Three Parts of Man
The header image above of an egg can also be used to illustrate the three parts of mankind. Just as an egg has three-parts so also humans are created with three-parts.
This scripture below speaks of the three-part make up that exists within a human being.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NIV2011)
23 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.
This verse of scripture above speaks of the three parts of man. Humans have a body, which is the physical part. Humans have a soul, which is comprised of their mind, their will, and their emotions. Humans also have a spirit. The human spirit is the part that becomes transformed or born again when the miracle of regeneration takes place. The spirit of man can live forever because it is the eternal part of man. If the person dies without being born again in spirit then they will live eternally in hell. If the person has been reborn spiritually then when they die, they will live eternally in heaven.
Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)
12 For the word of God is living 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 of scripture speaks of the word of God that can divide the soul from the spirit. The soul and spirit are closely related and only God’s word can divide them. But they are distinguished as two separated parts according to God’s word.
Jesus explained a true account of a man who went to hell and this account illustrates the three-part nature of humans and what will happen to a person after their natural body dies on earth.
Luke 16:19-31 (NIV)
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.
20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores
21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house,
28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'”
This is a true account of two men that both died and one went to a place of comfort with the other went to a place of torment. Before Jesus died and was resurrected those who were godly went to a place of comfort located in the center of the earth. They remained there until after Jesus’ death and resurrection. At this time Jesus proclaimed the gospel to them and led them as the first-fruits to enter into heaven with Him. Now this place of comfort is empty, because its residents have all been transferred to heaven together with Jesus. Across from this place of comfort is a place of torment where the fire burns eternally. All those who are not born again will end up in this place of torment after they die on earth.
See “Abraham’s Bosom” for more details.
When Jesus gave this true account, He explained something that had actually taken place in the center of the earth. This true account also illustrates the difference between the body, the soul, and the spirit of man.
The body, soul, and spirit of man can be compared to an egg which has three parts. It has an egg shell, and egg yolk, and an egg white. The eggshell is like the physical body of man. When the physical body dies the men on earth will bury it. This is like the eggshell which can be cracked open and discarded. But there are still two more parts remaining of the egg and in the same way when the natural body of man dies there are still two more parts remaining.
When the rich man died, they buried his body on earth but he found that he was still very much alive in the fires of hell! He still had two more parts remaining, this spirit and his soul. The spirit of man looks just like his physical body. His spirit man had eyes because he could look over to the place of comfort across from hell and see Abraham and Lazarus. The spirit man has a tongue. He wanted to have some water to cool his tongue in the flames of hell. Lazarus was a spirit as well but he had a finger because the rich man wanted him to dip his finger in water to cool his tongue. The spirit of man has all the same parts as the natural physical body. It has eyes, and ears and feet and hands. It looks like the physical body but it is an eternal being that will live forever either in hell or forever in heaven when the physical body dies on earth.
The rich man had a soul. The soul and the spirit are like the egg yolk and the egg white that go together. In the same way that the egg yolk and egg white go together, so the spirit and soul go together when a man dies and leaves his body. The soul is made of the mind, the will, and the emotions. The rich man had a mind. He could remember his brothers who were still alive on earth. The rich man had a will. He did not will that his brothers would also come to hell. The rich man had emotions. He felt sorry for his brothers that were on their way to hell and he wanted to send Lazarus to go to the earth and warn them to repent. So, man is made of three parts. The body will one day die and be buried but there are still two more parts of man that include a person’s spirit and soul. The spirit and soul go together like an egg yolk and an egg white. These two parts will remain forever either in heaven or in hell because the spirit and soul of humans are eternal.
This scriptural account teaches of the three parts of man as being the body, the soul, and the spirit. It is the spirit of man that becomes reborn or transformed during the process of regeneration. This is the part of man that becomes new. A believer may look the same on the outside after regeneration but the change will have taken place on the inside. So, when a man or woman is born-again it cannot be seen on the outside physical appearance because this change takes place on the inside in the spirit of humans.
