Taking Heed Unto Thy Spirit

Malachi 2:15-16

In the previous lesson we learned that the spirit of man is life from God. In this lesson we are going to look at how the spirit of man affects the body and why it must be ruled in order to serve God the way we should.

It is clear that man is body, soul, and a spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Through these lessons on the spirit of man we are starting to get a better understanding of what the spirit actually is. Not only is the spirit of man life from God but it also has a direction connection with the action of our flesh and also what may be perceived as our personality.

After we are saved the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God (Romans 8:16). Whether we realize it or not we still have the spirit of man after we are saved. The Holy Spirit is trying to minister to that spirit. Therefore if he is ministering to that spirit then we must definitely take heed to our spirit. As saved born again children of God we are very concerned with trying to keep our flesh under control and not fulfilling its desires. But we forget about the spirit of man. If we could learn to rule our spirit and keep it in good shape then we could have greater success overcoming the problems of the flesh.

In Proverbs 16:32 as well as Proverbs 25:28 we see that the flesh must be ruled. In these passages it is clear that when the spirit is not ruled then the person is in a dangerous position.

The Spirit of man affects our flesh:

• Proverbs 18:24 (Here the spirit is said to sustain the infirmities of the flesh)
• Proverbs 11:13 (Here we find a faithful spirit)
• Proverbs 15:4 (Here we see that there can be a breech in spirit)
• Proverbs 15:13 (The spirit can be broken)
• Proverbs 16:18 (There is a haughty spirit)

From each of these verses it is plain to see that the spirit of man has a direct effect on our flesh. This is why we must take heed to our spirit. This also explains why in 2 Corinthians 7:1 we are told that our spirit needs to be cleansed from filthiness just as the flesh but we will deal more with this in our next lesson.

Taking Heed Unto Thy Spirit : Handout

Malachi 2:15-16

1)  What is the spirit of man?

2)  What is the spirit of man going to be connected with in this lesson?

3)  What do we learn from Romans 8:16 about the spirit of man?

4)  What is the warning that Proverbs gives us concerning the spirit of man?

5)  Give a chain reference for the spirit of man affecting our body.

6)  Why is it so important to take heed unto our spirit?