Before we consider the nature of man alone, let us first take note of the makeup of nature in general. Here we find three basic ingredients, which we might term matter, life, and mind, and each of which is, for the most part, a mystery to man. Depending upon how these ingredients are combined, we find that the things of nature can be classified in one of three recognized areas—the mineral, vegetable, or animal kingdom. In the simplest of the three, the mineral kingdom, we find matter existing in isolation, such as in a common stone. The vegetable kingdom is found to be more complex because it is made up of two of the basic ingredients, namely, matter and life. Here a good example would be a tree. Finally in the animal kingdom we find matter and life united in such a way as to produce a subtle by-product—the mind—making this kingdom the most complex of all. The most outstanding example would, of course, be man.
In other words, man is a triune being. Paul makes this plain in 1 Thessalonians 5:23: "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit [pneuma] and soul [psyche] and body [soma] be preserved blameless." "The entire being, body, soul, and spirit, must be brought into subjection to God."—Messages to Young People, p. 68. (Italics supplied.) Here we have the three basic ingredients of nature incorporated in man: matter (body), life (spirit), and mind (soul). Let us now consider each part of man separately and in more detail.
1. Body. According to Genesis 2:7, God began work on His masterpiece of creation by taking the dust, or elements, of the earth, and forming a body. It is beyond our comprehension to know how such a thing could be accomplished, but we do know that the human body is nothing more than "dust" arranged in an inexplicable manner, for it can be reduced to the simple elements. This body that God formed was a beautiful creation, perfect in form and appearance. But it was not alive. Man was a soul (meaning creature), but he was not yet a living soul. When God placed the "breath of life" into this body, then it began to function as a part of the living creature, man. Since the death of man is a reversal of the creation of man, we find that at death the body becomes dust once again (Ps. 104:29), and remains in this state until the resurrection morning.
2. Spirit. The spirit is that which God breathed into man's nostrils, which caused him to become a living creature (Gen. 2:7). This "breath of life" is often called "spirit" (James 2:26, margin). Notice that the Greek word translated "spirit" in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 is pneurna, which means air. However, we must not consider this as simply the air we breathe, for if such were the case we could bring the dead back to life merely by pumping air into the nostrils and lungs. No, the spirit is not just air, but the animating agency in man, or we might say the spark of life. There is little we really understand about it.
This "breath of life" or animating agency is found in all living creatures, both animal and man (Gen. 7:15, 21, 22), and in this respect man has no pre-eminence over the beasts (Eccl. 3:19).
There is one more point that should be considered. Only the believers in pagan religions, and a tiny minority of Christians, would consider this "breath of life" or "spirit" as having been a thinking entity before such time as it was placed in the body of Adam. We must be consistent, then, and recognize the fact that neither is it a thinking entity when it is separated from the body at the time of death. It came from God in the beginning, and in the same form it returns to God when man dies (Eccl. 12:7). Once again we should remember that the death of man is a reversal of the creation of man: God simply takes away this animating agency until the resurrection morning (Ps. 104:29). The resurrection is in a sense a renewal of creation (Eze. 37:1-4).
3. Soul. It would be well, first of all, to mention that the word "soul" in the Scriptures may assume more than one meaning. For instance, in the creation of Adam it is said that as the result of the union of the breath of life and dust he became a "living soul," or nephesh chayyah. But notice that this same Hebrew expression is translated "living creature" in Genesis 1:21, 24. In other words, the Biblical term "soul" can sometimes mean simply "being" as is the case in I Peter 3:20 and Acts 2:41. However, it is equally evident in studying other texts that the term "soul" is more often applied to a particular part of the triune creature man, and it is this application that we are especially interested in.
This part of man is perhaps the most difficult to comprehend, but it is also the most important, for it is the moral or accountable part of man. It is that part of man which sins (Eze. 18:4). "The soul must purpose the sinful act, before passion can dominate over reason."ibid., p. 67. (Italics supplied.) It is true that often the body plays a part in a sinful act (Matt. 5:27), but it does so only as it is animated by the heart (verse 28). What part of man is defined as the "heart" in the Word of God? In Proverbs 23:7 we read, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." It is knowledge that makes us accountable (James 4:17 and I Sam. 3:13). And where do we think or have knowledge? It is in the mind. When Paul spoke of the soul in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 he used the word psyche, and one will recognize this Greek word as being the origin of our modern term "psychology," which is a study of the mind.
It is difficult to give a definition for something we know very little about, so perhaps the best we can do is to say that the soul is the deep seat of man's consciousness, the mind, or the part of man that thinks and makes it possible for him to accept or reject the Saviour. When we accept the Lord, or become converted, we change our thinking (Rom. 12:2 and Phil. 2:5). The soul governs the affections and controls the man. The five senses are avenues to the soul, and it is for this reason that so much importance is attached in the Bible to seeing, hearing, et cetera.
Since the soul is the sinful part of lost mankind, when Jesus came to offer a vicarious sacrifice for man His soul was the part of Him that was made an "offering for sin" (Isa. 53: 10). On the cross of Calvary He "poured out his soul unto death" that you and I might live.
