Nice & Wavy
Well-Known Member
This is good
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"Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day," II Corinthians 4:16. Thus the apostle Paul introduces the difficult subject of the two-fold nature of man.
In the account of the Creation, Genesis chapters 1 and 2, we read of the forming of the first man. It is said there that "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 soul," Genesis 2:7. Contrary to popular belief, this passage deals only with the physical side of man--or in Paul’s words, the "outward man". The "breathing into man’s nostrils the breath of life" simply refers to the giving of physical life to the man, for the result is that he "became a living soul"--a living being, or individual. The word "soul" is used many times to refer to physical life, or a living individual--even in the animal kingdom, Job 12:10.
God said of that outward, physical man--that "living soul"--that it would "return unto the ground, for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return," Genesis 3:19. Yet Solomon shows, that’s not all there is to a man; there is something more, something beyond the grave; when he says in Ecclesiastes 12:7 that "the dust shall return to the earth as it was (there’s the physical body of Genesis 2 and 3); and the spirit shall return unto God Who gave it (there is the "something more")".
Certainly there is a kinship between our physical bodies and that of the animals. Scientists have been misled into the errors of Organic Evolution partly because of their observations that we are made like the animals, although somewhat more refined (or "evolved"). Of course, the existence of a common Designer would explain the similarities of design much better than the current theories of progressive evolution over eons of time. But, although we are made like the animals, Genesis 2:7 and 2:19 saying that both man and beast were created from the dust of the ground; still there is a way in which we are very unlike the animal kingdom: It is said only of man that he was created "in God’s image", Genesis 1:27. There is something, then, unique to man and lacking in animals, that reflects the very image of God.
God is a Spirit, John 4:24 says, and so has no physical image at all. Luke 24:39 states "A spirit hath not flesh and bones." God is spiritual, and immortal; so man, made in His image, must somehow also have an immortal, spiritual nature. This nature the Bible calls the "inner man". This "inner man", this immortal, spiritual part of man, made in the image of God, is usually called in the Bible man’s "spirit". For instance, Paul asks the question in I Corinthians 2:11, "What man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?" Occasionally it is referred to by the word "soul", although that word usually means only "physical life", as we have seen.
One good example of this exceptional usage is Matthew 10:28, in which Jesus said, "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell." Another passage in which the "inner, eternal" man is referred to as the "soul" is Acts 2:27, which pictures Jesus speaking to God about His resurrection: "Thou wilt not leave My soul in Hell, neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption." Peter explained this clearly in v. 31: "His soul was not left in Hell, neither did His flesh see corruption."
The relative worth of these two parts of man can be easily seen when we hear the apostle Peter speak of the physical body, the "outward man", as the "tabernacle" in which he dwelt for awhile, II Peter 1:13-15. Paul also used this figure of a "tabernacle" or tent, II Corinthians 5:1, and described death as a "dissolving" of that Earthly temporary dwelling-place. The faithful Christian looks forward to this happening, as he knows that "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God," I Corinthians 15:50. Heaven is a spiritual place; and is the eternal home of the spiritual side of man--the "inward man".
Don’t worry so much about the physical man--the inevitable end of your "outward" side is the grave. Be concerned with, and cultivate, that "inward" man--the spirit that will live forever. Nourish him with the milk and meat of God’s word, Hebrews 5:13-14; I Peter 2:2. That’s the important part of man; that’s the part that will live forever.
But what does this mean for you? Read on to find out...
How will you face--Death?
"This day I am going the way of all the Earth," Joshua said, in Joshua 23:14, as he lay dying. Joshua realized, as everyone does who has seen much of life at all, that in a very real way death is an inseparable part of life. God told Adam, after the fall of man, in Genesis 3:19, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, until thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." From the other end of the Bible, Hebrews 9:27 tells us in no uncertain terms: "It is appointed unto man once to die...".
No-one has ever avoided death, with the remarkable exceptions of two Bible characters: Enoch, Genesis 5:24, Hebrews 11:5; and Elijah, II Kings 2:11. Except for these two, everyone who has ever lived on the face of the Earth, including our Lord, has died. It seems to be safe, then, to assume that everyone will continue to die in the future. David asked, in Psalm 89:48, "What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? Shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave?"
