Andrew Wommack - Spirit, Soul & Body

SPIRIT

SOUL

&

BODY

A N D R E W W O M M A C K

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

On March 23, 1968,I had a supernatural encounter with the Lord that revolutionized my entire life. For the next four and a half months, God's love completely overwhelmed me both day and night!

Tasting God's presence in such a profound way ruined me for ordinary life. My expectations of my relationship with the Lord and my hopes of what He'd do through me literally shot through the roof.

As far as I was concerned, Jesus could do anything!

However, once the emotion of it finally subsided, I felt worse than ever before. My inner expectations and my everyday experience remained worlds apart!

The spiritual realities I knew in my heart just weren't manifesting themselves in the physical realm any longer. I longed to experience God again in that same way.

During this period of time, I was drafted and sent to Vietnam. Over there, temptations abounded! Many times I was the only Christian I knew. Everyone else gave themselves to the drugs, alcohol, and prostitutes that were so readily available. Even the bunker where I lived was papered with pornographic images

walls, ceiling, everywhere! Although this constant pressure to sin seemed unbearable at times, I refused to give in.

Out of sheer desperation, I started seeking the Lord by praying and studying the Bible as much as sixteen hours a day! This gnawing inner frustration motivated my quest to discover "how I could get from here to where I knew in my heart I could be." I knew Vietnam would change me, so I figured it might as well be for the good!

God began renewing my mind through His Word.

Then I started experiencing that same divine reality as beforeonly this time it wasn't just in a physical, emotional way. The Lord revealed truths that changed my thinking and released His power in me.

Joy and excitement came back again, but now they were based on understanding from the Word. I could recall Scripture and rejoice in it any time I wanted.

In this way, God's Word began to produce an abiding stability in my life!

This understanding of spirit, soul, and body was one of the first revelations I received through studying the Bible. It not only alleviated the frustration and confusion I had but has served as a foundation for almost everything the Lord has shown me since.

These important truths freed me from the bondage of much wrong thinking and enabled me to consistently experience God's supernatural power.

Personally, I cannot comprehend how anyone can truly prosper in their relationship with God apart from understanding this basic revelation!

Today, I'm just as excited about this understanding of spirit, soul, and body as when God first showed it to me over thirty-five years ago. In fact, I've seen the Lord set more people free through this one teaching than almost anything else I've ever ministered! What you now hold in your hands has the potential to revolutionize your entire Christian life!

CHAPTER 1

GOD'S MIRROR

"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 5:23, emphasis mine). Even though God's Word clearly teaches that we are three-part beings, very few Christians practice a functional understanding of spirit, soul, and body in their everyday lives!

Most people actually believe that they're only made up of body and soul. They confuse soul and spirit as being basically the same thing. Therefore, on a day-to-day level, they only acknowledge a physical part and an emotional, mental, inner part (commonly called "personality").

Even Strong's Concordance fails to distinguish all three! The Greek word for "spirit" is "pneuma" and is defined as being "the immortal soul." I don't mean to criticize anyone's work, but my study of God's Word has revealed a very distinct difference between spirit and soul. Therefore, I disagree with this particular definition of the word "pneuma." Your spirit is your innermost part, not your "immortal soul."

Your body is obvious. It's the physical part of you

that can be seen in a minor. If you were talking to me face to face, "you'd be seeing my body.

However, you'd be speaking to my soul, which is my mental, emotional part. Some people define "soul" as being your "mind, will, and emotions." While that's certainly true, it's incomplete because your conscience should also be included. Your soul is what most people call their "personality."

NO NATURAL ACCESS

You can feel both your body and your soul. If I put my hand on your shoulder, you'd know that I touched you. However, I can also touch you whether I'm physically near or not. By speaking to your soul, I can make you glad, sad, or mad. Through my words, I could even "hurt" you without physically touching your body. It's easy to know how you feel in your body and soul because you're constantly in touch with them!

By taking a mental inventory, your body can instantly tell you how it feels. You know if your adrenaline's pumping or if you're tired, if you're healthy or fighting a cold, if your head aches, or if the shower's just right. In fact, you don't even really have to think about it because your body constantly feeds you such information.

You can also check your soul and know right away how you're doing. It's easy to tell if you're happy or hurt, mentally worn out or sharp and ready to go, or just plain angry. You'd even be aware of fear or depression if it came because you're always in touch with your soul.

However, your spirit cannot be accessed in any natural way. Jesus declared, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). He meant that there's no direct connection between the two. They are interrelated, as you'll later see, but spirit is spirit and flesh is flesh.

You simply cannot contact your spirit through your emotions or your physical body. Herein lies one of the great problems of the Christian life!

If you don't understand that spiritual reality can't be felt, then you'll be confused when God's Word declares that you have the same power that raised Jesus from the dead (Eph. 1:18-20). If you think truth can be discerned through your natural senses, then you'll be baffled when the Bible says that you're a brand-new creature who can do the same miraculous works that Jesus did (2 Cor. 5:17, John 14:12). Without understanding spirit, soul, and body, you'll search your body and soul in bewilderment wondering, Where is it? I don't really have that kind of power in me. The Bible is so hard to understand! If you can't see, taste, hear, smell, or touch what the Word reveals about you, you'll immediately be

thrown into conflict. This apparent disparity between your experience and God's Word will cause you to throw up your hands in frustration and conclude, "It must not be true!"

UNLOCKING THE SPIRIT REALM

Understanding spirit, soul, and body unlocks the spirit realm so you can experience who you are and what you have in Christ!

Since the spirit realm can't be naturally seen or felt, the only way to accurately perceive spiritual truth is through the Bible. Simply take God's Word and believe it!

Jesus said, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63). God's Word reveals spiritual reality. If you want to know what your spirit is like, you must find out from the Word. You can't just go by emotion or some other type of perception. God's Word is spirit and life!