I was speaking with someone yesterday who lives in Canada and he was describing the drought they had experienced earlier this year.  About every third soybean plant was green and the rest looked dead.  And then it rained and miraculously they all revived and came back to life.  I think this describes for us the work of the Holy Spirit upon mankind.  Jesus, as Needham mentions in this section, talked about the Holy Spirit being poured out upon us changing us and giving us life.  

This is a review of Birthright by David Needham with study questions added to turn them into lessons. These lessons are part of a wider study on Sanctification by Faith which has as its goal the fulfillment of Gal 5:16

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

I’ve set these studies in a specific order so that all may easily build on the foundation of Christ with the finest materials - gold, silver, and precious stones (1 Cor 3:10-13). God has gifted the Church with amazing evangelists, pastors, and teachers to help us in this building project (Eph 4:11-16). I invite you to study along with me. You can see an overview of the complete Sanctification by Faith study here. To go to the start of the current lesson (Birthright) click here.

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thess 5:23

Human Spirit and the Holy Spirit

“Two kinds of people, two kinds of life.” Few places in Scripture are more expressive of this fact than 1 Corinthians 2:13–15. Those two kinds of people are the “soulish” people and the “spiritual” people—those whose life center is soul and those whose life center is spirit,* as inseparable from the Spirit.

*Footnote Among the most debated passages regarding a distinction between soul and spirit is Heb. 4:12. Some believe the passage allows for no distinction. (See F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews [Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1964], 96; Leon Morris, “Hebrews,” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 12 [Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981], 44; W. E. Vine, The Epistle to the Hebrews [Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1965], 44.) Others recognize a distinction (Donald Guthrie, The Letter to the Hebrews, An Introduction And Commentary [Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1983], 118–19; Paul Ellingworth and Eugene Nida, A Translator’s Handbook on the Letter to the Hebrews [New York: United Bible Societies, 1985], 84). Though I doubt one’s belief in a distinction should rest primarily upon this verse, the fact that even as “marrow” is a deeper entity than “joint,” as unseen within the joint, so “spirit” may in this passage also refer to that deeper, unseen level of personhood. I believe the NRSV provides a justifiable rendering, “piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow.” In his comments regarding 1 Thess. 5:23–24, Fee, who assumes some type of three-part distinction is involved, states, “Those who see this usage [of “spirit”] as denoting that part of human existence that serves as the place of intersection between the human and the divine by means of the Holy Spirit are most likely moving in the right direction.” (Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul, 66.)

“No fuzziness, you say? Yes, my Bible uses the word spiritual,* but I don’t find the word soulish, not even in my old King James! Where is it?”

*Footnote Since the word spiritual is commonly used as closely related to esthetics or to emotions or to anything religious (all of which may be nothing more than expressions of one’s flesh), it is important to understand that as a biblical term it is expressive of anything directly related to God, most often, the Holy Spirit, and his involvement with human beings, especially those who are alive on the level of spirit. The products of that involvement would also be described as “spiritual.” As an exception to this, evil angelic beings are described as “spiritual” (Eph. 6:12).

Looking at those two verses, whether you find the words “those who are unspiritual” (NRSV) or “the natural man” (NASB, KJV) or “the man without the Spirit” (NIV) or “the man who isn’t a Christian” (Living Bible), the Greek text clearly states “the soulish person.” Soulish simply means “that which pertains to the soul or life…the life of the natural world.”^[1] Gordon Fee describes this word as meaning “humanity in its natural, physical existence.”^[2] Leon Morris goes so far as to say that it “has reference to animal life.”*

*Footnote Leon Morris, The First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, An Introduction and Commentary (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1980), 60. Godet enlarges this idea as follows: “This word denotes a being animated with that breath of natural of earthly life (psuche) [Heb] which man possesses in common with all the living beings of creation.” Frederic Louis Godet, Commentary on First Corinthians (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1977), 157. It is in this sense that Paul uses the word soulish in 1 Cor. 15:44–49, “It is sown a soulish body [‘physical,’ NRSV; ‘natural,’ NIV], it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a soulish body [‘physical’, NRSV; ‘natural,’ NIV], there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living soul [“being,” NRSV, NIV]; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.’ But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the soulish [see above], and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust [“earthy”]; the second man is from heaven.… Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust [“earthy”], we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.” In making the decision to render soulish as they did, the translators believed that Paul had the same thing in mind as when he described people as “of dust” or “earthy.” (See note 2, chapter 1.) Usually throughout Scripture the word soul simply means “one’s life.” Harris comments, “The Hebrews counted ‘souls’ as we count noses.” R. Laird Harris, God’s Eternal Creation, Old Testament Teaching on Man and His Culture, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), 10. He adds, “A few times the word nephesh [soul] even refers to a corpse, that is viewed as an individual.” On rare occasions it refers to an individual after death. For example, Matt. 10:28, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell”; Rev. 6:9, “I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God…they cried out with a loud voice.” Cf. Rev. 20:4.

(Why the translators have chosen to hide the word soulish from the reader, both here and elsewhere, I am not sure.* They have no such hesitancy with the word spiritual.)

*Footnote This unwillingness to use the word soulish hinders the reader from appreciating the truth that there is, at least in some passages, a clear distinction between soul and spirit. See also James 3:15 where soulish is rendered “unspiritual” (NIV, NRSV), “natural” (NASB), “sensual” (NKJV, NEB). Jude also refers to non-Christians as “soulish” (Jude 19, “mere natural instincts,” NIV; “worldly minded,” NASB, cf. NRSV; “sensual,” NKJV; “unspiritual,” NEB). See also note 28. By contrast, translators have been fairly consistent in using the word spiritual as referring to that which directly involves either the Holy Spirit, the human spirit, or both.

