Scripture:
Genesis 2:7 (YLT). 7 And Jehovah God formeth the man — dust from the ground, and breatheth into his nostrils breath of life, and the man becometh a living creature.
Matthew 10:28 (YLT). 28 `And be not afraid of those killing the body, and are not able to kill the soul, but fear rather Him who is able both soul and body to destroy in gehenna. Note: There will be a full study on gehenna, sheol, hades, and tartarus coming in the future.
1 Thess. 5:23 (YLT). 23 and the God of the peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your whole spirit, and soul, and body, be preserved unblameably in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ;
KJV: Genesis 2:7, Matthew 10:28, 1 Thess. 5:23.
Questions to Answer:
What does it mean that humans are composed of spirit, soul, and body?
How do these parts function as a whole?
How do they function in terms of our relationship with God and our fellow humans?
Indivisible
We are one indivisible whole. Scripture gives us a simple equation for understanding the nature of humans:
Body (dust of the ground; the earth’s elements), plus
Breath of life (“spirit” of life from God) equals
A living person (a soul).
Nowhere does the Bible speak of the soul as an immortal entity capable of living apart from our body. Neither does it speak of the spirit as an entity which can exist independent of our physical nature. We are not made of independent parts temporarily connected, but of body, soul, and spirit in one indivisible whole.
Definitions of Spirit
The Old Testament. The Hebrew word for “spirit” is ruah. It appears 389 times in the Old Testament. Its varied use almost defies analysis, but some emphases are discernible. It is used more often of God (136 times) than of persons or animals (129 times).
Its basic meaning is wind (113 times). The trees of the forest sway before a wind (Gen 8:1; Isa 7:2 ); a wind sweeps over the waters (Gen 1:2); and the Lord walked in the garden at the breezy time of day (Gen 3:8). It was an east wind that brought locusts (Exod 10:13) and a strong east wind that divided the Red Sea and dried it up (Exod 14:21).
Breath is also a basic meaning of this term. It is the Lord who gives breath to people (Isa 42:5 ) and to lifeless bodies in 1:1 Ezek 37:9-10; this chapter there is a wordplay on ruah, allowing it to mean wind, breath, spirit a similar phenomenon is found in John 3:5 John 3:8 ; where pneuma [pneu’ma] means both wind and spirit). It is also used of bad breath Job’s breath was repulsive to his wife (Job 19:17). The “spirit” or “breath” of a person is identical with the “spirit” or “breath” of animals (Eccles. 3:19). This “spirit” or “breath” of a person returns to God at the time of death, and the body returns to the dust where it came from (Job 34:14; Eccles. 12:7). It is also translated “Spirit of God” (Isa. 63:10). In the New Testament the Greek word pneuma is similarly translated as “spirit” or “to breathe.” It is also translated as ,”mood,” “attitude,” or “state of feeling” (Rom. 8:15; 1 Cor. 4:21; 2 Tim. 1:7; 1 John 4:6). Like ruach, it is sometimes translated “Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 2:11, 14; Eph. 4:30; Heb. 2:4; 1 Pet. 1:12;2 Pet. 1:21).
By extension when applied to a person ruah comes to mean vital powers or strength. It is the spirit that sustains a person through illness (Prov 18:14), but the spirit of the troubled person can be crushed (Psalm 34:18). This dynamic force can be impaired or diminished as well as renewed or increased. It was a drink that caused the spirit (strength [sunistavw]) of Samson to return and revive him (Jud 15:18-19) and the coming of the wagons from Egypt that revived Jacob’s numb heart ( Gen 45:26-27 ). Spirit also bespeaks limitations. When taken back, the person returns to dust (Psalm 104:29-30).
The spirit of the Lord is the creative power of life (Psalm 33:6). When it descends on the judges it activates and enables them to do great exploits (Judges 3:10; 14:6). By contrast, there is no spirit in idols of wood and stone. They are inert and have no power to awake and arise (Hab 2:19).
