What difference does it make if the Bible teaches we are physical creatures, rather than dual body-soul beings? How does that impact on anything else we believe as Christians? From gender identity to mental health more generally, to salvation, the way we view human nature has a profound impact.
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Taylor Munkittrick
Perhaps the spirit, or consciousness, within a follower of Jesus is no longer the spirit it was before their conversion, one driven by the impulses of our bodies, but rather a new creation, a part of the Holy Spirit which unites us with the same Spirit that created and operates within the world, and with others who also follow Jesus, so that yes, collectively we are together a temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells, and the merger between our individual consciousness and the Holy Spirit IS eternal so that we have indeed stepped into eternal life now, while still waiting for the putting off of our bodies where sin still dwells and is at war with the Spirit within us.
Point being, maybe we ARE materially different after conversion, not entirely, but in a crucial way, and if so, our faith that this is the case is paramount in order to join more fully in the life and works that are ours in the kingdom of heaven. Thinking that we and differentness within us in waiting until some future time could make one unfruitful now, which is why we are told that we should be walking in eternal life already and should manifest that life in our words and works, which are no longer our own, but the words and works of God himself, if we are truly driven by the Holy Spirit.
Thank you for the deep thoughts!