to make a distinction between the body and the soul—everyone knows these parts are different. But it is not easy for Christians to distinguish the soul from the spirit. In fact, most have thought that the spirit and the soul are iden tical. But in the above verse the Spirit of God states clearly in His Word that there are three parts of man. These parts are joined by two conjunc tions: "spirit and soul and body."
Another verse which shows a distinction be tween the spirit and the soul is Hebrews 4:12: "For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit." The soul and the spirit are not one, for this verse indicates they can be divided asunder. The soul is the soul and the spirit is the spirit, and these two must be separated.
In the universe there are three different