My father was a gracious man. He believed, and as per most of the time, I agree with him- a tri-partite view of man isn’t in itself a terrible thing. My father, however, was no dummy. He believed, and as per once again, I agree with him- often a tri-partite view of man is accompanied by dangerous error. The Bible talks of men being bodies and souls. It talks of men being bodies, souls and spirits. It talks of men being bodies, souls, spirits and minds. Most of the time those who choose body, soul and spirit end up, just like when you have three kids playing together, pushing one to the fringe of the circle. And then they try to dump all the bad stuff there. My body and my soul are fine. My spirit man, though, struggles with this sin. But, the real me is my body and soul. Or, my body and my spirit are fine. My soul, however, struggles with this sin. But the real me is body and spirit. We’re willing to acknowledge the family resemblance, but we push our sins off on our most distant “relative.”
The real me, however, has more than enough sin to cover two, three, four or a bazillion parts of me. When I sin, that’s me. Yes, it is the old me. Yes it’s the old me that will be left behind when I am glorified. But for now, it’s me. Simul Justus et peccator and all that. That I seek to distance myself from the reality of my sin is more proof that my sin is still with me. The better move is to own it, and repent for it. The better move is to learn to recognize the real me. I’m not the slightly flawed good man that I pretend to be. I’m not the morally superior exemplar I’d like others to think I am. I’m the sinner. Declared to be righteous, indwelt by the Spirit, a saint, growing in grace, certain to one day fully be what I am today declared to be, yes. And still, today, a sinner.
The good news, the great news, is that nobody knows the real me more completely than the One who redeemed me. He’s too wise to buy into any nonsense that would diminish the reality of my sin. He’s aware of it more than me, more than my most harsh critics, more than those who have seen me at my worst. He, in fact, faced the wrath of the Father for every single one of my sins, whatever dark corner in me they came from. And He loves me. He identifies with me. He promises me that He will lead me into the Promised Land, that He will never leave me nor forsake me. He will never let me go.
The glory is that the me isn’t in me at all, but in Him. Where all my treasure is hidden. And if you are in Him, the same is true of you.