It was with the mind that man had sinned. So the penalty for sin must be paid in the realm of the mind. It was not the crucifixion that killed the Saviour; it was the weight of sin with which He had identified Himself.
"The Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father's acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that Their separation was to be eternal. Christ felt the anguish which the sinner will feel when mercy shall no longer plead for the guilty race. It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father's wrath upon Him as man's substitute, that made the cup He drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God." —The Desire of Ages, p. 753.
But does not man have some kind of preeminence over the beasts? Yes, but in organization rather than in the matter of basic ingredients. Perhaps this can be illustrated by noting what happens when we have a uniting of electric current with various mechanical gadgets. When this current is introduced into a lamp, light results; in a stove the same current generates heat; turn it into a motor and you get power; in a bell it produces sound. In other words, the nature of the gadget determines the nature of the by-product. Likewise, what happens when life and matter are united seems to depend entirely upon the organized state of the matter involved. The kind of nervous system the creature possesses determines the caliber of its mind. A horse has exactly the same "breath of life" (spirit) as man; its body is made of the same "dust"; and it can even think. But it cannot understand the plan of salvation. Man has tremendous pre-eminence over the beast, inasmuch as in the creation God organized man alone in such a way that he can accept the sacrifice of Christ, be converted, and have eternal life.
"The jewel of the mind, [is] that which elevates man above the beasts."—Testimonies, vol. 8, p. 127. (Italics supplied.)
Now, what about the soul in death? Did the soul of Adam exist before God created him? No, God used only two ingredients, the breath of life and the dust (Gen. 2:7), and man had a soul and began to think only as a result of the union of these two ingredients. Since the death of man is merely a reversal of the creation of man, it is obvious then that when God "takest away their breath," and they "return to their dust" (Ps. 104:29), the soul ceases to exist. God makes this very plain in Psalms 146;4, where He explains death: "His breath [spirit] goeth forth, he returneth to his earth [body]; in that very day his thoughts [soul] perish." Just as the body is dead without the spirit, so the soul cannot exist without the body. For this reason when Jesus wants to reward the righteous soul, He resurrects the body for the soul to tabernacle in.
"The flesh, in which the soul tabernacles, belongs to God."—Messages to Young People, p. 69. (Italics supplied.)
There is one more thing to consider, and this is the most vital of all to understand. The Greek and Hebrew words from which "soul" and "spirit" are translated are found in the Bible seventeen hundred times, but in spite of today's popular theories, not once are they ever referred to as "deathless," "undying," or "immortal." The term "immortal" is used but once in the New Testament, in the English version, and then is applied to God (1 Tim. 1:17). Paul settles the matter in 1 Timothy 6:15, 16 when he states that God "only hath immortality."
There was no conscious entity existing before man was created, nor is there any conscious entity existing after a man dies. The "spirit" or animating agency, goes back to God who gave it, and thereupon the soul ceases to exist until such time as the "spirit" and body are united again. God states this so plainly that all who wish to know the truth can understand: "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish" (Ps. 146: 4). He further emphasizes: "The living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished. . . . Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest" (Eccl. 9:5, 6, 10; see also Job 14:12, 21; Ps. 115:17; Ps. 6:5; and Isa. 38:10, 11).
One of the most dangerous untruths being presented today, and one that has gained much popularity, is the heathen teaching that men do not really die, but after death go right on living and thinking. One of the nation's most eminent ministers recently wrote for a widely read journal an article entitled "There Is No Death." This is merely a reiteration of the first lie ever told on earth. Way back in the Garden of Eden the father of lies appeared to Eve and told her "Ye shall not surely die," and she believed him even though the Lord had plainly said, "Thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 3:4 and 2:17). Her decision to believe the devil instead of God resulted in a flood of sin that still engulfs mankind.
The same danger still exists today for those who insist on accepting the mere theories of men that originate in the mind of the evil one, instead of a plain "Thus saith the Lord." The ugly head of Spiritualism is reared once again, although now in a more subtle disguise, and those who already believe that the dead are not really dead, will be easily deluded and swept into the ranks of the enemy. Our only safety is in clinging to the truth as it is in the Word of God.
The first death (Heb. 9:27), which we all face, is temporary in nature (John 5:28), and for this reason Jesus called this first death a "sleep" (John 11:11-14). No one goes to heaven or hell immediately after death, but rather all are reserved "unto the day of judgment" (2 Peter 2:9), which is what we would expect of a just God. All remain unconscious in the grave (Job 17:13) until after they have been judged, when the voice of Jesus calls them forth. Death is swallowed up in victory for those who love the Lord, because they are brought forth with new immortal bodies (1 Cor. 15:51-54). The wicked, on the other hand, are brought out of the grave with their same corrupt bodies, and are cast into hell-fire, where after being punished for their sins they are utterly destroyed, both body and soul. This is the second death (2 Peter 3:7; Matt. 10:28; Rev. 20:9, 14).
Since Jesus burst the portals of the tomb on that glorious resurrection morning, death has been a defeated enemy, and those that love and serve Him need not fear even though they may "walk through the valley of the shadow of death." Praise be to God who giveth us "eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
