Mankind’s Design
- Michael E.B. Maher
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
John 3:3-5 “Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (4) Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" (5) Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
There are certain truths revealed to us in the New Testament that cannot be understood unless we have a clear understanding of the nature of man. It is only in the New Testament that our Lord Jesus reveals to us the full make-up of God’s creation called man. In the above quoted passage of scripture our Lord revealed for the first time the fact that it is the spirit of man that is born-again. Because Nicodemus had no understanding of the make-up of man he couldn’t grasp the truth that our Lord was trying to teach him. This is just one illustration of why it is important for us as believers to have a clear understanding of just how God has created us, for without that understanding we will be like Nicodemus and miss out on spiritual truths as revealed to us in God’s word. In this series of teachings we examine each part of man as revealed to us in the scriptures and the role each part plays in our walk as believers.
2 Corinthians 4:16 “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.”
There is a lot more to man than that which we see in the natural, i.e. the physical body of man. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul teaches us that there is an inward man and that there is also an outward man. Our outward man consists of our physical bodies, which includes the physical organ of our brain. This is the part of man that is mortal, and so this is the part of man that is growing older day by day, which is why the scripture states that our outward man is perishing.
2 Corinthians 5:8 “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”
It is the inward man which is the real person and it is the inner man that is an eternal being, for it is our inward man that leaves the earth when we die. The inner man of believers departs to be with the Lord Jesus in heaven, while the inner man of unbelievers departs to Hades where they are held in torment. The apostle Paul teaches us in the above quoted passage of scripture that as far as believers are concerned to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, referring to our inner man leaving our earthly bodies to ascend into heaven.
Psalms 139:13-14 “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. (14) I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.”
In scripture, the inward man is sometimes referred to as the “soul”, i.e. when Noah and his family were saved from the flood the Holy Spirit tells us that eight souls were saved (1 Peter 3:20). The inward man is also sometimes referred to as the “heart”, for the Holy Spirit also speaks of the hidden person of the heart (1 Peter 3:4). And so just as the outward man i.e. our physical body, is made up of different parts which all have different functions, so our inward man is also made up of different parts which also have different functions. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit reveals to us that God has formed our inward parts (plural), thus indicating that the inward man is made up of more than one part. In that same passage of scripture we read that God covers us in our mother’s womb, which speaks of the physical body (our outward man) that God prepares for our inward man to dwell in. To more clearly understand the concept of our inward man being made up of different parts we can look at the natural. In the natural the physical body of man is a complete whole. But our bodies are made up of different parts and each part of the body of man has a different function. For example the brain has one function and the heart another. And so just as in the natural, so the inward man also has different parts and each part has a different function. Nevertheless just as all the parts of the body make up the whole body, so all the different parts of our inward man make up the whole man.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
There are three major components to the make up of mankind and the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul lists those three components for us in the above quoted passage of scripture, i.e. the spirit, the soul and the body. The body as we have already mentioned, is the outward man while the spirit and the soul are the two main components of the inward man. It is because these two components are the main parts of the inward man that when referring to the inward man as a whole, scripture very often refers to mankind as either a soul or a spirit.
Deuteronomy 6:5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture from the Old Testament the Holy Spirit again refers to the three main components of mankind which we have already mentioned, for He refers to the heart, soul and strength of man. The previous scripture we quoted from the New Testament referred to the spirit, soul and body of man. And so we see that both passages of scripture are in fact referring to the same parts of man, for what the Old Testament calls the heart, the New Testament calls the spirit, and what the Old Testament calls the strength of man, the New Testament calls the body, and both passages refer to the soul. The word translated soul in both New and Old Testaments can also be translated mind, depending on the context of the passage.
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
As we can clearly see in the above quoted passage of scripture the spirit and the soul are not the same parts of the inward man, for the scripture teaches us that the two parts can be separated. I want you to notice however that it is only the word of God that can separate the spirit and the soul, for God has created them to function together. Nevertheless just as the brain and heart of the physical body have different functions to perform within the body of man, so it is that the spirit and the soul also perform different functions within the inward man. It is the spirit of man that is born-again and becomes a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). The soul of man does not change at the new birth however, for as we will see in a later section, the will, mind and conscience of man (which make up the soul) do not change when we are born-again.
The inner and outer man
The above diagram shows the three components of God’s creation called mankind. The soul and spirit in this diagram make up the inner man, while the body in the diagram is the outer man. The reason the soul is shown at the top of the diagram is because it is in the soul of man that the will of man resides, and it is the will of man that governs the various components of man.
Michael E.B. Maher
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