The strongest feature of The Spirit Man is its passionate instructional voice. The author clearly wants the reader not merely to acquire information but to change his or her spiritual disposition
By Evangelist Precious
The book is a teaching book for believers focused on understanding man as a tripartite being—spirit, soul, and body—and particularly on developing and maintaining the spirit in relationship with the Holy Spirit.
The author identifies the book as arising from personal revelation, spiritual instruction, and mentorship from his spiritual father.
COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE SPIRIT MAN
1. The Overall Assessment.
This book The Spirit Man is an intensely Pentecostal/charismatic teaching manuscript whose central message is that believers must understand, train, exercise, and maintain their spiritual nature if they are to fulfill God’s purpose for their lives. The book is not primarily written as an academic theological treatise. It is better understood as a practical spiritual-development and motivational book for the entire body of Christ, combining: biblical exposition; personal testimony; exhortation; spiritual instruction; illustrations; teachings about prayer, faith, worship and meditation; discussions of the mind, will, emotions, affection and imagination; accounts of notable Church ministers; and it calls the reader to discover one’s divine assignment.
The strongest feature of The Spirit Man is its passionate instructional voice. The author clearly wants the reader not merely to acquire information but to change his or her spiritual disposition. The book’s basic architecture based on my personal assessment is sound, moving from understanding man → understanding the spirit → understanding how the spirit works → training the spirit → maintaining the spirit → seeing examples in the lives of spiritual people.
This progression you will see explicitly laid out in the introduction.
The central thesis
The central proposition can be summarized as: Human beings are spiritual beings, and effective fellowship with God requires the development and alignment of the human spirit with the Spirit of God. The author repeatedly returns to the proposition that “man is a spirit, having a soul and living in an earthly suit called body.” This becomes the conceptual foundation for virtually everything that follows. The book therefore asks several interconnected questions:
What is man? What is the human spirit? How does the spirit relate to God? How does the spirit operate? How can the spirit be trained? How can spiritual vitality be maintained? What happens when a person develops his or her spiritual life? What can be learned from people who have demonstrated extraordinary faith?This makes the book fundamentally a spiritual formation manual rather than merely a doctrinal exposition.
Chapter-by-chapter review
Introduction
The introduction establishes the author’s motivation. The author explains that he did not initially see himself as a writer and attributes the emergence of the book to revelation and prophetic instruction from his spiritual mentor and father in the Lord. He presents the book as an assignment intended to bless readers. This gives the book an important autobiographical dimension.
The introduction immediately communicates conviction and purpose. The reader understands that the author is writing from personal spiritual experience rather than attempting to produce detached theological theory.
Chapter One — “Man”
This is the conceptual foundation of the book. The author begins with Psalm 8 which asks the fundamental question:”What is man?”He states that humanity has been given extraordinary significance and dominion in creation. He connects this dominion to God’s desire for fellowship with humanity. The author then introduces his tripartite model:
Spirit + Soul + Body.
The body is described as the physical vessel; the soul as the realm containing reasoning and other intangible faculties; and the spirit as the “real man.” Particularly interesting feature: the “15 senses”One of the book’s most distinctive ideas is its classification of human faculties into fifteen “senses.
“The author proposes: Body — five senses sightsound/hearing taste smell touch.
Soul — five senses mind will emotion affection and imagination.
Spirit — five senses prayer praise worship faith and meditation.
This framework is one of the book’s principal organizing concepts.
By My Critical assessment.
This is an original and memorable pedagogical framework, even though the terminology is unconventional. The idea gives the author a way to transform abstract spirituality into something the reader can conceptualize and practice.
The manuscript presents the fifteen-senses framework as a discovery or established structure, but it does not sufficiently distinguish between: biblical teaching; theological interpretation; psychological terminology; the author’s personal conceptual model. That distinction would be important in a revised edition.
The discussion of the soul.
The treatment of the soul is one of the book’s most practically useful sections.
The author discusses:
The Mind as the faculty responsible for perception, memory, thinking and decision-making.
Will: The will he presented as the capacity to choose, decide, exercise self-control and translate ideas into action.
Emotion: Stating that a spiritually mature person must learn not to allow emotional reactions to dictate every response.
Affection and Imagination. Describing imagination as “image formation” stating that the ability to conceive possibilities beyond present circumstances is important for creativity, vision and achievement.
This is potentially one of the book’s strongest bridges between spirituality and personal development. “The Spirit Man”The second chapter moves from anthropology to spirituality.
