THE OLD MAN – PART I (1)

Lesson 1 – Created Man

The Bible provides ample information for us to gain an understanding of our own makeup, how the human being is designed to function, and the divine order that has been put in place to govern those functions.

Of course, this divine order is not how humans have been functioning for most of its existence. I am going to start however where the human functions and the order was established.

To help us understand I am going to use an image that will illustrate these functions and their operations. Sam will be that image, and will demonstrate how God’s Word lays this out for us. So let’s look at the beginning in God’s Word.

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Gen 2:7)

There are three elements to this verse; The dust of the ground, the breath of life, a living soul. Now let’s break that down, and Watchman Nee explains this very well:

“When God first created man He formed him from the dust of the ground, and then breathed ‘the breath of life’ into his nostrils. As soon as the breath of life, which became man’s spirit, came into contact with the body, the soul was produced. Hence the soul is a combination of man’s body and spirit. The Scripture therefore calls man ‘a living soul’.”
(The Spiritual Man, Part I, Chapter 1, Pg 23)

So, first the body was formed from the already existing physical earth (dust), the breath of life was given by the Lord, providing the being with a spirit. The Bible supports man possessing a spirit in many places, some examples below:

“Now it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled,” (Gen 41:8)

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
(Psalm 51:10)

“When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit,” (John 13:21)

“Paul was compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.”
            (Acts 18:5)

“…so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit” (Rom 7:6)

Sam therefore possesses a spirit within him.

Now, recall Watchman Nee’s observation that once the spirit was introduced to the being, his soul was formed “Hence the soul is a combination of man’s body and spirit. The Scripture therefore calls man ‘a living soul’.”

“Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people (Lit. Souls) whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.”
(Gen 12:5)

The Bible translates the word “soul’ in various ways so that it makes since in our modern English. For example “life”, “yourselves”, himself”, ”everyone”. In most cases these words are in the original words nephesh in Hewbrew and psuche in Greek. So in essence, the soul is the real life of man. Following are a few verses where this is demonstrated in different words translated from the original nephesh:

^“You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps; nor shall you make yourselves unclean with them, lest you be defiled by them.” (Lev 11:43)

^“…as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had prescribed for them, and as they had decreed for themselves and their descendants concerning matters of their fasting and lamenting.” (Esther 9:31)

“They stoop, they bow down together; They could not deliver the burden, But have themselves gone into captivity.” (Isa 46:2)

These scriptures from the Old Testament clearly indicate how in various ways the soul is man’s own self. And below are some examples from the New Testament for the word Psuche:

“…who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.” (1 Peter 3:20)

“…tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek;” (Romans 2:9)

And, in the gospels Jesus often spoke of the life of man:

“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt 16:26)

 ^“And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’ ” (Luke 12:19)

So now, let’s open Sam up and see what this looks like.

It is for this reason that the apostle Paul wrote “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thes. 5:23) This verse leaves no doubt what constitutes the complete man. That is all of its characteristics, functions, and physical attributes.

In the next lesson Sam and I will take you through the divine order that was established at creation for this complex being, and how it is meant to interact with the Creator Himself.