It’s crucial we gain and lay hold of an accurate understanding concerning our true identity. Without it we are unable to comprehend God’s intention for creating us. Did God simply create man because He needed to, or to occupy Himself, or to simply inhabit the earth He created. Could it be that there’s a defined purpose to God creating man?
The structure of man, which was designed and executed by God, is comprised of three parts. Many, including preachers, insist that man consists only of two parts and not three. It’s said that God created man’s body, and when God breathed into that body, man became a living ‘soul’. So it’s understood that that breathe of God, that portion of God deposited into man, became his soul, and his soul and spirit may be used interchangeably, because it’s one and the same thing.
I Thessalonians 5:23 (NKJV)
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.
Consider what was actually being said when God said “let us make man in our image and likeness“. It must then be taken into account that God does not possess a body, He is not a natural being. Clearly God was referencing something beyond what we are reading, and not simply referring to a natural man, because God is spirit.
Identifying our identity?
It was God’s idea to create man; “Let us make man”. So the result of man being created was the revealing of God’s intention. We observe and accept the result, that man was created by God, but we do not comprehend or grasp the intention. To understand the result of the creation of man, in regard to the intention of God, we need to identify the ‘makeup’ of man, i.e., mans construct.
The 3 parts:
- Sarx (greek); meaning ‘flesh/body‘ – the portion of being that God formed out of the dust of the ground;. or (by extension) the body (as opposed to the soul or spirit); or as the symbol of what is external (the soft substance of the living body, which covers the bones and is permeated with blood) of both man and beasts.
- Psuché is described as ‘soul’; alternate spelling ‘Psyche’ the human soul. (c) the soul as the seat of affections and will. (d) the self, (e) a human person, an individual. which is the root of the English words “psyche,” “psychology” – soul (psyche);. a person’s distinct identity (unique personhood), i.e. individual personality.
- Pneúma is a common word for ‘spirit‘ in the Septuagint and the Greek New Testament., spirit (Spirit), wind, or breath. (In the Hebrew Ruach, and in the Greek Pneuma), The most frequent meaning (translation) of 4151 (pneúma) in the NT is “spirit” (“Spirit“).
These are three distinctively different components of being. Yet God, in His infinite wisdom, infused a different form of life in each of these distinguishable elements of our being, namely body; soul; spirit. So in man’s body, he carries a form of life which is only relevant to that specific dimension of his being.
A Subtle Look Into Each Form
The form of life in the body, the sarx, is referred to as ‘BIOS’. It’s not the life of the soul, neither the life of the spirit, and it only exists within his body. The word bios makes up part of the root word for ‘biology’. The word biology is made up of two words, bios (life)-logos (to study). Plainly stated, Biology is the scientific study of life. It is generally a study of the construction and functioning of the internal parts of the body, and the study of man’s ‘biosphere’ – where man lives. A biosphere consists of the parts of the Earth where life exists—all ecosystems. In layman’s terms, it is the part of the world in which life can exist. This aspect of man’s design is maintained by the orderly functioning of the internal organs and the sustenance of an economy from his biosphere.
It is important to know that this component of life is extinguishable. This form of life has been appointed to death. “It is appointed unto men, once to die” (Heb.9:27).
So in your ‘body’ – your ‘sarx’ – you have a ‘bios’, life that is defined as biological. And this life is extinguishable, and is extinguished when the body dies. This is not the same as death which is separation from God. The soul that sins, it shall die. It shall be separated from God.
Following is the ‘psuche’. The life within the psuche is also called ‘psuche‘ or rather it’s more popular alternative ‘psyche’. It is where we get the word ‘psychology’ from. The term psychology derives from two Greek words ‘psyche’ and ‘logos‘. ‘Psyche’ meaning soul (life) and ‘logos’ meaning knowledge (explanation) or study of the soul. This is the interpretive life. The frame of reference of this life is limited to the understanding of the human’s biosphere. Often, or most likely, our understanding is shaped by our environment; family dynamics; culture and race, just to name a few.
The psuche takes in impulses and information from the biosphere and through the five senses of the ‘sarx’/the body. The soul interprets these impulses as either, pleasurable; fulfilling; satisfactory; or unpleasant; dangerous; or bad; – depending on how our senses were formed. It then attaches the relevant emotion to that perspective. But again, as the body/sarx is limited in it’s functioning, the soul’s life is limited to observation, analysis, synthesis and theory.