In light of Paul’s later criticism of the Christians in Corinth for their “fleshly” attitudes, where he told them they were acting like “mere men”—like the world (1 Corinthians 3:3, NIV)—we may be confident he would have considered the expression “in the flesh” identical with “soulish.”^[3] Both of these parallel terms describe unregenerate people.

Opposite this group are “those who are spiritual.”*

*Footnote Some argue that Paul describes three kinds of people, the third being the “carnal” Christian. The context requires that Paul perceived such an individual as a tragic, unnecessary aberration that God never intended.

But what does that mean? The answer to this question should captivate us to a fresh sense of wonder, optimism, and joy.

But will it?

Unless we’re careful, there’s a good chance it won’t. We’ve heard it all before—at least we think we have. Since it did not make much of an impact on us then, why get excited now?

Please look again!

The greatest trademark of the kind of persons called spiritual is that they have received the Spirit as a life-transforming reality.

In eager anticipation of this, Jesus cried out:

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the Scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ ” Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive, for as yet there was no Holy Spirit [given], because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:38–39).

Little wonder that Peter on the Day of Pentecost was so enthusiastic. The Spirit was now being given! (See Acts 2:38; 10:47; 11:17; 15:8.) “Rivers of living water” were flowing from deep within! They were alive as never before. It was only after this Paul could have written,

He saved us …through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:5–7).

What a marvelous salvation package. Not only justified but born again—so renewed by the pouring upon us of the Holy Spirit that we are now, as spirit, alive to God! Though we rightly speak of “receiving Christ,” it is significant that Paul felt fully at ease in describing that moment of new birth as “receiving the Spirit.” It was that significant (Galatians 3:2, cf. 3:14). Apart from this miracle, a person remains in that first class—a soulish individual.

Yet no matter how important receiving the Spirit is, the crucial issue involves what the Spirit does.

The Old Gives Way to the New

In Old Covenant times the Holy Spirit came upon people for a variety of reasons:

• to give craftsmanship abilities, as with the builders of the tabernacle;
• to give wisdom, as with Solomon;
• to give divine revelation, as with the prophets;
• to give physical power, as with Samson;
• to give enablement in performing miracles, as with Elisha;
• to give courage and the capacity to lead, as with Moses, Joshua and David.

For those who have assumed there is little difference in the ministry of the Holy Spirit between Old and New Covenant times, it should come as a major surprise to discover that never in the Old Covenant is the Spirit described as giving spiritual life to anyone other than in promises looking ahead to the New Covenant.^[4] And with the possible exception of Psalms 51:10–13 and 143:10, the Spirit is never described as producing behavioral holiness in a believer, though we should assume he was active in bringing people to faith and giving them hearts that delighted in God and his law.

Yes, the Spirit continues to provide enablements similar to those listed above in our times. He continues to reconcile people to God, to teach, to be our counselor, and to give all sorts of spiritual gifts. But there is one thing above all else that marks his work in the New Covenant age.

The Holy Spirit is now installing in God’s people the actual, risen life of Jesus to the degree that his life is their life.^[5] To receive the Spirit is to receive Christ. Not simply accepting him, but receiving him. To look at the heart, the essence, of the new birth, is to see this. By his birthing act, the Holy Spirit actually changes us by placing in us the life of Jesus. We were once only flesh; we are now spirit (John 3:6). This alone qualifies us to belong in God’s eternal kingdom.

Peter Davids writes,

First John 3:9 describes new birth so literally that he says God’s “sperm” (usually translated “seed” but the same word is used for the sperm or semen of a male) remains in the child of God. According to 1 John, because this or that person is born of God he or she does not sin. This is because the nature of the Father is in them.*

*Footnote Peter H. Davids, More Hard Sayings of the New Testament (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1991), 182, cf. p. 209. (It should be added that “the nature of the Father” is indeed also the nature of the Son. Cf. John 6:57; 17:23.) John’s statements regarding the Christian and sin will be the emphasis of chapter 6.

Spiritual people are not only those who have received the Spirit of life, but they are products of his birthing power. “Whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Jesus Christ’s very life—his risen life—is in them as their life.*

*Footnote Since it is occasionally presented erroneously that in the new birth we don’t change, but rather, the Holy Spirit works in us (in spite of us!) to change our behavior, it is important to observe John’s explanation of a believer’s righteous behavior.

They are now “participants of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

“And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.” Paul spoke of “Christ who is our life” (1 John 3:24; cf. 1 John 4:13; Colossians 3:4).

Questions & Notes

1. W. Harold Mare, “1 Corinthians,” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 10 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1976), 202. ↑

2. Fee, First Epistle to the Corinthians, 116. ↑

3. In light of Paul’s later criticism of the Christians in Corinth for their “fleshly” attitudes, where he told them they were acting like “mere men”—like the world (1 Corinthians 3:3, NIV)—we may be confident he would have considered the expression “in the flesh” identical with “_________.” ↑

4. For those who have assumed there is little difference in the ministry of the Holy Spirit between Old and New Covenant times, it should come as a major surprise to discover that never in the Old Covenant is the Spirit described as giving _________ _________ to anyone other than in promises looking ahead to the New Covenant. ↑

5. The Holy Spirit is now _________ in God’s people the actual, risen life of Jesus to the degree that his life is their life. ↑

Click on the "Birthright" tag below to see all the posts in this series. To go to the start of this series click here.