Ruah can also refer to “life principle” (Gen. 6:17; 7:22), courage” (Josh. 2:11), “vitality” or “strength” (Judg. 15:19), “disposition” (Isa. 54:6), and “moral character” (Ezek. 11:19). And can refer to feeling: The queen of Sheba was left breathless when she saw the wisdom and wealth of Solomon (1 Kings 10:5). She was overcome by astonishment. Eliphaz accuses Job of venting his anger on God (Job 15:13). Ahab was dispirited and sullen because of Naboth’s unwillingness to sell his vineyard (1 Kings 21:4). “Shortness” of spirit is impatience, whereas “longness” of spirit is patience (Prov 14:29). To be proud in spirit is to be arrogant (Eccl 7:8). The suspicious husband is said to have a (fit) spirit of jealousy (Numbers 5:14 Numbers 5:30).
Ruah can also refer to the will. Those whose spirits God had stirred up went up to rebuild the temple (Ezr 1:5). Caleb had a different spirit from the other spies (Num 14:24) and thus was resolute in his assessment relative to the conquest of the land. The psalmist prays for a steadfast spirit (Psalm 51:10).
Given the distributed uses of ruah (standing twice as often for the wind/power of God as it does for the breath/feelings/will of the person), mortals cannot see themselves as independent of God. The ruah is living not simply through a surge of vitality, but because of God’s initiatives and actions. The link between the anthropological and the divine ruah is not always clear and well defined.
The New Testament. Pneuma [pneu’ma] is the New Testament counterpart to the Old Testament ruah. While it occasionally means wind (John 3:8) and breath (Matt 27:50 ; 2 Thess 2:8), it is most generally translates “spirit” an incorporeal, feeling, and intelligent being.
It was Mary’s spirit that rejoiced (Luke 1:47). Jesus “grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom” (Luke 2:40). He was “deeply moved in spirit” when he saw Mary weeping over the death of Lazarus (John 11:33). Apollos was characterized as speaking with “great fervor” (Acts 18:25) and Paul “had no peace of mind” when Titus did not meet him at Troas (2 Cor 2:13). Jesus pronounced a blessing on the “poor in spirit” (Matt 5:3).
In the New Testament spirit is also seen as that dimension of human personality whereby relationship with God is possible (Mark 2:8 ; Acts 7:59 ; Rom 1:9 ; 8:16; 1 Cor 5:3-5). It is this human spiritual nature that enables continuing conversation with the divine Spirit (Rom 8:9-17).
Occasionally pneuma will be treated in a parallel structure with psyche [yuchv]. The terms seem to be one and the same (Luke 1:46-47) and seem to be interchangeable. On the other hand, there are passages that distinguish between the two. Paul speaks of Adam as a “living soul” but of Christ as a “life-giving spirit.” The one is oriented to human life and the other to heavenly life.
Flesh and spirit are often juxtaposed. Both can be defiled (2 Cor 7:1) and both can be holy (1 Cor 7:34). The flesh (works) and the spirit (fruit) are unalterably opposed to each other (Gal 5:16-26). Spirit is also contrasted with letter. While the letter kills, the Spirit gives life (2 Cor 3:6). Spirit is also contrasted with human wisdom (1 Cor 2:5). Weakness of flesh can prove stronger than the spirit’s will to pray (Mark 14:38).
Worship of God in the spirit is acceptable, contrasting with unacceptable worship in the flesh (Php 3:3). “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth” ( John 4:24 ).
While God’s Spirit is holy, reference is made to unclean, evil, and demonic spirits that are injurious to relationships with God and other humans.
But What About…
There are a few passages that are taken out of context to support the belief that the spirit as disembodied ( 2 Cor 5:1-11 ; Heb 12:23 ; 1 Peter 3:19 ). Paul speaks of being absent in body, but present in spirit ( Col 2:5 ), and James notes that the body without the spirit is dead ( James 2:26 ).
Look at each of the verses in context:
2 Cor. 5:1-11
In these verses Paul is discussing God’s people’s glorious future. He acknowledges that although we suffer and are afflicted in this world, we have a great hope. He uses several word pictures to discuss that hope.