Thirdly, and probably the ultimate form of life is the ‘Pneuma’, the spirit. The pneuma also has a life that’s defined within it, called the ‘ZOE’. Now unlike the life of the ‘sarx’/body, which is extinguishable, and unlike the life of the psuche which is it’s reasonableness, how it interprets the events of the bios, the Zoe, life of the pneuma, does not come from anything in creation, neither is it influenced by anything in creation. This life is the same as that life which is in God, Himself. It only comes from and is sustained by God’s self-existent life.
So God says I’m going to make a creature, put him on the earth so he needs to have a connection to the earth. Therefore he is given a body made from the dust of the earth. God shapes it and gives it a biological life, which is sustained by things man can “indulge” in presented in his biosphere. God set creation up to accommodate and sustain the life of the body by an economy which is in creation.
He gave the soul of man a creative ability, as part of His own nature as creator. It was intended that now man, in creation, can create the picture of God through his soul, which is housed in his body. Because the soul needs a body in order to remain in the location in which man’s placed. So the creativity of man comes out of his soul, and God meant for it to be that way.
God intended for man to have a soul and a spirit, however, according to an order. The intention was for the spirit to be dominant, and the soul submissive. The body would essentially be the slave that puts on display the creations of the soul, which is thoroughly informed and governed arbitrarily by the spirit. This is why, when man was in the garden prior to his fall, the eyes of his soul were closed. Because God meant for the soul to blindly follow the spirit.
The spirit has sight far above any matter of time or space. The spirit of man understands time from the viewpoint of God. This aspect of man is able to understand the past in light of what God means to do and is doing in the present, and understands the present as a projection of what God means to do in the future. Our identity was never meant to be disconnected from God. Unfortunately, man has since Adam. And functioning out of this disconnect from God, man’s become aberrant. We have deviated from the intended standard and condition set out by which to live.
Even the things man creates in his soul, with the intent to honor God, is worthless to God. Not unless his soul was dominated by his spirit when he was creating these things. If anything is inspired by God, or God-inspired, it’s valued by God. If it’s through the use of talent, skill, ability, or intellect, based upon the “idea” of who God is, and what might be impressive to God, it’s worthless.
God established a format when He made man, a template by which He would reveal Himself. In that sense, God who created man, established an allegory of Himself by which He intended to be revealed. So, man was intentionally created by God as an allegory for the revealing of the very nature of Himself. For this reason, man has a spirit which is his dominant nature, why he has a soul which allows him to engage what he knows in his spirit, in the environment in which he is. It can be concluded then, that man has a spirit to understand the heavens and the mind of God, a soul to translate the wisdom of God into functionality in the earth, and a body with which to execute divine conceptions on earth, whether by speech or works.
This is an elementary step to understanding our true identity from which we ought to build upon. Spirit, soul and body; the body being the lowest portion thereof, housing the soul which is the creative aspect, designed to function under the spirit. So we’re meant to be governed slavishly by our spirit (instructed by God’s Spirit), the essence of being, the dimension given and sustained by God Himself.
In scripture we often find certain aspects of duality in the things God does. When the body of Jesus was crucified and buried, God raised that body up and designated that body Christ. The spirit that was in that body, is now the preeminence that is released through death and resurrection. So we ourselves, man, taking our lead from this pattern, have to go through a metamorphosis of death and resurrection. So even though we live in a natural body, our bodies are actually transformed into spiritual beings. Because the dominance of our body is no longer by our souls, but by our spirits. When this transpires, our bodies have the capabilities of housing and entertaining the very person of the lord Jesus Christ.
This is not a matter of self actualization. This is getting to know who God is, in order that we’re able to make the necessary and accurate adjustments. That we may become an accurate reflection and representation of Him and who He is. Our identity must be found in Him. Our character, nature and personality has been formed by our parents, family, community, culture. Now, through repentance, we need to return to God and have our understanding concerning our identity shaped by Him. Our identity should reflect God, His kingdom and its standards, and not the culture and influences of this world.
Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
These matters are meant to be taught to us by those whom God has set over us. But they fail to do so simply because they function out of what they know, and what they’ve been taught. The unfortunate reality is, even when we are confronted with hearing these truths, resistance and refusal to make any sort of adjustment still persists. May we persevere to live out of the nature of our true identity. Let all we do be done for the pleasure of God, from our spirits which are once again connected to Him, and not for the satisfaction of the lusts of our souls.
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