When a person accepts Christ, the part of them that causes them to yield to sin is killed and destroyed. A person is made new in Christ by regeneration. The human spirit is made new or alive to God at spiritual birth.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
The part that is made new in man is the human spirit. When the human spirit was dead in trespasses and sin, it flowed together with the sin nature as one in agreement together.
Ephesians 2:1-3 (NIV)
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
Before a person accepts Christ as their Savior, they are dead in sins. This means that their human spirit is dead to God. Therefore, they follow the cravings of the sinful nature and pursue their gratification of these cravings in an unhindered manner. This scripture reveals something about the sin nature as well. It mentions the desires and thoughts of the sin nature. This reveals that the sin nature resides in the soul part of man. The soul is made of the mind, the will, and the emotions. The sin nature has desires and these desires are found in the emotional make-up of man. The sin nature also has thoughts and these thoughts are found in the mind of man.
An understanding of the sin nature is important because if believers do not understand where the sin nature resides, they will falsely assume that their physical body is the source of evil desires or cravings or lust for things that are ungodly. Many false religions will teach that the physical body is sinful and they therefore punish and abuse and even mutilate their human body thinking that this will stop the cravings or the lust that they feel. But this is false teaching because the bible teaches that the human body is sacred and it is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The evil desires and lusts of the sin nature do not originate in the skin, muscles, bones and organs of the human body.
Jesus spoke about the source of evil that comes out of a man and brings defilement.
Mark 7:20-23 (NASB)
20 And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.
21 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.
23 “All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”
Jesus said that from within the heart of men proceed evil things. This word heart here is not referring to a natural physical blood pump called a heart. That is only a muscle used to pump physical blood through the veins of the body. The word heart that Jesus is using in this scripture is referring to the center of a man as in the expression “Getting to the heart of the matter!” The heart is where a man’s freewill resides and it is the place where he makes decisions that govern his actions. The heart is comprised of the soul which is made of the mind and the will and the emotions. All three of these parts of man play a role in the expression of evil within him. It is in the area of the soul of man where the sin nature resides and it is most specifically in the mind.
In the scripture above there is a long list of evil things that come out of a heart of a man and on top of the list is mentioned “evil thoughts.” This gives evidence that the main contributing aspect in human personality that is most used by the sin nature is the human mind. This is where evil thoughts originate and this is where anything evil that a man can do is first conceived and meditated upon.
All sex offenders who are in prison have all started with pornography and they looked at porn and they meditated on it and these evil thoughts aroused lust in their physical bodies. Constant meditation drove these men into sin until they fulfilled those things that they were meditating upon and committed crimes for which they were arrested and imprisoned. Therefore, the sin nature of mankind resides in the soul parts of a man and most specifically in the human mind.
Romans 8:7 (NIV)
7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.
The sinful mind is also called the carnal mind and it is a mind that does not think the thoughts of God but instead it conceives everything that is evil in humans.
Jesus gave a list of evil things that come out of the soul realm of mankind. He mentioned evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All of these things are conceived in the mind of humans before they are performed as outward physical sins.
Fornication is first done in the mind and meditated upon before it is manifest as physical sin. Thefts are also meditated upon before the crime is committed. Murder is conceived in the mind and planned out prior to the violent act taking place. Adultery is also meditated on in the mind before the physical sin is committed. Coveting starts with looking at something and lusting for it in the mind and imagining that it will be theirs. Deceit, sensuality, envy, slander are all things that are first conceived in the mind prior to their application in outward physical sin. Jesus even taught the believers how they can stop sin before it is manifest outwardly.
Matthew 18:8-9 (NIV)
8 If your hand or your foot causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.
9 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
Jesus said that if your hand or foot cause you to sin then it is better to cut it off and throw it away than two keep both hands or feet and be thrown into hell. Jesus is not teaching about body mutilation as some pagan cults practice. Sin does not originate in the human body but it comes from the sin nature residing in the soul realm and mind. The sins of the hand and foot represent outward physical sins. With the hands, crimes can be committed and with the feet a person can run toward that which is evil. The sins of the hands and feet speak of outward physical sins that can be seen by mankind.
