Understanding the three parts of your being—spirit, soul and body—unlocks the secret to walking in wholeness, resisting the devil and living out the full life Jesus died to give you.
You Are Three in One
From the beginning, humanity was designed with divine intentionality. Genesis 2:7 tells us that “the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (KJV). Unlike the animals, God didn’t just create humanity—He breathed His Spirit into us. That breath marked the origin of the human spirit: God-breathed, God-designed and God-focused.
While the world offers shallow definitions of identity, Scripture teaches that we are made in God’s image—spirit, soul and body. When we surrender each part to God, we live in health, clarity and divine purpose.
The Spirit: Your Connection to God
You are more than flesh and blood—you are spirit. And when you receive Jesus Christ as Lord, your spirit is made new. You are, as 2 Corinthians 5:17 declares, “a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (KJV). Your reborn spirit is not just cleaned up—it is transformed.
The spirit is the innermost part of you. It’s through your spirit that you commune with God. Proverbs 20:27 says, “The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord.” God speaks through your spirit, illuminating your path with His truth.
Many seek spiritual experience without seeking the Holy Spirit. Witchcraft, astrology, New Age teachings—all counterfeit connections to the supernatural—have surged in popularity. But only the Spirit of God brings true life and light. Jesus warned that Satan comes “to steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10), but He also promised abundant life to those who follow Him.
When the Holy Spirit takes residence within you, you gain a Comforter, a Counselor and a Guide (John 14:26). Yet even with this indwelling presence, your body and soul must be trained to follow the Spirit’s lead. Galatians 5:16–17 makes it clear: “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (KJV).
The Soul: Renewing the Mind, Aligning the Will, Healing the Emotions
Your soul—comprised of mind, will and emotions—is the battlefield of your daily life. Romans 12:2 calls us to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Why? Because what you think influences what you do, and what you do shapes what you have. We live from the inside out.
Let’s break it down:
Mind: Your thought life determines your perspective. With 60,000 thoughts per day—many of them repetitive—what you dwell on matters deeply. Are your thoughts aligned with God’s truth or polluted by worldly lies?
Will: Your choices are an expression of your beliefs. Joshua 24:15 urges, “Choose this day whom you will serve.” Each decision you make reflects either submission to God or surrender to self.
Emotions: Emotions are indicators, not dictators. They reflect your internal world. When your thoughts are rooted in truth and your actions follow suit, your emotions begin to reflect peace and joy rather than anxiety and turmoil.
Psalm 23:3 reminds us that God “restores my soul.” But restoration requires participation. We must choose to renew our minds, submit our will and process our emotions through God’s Word.
Unchecked emotions lead to instability. But when you recognize that even painful feelings can draw you closer to the Lord, you’ll find deeper healing. Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
The Body: Temple and Territory
Your physical body is not an afterthought—it’s the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). While your body is the visible part of you, it is meant to be a vessel for invisible power. Romans 12:1 instructs us to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God.
Your flesh, however, can be a battleground. Galatians 5 describes the works of the flesh—envy, immorality, wrath, selfish ambition—and urges believers to crucify these desires by walking in the Spirit.
First John 2:16 describes the three-pronged temptation strategy of the enemy: “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.” These aren’t just ancient temptations—they are modern addictions. From vanity to gluttony to sexual sin, the enemy knows how to bait the flesh. But through discipline, fasting and surrender, we can subdue the flesh and glorify God with our bodies.
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:27, “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection.” He wasn’t being metaphorical—he was testifying to the daily decision to bring the physical man under spiritual authority.
Our physical health often mirrors our spiritual condition. Anxiety, burnout and unresolved wounds can manifest in chronic fatigue or illness. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Taking care of your body is spiritual warfare, too.
Wholeness: Where Spirit, Soul and Body Align
There is a divine synergy when spirit, soul and body work in harmony. Your spirit connects you to God, your soul interprets life’s experiences and your body acts them out in real-time. But when one of these areas is out of order, everything suffers.
We must align upward (spirit to God), inward (soul to spirit) and outward (body to soul). This is where transformation takes place. When the spirit leads, the soul finds peace. When the soul agrees with the Word, the body follows in obedience.
The apostle John captured this harmony perfectly in 3 John 2: “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (KJV).
Think. Do. Have.
This simple framework helps believers cultivate a renewed inner life:
Think on God’s Word until it reshapes your perspective.
Do what God commands with conviction.
Have the fruit of the Spirit—peace, joy and victory—as the natural outflow.
You are not helpless in your spiritual journey. God has equipped you with His Spirit, His Word and His presence. But you must engage your soul and discipline your body to stay in alignment.
