Steel and Spirit Part I

The Inner Struggle and the Spirit’s Lead

Photo by Ricardo Cruz on Unsplash

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

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Have you ever wondered why true transformation in the life of a believer seems to take so long? You reflect on your own faith journey and notice a plateau, you remember the early days of encountering the Holy Spirit, the surge of conviction and change that swept through you. But then, silence. As if God’s momentum stalled. You expected to be further along by now, free from old habits and former thought patterns. Yet, instead of peace, there is an ongoing internal war. The biblical image of a regenerated you feels worlds apart from what you see in the mirror. If this resonates, welcome home. And if it does not, keep looking in the mirror; you may find the reflection more familiar than you think.

Without hesitation, I know this is me. When Paul describes the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, I often find only stunted seedlings, not mature fruit. Instead, I echo Paul’s cry: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (Romans 7:15). My thoughts, emotions, and reactions frequently betray the reality that I am a child of God. Though I desire to give my whole heart to Him, there are depths within me that remain resistant, untouched by the Holy Spirit.

Yet, even in this struggle, the Lord gently reminds me: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). And more than just comfort, He offers clarity and a path forward. In His wisdom, God reveals the root of the struggle and the solution: You must divide the soul and the spirit. Only by distinguishing what is of the Spirit from what is of the soul can true transformation begin.

In this multi-part series, I will explore why the separation of soul and spirit is essential for pressing into God’s consciousness and granting the Holy Spirit full access to our lives. My prayer is that through these words, the Holy Spirit will spark a new beginning in you and I warmly invite you to come along for the journey.

Breaking Down Body, Soul, and Spirit

For most Christians, the distinction of the body is straightforward, it is the vessel through which we experience the world via our senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. However, the difference between soul and spirit is far less understood and often mistakenly used interchangeably. Jessie Penn-Lewis notes that while some may grasp this distinction intellectually, it is the Holy Spirit who teaches it through lived experience. This Spirit-led understanding marks the difference between merely accumulating biblical knowledge and making genuine spiritual progress. It is this revelation that transforms Scripture from text into power.

Two key verses in the Bible clearly highlight the distinction between soul and spirit. The first, which serves as the anchor for this series, is Hebrews 4:12:

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” This verse shows that the Word of God alone can discern and divide these closely connected yet distinct parts of our inner being.

The second is 1 Thessalonians 5:23, where Paul writes: “May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Here, the tripartite nature of humanity, spirit, soul, and body is plainly stated, affirming that each component has a unique role and purpose in our sanctification and spiritual walk.

In both Hebrews 4:12 and 1 Thessalonians 5:23, the explicit separation of spirit, soul, and body reveals the tripartite nature of humanity and reflects the image of our triune God. As John 4:24 declares, "God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth." This makes it clear that God created in us a spirit so He can communicate with us directly. He does not speak to our intellect or emotions, but to our spirit, through Spirit-to-spirit communication.

Paul reinforces this in 1 Corinthians 6:17: “But whoever is united with the Lord is one with Him in spirit.” At the moment we receive Christ, our spirit becomes joined to His, forming the foundation for spiritual transformation. It is through this union that the Holy Spirit begins His work in us. As Romans 8:26 explains, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” This deep, spiritual communion is the lifeline of the believer, enabling a relationship with God that transcends intellect and emotion, and roots us in divine reality.

Having established that the human spirit, united with God through Christ, is the part of us through which God communicates, and recognizing that He speaks only through the Spirit and not the flesh, we’re left with a crucial question: How does God's voice reach us in our present, earthly condition?

Before answering, it is worth taking a brief detour to address a natural question: Why doesn’t God simply speak to us through the flesh? Scripture offers a clear answer—because the flesh is fundamentally opposed to God’s holiness. Galatians 5:19–21 lists the works of the flesh: “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery… jealousy, fits of anger…” and warns that “those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” In contrast, “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24).