Jesus then said if your eye causes you to sin it is better to gouge it out and throw it away than to keep both eyes and be cast into hell. Jesus is not teaching people to blind themselves or destroy their sight because the eyes are not sinful of themselves but are only an organ that provides sight for the body. The sins of the eyes represent mental sins. With the eyes a person can look at something and conceive covetousness or lust or anger or murder and so all sin starts in the carnal mind before it is ever acted upon and an outward physical sin is committed.
What Jesus is teaching is that a believer should treat mental sins the same as he would treat outward physical sins. If the believer would deal with the sin while it is yet a thought in the mind then it would never manifest as an outward physical sin that can be punished by man’s laws. This is the secret to overcoming sin.
Punishing and mutilating the outward physical body in an effort to fight sin has no effect for stopping evil desires or lust. The evil desires and lust within people do not originate in the physical body but they come from the soul realm where the sin nature of Adam resides.
With the mind humans conceive sin and they meditate on sin and this meditation stirs up or arouses lust, cravings, and evil desires in their physical body. When the desires rise up then they use their human will to decide to put their evil desires into actions and commit a crime. The emotions are where the feelings of man come from and that part of man is what is stirred up by meditation on evil things and this creates feelings and desires or lust for things that are evil within the human body. All three parts of the soul are involved in catering to the sin nature that resides there. Punishing the physical body is useless therefore to stop evil desires because the physical body is not the origin of those desires.
When a person accepts Jesus and becomes spiritually regenerated the part of them that is made new is their human spirit. This human spirit is where the nature of God resides within a believer and this nature is holy and pure like God and this nature desires to do what is holy and pleasing in the sight of God. There is therefore a conflict that arises within a believer because there is present within him two opposing forces after he is saved. There is the holy nature of God within him that resides in his newly created or born-again human spirit and there is the sin nature that continues to reside in the parts of his soul (most specifically in his mind).
Romans 8:5 (NIV)
5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
Those who have their minds set on the sin nature will meditate on that which is evil and arouse all kinds of evil cravings and lusts in their natural body. But those who meditate on the things of God will have good things produced like righteousness and joy and peace rather than evil desires.
Romans 7:18 (NIV)
18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
Paul spoke of the sinful nature that was within him and this is the source from which all evil desires originate.
Romans 7:22-23 (NIV)
22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;
23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.
Paul spoke of the struggle of two natures within him because his inner being (born again or recreated human spirit) delights after God’s law and desires holy things but there was another nature within him that was in conflict with the nature of God. This is the sin nature that resides within the soul parts of a man and seeks to bring a believer back into bondage to sin again.
It is for this reason that the human mind is the greatest battlefield of the devil because if the devil can win here then he can arouse evil desires and lust in the human body and the feelings and emotions of a believer will bring him back into bondage of sin.
It is for this reason that the believer is to cast down all evil imaginations that are planted in their minds by the devil.
2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
This scripture speaks of taking every thought captive and making it obedient to Christ. This means that a believer is not to be open-minded to the thoughts and suggestions of the devil. A believer is to have a disciplined mind and they are to choose what thoughts that they permit to enter their minds. If any thought is contrary to God’s word, they are to cast down that thought immediately or else it will produce that which is evil in their lives. The battleground is in the mind and if the believer wins the battle here, they will have victory over sin. They can stop the sin while it is still a seed in the thoughts rather than meditating on it and giving birth to it and having it grow to be like a great tree of bondage that is not easily removed.
The believer must learn to discipline their minds rather than trying to punish their body because the body is not the problem.
