You asked:"Would you care to define the differences between the "spirit and soul "? Which part goes to heaven? Which part do you think with, or make decisions with, etc?"
Excellent questions sister!
I Thess.5:23 makes clear that we are "tripartite" or 3 part beings: "spirit, soul and body."
I understand the spirit as that by which we can relate to or have fellowship and communication with God who is a Spirit. We may worship, pray, and have fellowship etc with God because we are spirits made in the image of God.
I understand the soul as that which enables us to relate to or have communication with other souls. We may speak, love, hate, befriend, comfort, aggravate, encourage or discourage other souls.
I understand our bodies as that which enables us to relate to the physical universe around us by way of our senses.
All three need to be transformed in order to be in the kingdom of God!
Re. our spirits, See John 3:3. (Notice this passage has to do with one's relationship to God.)
Re. our souls, see I Cor.6:9-11. (Notice that this passage has to do with transformed relationships with other people!)
Re. our bodies, see I Cor.15:50-54. (Notice that this passage has to do with the transformation of our bodies. Presently they are "flesh and blood" which are corruptible and mortal. But at the coming of the Lord they will be changed to be like th glorified body of the Lord Jesus which was "flesh and bones" but not flesh and blood". Luke 24:39
Christians do not "go to heaven" when they die as most of us have been wrongly taught! Rather, we are already seated with Christ in the heavenly places, (Eph 2:6). This is factually true of our spirits, but our bodies (with their 5 physical senses have no way of realizing spiritual realities!) So it is after we die and are delivered from the limitations of our bodies that we will truly experience what heaven is like, but we are already there in our spirits!
I would think that thought and will (decision making) are capabilities of the spirit. Angels are spirits and they think and exercise their wills.
What do you think, or what scriptures would you relate to such questions, sister?
Your brother in Christ,
Bruce
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