Man was designed to be a reflection of God and composed of earth to contain this Heavenly Spirit in a perishable body. We were created to be the head of this earth and to be an emissary of the Creator to ALL creation, a Holy, eternal reflection in a temporary world of earth and water. We were created perfect without deceit or unholy desires. This , of course, all changed with the fall of Man. Man was not made to sin, he was drawn away and enticed to sin. The enemy cannot simply force you to sin, he must trick you or entice you to be drawn away appealing to our base nature. Once a person gives his will over to the enemy, there is, of course, a loss of will, but in the beginning there is a choice. We are warned to not fear the one that can only destroy our earthly body, but rather to fear Him who is able to cast body and soul into hell. We must pursue the things of righteousness and so honor our creator and the heavenly portion of our creation. Acts of true righteousness and obedience reflect the glory of all of heaven, and so likewise, acts of rebellion and disobedience reflect the nature of the beastly portion of our fleshly nature. The pure physical being, no different than the Spiritless cattle or dog, consuming desires with no discipline or thought, no governance of lusts or desires. This reflection of the temporary life has for the beast of the field no consequence beyond death, but for the Spiritual Being there is always an eternal consequence beyond the grave. We must recognize our Spiritual self and accept the obedience and provision of Yahweh God for our eternal forgiveness and rebirth into the righteous life we were originally created to live, thanks be unto our Savior Jesus for His life of pure obedience and sacrifice so that we all may live an eternal life of fellowship with our Father and all of heaven as well.
4 comments:
Hi Hugh Von. I'm enjoying reading your blog. Just a few comments on the last half of this post:
I think you are overdoing the physical = bad vs. spiritual = good concept. For one thing, the fact that some angels sinned without having a physical side should show that the spiritual side doesn't guarentee purity.
Second, I agree that God made everything good. I'm not sure I agree that the fall warped the physical side of things to the extent you imply. After all it's not the lusts themselves that cause sin but the soul or spirit's decision about how to handle the desire. For instance, sexual desire is in itself a good thing and very important to the continuation of our species. It's the selfish, hurtful, unwise way we pursue it that is sinful.
I also don't consider animals to be spiritless. Ezekiel 3:18-21 talks about animal's having spirits, although of a different kind that goes to down to the earth rather than up to God. However even that might be temporary because of what Paul says in Romans 8:19 and 21 "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."
Also, I think that animals do show more self-discipline and governance of lusts than we give the credit for.
I definitely agree that we have to live at a higher level than the other animals because it's our nature, the way God designed us, to do so. I just worry that this common attitude towards the physical leads many Christians not to respect the natural world as it deserves and then not to treat it respectfully.
Take care,
Lillian
Thanks for your comment,Lillian. I appreciate your concerns regarding the physical being always equated with being sinful. That was not the intent of the blog, but I can see how that would be inferred from the writing. I simply meant to give reflection on what so many think, and that is that every time a person is drawn into sinful behavior, the devil gets credit for having made them or us do it. I fnd that he has gained way more credit than he is due. We make the decision to follow the seductions and therefore bear a responsibility for it on most occasions. That is not to be interpreted as a going to hell every time I fall message, just a simple clarity on where the responsibility should be understood and then dealt with upon recognition of the same, yes, within myself and understanding the basis from which it comes. I guess we sort of disagree on the animal spirit vs. soul concept. I do understand that they have a soul, but the spirit is where I believe the difference is between the (triune beings of higher design)and the created beasts of the field. The one that personally recieved the breath of God is different than the one simply created. Thanks for the discussion and interest cuz.
Ahhh. Yeah, the devil does get more credit than he deserves.
If the Ecclesiastes passage (sorry, I just noticed that I mis-wrote it as Ezekial) did not say that animals have spirits then I might agree with you on that topic. Actually you are making two possibly unwarranted assumptions: 1) that because the Bible doesn't specifically mention a personal breathing in the nostrals by God that animals didn't get any spirit and 2) that the image of God came to humans from that breathing in by God, which the Bible doesn't explicitly state.
See you later and thanks for being good natured about my comments.
-Lillian
I hope to see you soon, love ya! I found an excerpt from www.glimpseofgrace.org_the part image of God I think. This probably says better the point I would like to make, so as not to reinvent the info, I'll post it here.
Dust of the Ground
God made man (“adamah,” or red earth) of the dust of the ground, from the chemical components of dirt. The chemical ingredients found in the human body correspond exactly with those in dirt (lest we think too highly of our bodies)!
God breathed into man the breath of lives - Hebrew, “nephesh chayim.” The English Bible translates “life” in the singular. However, the word lives is plural “nephesh chayim.” When God made the animals, he created them, “nephesh chayah” (singular). But, in contrast, God breathed into man, “nephesh chayim” (lives).
This is extremely important! God had breathed into animals a soul, a life principle, or a conscious existence. This life principle included the ability to relate to the earth, have conscious existence, the appetites, the necessity to persevere, to survive, to mate, etc. But God breathed into man a spiritual aspect of the soul not found in animals, a God likeness. The Bible calls this spiritual aspect “a spirit.” This word in the Greek is “pneuma.” In the Hebrew it is “ruach,” literally translated “breath” or “wind.”
“What man knows the things of a man except the spirit (pneuma) of the man which is in him?” (1 Cor. 2:11).
“But there is a spirit (ruach), in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding (Hebrew: bin, the ability to perceive)” (Job 32:8).
It is as though God exhaled His breath into Adam, and Adam inhaled the breath of God. Adam awoke to consciousness of life and a relationship with God. This consciousness of life contains both a soul and a spiritual capacity.
The soul of man contains man’s ability to think (to rationalize), to feel, and to choose in the earthy arena.
The human spirit (pneuma) is the part of the soul that links man to God. It is this part of man that makes fellowship with God possible. The soul (suke) is the part of man’s “nephesh chayim” that is earthy; the spirit is that which is heavenly.
“So also it is written, ‘the first man Adam became a living soul, (“psuke,” breath), The last Adam became a life-giving spirit (“pneuma”)” (1 Cor. 15:45).
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