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Where's Your Head At? 2 Action Points for being led by the Spirit not the flesh
Extended notes, not all used in the video...
Over the years I've heard different versions of how the bible describes the makeup of the human person. And there have also been plenty of non-Christian versions of what we are as people too.

Outside the faith community, there is a prevailing view that is described by philosophers as 'materialism', i.e. that we are just matter. There is no spiritual element to us, and anything resembling the soul can all be scientifically explained. Emotions, for example, can be traced in the brain. Everything is physical. There is nothing else.

Madonna told us that she was a material girl living in a material world.

But the bible paints a very different picture. In fact, it's so different, it's confusing.

Within the Christian community I've come across the 'dualistic' idea that materialism is wrong - we are body and soul. Dualism states that the soul is separate from the body. That's easy to understand. We can then say that the non-material part of us, the real me and you, is the bit that lives forever. But Christianity has gone on to confuse me further, as I have heard much preaching on the idea that I am a 'tripartite being', i.e. there are three parts to me - body, soul and spirit. Let's unpack that for a moment.
The Tripartite Being
I have heard it preached, "I am a spirit, I live in a body and I have a soul." I quite like this idea. It seems to work for me. Paul describes our earthly bodies as tents, i.e. temporary dwellings that we live in. So the real me is my spirit, in which the Holy Spirit now dwells. In fact in this regard I'm no longer a tent but a temple, according to Paul. The usual teaching I've heard from there is that my soul is the part of me that is my mind, my will, my emotions. To put it another way, my soul does the job of thinking, choosing and feeling.

This idea helps us to understand three terms:

Spirit
Soul
Body

But unfortunately, there are other words in the bible that talk about what we humans are. We're a complicated lot!

This week I've been looking at not three, but SIX words in my bible that refer to elements that make up who we are.

Here they are in no particular order:

Body
Soul
Mind
Flesh
Spirit
Heart

A temptation to compartmentalize
So, if I want my understanding to line up with the bible, I have to decide if the above words fit in with the idea that I am made up of body, mind and soul. But why should I do that? I'm starting with a preconceived teaching and trying to make the bible fit it! That's the wrong way round.

So, instead, I'm going to take a few key scriptures and try to make sense of them one at a time. I may not cover all the words in the above list, but I'll certainly look at how we can apply what we do learn to our everyday lives.

Today, let's take a look at a snippet from Romans 8:
Mind, Flesh and Spirit
Romans 8:
5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you…
Specifically,

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