02.01. CHAPTER 01: MAN IS A SPIRITUAL BEING

CHAPTER 1: MAN IS A SPIRITUAL BEING

1 Corinthians 15:45 reads: So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.

GOD created Adam – the first man - a living soul. In creating Adam, GOD gave him a soul and Adam was also given the capacity to live. The “living” capacity of Adam’s soul, or the soul’s capacity to live, was inscribed –separately - in Adam’s spirit. Genesis 2:7 alludes to this by telling us that GOD breathed the breath (or, spirit) of life into Adam and he became a “living being”.

Adam was created a living being comprised of both spirit and soul.

[Hebrews 4:12 tells us that soul and spirit are distinct and separate entities. Soul and spirit are distinct centers of consciousness with distinct functions – both of which are crucial to the wellbeing and proper functioning of man. In this book we will come to understand that the functions of these centers of consciousness are verifiable in GOD!

There is no concept of “blind belief” in the Scriptures. Hebrews 11:1 (KJV) says that faith has an evidence of the unseen. This evidence is manifested and evaluated in the inward man, through spiritual functions of the inward man developed by GOD.] The spirit of Adam carried the potential to live by GOD. And, this spiritual capacity or potential to live by GOD was to be developed as Adam communed with GOD, and GOD actually taught him to live and function in HIS power.

Since GOD is Spirit (see John 4:24) and GOD has a Soul (see Jeremiah 32:41 c), GOD had created Adam in HIS Image (see Genesis 1:26-27) as a spiritual being having both a soul and a spirit. Similarly, Adam was given a heart even as GOD has a heart (see Jeremiah 32:41 c). Figure 1 portrays a schematic of Adam’s inward parts. The heart of Adam was a functional interface between his spirit and his soul where co-mingled expressions of soul and spirit would be manifested in functional realities that GOD had the desire to develop and express as HE communed with Adam and taught him all things.

FIGURE 1: Schematic Of Adam’s Inward Parts

So we see that Adam was a spiritual being with a soul whose spiritual capacity and abilities to live were to be described and developed in his spirit – from GOD.

Adam had to learn to actualize his spiritual capabilities – from GOD - as he responded to GOD and learned to do all things in subjection to GOD. We can understand this from the Testimony of JESUS CHRIST, the “last Adam”, from Luke 2:40; Luke 2:52; John 5:19; John 5:30. The idea of our spirituality arises from the fact that Adam was created a spiritual being. Being a spiritual being simply means that our state of being is governed by spiritual realities - good or bad. These spiritual realities can be true in GOD or false, being for example under the deception of a fallen angel posing as “god” or, fallen angels posing as “gods” or as “spirit guides”.

Falsehood is spirituality expressed in and through a web of deception spun by fallen angels – under the jurisdiction of a fallen archangel called Lucifer (see Isaiah 14:12; Luke 10:18), who became satan (the devil) in his fall through rebellion. Satan and his angels reign in heavenly places over the spiritual atmosphere of the earth.

Ephesians 6:12 puts it like this: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

These spiritual forces of darkness came to power when Adam fell into sin. Usurping the GOD-given authority of Adam (see Genesis 1:26-28) when Adam in his own free will subjected the witness of his inward parts to the words of satan. Consequently, satan assumed authority and power over the earth and its spiritual atmosphere - “over the sons of disobedience” (see Ephesians 2:2). “Sons of disobedience” is descriptive of all of Adam’s progeny. For this reason the Bible refers to satan as the god of this world (see 2 Corinthians 4:4) and the prince of the power of the air (see Ephesians 2:2) who operates in spiritual spheres of influence contrary to the true knowledge of GOD. For this reason satan is called the father of lies (see John 8:44, NASB). The root form of evil stands in the lie sown into the heart of man. The lie stands in the context of a system of beliefs that stand contrary to GOD and the Word of GOD.