Victory Starts in the Spirit
As believers, we often seek breakthrough in the wrong places. We want emotional healing without spiritual surrender. We want physical healing without renewing our minds. But when we start in the spirit—where our connection to God is made perfect—we unlock transformation for the whole self.
Remember, the natural man cannot understand the things of the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:14), but the spiritual man walks in divine insight and supernatural strength. That’s you—when you walk in the Spirit and let the Holy Spirit lead.
Submit Every Part to the Lord
In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, the apostle Paul offers a prayer and a blueprint: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (NKJV). Notice that word—completely. God isn’t interested in halfway healing or partial sanctification. He desires to restore the whole you.
Too many believers attempt to live victoriously with only one or two parts of their being submitted to God. Maybe they’ve renewed their minds but still give in to the cravings of the flesh. Or perhaps their bodies are disciplined but their emotions are chaotic, unmanaged, or buried under past trauma. The result? Fragmented faith and frustrated living.
But God wants to align all three realms—spirit, soul and body—under His authority. That means inviting the Holy Spirit to search you, transform you and govern every part of your being. And it doesn’t happen by accident. It happens by daily decision.
Start with the Spirit
The spirit is your starting line. It’s the one part of your being that is made completely new the moment you’re born again (2 Cor. 5:17). Your spirit is alive to God. It doesn’t need to be fixed—it needs to be followed. The more you yield to the voice of the Holy Spirit, the more your soul and body come into line.
This is why worship, prayer and time in God’s presence are non-negotiables. They don’t just “feel good.” They recalibrate you. They allow your spirit to lead, not your circumstances, not your hormones, not your mood swings. When you tune into God’s voice through your spirit, you walk in clarity, peace and supernatural discernment.
Next, Renew the Soul
Your mind must be renewed daily. Romans 12:2 isn’t a suggestion—it’s a survival strategy. If you don’t renew your mind, the world will conform it for you. Your will must be surrendered to God’s will, or else you’ll default to your own agenda. And your emotions must be filtered through the truth of God’s Word, not just the facts of your experience.
You’re not called to be emotionally numb—you’re called to be emotionally anchored. Anchored in the promises of God. Anchored in your identity in Christ. Anchored in the hope of glory, not the anxiety of this fallen world.
Then, Discipline the Body
Your body is the outer shell of the inner life. It’s the part most visible to others, but often the part most neglected in spiritual formation. And yet, Scripture is clear: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you…? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies” (1 Cor. 6:19–20, NIV).
This includes what you eat, how you rest, how you handle stress and how you resist temptation. It includes fleeing sexual immorality and embracing purity. It includes fasting, not as a ritual, but as a means of spiritual alignment. Self-control, the fruit of the Spirit, becomes your weapon of warfare against the lust of the flesh.
When you bring your body under the rule of your spirit, you become a vessel of honor—ready for every good work (2 Tim. 2:21).
God Desires Wholeness, Not Just Holiness
Wholeness doesn’t mean perfection. It means alignment. It means nothing is fragmented, nothing is hidden and nothing is left out of God’s reach. It’s a life of integration, where your spirit communes with God, your soul submits to His truth and your body becomes a tool for His glory.
The world is desperate for whole people—believers who are not double-minded or emotionally unstable, but rooted, grounded and Spirit-led. When the church becomes a people of wholeness, we will also become a people of power.
Final Word: Alignment Releases Assignment
Here’s the bottom line: You can’t fully walk in your calling until your inner world is aligned. God doesn’t just want to use you—He wants to heal you, transform you and empower you to live as a reflection of His kingdom. And that starts with your surrender.
So today, pause and ask:
Is my spirit leading my life, or have I let my emotions or my appetites take the wheel?
Have I truly renewed my mind with God’s Word, or am I still reacting based on old patterns and wounds?
Am I honoring God with my body, or am I letting convenience and compromise dictate my choices?
Your answer to these questions will determine the kind of life you live: fragmented or fulfilled, struggling or victorious, distracted or divinely aligned.
But here’s the good news—God isn’t asking you to do this alone. He’s given you His Word, His Spirit and the body of Christ to walk alongside you. When you submit your spirit, soul, and body to the Lord daily, you’ll walk in the kind of freedom, power and peace that no enemy can steal.
That is the full Gospel. That is the Spirit-led life. And that is your divine inheritance.
Dayne Kamela is a social media content creator who shares daily messages of prayer, hope and encouragement with his more than 1.4 million followers on his Litwithprayer platform and Litwithprayer Foundation, a nonprofit organization providing support for young people facing mental health challenges. Dayne lives with his wife in Arizona. His new book, Choose Prayer, Not Despair, released in April and is available now on amazon.com.