A New Year, A New You?

Jan. 1, 2022

Transformed Life, Lesson 1

Read: 1 Thes. 5:23, Heb. 4:12

A New year, A New You?

*Happy New Year!

The start of a new year is always a time of reflection and change, no matter how much we might cringe at the idea of “new year resolutions” and things of the sort. The concept of transformation and change has become a cliche’ that is capitalized on by marketers more than a truth in the lives of people. The truth is though - as God’s people - shouldn’t we actually be the greatest cheerleaders for the potential of transformation and growth? Shouldn’t we be looking forward to the “newness” that is being worked out in us through Christ!?! Or have we bought into the cliche’ that nothing ever changes and applied it to the Christian journey? Are our expectations for transformation in Christ the same expectations that we have for the “new year resolutions” of the world? “If anyone is in Christ, they are a NEW creation, the old has gone / is going away and the new has come / is coming.” (2 Cor. 5:17) We have been “raised in Christ into newness in life”. (Romans 6:4) As children of God our thoughts and emotions… our “minds” are being “renewed’. (Romans 12:2) As Christians, we ought to be some of the most hopeful agents for change in the world! The Kingdom of God is advancing and the Gospel message is going out with power to transform lives.

As we start this new year, I wanted us to look at what the scriptures say about who we are as image bearers of God. What are we - as humans - “made of”? What does this “new life” look like as it is worked out in and through us? What exactly does it mean to have a “renewed” mind or to “walk in the spirit”? Why do we have so many verses warning us about the “flesh”? As we launch into a new year, I want us to be thinking biblically and clearly about the parts of our lives that come together and make us who we are.

2 Parts or 3 Parts?:

We probably don’t spend too much time thinking about it, but did you realize that we as humans are made up three distinct “parts”? Believe it or not, there is actually some debate around this idea both within the church as well as outside of it. We may not even realize it for ourselves, but it is never the less true. What are we “made up of” as humans and why does it matter?

First off, some people have mistakenly reduced humans to a SINGLE part, believing we are purely physical or material. This view of a human is void of any idea of the supernatural… any notion of “soul” or “spirit”. Even our thoughts and emotions are reduced to chemical interactions and/or electrical impulses. We are simply a “machine”. There is nothing “eternal” about us, no meaning really, humans are just a haphazard material outcome of the cosmos. Needless to say, this is NOT the biblical position. There is a supernatural part to all of us. There is a non-material “life” that we have within us… one that exists in “the hidden place” before ever being put into a body. (cf. Ps. 139) There are things we can see and things that are not a part of this material world… things we cannot see. (cf. Col. 1:16, 2 Cor. 4:18, Heb. 11) These “unseen things” are a very REAL element of creation that is despite bing immaterial… and a very real part of US as humans that goes beyond just our bones, muscles, hormones, chemicals, and electrical impulses. The biblical position is that humans have at least 2 parts - a martial body and an immaterial component. We are both “natural” and “supernatural”. There is a life within us that goes beyond the physical realm. But does it stop there?

The bible teaches us that our immaterial self has 2 parts… 2 components. This brings us to our main idea for the day and our passages from above. The non-material part of who we are has both a SOUL and a SPIRIT. In this way, humans are not only 2 parts (material and immaterial) but actually 3 parts - BODY, SOUL, and SPIRIT. Paul writes of this in his closing found in 1 Thessalonians 5, but the idea is actually spread through out scripture. Hebrews 4:12 shows us that the immaterial part of us as humans can be “divided”: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit…” Do you see it? Soul and spirit can actually be divided… can be separated. They are joined together, but the are nonetheless distinct. The word of God is the proper tool to help us see the division between our “soul” and our “spirit”. The immaterial part of who we are has different domains… distinct domains… and the Spirit of God and the word of God put them in their proper order!

I want this to sink in a little. As we enter this new year, what if God wants to transform us physically, mentally, and spiritually? What if our spirit and our emotions can actually be separated in some sense by the word of God? What if there is a portion of our immaterial self that has been neglected because we thought it was all the same? Or maybe we have one portion of our immaterial self in the “drivers seat” when it actually needs to be the other way around? We know enough as Christians to not be ruled by or “flesh”, but what if there is a part of us - our “soul” - that is distinct from our “spirit” and maybe our “spiritual life” needs more attention than we give it? Maybe our “spirit” is the agent that renews our mind (emotions; soul) and allows us to “take captive” our thoughts?

All the parts are important! All of you is made in God’s image. Jesus is transforming every part of who you are - body, soul, and spirit. We will look at this idea more, but I wanted you to be encouraged by what God has in store. Some of you have some real physical battles ahead of you. God is with you and is working in the physical. Some of you have some real emotional battles ahead of you, poor patterns of thinking and false teaching have set in and I m trusting God is going to free you from those. Some of you actually have some spiritual hurdles ahead of you… and those might be slightly different than the emotional ones. I think there is an order that God is working in and that is what we will cover next. Until then - “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Love you guys. - JDP

—

* I am excited for the start of a new year and the opportunities the Lord has in store. One of the exciting changes for me is starting a new role with 3GEN Ministries. (3GENministries.org) I am still teaching at our bible school Vox (govox.org) but am thrilled to join the 3GEN team and minister to those men that the Lord brings our way. I have had the pleasure of watching 3GEN develop and grow over the years as well as seeing the fruit of the ministry in the lives of others. I am humbled to be a part of what God is doing. There truly are “better days ahead”. (This is always the case for the children of God!)