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James 2:26
26 For
26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. NASB
The body, is your physical body. The spirit, refers to the breath of life, or the soul with human life resident in it.
When you are born into this life, you came here as a dichotomous being. You were body and soul. Your body is the vessel which houses biological life, and your soul is the vessel which houses human life. The real you is in your soul. Your body is only a temporary house for your soul.
The breath of life, 'neshamah,' was breathed into you at the moment of your birth. The first cry of the baby is the evidence of breath and human life entering into the baby.
Prior to your birth while you were in your mommy's womb, your biological life was supported by the umbilical cord. But once that cord was cut, when you were born, your lifeline was severed. You needed a replacement power source otherwise, you would have died in what is generally called being stillborn, or death at birth. That replacement power source is your soul with your human life in it. This is referred to by the Bible as the breath of God. God exhales life, and man inhales life.
The body cannot live without a soul. When you die, the soul with its human life in it, leaves the body and the body immediately begins the decay process. It is dead.
Now when your body has no soul life, it is a dead thing. Dead is useless and discarded into decay.
When you believe in Christ then you receive an additional birth. This is a spiritual birth, or being born again. This time you receive a human spirit which is the vessel, and into it is imputed eternal life. You are now trichotomous (body, soul, and spirit). Each of these vessels housing their respective life occupants (biological, human, and eternal life).
Within your existence, you have two phases of life. The first is your life in this world, and the second is life in eternity.
While you live in this world, you have two categories of production - temporal production and spiritual production.
Temporal production (wood, hay, and stubble) is what you do in life while out of fellowship. This is the only kind of production that unbelievers can have.
Spiritual production (gold, silver, and precious stones) is the product of your life while you are in fellowship. This is available only to believers.
Now, just as the soul is an integral part of ones body, for no physical body can exist without it, so to, works (spiritual production) is an integral part of faith. In other words, your actions speak louder than words.
You can believe anything and everything you want, but if you do not back up your beliefs with actions, then your faith is useless, weak, shallow, or worthless. Sincerity, good intentions, and such, mean nothing, and accomplish nothing.
Life is the result of the soul integrating with the physical body. Works are the fruit of an active faith. But works are not just any works, they must be those mandated by God, and performed while inside of the fellowship sphere.
You cannot define your own way through your spiritual life. You cannot pick and choose, from Gods mandates, what things you want to do within your spiritual life.
Just as breathing comes natural to physical life, then so too, spiritual production should come natural to faith. But unfortunately people seem to get this all screwed up by means of the lack of commitment, and by their lack of obedience, to their spiritual life.