1. A Tent: In verse 1 the image of a tent (NKJV) represents our brief earthly human existence. The “house” from God represents how we will live in eternity. Living now in bodies that are subject to sickness and death–the tent–we groan and look forward to being able to live in our heavenly dwellings. The image now changes from a dwelling to clothing.
2. Clothing/Naked: Paul proceeds to describe our earthly existence as clothing. He mentions two possibilities: To be clothed or to be unclothed, that is to say to go through the experience of being naked before being clothed. “To be clothed with” means that our present mortal existence will be “swallowed up by life” (verse 4, NKJV). Christians will be transformed at Jesus’ return, not when they die (1 Cor. 15:52). Nakedness is a figure of speech that refers to death. Those who die are naked in the biblical sense of being dispossessed of everything, even of their existence (cf. Job 1:21). In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul used the term “naked” in the context of the resurrection: “What you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere [naked] grain–perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body” (verses 36-38, NKJV). The naked grain is the one that, like the tent, will dissolve. To be naked is to be dead.
3. At Home in the Body: Now Paul uses the image of a home. To be at home in the body represents our lives in this world, our natural condition. But according to Paul being in that natural condition means that we are “away from the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:6, NIV). There is a separation between the Lord and the believer in the sense that they exist in different spheres of being–the earthly versus the heavenly. But the distance is not absolute. While we live on earth we walk with the Lord “by faith, not by sight” (verse 7). “To be at home with the Lord” (verse 8, NIV) means to enjoy full personal fellowship with Him in His immediate presence, in heaven. This will take place at the resurrection (1 Thess. 4:16, 17).
4. Away From the Body/Not at Home in the Body: Now Paul expresses his desire to be away from the body (his earthly home), in order “to be at home with the Lord.” He is not wishing to die in order to be with the Lord. He already rejected the idea of dying. He is repeating what he said in 2 Corinthians 5:2: He would like to move from one mode of existence to the other without experiencing death. He even explains that we will be judged on the basis of our earthly existence (“the things done in the body,” verse 10, NKJV). Paul ends this passage by saying: “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him [the Lord]” (verse 9, NKJV). The Christian’s joy in this world and in the world to come, in this life and in the future, should always be to please the Lord. The idea of a bodiless soul or spirit is not found here, but is read into it by those who believe that Christians go to heaven when they die.
Hebrews 12:23;
Let me quote the full passage: “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant” (Heb. 12:22-24).
1. Contextual Observations: We should always examine the context of the passage. In Hebrews 12:18 the apostle tells his readers that when they accepted Christ, they did not come to the presence of God manifested on Mount Sinai, a place that inspired fear, but to Mount Zion, a place where humans and God joyfully come together to celebrate. The experience at Sinai is contrasted with that of Christian believers to demonstrate that theirs is superior. By faith Christians can see themselves present on Mount Zion, in the heavenly Jerusalem, in the presence of the heavenly community. What is still future is described as a present reality apprehended by faith (Heb. 11:1). Therefore believers have, by faith, joined :
(1) the company of angels,
(2) the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven,
(3) the glorious presence of God, the judge of all,
(4) the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and
(5) Jesus, their mediator. We are already part of the heavenly family!
2. The Church of the Firstborn: Apart from the angels, the Father, and Jesus, two other groups are mentioned. The first one is the “church of the firstborn,” understood as the community formed by those who belong to the Firstborn of God (cf. Heb. 1:6). During the exodus from Egypt God referred to the Israelites as His “firstborn” (Ex. 4:22, 23), but now the title is further defined as “those who have been enrolled in heaven” (literal translation). The description could apply to believers in general, but in context it appears to designate the faithful ones of the past (cf. Dan. 12:1) already considered by God as citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem.