But by and large, we are afraid to talk about death; we even fear the sound of the word, and so we speak of someone "passing on" or "passing away"; or "going to sleep" or just being "gone". Perhaps we don’t like to be reminded of our own mortality and certain eventual death; and as a result we almost resent the person who dies, for bringing us face-to-face with it.
Death is feared largely because it is unknown. We have no word from "the other side" to tell us what to expect, and it’s just human nature to fear the unfamiliar. Many times the tears shed at funerals are really tears of fear--fear of the time when we’ll be making that journey--as well as tears of sorrow for the one who has died.
But it doesn’t have to be that way: God, as the Father of us all, Ephesians 4:6, still cares for us even at death: In Genesis 3:19 God said, "For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return"; but Solomon gives us this inspired commentary on that passage, in Ecclesiastes 12:7: "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God Who gave it." Death may be a journey into the unknown, but God is still in control of it--and He has made preparation for those who are counted as His children: Jesus spoke these words of comfort to His disciples: "Let not your hearts be troubled: Ye believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also," John 14:1-3.
But notice carefully: that is a promise only to Jesus’ followers. For this reason John wrote in Revelation 14:13 "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord...", and Paul pointed out in I Thessalonians 4:13 that Christians don’t have to sorrow about their dead loved ones, as "others do, which have no hope."
The Bible’s message is clear: Death is not a terrifying thing to followers of God and Christ; for the Father will see them through it. But there is no comfort at all in the Bible for those in rebellion to God; those who have rejected His Son. When death is near--that’s when Christianity takes on its full meaning; having a hope after death is what it’s all about.
If you’re facing death--and every one of us is--then don’t be in doubt about your condition before God. Death is too sure; Eternity is too long; Hell is too hot, and your soul is too precious--not to be sure. Search the Scriptures; "examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves," II Corinthians 13:5.
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"Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day," II Corinthians 4:16. Thus the apostle Paul introduces the difficult subject of the two-fold nature of man.
In the account of the Creation, Genesis chapters 1 and 2, we read of the forming of the first man. It is said there that "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 soul," Genesis 2:7. Contrary to popular belief, this passage deals only with the physical side of man--or in Paul’s words, the "outward man". The "breathing into man’s nostrils the breath of life" simply refers to the giving of physical life to the man, for the result is that he "became a living soul"--a living being, or individual. The word "soul" is used many times to refer to physical life, or a living individual--even in the animal kingdom, Job 12:10.
God said of that outward, physical man--that "living soul"--that it would "return unto the ground, for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return," Genesis 3:19. Yet Solomon shows, that’s not all there is to a man; there is something more, something beyond the grave; when he says in Ecclesiastes 12:7 that "the dust shall return to the earth as it was (there’s the physical body of Genesis 2 and 3); and the spirit shall return unto God Who gave it (there is the "something more")".
Certainly there is a kinship between our physical bodies and that of the animals. Scientists have been misled into the errors of Organic Evolution partly because of their observations that we are made like the animals, although somewhat more refined (or "evolved"). Of course, the existence of a common Designer would explain the similarities of design much better than the current theories of progressive evolution over eons of time. But, although we are made like the animals, Genesis 2:7 and 2:19 saying that both man and beast were created from the dust of the ground; still there is a way in which we are very unlike the animal kingdom: It is said only of man that he was created "in God’s image", Genesis 1:27. There is something, then, unique to man and lacking in animals, that reflects the very image of God.
God is a Spirit, John 4:24 says, and so has no physical image at all. Luke 24:39 states "A spirit hath not flesh and bones." God is spiritual, and immortal; so man, made in His image, must somehow also have an immortal, spiritual nature. This nature the Bible calls the "inner man". This "inner man", this immortal, spiritual part of man, made in the image of God, is usually called in the Bible man’s "spirit". For instance, Paul asks the question in I Corinthians 2:11, "What man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?" Occasionally it is referred to by the word "soul", although that word usually means only "physical life", as we have seen.
