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The Nature of ManOur understanding of the nature of man must be in terms of his creation, that is, man was created in the image and likeness of God. This likeness is not physical but intellectual, moral, and spiritual.

Colossians 3:9,10 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

Ephesians 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Body

Disagreement has existed for some time as to whether man is a two-part being (dichotomous) or a three-part being (trichotomous). However, you may view that issue is apparent that man is both material and immaterial. That is man has a physical form and function and is a non-seen person that makes him intrinsically different from the animal world. “Man is a material and nonmaterial entity, the two aspects being distinguishable. Physical death is described as the separation of body and spirit (James 2:26).”1 This does not mean the end of even the physical existence. Every person will eternally exist in some sort of a physical body.

Though too often unobserved, the Word of God declares that in every instance, whether of the unsaved or of the saved, the human body will be raised from the dead. The following words by Christ are incapable of any other interpretation.2

John 5:25-29 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. 26For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; 27And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. 28Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that 1 Ryrie, 223.2 Chafer, Volume 2, 149.

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are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

The fact of a physical resurrection of every body, saved and lost is affirmed throughout Scripture.

The patriarchs believed in the resurrection of the dead (Genesis 22:5; Hebrews 11:19; Job 19:25-27)

This resurrection was reveal to the Old Testament prophets (Isaiah 26;19; Daniel 12:2,13; Hosea 13:14)

Jesus restored life to the dead (Matthew 9:25; Luke 7:12-15; John 11:43,44) Jesus predicted His own resurrection (John 10:18; Luke 24:1-8). People were resurrected following the resurrection of Christ (Matthew

27:52,53) The Apostles raised the dead (Acts 9:36-41, 20:9,10) There are two resurrections yet future which includes “all that are in the

graves” (John 5:28) There is a resurrection “of life” (1 Corinthians 15:22,23; 1 Thessalonians

4:14-17; Revelation 20:4) There is a resurrection “of judgment” (John 5:28,29; Revelation 20:11-13) The bodies of believers will be incorruptible, glorious, powerful and

spiritual (1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 49) Living believers will be changed to glorified bodies (1 Corinthians 15:50-53;

Philippians 3:20,21; Romans 8:23; Ephesians 1:13,14) The bodies of the wicked will also be resurrected (John 5:29) and will be

cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:7-15)3

The physical body is the house in which the real man lives.

2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

For the believer the body is the habitation of the Holy Spirit and is also the vehicle with which we serve God.

3 C. I. Scofield in Chafer, 156-157

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1 Corinthians 6:19,20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

The Body has its senses, or means of communication with the external, material world. These are usually reckoned as five – sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell, or as Bunyan represents them, as the five gates to the city of Mansoul.4

Because the physical body is important to God, we must not neglect its care or abuse it. The consequence of either will God’s direct chastening.

1 Corinthians 3:16,17 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

At the same time it is inappropriate to spend inordinate amounts of time and money in the outward appearance. Being fashionable is about obtaining the favor of men, not the favor of God.

1 Samuel 16:7 . . . for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. 

1 Peter 3:3,4 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 4But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

It is upon the immaterial portion of man’s being that God lavishes attention. Some theologians see the immaterial part of man as a single entity with two aspects, soul and spirit. Others recognize that that man is a three-part being.

4 Pierson, 117.

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1 Thessalonians 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Part of the difficulty is making this distinction lies in the fact that the Bible frequently uses the terms “soul” and “spirit’ interchangeably so that it is difficult to know which is being addressed in the given passage. Ultimately it does not matter in that every person is a whole person and will be eternally. As difficult as it is for us to understand the difference between soul and spirit, God has no difficulty at all.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The fact that the powerful Word of God can make the distinction indicates that there is a distinction. The reason for grasping the difference between soul and spirit is for the purpose of understanding their interaction. At creation man became a “living soul.” (Genesis 2:7)

The word soul (nephesh) is used some 754 times in the Old Testament and is translated by about 45 different English words. In about two-thirds of its occurrences it is translated soul, and less frequently by such words as creature, life, self, person, mind, heart, will, desire, pleasure, etc. Soul is employed of animal life as well as human life (Genesis 1:21, 24; 2:19; 9:10,12), since the word primarily denotes life which is sustained yb breath. The New Testament equivalent for nephesh is psuche. It is used 105 times and is translated soul 58 times, life 40 times, mind e times, and heart, heartily, us, and you, once each.5

Sometimes the context indicates that the word “spirit” is being used carefully.