3. The Spirits of the Righteous Made Perfect: The second group mentioned in the text appears to be a different one: “the spirits of the righteous made perfect.” The term spirit is used several times in the book of Hebrews, but it never designates a disembodied spirit. The term, in this particular case, could be defined by its usage in Hebrews 12:9 (cf. Num. 16:22). There God is described as the “Father of spirits [pneumaton],” in contrast to the “fathers of our flesh [sarx]” (KJV). The phrase “fathers [parents] of our flesh” simply means our natural fathers, and “Father of spirits” means our spiritual Father. The passage contrasts two modes of existence—the natural and the spiritual. “Carnal” (sarx) is the individual in his or her natural state. “Spirit” (pneuma) is the same individual as a spiritual person living in harmony with God. They are called “spirits” because they no longer belong to the world of sin, but to the spiritual realm. They are spiritual beings.
This group of believers is further described as “the spirits of the righteous made perfect” probably in order to distinguish them from the angels, who in Hebrews are called “ministering spirits” or “spirits [spiritual beings] in the divine service” (Heb. 1:14). The spiritual beings are identified as “righteous” humans, “those who have been made perfect” (literal translation). Since the faithful ones of the past are referred to as “the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven,” this other group most probably designates Christian believers who are still alive. Notice that it does not say “the spirits of the dead righteous.” They are those “who have been made perfect,” or whole, through the sacrifice of Christ, having now full access to the Father. According to Paul, believers have already been perfected (Heb. 10:14).
The glorious meeting described by Paul is a future experience we can anticipate only by faith. Faith enables us to see ourselves already there, in the company of the angels, in the presence of God and Christ, rejoicing together with the faithful ones who have died but whose names were retained in the book of life and who will be resurrected and, with the living Christians, made whole through the power of Christ.
1 Peter 3:19
In 1 Peter 3:16 it says ‘By which also he went and preached to the spirits in prison’. It’s not talking about him going to heaven or hell and preaching, but what it’s actually talking about?
Reading the whole context of that verse makes it clear, 1 Peter 3:18: For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, the subject of this reference is the Spirit by whom in other words, through the Spirit He went and preached to the spirits in prison who formerly were disobedient, once in the days of long-suffering they waited in the time of Noah while the ark was being prepared.
Some have thought this means that when Jesus died on the cross, He didn’t really die, He altered His state into the spirit, He went down into hell, He preached to the people who lived before the flood that they might have a second chance. This is a bizarre teaching that came out of the Jesuit theology years ago. Now let me tell you what it does mean. He says He, Christ, through the Holy Spirit, preached to spirits who were in prison. You and I are spirits, and if we’re not saved we’re imprisoned by the devil, just like Peter was imprisoned and the angel came to set him free.
You can also see in Isaiah 61, part of the ministry of Christ, it says: He came to set the captives free and opening the prison to them that are bound. Isaiah 61:1. So it’s simply saying that part of the work of Christ was to try to save people, even during the time of Noah, through the same Spirit He tried to save those people whose spirits were imprisoned by the devil. He’s not talking about how their ghosts were in hell, chained up, or anything. This is actually where some people get that idea. Fact: There is a resurrection in the Bible and every person living at that time will see it. Those that are saved (dead or living) will be caught up with Christ in the sky. Those that chose not to be saved will die at the brightness of His coming. They will be raised at the end of the millennium to hear their judgment and are cast into the lake of fire where they will be consumed. The devil and his angels are cast into the same lake at the same time and they to are destroyed forever. There will be an in-depth studies on the topic of death, judgment, hell, second coming, heaven, and the millennium.
One of the biggest deceptions being preached is that there is a second chance (the secret rapture theory promotes this, purgatory, as well as some others). The Bible says ‘It’s appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment.’ You can’t die, and then while you’re in hell hope you can get Jesus to come preach to you. That’s a very dangerous doctrine.
Colossians 2:5
As in verse 1, Paul notes he is not physically with the Colossian Christians, but is still closely connected with them. The spiritual connection is ultimately more important than any physical concerns. Paul used similar phrasing in 1 Corinthians 5:3, offering judgment to a sinning believer from a distant location. Paul elsewhere used the contrast between absence and presence to indicate his close connection with believers despite physical distance (2 Corinthians 10:11; 13:2; Philippians 1:27).
