Foundations of Faith
MAN (II)
Man is made up of three parts. The one we know best is the physical or material part, the body. There are also the immaterial or invisible parts, the soul and spirit.
Man is like the plants (Gen. 1:11,12) and the animals in having a physical body. Just as the Bible says, “You are dust, and unto dust you shall return” (Gen. 3:19), man’s body is made up of 16 chemical elements also found in plants and animals and in the earth. These elements are, using their symbols, C, Ca, Cl, F, Fe, H, I, K, Mg, Mn, N, Na, O, P, S, and Si. (How many of these symbols do you recognize? How about C, H, and O in H2O and CO2?)
Man is like the animals in having a soul. “God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that has life [or literally, soul]” (Gen. 1:20). The Hebrew word, nephesh, is the one translated “soul” throughout the Old Testament. For example, “He restoreth my soul” (Psa. 23:3). “Bless the Lord, O my soul” (Psa. 103:1). “I will speak in the bitterness of my soul” (Job 10:1). Man and animals alike can learn, remember, and have appetites, desires, and emotions.
Man is alone among the inhabitants of the earth in having a spirit. It is the possession of a spirit that sets man apart as created in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:26,27). The attributes of the spirit include reasoning power, creativity, conscience, responsibility, moral qualities, and ability to know and believe the invisible God. These set man distinctly apart from the animals. It is well to note that the Hebrew and Greek words denoting the spirit of man in both the Old and New Testaments are the same words used to denote the Spirit of God or Holy Spirit. “The [Holy] Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God” (Rom. 8:16).
Biologists have defined basically two kingdoms of life–the plant kingdom and the animal kingdom. (More recently they have added three more kingdoms to adapt to various one-celled organisms that are not clearly plant or animal.) But in Genesis 1 God clearly shows us that there are three main kingdoms of life–plant, animal, and man.
It is only fair to say that some Bible scholars believe that man is made up of only two parts, that soul and spirit are synonymous. They base this on the fact that in many passages of the Bible, soul and spirit seem to refer to the same thing. For example, we read both of Jesus’ soul being troubled (John 12:27) and of His spirit groaning and being troubled (John 11:33; 13:21). On the other hand, there are passages that clearly distinguish between soul and spirit. Perhaps the clearest is the one that contrasts the human body as it is on earth and as it will be in heaven:”It is sown a natural [literally, ‘soulish‘] body, it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Cor. 15:44; see also 1 Cor. 2:14; 1 Thess. 5:23; Heb. 4:12). In other words, our bodies on earth are particularly suited to, and tend to be controlled by, our souls–that is, our emotions, desires, appetites, and all that would cater to self. The new bodies we shall have in heaven will be totally controlled by our spirits–that is, our desire to know God, communicate with Him, please Him, glorify Him, and worship Him.
When we speak of the three parts of man, we usually follow the order, “body, soul, and spirit.” This is the order of importance most often displayed in the lives of humans. However, God’s purpose and desire for man is just the opposite–“spirit and soul and body” (1 Thess. 5:23). God would have the believer overcome his or her natural (or “soulish“) desires and tendencies and let the qualities of the spirit have first place.
Some people have the idea that God created man because He was lonely. They suppose that because He is a God of love He needed an object for His love. This is a mistaken idea because God already had a perfect object for His love before the creation of the Universe. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit had always, from eternity past, enjoyed the deepest, closest possible love and fellowship among themselves. This fact makes it even more wonderful that God created man in His own image, and made it possible for finite, sinful man to be brought into a close relationship with the infinite, personal, holy God by His grace. Surely this wonderful truth should cause each of us to praise God with all of our heart and might!
This may seem like a silly question to many of our readers. However, some of you may meet people who, while claiming to accept the Bible, still argue that Adam and Eve were not real, historical people, but mythical people introduced to illustrate certain spiritual truths. If you ever encounter such arguments, it would be well to review the several references to Adam and Eve by Christ and by the Apostle Paul in the New Testament (for example, Luke 3:38 Rom. 5:14; 1 Cor. 15:22,45; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:13,14). These passages show that there is as much historical basis for the existence of Adam and Eve as for Moses and Jesus Christ.
Running the Race
IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD: HOW DOES IT AFFECT ME? (II)
4. Marital separation and divorce, and couples living together without being married, have become so common in today’s society that most people probably have come to think that this is one of man’s basic freedoms–freedom from marriage. But permanency of marriage (“till death do us part”) is rooted in man being made in the image of God.
“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him, male and female created He them…. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh” (Gen. 1:27; 2:24). The Lord Jesus referred to this when discussing people’s ideas about marriage and divorce (Matt. 19:4-12). Marriage is uniting two different, but equal, persons into one. In some ways this is a bit like the Trinity–the three Persons of God united as one. Perhaps that is why “the image of God” is linked with “male and female” in Gen. 1:27. To break up a marriage is to destroy a two-dimensional image of the Trinity who created us.
You young people are going through a period of life in which you are building friendships, getting to know different members of the opposite sex, and starting to think about who would make a good marriage partner for you. Do not follow the pattern of the world in looking for the most attractive young woman or most handsome fellow, or the person whom you think will best meet your needs and bring you the most happiness. Instead, pray for, and be on the lookout for, one with spiritual beauty, one who truly loves the Lord. Ask the Lord to lead you to one who can help you to grow in your likeness to Christ, and with whom you can be the best possible reflection of the image of God.
Assignment 16: The following is a review quiz based on the 1995 issues of GROWING. Please refer back to the indicated issue when answering each question.
1. (Jan.) Is it okay for a believer to use his/her spiritual gift in any way he/she pleases? Write out a verse in 1 Corinthians 12 that answers this question.
2. (Feb.) Write out a verse in Ephesians 5 that speaks of being filled with the Spirit. Then in your own words tell what it means to be filled with the Spirit.
3. (Mar.) What two aspects of the fruit of the Spirit (see Gal. 5:22,23) are found in Christ in Matt. 11:29,30?
4. (Apr.) What fruit of the Spirit is the opposite of indifference? Write out a verse in Ephesians 5 that shows that people having this fruit are anything but indifferent.
5. (May) In one word, what was the main reason both for Satan’s fall and for man’s fall? Briefly describe an incident in your own life in which you have displayed this same characteristic.
6. (June) Suppose Satan taunts our minds concerning a sin we have committed. What piece of the armor of God do we particularly need to have on when this happens?
7. (July) Will Satan continue to fight against God throughout eternity? Write out a verse in Philippians 2 that helps to answer this question.
8. (Aug.) Are angels always engaged in showing God’s love and helping people, or do they sometimes bring God’s judgment upon sinners? Write out a verse in Acts that answers this question.
9. (Sept.) Write out a verse in Matthew that tells us that at least some human beings have angels watching out for them.
10. (Oct.) Is there anything wrong with a Christian going to a fortune teller? Write out a verse in the Bible that supports your answer.
11. (Nov.) Which one or ones of the following reasons for administering the death penalty for convicted murderers is/are found in the Bible:
a. To discourage other people from murdering.
b. To make sure the murderer does not have an opportunity to kill any more people.
c. Because the person who was murdered was made in the image of God. For each reason you select, give a Bible verse to support your answer.
12. (Dec.) Write out a verse in Hebrews 4 that indicates that the soul and the spirit are two distinct parts of the human being.