The conception of the three-fold constitution of man gives new meaning to Paul’s three prominent adjectives, “earthy,” “nature,” “spiritual” – the first suggests man’s material part, his body; the second, psychical, or soulish, his soul; the last, his spirit, or pneuma. Our Lord, in departing, 6said: “Father,

5 Baker, 246.6 A. T. Pierson, The Bible and Spiritual Life, (Fincastle: Scripture Truth Book Co, n.d.), 115.

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into thy hands I commend my spirit,” – and Stephen, “Lord Jesus receive my spirit” – in both cases, this word being discriminatingly used.

Soul

Assuming the Trichotomy position does not mean that we have the ability to define with precision how soul and spirit are to be divided or for that matter how they interact. Looking first at the soulish part of man’s being will call attention to several functions. Man is intellectual; he possesses a mind capable of amazing activity. The ability to receive information, process it, and arrive at studied conclusions resulting in deliberate actions is part of what makes man unique in comparison to animals. The ability to reason does not guarantee the outcome. The mind of man has been corrupted by sin and often demonstrates its propensity to reason incorrectly primarily because God is left out of the equation. “The unsaved man’s mind is said to be reprobate (Rom. 1:28 KJV), vain (Eph. 4:17 KJV), defiled (Titus 1:15), blinded (2 Cor. 4:4), and darkened (Eph. 4:18).”7

The believer's mind occupies a central place in his spiritual development. God uses it in his understanding of truth (Luke 24:45; I Cor. 14:14-15). The dedicated life must include a renewed mind (Rom. 12:2). The mind is involved in deciding doubtful things (14:5), in pursuing holiness (1 Pet. 1:13), in understanding the Lord's will (Eph. 5:17), and in loving the Lord (Matt. 22:37). Every thought must be captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).8

In many ways, the mind is the gateway to the soul. It is for this reason that Satan works so hard to prejudice the mind against the truth of the Word of God. If he can do so in terms that appeal to the intellect, all the better for his purpose. The natural propensity of fallen man to believe a satanic lie enables the devil to keep the majority of the human race in darkness.

Another major component of the soul is the heart. Obviously the reference is not the organ that sustains physical life. Heart is sometimes used interchangeably with the soul and includes the conscience, the emotions, and the will. “The word

7 Ryrie, 228.8 Ibid.

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heart occurs over 600 times in the Old Testament and at least 120 times in the New Testament.”9

Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

The heart can be made fat and therefore insensitive to truth (Isaiah 6:10). It cannot fully compass the good things of God (1 Corinthians 2:9). It is quite capable of entertaining “evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5). It is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). It has thoughts and intentions (Hebrews 4:12). The heart is seat of emotions such as love (Deuteronomy 6:5), self-reproach (Job 27:6), joy (Psalm 104:15), sorrow (Nehemiah 2:2), and deep desires (Psalm 37:4). God’s truth can be written in the heart (Romans 2:5). It is the true motivator of action (“hidden man of the heart” – 1 Peter 3:4).

A critical component of the human soul is the matter of the conscience. “Conscience, the moral judiciary of the soul”10 provides the parameters for behavior. Every human being has a conscience; it is standard equipment from creation.

Romans 2:14,15 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

This does not mean that the conscience is necessarily reliable. It is dependent upon the moral standard that has been communicated through the mind. It is quite possible for a person to do something that is morally reprehensible without the least pang of conscience if the conscience has been wrongly informed. At the same time, there is an innate awareness of the existence of right and wrong.

The faculty of conscience is one of the major manifestations of the immaterial part of man, and doubtless no other faculty reflects more fully that which is in the likeness of God.11

9 Chafer, Volume 2, 187. Ryrie indicates that the word is used 955 times. Ryrie, 226.10 Bancroft, 182.11 Chafer, Volume 2, 197.

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The existence and power of the conscience was well illustrated in our Lord’s encounter with the scribes and Pharisees over the adulterous woman.

John 8:3-9 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, 4They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. 5Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? 6This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. 7So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. 8And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. 9And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

Scripture indicates the importance and function of the conscience.

A good conscience – Acts 23:1; 1 Timothy 1:5,19; Hebrews 13:18, 1 Peter 3:16,21

An evil conscience – Hebrews 10:22 A conscience void of offense – Acts 24;16, 1 Peter 2:19 A conscience that gives testimony – Romans 9:1, 2 Corinthians 1:12, 4:2 A conscience that conforms behavior – Romans 13:5 A conscience may be weak – 1 Corinthians 8,10 A conscience may be pure – 1 Timothy 3:9, 2 Timothy 1:3 A conscience may be seared – 1 Timothy 4:2 A conscience may be defiled – Titus 1:15 A conscience can be unsatisfied – Hebrews 9:9 A conscience can be purged – Hebrews 9:14; 10:2,22

The often repeated maxim to “always let your conscience be your guide,” is not true unless your conscience is consistently informed by the Word of God.

