Does water baptism change a person's soul and spirit?
Water baptism does not change a person's soul and spirit. It only touches the outer tabernacle, the physical body. The soul and spirit are invisible, and only God can work in that realm. Being baptized into Christ identifies the believer with His death and resurrection, creating a new person.
Les teaches that water baptism is only an outward act on the physical body, which he calls the outer tabernacle. Using the illustration of a morgue autopsy, he points out that no one can see a person's soul or spirit because they are invisible—yet they are real. He says you can baptize the whole body a hundred times, but it will not change the soul and spirit, since only God can work in that invisible realm. He then connects this to Romans 6, where being baptized into Christ means being identified with His death, buried with Him, and raised in resurrection power as a new person in Christ.