Spirit, Soul & Body by Andrew Wommack
This book teaches that living a Spirit-led life is possible for believers of Jesus Christ.
The book in 3 Sentences
- The Spirit of Christ within you will never change for all eternity therefore you have all you'll need to live a powerful life.
- Since spirit cannot be felt, we must use the soul (mind, will, emotions) to access the Spirit.
- It takes effort to physically align yourself to the Spirit.
Who Should Read It?
I'd recommend this book for disciples who can clearly articulate their salvation. In other words, if you can describe how and why you were saved in a way that is congruent with scripture, I think you can benefit from this book.
The way Andrew Wommack, the author, approaches this work lends me to think that he assumes the above of the readers. Also, I personally recommend that disciple's prioritize reading the Bible before reading other books so that they have a Biblical foundation to rest on when reading faith-based books like this.
How the Book Changed Me
The first time I read this book was in college. I wasn't as knowledgeable about the faith but I had a growing desire to learn. Capitalizing on this desire, God used this book to make me excited to have His Spirit within me.
The second time around (~10 years later), God has used this book to remind me that as a believer I am not defined by sins and shouldn't be focused on sin. I should focus, via the soul, on who I am in the Spirit and let my actions (my body) follow.
My resolve
As a result of reading this book I have resolved to do the following:
1. Stop meditating on Romans 7
It was confirmed with this book that I should no longer meditate on Romans 7 because this chapter of the Bible has me to focus on my sin nature. I have since changed my focus to Romans 8:1 -17 which reminds me that I am of the Spirit and not of the flesh.
2. Be a demanding reader of faith-based books
Although most faith-based books may have good intent, as disciples we must let the Bible direct our thinking and belief system. People are flawed (myself included!) and can make mistakes. Therefore, it is important that we read faith-based books critically - through the lens of scripture - and not blindly.
I say this because there are some aspects of this book that I don't agree with based off my personal understanding of scripture. My disagreements could be wrong, but that is why I've decided this book is worthy of an analysis so I'm working on that and in due time it will be available here on the site.
My Top 5 Quotes
Whatever you think in your soul your body will just go along for the ride.
If you don't renew your mind and use it to study and meditate on God's Word, it'll automatically gravitate toward what you can see, taste, hear, smell and feel. This darkens your understanding.
You aren't trying to get the Word of God into your spirit because the mind of Christ already knows all things. You are trying to get God's Word into your soul so that your spirit can bear witness with it.
You shouldn't be trying to live holy out of fear of rejection and punishment; you ought to live holy as a result of your salvation.
[The Christian life is about] growing stronger in the spirit and weaker in the flesh. The flesh's dominance steadily diminishes as you learn to consistently depend on and draw out more of what's in your spirit.
My Notes
This verse from the New Testament makes it clear that we have 3 parts to our being: spirit, soul and body. The body we can see and feel. The soul we can't see, but we can feel. What about the spirit? Now that's a bit tricky.
In this book, Andrew Wommack help us understand all 3 parts while encouraging believers of Christ to live in a way that is in step with the Holy Spirit.
Here are my main takeaways from the book.
The spirit we have is the spirit of Christ
The spirit of my Savior lives within me. This is good news because it means:
- Eternal Redemption and Eternal Inheritance are mine. I have been sealed with the Spirit who is the one that guarantees that I am forever chosen by God and a joint heir with Christ.
- Living hope is within me. The Spirit lives within me and He is giving me life. Because of this, I always have the opportunity to live in His power. Even when tempted, the Spirit is always available for me to tap into His power for righteous living.
- I'm no longer a sinner. Since I have been born again, there is no need to refer to myself as a 'sinner' saved by grace. Yes, I was a sinner, but I have a new identity: I am a son of God.
The Spirit and The Word
In the book, Wommack constantly says that we've got to 'release what we've got' and that the Bible is what we need to get to know the Spirit within us. He's definitely right about this because spirit cannot be seen or touched. But how do we 'release' it?
Wommack uses a pipe illustration to describe the body, soul and spirit connection. I like this illustration because of how it emphasizes the two requirements needed for righteous living: The Spirit and The Word.
To understand who we are in the spirit we need God's Word. And as we familiarize ourselves with God's Word, we renew our minds and thus align our our thoughts, desires and feelings (i.e., the soul) to the Spirit.
This mind-renewal process opens the valve, allowing the Spirit to flow through the soul to the body. And when this happens, we begin to live in a way that we can see the power of God in our lives.
Turn the valve daily
Simply put, the way that we align ourselves to God is by renewing our mind everyday with His Word. This is an activity of the soul that we should take seriously if we want to live in step with the Spirit.
Here are a few quick suggestions:
- Read through the Bible
- Meditate (think deeply) on scriptures
- Share with others what you are learning in the Bible
- Memorize Bible passages
- Pray the scriptures
Don't expect others to turn your valve for you. Remember, renewing your mind is a personal activity to align your soul to God.
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