Colossians 2:23 (NIV)
23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Many false religions practice self-abasement and severe treatment of their physical bodies but this activity has no value against restraining sensual indulgence. The believer is not to focus on abusing his body but rather focus on winning the battle of their mind because if they cast down demonic thoughts then they will never mediate on that which is evil and they will never give birth to outward physical sins. All sins start in the mind so if evil thoughts are stopped or cast down then no sins will ever develop or be expressed outwardly.
The importance of the human mind can be seen in the life of Joshua who was instructed by God on how to deal with the human mind.
Joshua 1:8 (NIV)
8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
God commanded Joshua to not let the Book of the Law depart from his mouth. He was to continually speak the word of God. He was ordered to meditate on the word of God day and night and this means that he would memorize it and then think on in it continually. If a believer has their mind full of God’s word then they cannot think on the thoughts of the devil. The word of God is like light that will dispel darkness so the dark thoughts of Satan cannot remain in the same mind that is meditating on God’s word. This process is called renewing the mind.
Romans 12:2 (NIV)
2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.
The bible teaches the believer to renew their mind and this will transform them so they will no longer be like the unbelievers in the world who are in bondage to sin. If God’s people will meditate on God’s word continually, they will begin to see from God’s point of view and they will begin to think like God and it will transform them from being a person who was once in slavery to the sin nature.
Numbers 13:30 (NKJV)
30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”
Joshua and his friend Caleb were the only two men among over 600,000 heads of households who were renewing their minds. Joshua was commanded by God to do this and his friend Caleb must have been learning from Joshua to do the same thing. These two men were full of faith and said that they were well able to take the Promised Land because God was with them. They were full of the light of God’s word in their minds and they were full of faith because of it.
Numbers 14:6-10 (NKJV)
6 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes;
7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land.
8 If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’
9 Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them.”
10 And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel.
Unlike Joshua and Caleb, the rest of the congregation did not have renewed minds because they were meditating on the thoughts of the devil and imagined themselves to be defeated. Their minds were carnal and they even wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb for speaking according to the word of God. These same people mediated on the devil’s thoughts so much that they gave up without even trying. They wanted to go back to the slavery of Egypt and said it was all hopeless. That is an example of a carnal mind which mediates on failure and defeat and sin and thoughts of the devil. God could do nothing with these people because they were defeated within their own carnal minds.
Joshua 1:8 (NKJV)
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
These carnal minded people were in great contrast to Joshua and Caleb who meditated on the word of God and had their minds renewed to think like God and see things from God’s perspective.
Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)
22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
A believer is to be taught to put off the old self or the old way of thinking that is accustomed to following the sin nature that resides in the soul realm. They are not to be corrupted by deceitful desires that are aroused by meditating on evil thoughts. The believer is to renew their minds and mediate on God’s word continually. This will cause them to follow after their new-self or the new-nature that resides within their newly born-again human spirit which was created after God in righteousness and holiness.
If believers will renew their minds, they can choose to follow the new-nature within them. They can use their human freewill to decide to do what is right and their emotions will follow their decision. If they have control of their mind they will be in control of their will and emotions as well and this will cause them to be in control of their physical bodies. This is the way to walk in holiness and to obey the new nature of God within them rather than the sin nature that resides in the soul realm.
2 Peter 1:5-9 (NIV)
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;
6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;
7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
The believer is to produce goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love in their lives. If they do not have these attributes then it means that they have forgotten that they have been cleansed from their past sins and they are instead following after the dictates of the carnal mind.
1 John 3:9 (NIV)
9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.
The born again recreated human spirit is holy and pure like God and there is no desire for evil in the reborn human spirit. This is the part of the believer that enables them to walk in holiness and be transformed from someone who was once in bondage to sin.
When a believer sins it is because they are meditating on the thoughts of the devil and allowing their carnal mind to think whatever it likes to think. The undisciplined mind causes them to stir evil desires in their physical body and they then use their human will to decide to engage in sin and their emotions and feelings will follow their decision.
