Trichotomy

[Awoken]

Just wanted to share a very good video about trichotomous teaching (i.e., the teaching that we are a three-part being, taught by Nee, Lee, and apparently also many new-age movements like the NAR/Word of Faith).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRyFypDbHrM

Anybody have any thoughts on this?

[Robert]

Hi, Awoken!

The problem starts when someone want to build doctrine about it. Generally it happen to any topic in Bible. What is the real question about? Do we have three parts of our being? Yes! Of course! There is so many verses!

Soul, body, and Spirit. Do they exist seperately? Of course no! So after watching this video I can show in which moment they build false doctrine. We are born from flesh. When Lord Jesus was talking with Nicodemus He sais about this distinction clearly. What was born from flesh is flesh, what from spirit is spirit. I Peter 1:9. Salvation of soul. I agree that as long we focused ( our mind is set on spirit ( not soul) waiting in spirit, prayin in spirit, having contact withLord in spirit ( which is blended with Holly Spirit) having blessed hope and joy we are in good place. But most of charismatic movements are basing on feelings in soul and as such they use soulish tools ( like sentimental background during prayer). First of all- Bible. Second- Spirit. Third- confirmation from body. Later I will continue. I have to go...

[Sons to Glory!]

Originally Posted by Awoken

Just wanted to share a very good video about trichotomous teaching (i.e., the teaching that we are a three-part being, taught by Nee, Lee, and apparently also many new-age movements like the NAR/Word of Faith).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRyFypDbHrM

Anybody have any thoughts on this?

As I remember, we kicked this around on here some time ago - there were those that lined-up on the body & soul side and those on the body & soul & spirit side. Was it resolved? Nope - not by a long shot.

I don't have time to watch the whole video you posted as it's over an hour long, but from the comments at the bottom it looks like they attempt to "debunk" the trichotomy side and generally label it as coming from word of faith preachers. I think that's not a fair label, as many teachers besides the word of faith people and WN/WL have taught it. (e.g., Tozer, Andrew Murray, Martin Luther, TA Sparks) See list of trichotomy supporters here

Bottom-line is it's a teaching and there's lot's of difference in opinion. Our oneness is in Christ, not in the vast variety of different teachings . . .

[Awoken]

Sons to Glory! and Robert, I totally agree with you. I watched some of the other videos on this channel and found them mostly good, on this one I wasn't sure - the Bible does explicitly seem to use those terms in ways that aren't always interchangeable. Personally I'd hesitate to go as far as the guys who made this video do when they say the Bible absolutely declares dichotomy; it doesn't seem to do that any more than it concretely affirms trichotomy. If anything trichotomy seems more obvious since the Tabernacle and Temple both had three "layers".

On the other hand I can see where various teachers have gone way overboard with this, including WL and the NAR guys shown in the video...

Thank you for the discussion.