I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. Psalms 139:14
then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. Genesis 2:7
So God created man in His own image,
in the image of God He created him;
male and female He created them. Genesis 1:27
The Creator made mankind in His image. We are like the Trinity in that we have 3 parts to us. One temporal and two parts eternal. The Trinity has also experienced temporal-ness through Jesus. Our body is made up of flesh and filled with muscles, bones, joints, organs, blood, and is an incredibly well designed creation. Our eternal two parts were literally ‘blown’ into us by God Himself, and we became a living creation in His own image. Our soul and spirit are still much of a mystery to us as they are eternal and interact with with spiritual realm(s).
We understand our body more and more — but still there is much to learn that has yet to be discovered or understood. Our soul and spirit must be spiritually discerned and understood. Man has developed ‘sciences’ attempting to understand the soul and spirit — but usually combine them into one mysterious – entity that is hard to explain. Psychology and other social sciences have attempted to delve into that realm — where only the Holy Spirit can give ‘life’ giving revelation. From scriptural study, prayer, and conversations with the Holy Spirit I have come to my own conclusions about some of the soul and spirit portions of us, also learning from others who have gone before me. The scriptures give hints in this direction.
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
Here definitely there is the description of the difference between the soul and spirit. Much can be gleaned from this scripture. I’d encourage you to ‘sit’ with the Holy Spirit and ask for His instruction on this passage. Ask Him to help you understand this for it actually describes you.
From my study and understanding, the soul (from the breath of life from God) is made up of our emotions, passions, desires, appetites, and feelings. It is the part of us that ‘feels’ spiritually. Our spirit (also from the breath of God) houses our intellect, will (choice maker), and conscience making us a free moral agent. The spirit in us is what ‘knows’, and decides (chooses) what to say (words) and do (actions). The soul and spirit is often referred to the ‘heart’ (innermost being) of a ‘man’ in Hebrew scriptural descriptions. Most of the psychological teaching has said that the soul holds the mind, will, and emotions of the human. But that is combining the two into one like most other teachings, that Mankind is a two part being. But we know that by scripture we are like our Creator and created in three parts. And understanding the ‘eternal’ side of us will take One who understands us better than we know ourselves. The Holy Spirit IS the Person (God) who helps us understand spiritual things. We as humans can only postulate and guess by observation. The Holy Spirit can literally ‘explain’ spiritual things and concepts at a point our current minds can understand. But I also know He often has ‘taught’ me like a parent teaching a toddler — for I just didn’t have the capacity to understand beyond a certain point. As I have grown with Him — He has shown me much more of the expanse of things — often humbling me greatly as there is ALWAYS so much more than I ever imagined or could think of. The Holy Spirit has showed me things that are extremely hard to put into language, making me realize I am so much ‘less’ than I thought I was in the scope of things.
But to become spiritually mature we must be taught and counseled by the Holy Spirit as to the Truth of the spiritual realms and ourselves. We cannot learn of spiritual things just from our own machinations and understanding (Reading human books / teaching). We can be easily mis-led by spirits who are God’s enemies. Spirit-guides who are NOT the Holy Spirit are those who decided before Man was created to rebel against God and set out to destroy His creation, especially God’s new ‘love’ …human-kind. Many ‘religions’ and human groups have been mis-led in the truth of things by these ‘fallen’ spirits as they have brought ‘new’ twisted histories of God’s creation. Many of these spirits tell us that we too can become ‘like’ God or even become gods ourselves. Many of these things can be learned by reading the book Genesis with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. These spirits are still working on misleading Mankind, and … you. In that group of fallen spirits, we have different classifications often described as ‘fallen angels’, and demons (departed soul and spirits). This is also where we get the descriptions of what has been labeled ‘ghosts’.
Understanding God and His creation can help us understand ourselves with His … guidance and teaching through ‘revelation’ from the Holy Spirit. For within that ‘revelation’ is … life (living water). Do you desire to be taught by the Holy Spirit? Have you asked Him to take you on ‘adventures’? Have you asked Him to ‘show’ you things? Does He help you understand the scriptures?