How the Human Spirit Grows • Deshen Daily

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man (Luke 2:52 KJV)

The human spirit grows as the soul is transformed; it does not grow as a distinct entity separate from the soul or mind( the thoughts, emotions, will, and the personality that results from them). Please ensure you have read the prior Deshen Daily miniseries on the human spirit and soul before proceeding. I will assume you are familiar with the things I discussed in those devotionals.

The human spirit, as distinct from the soul, does not grow in itself. It is created perfectly, like Christ; furthermore, there is no growth or change in the spirit after death. The growth of the spirit, which we can loosely equate to spiritual growth here, is therefore not an out-of-body or out-of-soul experience. Instead, spiritual growth is the change of the person—the soul, as the mind is renewed and the personality transformed.

The growth of the spirit is analogous to the development of the body but with significant differences. Since the body of a newborn has all the different parts( or members) of a human body, growth of the body is not by adding new parts but by the increase in size, strength, and maturity of organ functions. The soul also has its parts or members—the thoughts, emotions, will, and the character that results from their complex interaction.

Just as the body, the soul, or mind(general sense) does not grow by adding new parts, it develops by changing the content of these capacities. For instance, both joy and sadness are different contents of the same part of our soul called the emotions. God wants joy, not depression. Spiritual growth is the gradual transformation of the various parts or capacities of the soul. As these faculties change, the resulting personality or character exhibits spiritual virtues from the Spirit of God such as love, peace, kindness, gentleness, etc.

It is worth repeating what I have discussed previously: our spiritual life is not an out-of-body or out-of-mind experience. Your spirit grows as your mind( the entire inward person) is changed.

Apply the Word

As food induces growth of the body, so the knowledge of the Word of God triggers and maintains the development of the human spirit. The need for real spiritual growth is a spiritual emergency in the Body of Christ. Sadly, many believers quickly become busy with Christian or church activities as soon as they are saved and hardly ever experience the transformation of the heart and life scripture describes. Please pay attention to the Word; take it in, and it will transform your heart and character effortlessly.

Ask the Spirit to trigger and speed up spiritual growth in your life.