Paul further states, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8), and “to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). The flesh is not just weak, it is at odds with God. Isaiah 6:3 reminds us, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.” Holiness and flesh cannot coexist. Therefore, God does not, and indeed cannot, communicate through what is unholy. His voice is reserved for the spirit, where His holiness can dwell and where true transformation begins.

Now, returning to the question: How does God’s communication reach us in our present, earthly condition? So far, we have explored the two ends of the tripartite spectrum, the unholy flesh, which God cannot commune with, and the spirit, which He unites with through Christ. What remains is the soul, the intermediary between spirit and body.

The soul serves as the bridge between the physical and spiritual realms. While the body enables us to engage with the external world through the senses, the soul processes those experiences through emotion and intellect. It is in the soul that we find consciousness, self-awareness, and the capacity for self-determination. It is where our mind, will, and personality reside. This makes the soul the battleground. God speaks to our spirit, but for that divine communication to influence our daily lives, it must pass through the soul. If the soul is yielded and aligned with the spirit, we grow in obedience and spiritual maturity. But if the soul is dominated by the flesh, by emotional impulses or self-will, then even though God is speaking, His voice is muffled, resisted, or ignored. Transformation happens when the soul learns to submit to the spirit rather than the flesh.

Tertullian, a prolific early Christian author perfectly summarizes the relationship between all three when he calls the “flesh” or physical being – the “body of the soul” and the soul or the intermediary - “the vessel of the spirit.”

The Soul That Won’t Surrender

"God saw the wickedness of humanity was great on the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually." (Genesis 6:5)

Here is the core of the believer’s struggle: at a fundamental level, our thoughts and desires are often inclined toward evil, and this condition is rooted in the soul. Tracing back to the fall of man, we see that sin did not begin with a physical act, but with something deeper, an internal rebellion within the soul. It was a thought that refused to submit and a self-centered mindset that became the default posture of the human heart. The temptation to Eve was “you will be like God, knowing good and evil,” the temptation was knowledge before God’s time and out of God’s will.

The fall of man is a case of the unyielding soul and so Paul says:

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

It is a spiritual war waged against the unyielding soul, against the mind, will, and emotions that refuse to submit to God. This is the inner voice that says, “I am the master of my fate, the captain of my soul,” echoing the pride that exalts self over surrender. The real conflict lies in confronting the so-called wisdom of this world, which God calls foolishness (1 Corinthians 3:19). It is a battle against the subtle arguments and lofty thoughts that elevate self-reliance and personal control, convincing us we are the architects of our own lives. These are the thoughts that lead us into rebellion, manifesting first in the soul and then through the body.

Just as with Adam and Eve, we continue to witness the devastating effects of the soul’s fall, its descent into the flesh and the abandonment of God’s Spirit. In Genesis 6:3, God declared, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh,” marking a turning point where man’s resistance led to divine withdrawal. In our time, the pattern repeats. As Paul writes in Romans 1:24, “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts.” When the soul refuses to yield to the Spirit, the consequence is not just moral decline, it is spiritual resignation, as humanity sinks deeper into self and further from God.

God’s original design was clear: man’s spirit, united with His Spirit, was meant to lead; the spirit would subdue the soul, and the soul, in turn, would govern the body. But today, even among believers, we still carry remnants of a corrupted order, where the soul often resists the spirit, and the mind and body frequently take control. This misalignment hinders spiritual growth. To move forward, we must break ties with our unyielding souls and realign with God’s intended structure. But how do we do this in practice?

Let us pick it up again next week.

Prayer

Heavenly Father,

Your Word declares that it is living, powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, able to pierce and divide soul and spirit, to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart. So, Lord, I invite that piercing work into my life today. Expose every place in my soul that is not in alignment with Your Spirit. Shine Your light on the hidden corners of my will, my emotions, and my thoughts where self still reigns and where resistance to Your Spirit remains.

Give me the strength and courage to do the hard work of severing the unyielded parts of my soul. Help me not to run from the discomfort of conviction but to embrace it as the beginning of true transformation. Teach me to surrender, not halfway, but fully, so that my soul may submit to the authority of Your Spirit and my life may reflect the image of Christ in word, thought, and deed.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.