A key component tied to the soul is the exercise of volition or the will. Every person has a will. The existence of a will in human beings is yet another example of creation in the likeness of God. God has a will and sovereignly exercises it.

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Will is the soul’s power to choose between motives and to direct its subsequent activity according to the motive thus chosen – in other words, the soul’s power to choose both an end and the means to attain it.12

The power to choose has huge implications.

The human will is rightfully a major theme in theology. It appears not only in Anthropology, but also in Soteriology, and in so far as man is created in the image of God and reflects the divine attributes, the will of man is indirectly related to Theism. The fact of the will is a psychological truth, while the freedom of the will is theological.13

We have already shown that God respects the will of man. He lays no restraint upon it, either to commit sin or to accept the offers of grace (see supra under Proofs of the Decrees). It is because man “will to do his will” (John 7:17) that God can say to him, “Today, if ye shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Heb. 3:7, 8, 15; 4:7). Why appeal to a man’s will if he can will only that which is wrong?14

While God acts upon the human will in conviction the ultimate decision lies with the individual. Even in the believer there must be cooperation with the Holy Spirit in order to understand and surrender to the authority of God.

Philippians 2:12,13 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.Spirit

The spirit portion of man’s person is the most difficult to define. It is in man’s spirit that he interacts with God.

Now the body we may term the sense-consciousness, the soul the self-consciousness, and the spirit the God-consciousness. For the body gives us the use of the five senses; the soul comprises the intellect which aids us in

12 Strong, 504.13 Chafer, Volume 2, 194.14 Theissen, 230-231.

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the present state of existence, and the emotions which proceed from the senses; while the spirit is our noblest part, which came directly from God, and by which alone we are able to apprehend and worship him.15

When we reach that highest real of spirit however, we touch a part of man’s being which was meant to explore the unseen world and the realm of immaterial and spiritual realities. It had capacities, at man’s original creation, that are as far beyond the bodily senses as the microscopic and telescopic vision surpass he unaided power of the eye. Had man remained innocent of evil and loyal to God, he would have had open doors of access to heavenly chambers of mystery. But sin closed all these gates and widows of the spirit and darkened and blinded the spirit’s faculties; so that all conception of higher verities became dependent upon physical observation through the senses, and psychical processes of reasoning. This we take to be reach teaching of such marvelous chapters as 1st Corinthians ii.16

It is because of the Fall that man lost the original unfettered contact with God. As a fallen creature the spirit is dead to God.

Ephesians 2:1-6 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

In the new birth we are “quickened” or made alive to God. Our degenerate spirit is regenerated and spiritually functional. In that process we receive a new nature.

Ephesians 4:17-24 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18Having the

15 G. H. Pember, Earth’s Earliest Ages (New York: Fleming H. Revell Co., n.d.), 10616 Pierson, The Bible and Spiritual Life, 119.

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understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20But ye have not so learned Christ; 21If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Unfortunately saved people do not lose their old nature (often called the flesh) which is as corrupt as it ever was. This creates the terrible conflict that Paul described.

Romans 7:14-25 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 16If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. 17Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 18For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 21I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

1 Corinthians 2:6-16 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: 7But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all

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things, yea, the deep things of God. 11For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 16For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

The natural man is man in his natural state, lost and disconnected from God. The spiritual man is the saved individual who knows God by means of a regenerated spirit. The carnal man is the individual who is operating under the sway of the fallen nature. This might be an unsaved person who is always carnal or a believer who living in the flesh.

The unsaved man has a spirit that is dead to truly spiritual things. His soul is controlled by the fallen a nature and his body is used primarily for self. The saved man has the new nature operating in his spirit. His soul is the battleground between the two natures and his body is used according which nature is prevailing. This is further illustrated in Paul’s rendition of the conflict between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:16-25 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 19Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25If we live in the

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Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Pierson’s chart is helpful in understanding this dynamic conflict.17

Winning the war in the soulish part of the believer’s being is critical to spiritual success. True and honest surrender to God, His Word, and the work of the Holy Spirit enables the regenerated spirit to dominate the believer’s life.

Romans 12:1,2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by

17 Pierson, 117.

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the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. We quickly discern that man is a truly complex being whose interaction with the physical world is not nearly as important as his interaction with God. The great doctrine of soteriology will define how and why that is possible.