The author presents the human spirit as the point of contact between humanity and God.
One of the book’s recurring ideas is that because God is Spirit, human beings must develop their spiritual nature to fellowship effectively with Him.
On Chapter Three — “How the Spirit Man Works” is arguably the manuscript’s most practically interesting chapter. It explores the relationship between: thought → words → belief → spiritual orientation → action/results.
Here, the author argues that what a person repeatedly thinks and says can influence his internal spiritual orientation.
This is developed through testimonies and biblical examples. This is where the book approaches the territory of faith psychology, positive confession and charismatic theology.
On Chapter Four — “How to Train the Spirit Man”This is perhaps the book’s core practical chapter.
The author identifies five principal spiritual disciplines:
Prayer, Praise, Worship, Faith and Meditation. The author explicitly presents these as the five “senses” of the spirit. This chapter is one of the book’s strongest because it converts its central thesis into practical disciplines.
A reader finishes the chapter knowing what the author believes a spiritually disciplined life should look like.
Another recurring theme is Divine assignment and purpose.
The author believes every believer has an assignment from God and should discover and execute it.
He connects this with the Great Commission and the believer’s responsibility to serve God’s purposes. This contributes significantly to the motivational character of the book. The book repeatedly tells the reader, in effect: You were created intentionally; discover your assignment; develop yourself spiritually; and use what God has placed within you to serve others. That in my submission is a compelling message.
The final Chapter — Six — “The Acts of Spiritual Men”… provides examples intended to demonstrate what developed spirituality can look like in practice. The author’s principle is straightforward: Spiritual development should eventually produce spiritual action. He therefore introduces testimonies involving prominent figures in the body of Christ, including: John G. Lake; Uma Ukpai; and others.
The chapter explicitly argues that these individuals succeeded in their assignments because they followed what they understood as the instructions of the Holy Spirit. This makes the final chapter a kind of case-study section.The Use of John G. Lake… is particularly important because it illustrates the author’s belief that a trained spirit can operate with extraordinary faith. The author recounts the well-known account concerning Lake’s work during the South African plague and his confidence in Romans 8:2 which states “for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death.
”Use of personal testimony.
One of the book’s greatest strengths is the author’s willingness to use his own personal testimony or experiences. For example, the story involving his father-in-law’s burial, financial pressure, and his decision not to proceed with a ministry opportunity despite a promised financial benefit gives the teaching about will, discernment and obedience a personal dimension. Another testimony describes the author’s development of a prayer life and subsequent involvement in hospital ministry. These experiences make the book feel less theoretical.
What the book “The Spirit Man” does particularly well
A. Strong spiritual conviction.
The author clearly believes his message. That conviction gives the writing energy.
B. Strong practical orientation.
The reader is repeatedly told what to do, not merely what to believe.
C. Effective use of biblical narratives.
The author uses stories involving: Adam and Eve; Abraham; Joseph; David and Jonathan;Jesus; the Samaritan woman; Cornelius; Paul; Noah;and others.This makes abstract concepts easier to understand.
D. Strong motivational element.
The book consistently challenges readers to stop living beneath their perceived spiritual potential.
E. Memorable conceptual framework. The body/soul/spirit + fifteen senses model gives the book a distinctive identity.
F. Integration of spiritual disciplines Prayer, Bible reading, meditation, fasting, worship, fellowship and giving are brought together into one framework for spiritual development.
G. Strong sense of mission.
The reader is not encouraged merely to become “spiritual” for personal benefit. The book repeatedly connects spiritual development with purpose, service and societal impact.
The marriage section is worth noting This section contains a valuable warning to young and yet to be married people against choosing partners solely on physical appearance or material considerations.
The underlying message is worth preserving: Choose a life partner based on character, spiritual maturity, purpose and values rather than merely physical appearance or material possessions.
The author frames the warning around avoiding an “old man”—meaning fallen nature rather than chronological age.
The writing voice
The author has a distinctive preaching/teaching voice.
Expressions such as:”Let me tell you…””Don’t forget…””Can you see that?””I hope you understand…””Please…””Now my question is…”create the atmosphere of a live sermon or mentoring session. This is actually part of the book’s personality.
Who should read this book?
Based on the manuscript’s content, its natural audience includes:
Primary audience born-again believers;
Pentecostal/charismatic believers;
Church ministers;
Bible study groups;
church workers;
Church leadership students;
people interested in spiritual growth.
Others may include:
people exploring Church spirituality;
young believers seeking direction;
readers interested in purpose and spiritual disciplines.