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Under
God's work of creation, the Bible also inform us that God
created man; so let us look at the age-old question....
WHAT IS MAN?
Scientist
tells us man is composed of various chemical elements. The
physiologist see men in terms of flesh, blood and an
intricate system of nerves and muscles. Then the
psychologist enters into the realm of the mind and
estimate man in the terms of behavior, thought,
emotions,etc. These are all legitimate discoveries, but it
is still not the whole of man. Only in the Bible do we
find the complete answer. "And the Lord God formed
man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breathe of life; and men became a living
soul".(Gen 1:7) It is this soul which was
"in-breathed by God" that constitutes the real
man, which differentiates man from all other created
beings. Yes, through the Bible we learn that we as man
were created different from, and superior to, all other
forms of life. Man and only man was created in the image
of God. Most of all we learn we were created as a compound
or two-fold being, consisting of both flesh and spirit; or
mortal body and immortal soul. We learn too, we were
created under God's moral law or as moral creatures with a
free will or a freedom of choosing to obey or disobey that
law. Granted, some disbelieve or try to avoid this
responsibility through denial. However, even if we are
ignorant of the Bible's teaching or perhaps have some
doubt to life hereafter, still if we are honest with
ourselves we are aware of a feeling deep down that we are
more than just a physical body. Besides intuition however,
we have evidence. So for evidence of this, lets look to
God's Word.
"MAN
CREATED IN IMAGE OF GOD
In the
first chapter of Genesis, verse 25 says in part....and God
made the beast of the earth after its kind, and cattle
over their kind.....then in verse 27 states "So God
created man in His own image, in the image of God created
He him, male and female created He them". By God's
image, we do not mean the physical part of man, for God is
not a physical form, but as John 4:24 says--God is a
spirit.. It is the spirit of man and not the body of man
that is in God's image. Created in God's image also means
that man was created holy, for God's image is holy. This
original state of holiness was forfeited, however, by
sin...hence, in this respect and to this extent, the image
of God was lost. Through conversion or redemption through
Christ however, holiness is regained; therefore mankind
can be restored to the image of God. (see Col 3:9-10 and
Eph 4:24)
PROOF
OF MAN'S DUAL NATURE
Biblical
proof of man's duality is found in those texts which
indicates a distinction between the spirit and the body.
Zech 12:1--The Lord formeth the spirit of man within him.
1 Cor 2:11--For what man knoweth the things of a man, save
the spirit of man which is in him?...These text show that
the spirit is not the body, but in the body. Job 14:22 is
another. But his flesh upon him still have pain, and his
soul within shall mourn. Then in Matt 26:41, Watch and
pray, that ye enter not into temptation; the Spirit indeed
is willing, but the flesh is weak. Spirit and flesh is
contrasted here showing that they are not the same and
that it is the spirit that wills. 2 Cor 4:16--For which
cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet
the inward man is renewed day by day. Here the contrast is
made using different terms. The word "heart" is
also used to denote the spiritual part of man. Heb 8:10..I
will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their
hearts; Also see Acts 15:8-9.
SOUL
OF MAN IMMORTAL
Much of
the confusion over the question of the nature or
immotality of the soul lies in terminology. The word
"soul" for example, in Hebrew is called, "Nephesh"
and "Psuche" in Greek. This word is translated
to mean life, breath, heart, mind, desire and many other
things. So while the word "soul" could be
applied to animals for example, as they have breath; still
the scriptures teach other deeper meaning of the word
"soul". Terms like soul, spirit, inward man,
inner man, etc. are used interchangeably, referring to the
real self of man. In 1 Pet 3:4, the "hidden man of
the heart" in Greek is "Aphartos" the same
Greek word found in 1 Tim 1:17, applied to Christ and
translated "immortal". The terms body, flesh,
outward man, tabernacle, etc. refer to physical body. The
Bible calls the body mortal (Rom 6:12, 8:11)plus the fact
of death proves this beyond dispute; but nowhere is the
soul called mortal. Spirit is by nature deathless. The
nature of ice is cold, but seldom do we say cold ice.
Likewise, we seldom say deathless spirit or immortal
spirit, for it is by nature deathless or immortal.
SPIRITUAL
DEATH IS SEPARATION FROM GOD
The death
of the soul spoken of in the Bible is not the end of its
conscious existence, but means spiritual death or
spiritual separation from God in this present world. A
multitude of texts could be given on this point. Eph
2:1--And you hath He quickened, who were dead in
trespasses and sins. (quickened means made alive) 1Tim
5:6--But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she
liveth. In other words, those who are alive in Christ are
not separated from God and those who are dead in sin, even
though live physically, are spiritually dead or separated
from God. The second death mentioned in Rev.21st chapter
is final separation from God. Matt 10:28--And fear not
them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the
soul; but rather fear Him (God) which is able to destroy
both soul and body in hell. This shows man can kill the
body while the soul lives on.
Some
confuse immortality and eternal life. The former is
endless existence, while the latter is a spiritual state.
Granted, eternal life implies immortality, but eternal
life is a present experience of all the saved. For
example, in John 6:47--Verily, verily, I say unto you, he
that believeth on me hath eternal life. The immortality of
the body, or the "new body", to be received at
the resurrection, will be discussed later. But for now, we
are just discussing the soul or inner man, showing that
all men have an immortal soul. This immortality or endless
existence will either be eternally with God or eternally
separated from God.
MAN
A MORALLY RESPONSIBLE BEING
The inner
man or soul of man is the moral factor in man and for that
reason is responsible to God. Micah 6:7....shall I give my
first born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for
the sin of my soul? Ezek 18:4,....the soul that sinneth it
shall die. Consequently, it is the soul that must be
saved.
THE
CONSCIENCE OF MAN
The
faculty of the conscience shows that man is a moral
creature. Our conscience decides whether an act is right
or wrong. Keep in mind, however, the conscience is subject
to education, therefore could decide wrongly. The decision
is made in the light of knowledge that we as an individual
possess. Our conscience urges us to to do the right thing
and urges us not to do the wrong act. The degree or
intensity of this urging varies with the individual,
depending whether the conscience be tender or seared.
After the act is done, we either feel good inside, if we
chose right, or feel condemned if we chose wrong. However,
the Bible tells us of those who have hardened their heart,
waxed gross and become past feeling. This would be good to
remember, if you feel no guilt for disobeying God's Word.
MAN
NOT PREDESTINED, BUT FREEWILL CREATURE The fact of
possessing a conscience and being a moral creature proves
we as men are free will creatures or free moral agents;
for moral character would be impossible if our will was
predestined. We will be discussing predestination again as
we go along, but for not we will say this: if we had no
free will, then evil would not deserve any punishment or
goodness any reward. All through the Bible are pleas to
exercise choice in doing right and shunning evil.
Scriptures like Joshua 24:15...choose you this day whom ye
will serve....would be meaningless if we were not free
will creatures.
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