Nature of Man’s Spirit

Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you." But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.

(Luke 24:36-40)

Before we discuss the topic of what happens to the spirits of men after death, it would benefit us to first discuss the nature of man’s spirit. Having an understanding of this subject will assist in the discussion of mankind’s resurrected bodies later in this teaching.

So what do we know about the spirit of man? Something the Lord reveals to us in the above quoted passage is that man’s spirit does not have flesh and bone. In other words unlike the human body, the human spirit is not physical in nature.

By contrasting the human body with the human spirit we can learn certain truths about man’s spirit. Because the human body is mortal there are four essential elements it needs to stay alive; air, water, and food. On the other hand, because the human spirit is an eternal creation it needs none of these elements. It is therefore evident that the human spirit doesn’t breath, drink, or eat.

So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. "Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.' But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.

(Luke 16:22-25)

The above passage gives us further insight into the spirit of man. The context of this passage is that Lazarus and the rich man had known each other during their lifetime and both had recently died.

The first point to note is that the rich man immediately recognised Lazarus when he saw him. The reason for that is because the human spirit is the exact image of the human body. In other words, if our spirit stood next to our bodies they would look like identical twins.

The second point to note is that the human spirit can experience pain, for this passage teaches that in the spiritual environment of Hades, the human spirit experiences pain or torment. The rich man requested a drop of water be placed on the tip of his tongue to alleviate some of his torment. He did not request water because his spirit was thirsty, but rather because of the cooling properties of water to counter the heat of the flame that engulfed him.

Then Saul said to his servants, "Find me a woman who is a medium that I may go to her and inquire of her." And his servants said to him, "In fact, there is a woman who is a medium at En Dor." So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him; and they came to the woman by night. And he said, "Please conduct a séance for me, and bring up for me the one I shall name to you." Then the woman said to him, "Look, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?" And Saul swore to her by the Lord, saying, "As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing." Then the woman said, "Whom shall I bring up for you?" And he said, "Bring up Samuel for me." When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, saying, "Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!" And the king said to her, "Do not be afraid. What did you see?" And the woman said to Saul, "I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth." So he said to her, "What is his form?" And she said, "An old man is coming up, and he is covered with a mantle." And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed down. Now Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" And Saul answered, "I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you that you may reveal to me what I should do."

(1 Samuel 28:7-15)

The above passage of scripture gives us further insight into the nature of the human spirit. The context of this passage is that Saul employed a medium to bring up Samuel’s spirit from the dead so that he could enquire of him.

This passage gives us numerous insights which we will discuss in more detail later in this teaching, but the point I want to concentrate on in this section is the medium’s description of Samuel.

Because the medium did not know Samuel, she described the spirit she saw as that of an old man. However, if Saul had been able to see into the spirit realm as the medium could, he would have immediately recognised Samuel. Nevertheless, based on the medium’s description, Saul perceived that it was Samuel.

The point I want to highlight from this encounter is the medium’s description of Samuel as an old man. Samuel was approximately eighty years old when he died and so the medium accurately described him as an old man.

We have already mentioned that our spirits look exactly like our physical bodies, but it goes further than that, for this passage reveals that our spirits also reflect our age.

Samuel died as an old man and therefore his spirit reflected the age at which he died. It is therefore evident that when humans die, for the rest of eternity, their spirits reflect the age at which they die. In other words after death the human spirit does not grow any older, but neither does it get any younger.

Michael E.B. Maher

Resurrection of the Dead

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