Man is a spirit, he has a soul and he lives in a body. Since man was made in the image of God, he is essentially a spirit (Gen. 1:26–27). Man is not just mind and body like a lot of people, especially psychologists, think. It is important to note that man is not just spirit, soul and body; he is a spirit who has a soul and lives in a body. The Word of God helps us to distinguish between these three (Heb. 4:12).

An ignorance or negligence of this truth makes a whole lot of people give great priority and attention to their minds and their flesh, thereby ignoring their spirit. This is easily seen when we compare how much resources—finances, time, energy, etc.—is spent in educating/developing the mind and taking care of the body with how much is spent on the spirit. Do a quick check on yourself.

Walking in the spirit means giving ascendancy to the spirit over the soul and the body. If you will not be led by your mind, senses and feelings, you must deliberately pay attention to your spirit and sow in that direction (Prov. 3:5; Gal. 6:8; 1 Tim. 4:8). At new birth (2 Cor. 5:17), the life of God has been imparted into your spirit; your born-again spirit has all the attributes of God.

This is just like a newborn baby who has all organs and tissues, the same number of bones and muscles as a full-grown man, but they are not left that way. The baby must be cared for and fed appropriately, sufficiently and regularly to have those organs and systems develop into full and profitable use over time.