But the same believer can also reverse this process by mediation of God’s word. They can keep and maintain their mind full of God’s word and this will dispel all darkness and evil thoughts from their minds. The absence of evil thoughts will cause no evil desires to be stirred in their body and they can use their human freewill to choose what thoughts they think and they can choose to follow after their born-again recreated spirit. Their emotions and feelings will follow along after any decision they choose to make and so a believer can choose to walk after their recreated spirit and be holy. They were set free from sin so they could bear fruit of holiness to God.
Romans 6:6-7 (NIV)
6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin–
7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
The old unregenerate human spirit was killed or crucified when a person is saved and therefore, they are no longer slaves to sin. Prior to salvation an unbeliever is in slavery to sin because his unregenerate spirit follows together with his carnal mind and the evil desires of his body are aroused and his emotions follow along as well. So, there is nothing in the unbeliever that offers opposition to the sin nature and it is natural for them to follow in this direction. But those who are reborn spiritually are set free from sin because they have a new spirit that is holy and pure like God and they do not have to follow after the sin nature any longer.
Since a believer in Christ has been set free from sin, there is therefore no more excuse for allowing sin in their lives.
Romans 6:12 (NIV)
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
The word reign here means to rule or control like a king on a throne. Paul tells the believers not to allow sin to rule their lives any longer. They do not have to obey the evil desires of their sin nature. They can obey the godly desires of their new recreated human spirit.
There is a struggle within the believer because the sin nature continues to want to control and dominate. This sin nature is in direct opposition to the new human spirit that is born of God and desires holiness. A believer however can say NO to the sin nature and YES to his recreated spirit. The believer can walk holy because they are no longer slaves to sin.
Romans 6:11 (NIV)
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Believers in Christ should consider themselves dead to sin but alive to God. This means that they are no longer slaves to obey the sin nature as they were in their unregenerate state. They should consider themselves alive to God by following their reborn human spirit that is holy and pure like God.
Galatians 5:13 (NIV)
13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
A believer is free from sin because they no longer have an unregenerate human spirit that follows after the sin nature. A believer certainly can sin because they also have a human freewill and a free choice. They can follow after the sin nature or they can follow after their new reborn human spirit. Paul tells them not to indulge or gratify their sinful nature. They are free to do so but they should not use their freedom to sin but use their freedom instead to walk in righteousness. An unbeliever however is a slave to sin and they cannot help but follow their sinful nature.
Romans 6:16 (NIV)
16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey–whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
A believer is free and they are free to walk in holiness but they also are free to use their freewill to sin and follow the desires of the sin nature. If a believer will follow or obey the desires of their reborn spirit they will walk in holiness. If they will use their freedom to follow the desires of the sin nature, they will be walking in sin. So, they can make themselves into slaves of sin by serving sin or they can make themselves into slaves of righteousness by serving holiness. A believer will therefore be judged according to how they used their human freewill. Using their freewill to sin will bring about death and using their human freewill to walk in holiness will bring life.
Romans 6:13 (NIV)
13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
Paul tells the believers not to use the parts of their body to sin as instruments of wickedness but rather offer themselves to God as instruments of righteousness.
Romans 6:22 (NIV)
22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
Since a believer is free from sin, they should no longer follow after the sin nature. They should bear their fruit of holiness to God by following the reborn spirit within them.
Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)
22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
A believer must be taught to put off their old self or their old way of following the sin nature. They must be taught instead to put on the new self that is created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. The attitude of a believer’s mind must be renewed so that they will know and understand that they are free from sin and they no longer have to allow sin to remain in their mortal bodies. This means they do not have to use their physical bodies to sin in obedience to the sin nature within them.
All of the above scriptures and teaching bring the believer to the conclusion that they are free from sin and they do not have to sin anymore. They are no longer slaves to sin as they were when they were an unbeliever.
A key to walking in holiness is to understand the three-parts of man and that the sin nature resides in the soulical parts and the mind of humans. Being able to identify the sin nature greatly increases the chances of the believer recognizing the sin nature so they can choose to deny the sin nature the right of expressing itself. This denial of the sin nature is foundational in walking in holiness.