Salvation Series I - Part 1 - The Man

22:23


Gen 1:26-27
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

In the beginning God made man in his own image. He firstly prepared the earth, and then made He man. However let us consider the make up of this man he had created.

Gen 2:7
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 soul.

The following scripture outlines two main parts of man. The body was made from the dust of the ground however his soul was made from air. So far we know that man has a body and a soul. 

Heb 4:12
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow [body], and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

1Th 5:23

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The scripture from Hebrews outlines that the Word of God is able to divide the soul from the spirit. Herein we know that man was a triune being, meaning he was made of 3 parts. He had a body (often called the outer man) and he had a soul and a human spirit (both collectively called the inner man). So we know that the outer man (body) was made from the dust and the inner man (soul and spirit) was made from the air.

These 3 parts make up a man. It is by the body we can identify a man. It is when we look upon or handle the shape and/or texture of a man that we can identify him as a man as opposed to an animal. 

Gen 1:31
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. 

It is important to note that God testified that everything he had made was very good. He is a God that makes all things perfect and sinless. Therefore Adam was made without sin, he was however given the ability of choice.

Gen 2:16-17
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it:for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Adam was given freedom to eat of any fruit tree in the garden except one. God created Adam sinless and he therefore had the ability to walk pass the tree of the knowledge of good and evil every day and not touch the tree, he however had a choice.

Before we go any further I would like to continue down the path of the make up of man. We established that man is 3 in 1 - body, soul and spirit. Let us look into the function of each.

BODY

- Made from the dust
- Visible
- Physical
- A vehicle of expression for the inner man
- Gives the inner man access to the earth
- The clothing of the soul
- Touches the earth
- Has no feelings, emotions, sentiments, likes or dislikes (the body feels no pain if there is no soul in it)

SOUL & SPIRIT

- Made from the air
- Invisible
- Spiritual
- Touches the body
- The real person
- The essential part of the man
- Houses all feelings, emotions, sentiments, likes, and dislikes and these are expressed through the body.
- Generates thoughts
- Houses the conscience

Adam was a soul that was given a body to express himself in a physical environment. Adam could feel the water, smell the flowers and taste fruits because his soul was given a body to do so. If Adam did not have a body he would not have had access to the earth, because the earth is a physical realm. Seeing that the inner-man is spiritual, Adam therefore needed a physical body to have access to the physical realm. The body however was strictly for that - access. It is the soul that is the real person, but the body gives the soul an opportunity to experience the earth. 

It is the soul that likes and dislikes not the body. Consider this, Julie and Timon are both human beings. Julie loves mangoes, however Timon doesn't. The difference between Julie and Timon is not the tongue per se, because the make-up of the tongue is the same for both. Rather it is the soul of Julie that loves mangoes and soul of Timon that doesn't. 

When a human dies, the body is left behind. If we go to a coffin and yell at the body, it will not be offended or hurt. If we try to seduce the body, it will not respond. If we try to inflict pain or harm to the body, it will not feel anything. It is the presence of the soul in the body that brings life to the body (James 2:26). The inverse is also true, it is the presence of the soul in a body that brings life to the soul here on earth. That is why Adam was made a living soul; his soul was made alive when it entered a body.

Adam was made as a holy man, there was no part of him that was sinful. His flesh was NOT sinful and neither was his inner-man.

I hope we can really see and understand the make up and function of the man. With all that said everything that God made was good. Adam's body was good and holy and so was his soul and spirit. He was however given the ability to choose.

Figure 1 - The Pure/Innocent Man/Adam
Part 2/8

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