From a distance, Paul was happy to see the Colossians’ strong, confident faith. These believers were focused on what was right, standing firm in their faith, a common Pauline teaching (1 Corinthians 16:13; 2 Corinthians 1:24; Galatians 5:1; Ephesians 6:13; Philippians 1:27; 4:1; 2 Thessalonians 2:15; Titus 1:9). Part of Paul’s rejoicing over the state of the Colossian church is that they are growing in faith and knowledge, without needing an apostle like Paul to be there in person (Colossians 1:7).
Context Summary
Colossians 2:1–5 explains the entire purpose behind Paul’s letter to the Christians in Colossae. Paul’s desire is to fight—spiritually—for these fellow believers, but this is difficult from a distance, and from prison. While Paul is happy to hear that the Colossians are standing strong in their faith, he sees potential problems. Paul writes this letter to strengthen their faith against particular false teachings. These deceptions are mostly based in attractive, but untrue, arguments. This passage is Paul’s springboard into a defense against the tricks being used against his readers.
Neither in the Old Testament nor the New Testament does ruach or pneuma refer to an intelligent entity capable of existence apart from the body.
More examples of SPIRIT:
Judges 15:19
19 And God cleaveth the hollow place which [is] in Lehi, and waters come out of it, and he drinketh, and his spirit cometh back, and he reviveth; therefore hath [one] called its name `The fountain of him who is calling,’ which [is] in Lehi unto this day.
It was his strenght that revived him.
Eccl. 12:7
7 And the dust returneth to the earth as it was, And the spirit returneth to God who gave it.
Luke 10:21
21 In that hour was Jesus glad in the Spirit, and said, `I do confess to thee, Father, Lord of the heaven and of the earth, that Thou didst hide these things from wise men and understanding, and didst reveal them to babes; yes, Father, because so it became good pleasure before Thee.
It is most generally translates “spirit” an incorporeal, feeling, and intelligent being.
Mary’s spirit that rejoiced
It is helpful when trying to understand what happens to a person at death to study Genesis 2:7 and Ecclesiastes 12:7 together. In as much as Genesis 2:7 describes the making of a human at Creation, Ecclesiastes 12:7 describes the un-making of a human at death. Death is the reversal of the creation act: the dust returns to the earth where it came from, and the breath of life returns to God who gave it.
SOUL (Ps. 23:3; Matt. 26:38; Heb. 4:12).
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word nephesh occurs 755 times and is translated in various ways depending on the context. It is most frequently translated “life” (Gen. 9:4, 5; 1 Sam. 19:5; Job 2:4, 6; Ps. 31:13) and “person” (Gen. 14:21; Num. 5:6; Deut. 14:22). It is also translated “dead body” (Num. 9:6) and “appetite” (Eccles. 6:7). In numerous places it is translated as personal pronouns (Gen. 12:13; Lev. 11:43, 44; Ps. 3:2; Jer. 37:9). In the New Testament, the Greek word psuche is similar to the Hebrew word nephesh and is translated “life” or “lives” over forty times.
“A living soul” (Gen. 2:7). “When the lifeless form of man was infused with this divine ‘breath,’ neshamah, of life, man became a living ,soul,’ nephesh. The word nephesh has a variety of meanings [see above]. . . . [None of these meanings] applies to the spirit, ruach, indicating clearly the great difference between the two terms. It is obvious from [these meanings] that the translation “soul” given by the KJV to the nephesh of ch. 2:7 is not appropriate, if the commonly used expression “immortal soul” be implied. Although popular, this concept is completely foreign to the Bible. This passage may rightly be translated: ‘Man became a living being’ (RSV). When ‘soul’ is considered synonymous with ‘being,’ we gain the Scriptural meaning of nephesh in this text.”—SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 1, p. 223.
