Is a person more than a physical body? What is the mind? What is thought?

Much of the world lives as if the mind is synonymous with the body; thoughts are chemical reactions which make up another part of he physical body. I believe very differently. A person is far more than just the physical attributes. I find the Bible to teach that the body is made up of three separate parts, the body, the mind and the spirit.

The body is the flesh and nothing more. The body has different parts which work as the mind controls it. There is also some interaction between the mind and the body as our flesh comes with different strengths and weaknesses. Because of these strengths and weaknesses the mind does not have free reign over the body; rather it must work within the limitations of the physical body.

The mind itself is made up of three parts: thoughts, will and emotions. I find the thoughts to comprise the consciousness and sub-consciousness. The thoughts are literally what you think and what you or other forces, such as society, have trained your mind to think intuitively. The will is the ‘want’ and the drive behind actions. You can think about drinking a soda, but if you don’t want to, there is no logical reason to do it. The will is the part of the mind that ‘wants’ to drink the soda. The emotions are the part of the mind that you are not in control of. Every person reacts to things in different ways. Those reactions are the emotions: happy, sad, excited, etc. Emotions are able to influence your thoughts and even your will, but ultimately the thoughts are what determine the actions.

The spirit is the final element of the soul. Your spirit is your USB drive. It is through your spirit that you are able to connect to God, through His Spirit and communicate with Him. When you accept Christ and become connected to Him in spirit, your mind is then influenced by the Spirit in order to encourage you to act in accordance with God’s will, God’s desires.

Is a person more than a physical body? Yes, very much so. The majority of who you are is contained within the mind. The most important part of the body, however, is the spirit as the spirit is what connects you to God. The most exciting part of the soul is that the entire soul—mind, body and spirit—will be resurrected and made new when Christ returns for His church. All of who we are will go with us into heaven or hell, just with the limitations of the flesh removed.