The Spirit of Man
Thomas Allen
In “The Soul,” I showed that the Hebrews believed that the soul was mortal and ceased conscious existence when the body died. On the other hand, pagans believed that the soul was immortal. When the body died, the soul was liberated from the body to continue conscious existence elsewhere. In that article, I mention the spirit of man in passing and that like the soul, it ceased to exist when the body died.
In Babylonian Connection Between Ancient and Modern Religions (Phoenix, Arizona: America's Promise, 1978), Stephen E. Jones gives an excellent explanation of the spirit of man (pages 20-23). A summary of his explanation follows.
Some theologians argue that the spirit of man is that part of human nature that allies with God. Also, some identify the spirit of man as what makes man a rational being. Nearly all believe that the spirit like the soul is immortal and continues to exist beyond the death of the body.
However, the Hebrew understanding of the spirit of man is the breath of God that animates the soul, which gives the body life. Thus, the soul of man contains the life-giving spirit of God. That is, the breath of life is the spirit of life. The Hebrew word for “breath” and “spirit” is the same word.
And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Gen. 2:7)
According to Genesis 2:7, God gave man whom he formed from dust life when He breathed the breath or spirit of life into his nostrils.
(For my life is yet whole in me, And the spirit of God is in my nostrils); (Job 27:3)
As stated by Job, a person lives if he continues to breathe. Once he ceases to breathe, his body, soul, and spirit die and cease to have any conscience existence.
According to the Hebrews, man is not a spirit. Man is composed of a body (flesh) and soul (blood). His spirit is merely the air in his lungs. When one breathes, the lungs give life (spirit) to the blood (soul). Then, the blood transfers life-giving air to the body. Thus, the spirit gives life to a person, but it is not the actual person. Like the air that a person breathes, the spirit is something that the person uses, but it is not the person.
At death, the body, soul, and spirit return to the original state where they wait until the resurrection. Upon death, the body returns to dust; the soul returns to Sheol (Hades), i.e., nonexistence; the spirit returns to God from where it came. Consequently, death is a reversal of creation.
At death, the spirit (breath) separates from the soul (blood). “When the breathing stops, the blood loses its life supply, and both flesh and blood begin to corrupt in death. The air (spirit) neither lives nor dies; it simply gives life for a season and then returns from whence it came” (pp. 21-22).
The Bible describes death as follows:
and the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it. (Eccl. 12:7)
Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled; Thou takest away their breath [spirit], they [the people themselves] die, And return to their dust. (Ps. 104:29)
According to Acts, David is not in heaven. (For David ascended not into the heavens: . . . [Acts 2:34]) Therefore, “that the spirit returning to God does not imply that the person goes to heaven” (p. 22).
Likewise, when Jesus said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said this, he gave up the ghost” (Luke 23:46), his spirit went to God, but he did not spend three days in heaven with his Father. John 20:17 proves that he did not go to heaven when he died. Jesus said to Mary, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended unto the Father.” Furthermore, Peter states that Jesus’ soul went to Hades, oblivion, where it had no conscience existence (Acts 2:31).
Thus, neither man’s soul nor spirit is immortal. They cease existence when the body dies. Only when God resurrects the body do they return as they returned to Jesus when God raised Jesus from the dead.
Copyright © 2022 by Thomas Coley Allen.
No comments:
Post a Comment