The fact that the words nephesh and psuche are translated “soul,” plus so many other different ways, shows they cannot refer to a specific conscious entity capable of surviving after death. The idea that the “soul” can exist apart from the body is wholly foreign to the Bible. Such a concept originated in the ancient pagan religious and philosophical systems of Egypt and Greece then made its way into Christian theology. In Scripture, the word soul generally means the whole person as when Adam started living or when Jesus said that His “soul,” or His whole person, was sorrowful.
BODY
Jeremiah 17:5
5 Thus said Jehovah: Cursed [is] the man who doth trust in man, And hath made flesh his arm, And from Jehovah whose heart turneth.
1 Corinthians 15:50-52
50 And this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood the reign of God is not able to inherit, nor doth the corruption inherit the incorruption;
51 lo, I tell you a secret; we indeed shall not all sleep, and we all shall be changed;
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, in the last trumpet, for it shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we — we shall be changed:
Galatians 5:16-26
16 And I say: In the Spirit walk ye, and the desire of the flesh ye may not complete;
17 for the flesh doth desire contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit contrary to the flesh, and these are opposed one to another, that the things that ye may will — these ye may not do;
18 and if by the Spirit ye are led, ye are not under law.
19 And manifest also are the works of the flesh, which are: Adultery, whoredom, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, strifes, emulations, wraths, rivalries, dissensions, sects,
21 envyings, murders, drunkennesses, revellings, and such like, of which I tell you before, as I also said before, that those doing such things the reign of God shall not inherit.
22 And the fruit of the Spirit is: Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith,
23 meekness, temperance: against such there is no law;
24 and those who are Christ’s, the flesh did crucify with the affections, and the desires;
25 if we may live in the Spirit, in the Spirit also we may walk;
26 let us not become vain-glorious — one another provoking, one another envying!
In the Old Testament, the word flesh is translated from the Hebrew basar and in the New Testament from the Greek sarx. Basar and sarx describe:
(1) the body or physical parts of humans and animals (Gen. 9:4; 29:14; Luke 24:39; 1 Cor. 15:39);
(2) living things in general (Gen. 6:13; 1 Pet. 1:24);
(3) material things contrasted with spiritual things (Jer. 17:5; Zech. 2:13; Matt. 16:17; Mark 14:38; Luke 24:39);
(4) the carnal nature of humankind, which is contrary to spiritual things or the Holy Spirit (Rom. 7:18; 8:3; Gal. 5:16-21);
(5) an obedient spirit, “a heart of flesh” (Ezek. 11:19; 36:26); men and women’s mortal nature (1 Cor. 15:50-52).
Both the Old and New Testaments view humans holistically, not as independent parts labeled spirit, soul, and body. As the three Persons of the Godhead function as One, so our spirit, soul, and body function as one. The thinking part of humans, the mind, is usually translated from the Hebrew leb and from the Greek nous, but also from numerous other words such as ruach and pneuma. So Paul’s prayer that the God of peace would sanctify our spirit, soul, and body (1 Thess. 5:23) is a prayer for God to sanctify the entire person.
All human beings are born in sin. And their entire nature has been adversely affected by the virus of sin (Ps. 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 3:9-18).
IMMORTALITY (Rom. 2:7; 1 Cor. 15:53, 54; 1 Tim. 6:16; 2 Tim. 1:10).
The word immortality comes from one Greek word meaning “death-lessness” and from another Greek word meaning “incorruptibility.” The Bible describes God only as being immortal (1 Tim. 1:17; 6:16), while it describes the Christians as seeking for immortality (Rom 2:7), which they receive at His second coming (1 Cor. 15:53, 54).
The following verses describe God and humans in terms of mortality and immortality.
Rom. 2:5-7
5 but, according to thy hardness and impenitent heart, thou dost treasure up to thyself wrath, in a day of wrath and of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
6 who shall render to each according to his works;
7 to those, indeed, who in continuance of a good work, do seek glory, and honour, and incorruptibility — life age-during;
Rom. 6:12
12 Let not then the sin reign in your mortal body, to obey it in its desires;
Rom. 8:11
11 and if the Spirit of Him who did raise up Jesus out of the dead doth dwell in you, He who did raise up the Christ out of the dead shall quicken also your dying bodies, through His Spirit dwelling in you.