One good example of this exceptional usage is Matthew 10:28, in which Jesus said, "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell." Another passage in which the "inner, eternal" man is referred to as the "soul" is Acts 2:27, which pictures Jesus speaking to God about His resurrection: "Thou wilt not leave My soul in Hell, neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption." Peter explained this clearly in v. 31: "His soul was not left in Hell, neither did His flesh see corruption."
The relative worth of these two parts of man can be easily seen when we hear the apostle Peter speak of the physical body, the "outward man", as the "tabernacle" in which he dwelt for awhile, II Peter 1:13-15. Paul also used this figure of a "tabernacle" or tent, II Corinthians 5:1, and described death as a "dissolving" of that Earthly temporary dwelling-place. The faithful Christian looks forward to this happening, as he knows that "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God," I Corinthians 15:50. Heaven is a spiritual place; and is the eternal home of the spiritual side of man--the "inward man".
Don’t worry so much about the physical man--the inevitable end of your "outward" side is the grave. Be concerned with, and cultivate, that "inward" man--the spirit that will live forever. Nourish him with the milk and meat of God’s word, Hebrews 5:13-14; I Peter 2:2. That’s the important part of man; that’s the part that will live forever.
But what does this mean for you? Read on to find out...
How will you face--Death?
"This day I am going the way of all the Earth," Joshua said, in Joshua 23:14, as he lay dying. Joshua realized, as everyone does who has seen much of life at all, that in a very real way death is an inseparable part of life. God told Adam, after the fall of man, in Genesis 3:19, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, until thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." From the other end of the Bible, Hebrews 9:27 tells us in no uncertain terms: "It is appointed unto man once to die...".
No-one has ever avoided death, with the remarkable exceptions of two Bible characters: Enoch, Genesis 5:24, Hebrews 11:5; and Elijah, II Kings 2:11. Except for these two, everyone who has ever lived on the face of the Earth, including our Lord, has died. It seems to be safe, then, to assume that everyone will continue to die in the future. David asked, in Psalm 89:48, "What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? Shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave?"
But by and large, we are afraid to talk about death; we even fear the sound of the word, and so we speak of someone "passing on" or "passing away"; or "going to sleep" or just being "gone". Perhaps we don’t like to be reminded of our own mortality and certain eventual death; and as a result we almost resent the person who dies, for bringing us face-to-face with it.
Death is feared largely because it is unknown. We have no word from "the other side" to tell us what to expect, and it’s just human nature to fear the unfamiliar. Many times the tears shed at funerals are really tears of fear--fear of the time when we’ll be making that journey--as well as tears of sorrow for the one who has died.
But it doesn’t have to be that way: God, as the Father of us all, Ephesians 4:6, still cares for us even at death: In Genesis 3:19 God said, "For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return"; but Solomon gives us this inspired commentary on that passage, in Ecclesiastes 12:7: "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God Who gave it." Death may be a journey into the unknown, but God is still in control of it--and He has made preparation for those who are counted as His children: Jesus spoke these words of comfort to His disciples: "Let not your hearts be troubled: Ye believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also," John 14:1-3.
But notice carefully: that is a promise only to Jesus’ followers. For this reason John wrote in Revelation 14:13 "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord...", and Paul pointed out in I Thessalonians 4:13 that Christians don’t have to sorrow about their dead loved ones, as "others do, which have no hope."
The Bible’s message is clear: Death is not a terrifying thing to followers of God and Christ; for the Father will see them through it. But there is no comfort at all in the Bible for those in rebellion to God; those who have rejected His Son. When death is near--that’s when Christianity takes on its full meaning; having a hope after death is what it’s all about.
If you’re facing death--and every one of us is--then don’t be in doubt about your condition before God. Death is too sure; Eternity is too long; Hell is too hot, and your soul is too precious--not to be sure. Search the Scriptures; "examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves," II Corinthians 13:5.
As always, you keep me on my toes, reading, praying and things that may you go, Hmmmmmmm, Oh really now? 