1 Cor. 15:53, 54
53 for it behoveth this corruptible to put on incorruption, and this mortal to put on immortality;
54 and when this corruptible may have put on incorruption, and this mortal may have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the word that hath been written, `The Death was swallowed up — to victory;
2 Cor. 4:11
11 for always are we who are living delivered up to death because of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our dying flesh,
1 Tim. 6:13-16
13 I charge thee, before God, who is making all things alive, and of Christ Jesus, who did testify before Pontius Pilate the right profession,
14 that thou keep the command unspotted, unblameable, till the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 which in His own times He shall shew — the blessed and only potentate, the King of the kings and Lord of the lords,
16 who only is having immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable, whom no one of men did see, nor is able to see, to whom [is] honour and might age-during! Amen.
2 Tim. 1:10
10 and was made manifest now through the manifestation of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who indeed did abolish death, and did enlighten life and immortality through the good news,
When Scripture speaks of God having immortality, it means that in Him there is no decay and death and that He is the only and eternal Source of life. If only God has immortality, we may gain it only as His gracious gift to us. We have the promise of immortality on account of Creation and redemption. But we become immortal only through God’s grace in accepting the gift of His Son. Immortality is conditional because there is no eternal life except through Jesus Christ and the eternal life He offers us. It is something we receive when we accept Christ as our personal Saviour and are “remade” by the Holy Spirit. Immortality becomes our actual possession only at the second coming of Christ. In this sense, immortality for the Christian is both a present reality and a future gain.
SPIRITUALITY (See: Rom. 7:14; 8:6; 1 Cor. 2:13, 14; 10:1-3; Col. 3:16).
The Greek word for spiritual or spirituality is used in a variety of ways:
(1) to designate that which exists, including “spirit” such as devils and angels (Eph. 6:12);
(2) typologically to give spiritual meaning to symbols (1 Cor. 10:1-4);
(3) most commonly for that which is attuned to God’s redemptive plan through Christ and to the presence of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:1-9).
(See The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Edgar W. Smith Jr., ed. [Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988], vol. 4, p. 601.)
Describe what being spiritual means in the following texts:
Rom. 7:14
14 for we have known that the law is spiritual, and I am fleshly, sold by the sin;
Rom. 8:6
6 for the mind of the flesh [is] death, and the mind of the Spirit — life and peace;
1 Cor. 2:13, 14
13 which things also we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Holy Spirit, with spiritual things spiritual things comparing,
14 and the natural man doth not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for to him they are foolishness, and he is not able to know [them], because spiritually they are discerned;
1 Cor. 10:1-3
And I do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,
2 and all to Moses were baptized in the cloud, and in the sea;
3 and all the same spiritual food did eat,
Col. 3:16
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing each other, in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, in grace singing in your hearts to the Lord;
What does it mean to be “spiritual” or to “grow spiritually”? It means to become more and more like Jesus. We cleave to Him by recognizing our helplessness then focusing on His character (Gal. 5:22, 23). By doing so, we become changed into His image (initially we were image-bearers to God-made in His imgae). It also means to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and our neighbor as ourselves (Luke 10:15-28). Spirituality then is the fruit of our lives, as we have committed them to God, who loves us with an everlasting love.
“When Christ took human nature upon Him, He bound humanity to Himself by a tie of love that can never be broken by any power save the choice of man himself. Satan will constantly present allurements to induce us to break that tie-to choose to separate ourselves from Christ…. But let us keep our eyes fixed upon Christ, and He will preserve us. Looking unto Jesus, we are safe. Nothing can pluck us out of His hand. In constantly beholding Him, we ‘are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.’ 2 Corinthians 3:18
Humans were created by God to have a soul, body, and spirit. No entity is capable of living on its own. All three work together, and not one of them is excluded from the process of spiritual growth.