And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7                                               

Did you know you are a tripartite being body, soul and spirit? So you could say you are visible and invisible. Several verses in the Bible bear this out and we’re going to be looking at this in our following thoughts.

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. 1 Thessalonians 5:23

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. Hebrews 4:12

Makeup of Man

Since man is material and immaterial, we can say man has a material body but he is an invisible spirit, possessing an invisible soul. We live and exist in our fleshly bodies which cease to function upon death. It is at this time the soul and spirit of man goes to one of two places to live; Heaven or Hell. Whether or not we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior before we die will determine which place we end up in. And may I say we will be in full consciousness in both places.

Since we are spirit beings we do live forever. When God breathed his breath into Adam, the first man, man became the offspring of God and also became an eternal being. An eternal being! We will NEVER cease to exist. Knowing this reality you would think man would be more interested in what happens to him after death, but I can assure you man is not! Even so that does not change the fact that we are the ones who choose where we will spend eternity, NOT GOD!

Let me ask you a question, do you want to go to heaven or hell when you die? You can go to either one. If you want to go to hell, you do not have to do anything at all.  But if you want to go to heaven you will have to repent of your sin and ask Jesus Christ to be your savior.

Body, Soul & Spirit

As God is three in one, so is man also three in one.  You see, God had made a body from the dust of the ground, but there was no life in that body. So God breathed into man=s nostrils the breath of life and the lifeless body responded. Without the soul and spirit there is only a lifeless body

Our bodies are made for earthly living in this world. They are weak and corruptible bodies. Our earthly bodies have the sentence of death in them because we have the fallen nature of Adam who in the beginning sinned. Because of Adams sin all of his offspring are sinners in need of salvation.

Man is A Spirit

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.  So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 1Corinthians 15:53-54

In the above scripture the Apostle Paul speaks of the future change our earthly bodies will undergo to be fit for eternity. Paul says we will be changed from corruptible to incorruptible. But my friend, remember this is only for those who trust Jesus Christ as their savior. For all of those who do not, they will receive a corruptible body suited for the Lake of Fire once the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15) has occurred.

Yes, man is born a sinner and he continues to choose to sin. But the love of God has provided forgiveness for all who would ask through Jesus' shed blood.

Because mans body has a fallen nature it is appointed to death. For all believers in Jesus that same body will be raised one day and changed into a glorious eternal body we will live in forever, NEVER to die again, or suffer any kind of heartache, sickness or disease.

We must always remember that we are a spirit. This is who we are, and we are going to live forever somewhere.  Once we did not exist, but now that we do we will remain just as long as God does, and that is forever. God is also a spirit and the angels are spirit creatures. They are not visible to the human eye, unless they want to be visible.

Let me ask you, where will you live forever? With God, or the Devil and the wicked unsaved?

A New Birth

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 1Peter 1:23

Everyone needs a new birth. Man does not know God until he is born again. That is, every human needs a spiritual birth that is from above. Our spirit is dead to God, until it has been made alive by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. This begins to happen through faith and faith alone in Jesus Christ. Once this occurs, a person can draw nigh to God and can have an intimate relationship with him. As a result a person can have fellowship with God in their daily walk of faith. Everyone, everywhere, must have this same experience if they are to go to heaven and live in an eternal paradise when they die.

Our Soul

So we have briefly discussed the body of man and the spirit of man.  Now we want to talk about the soul of man.  It is through our souls that our emotions, feelings and personalities come through. The soul, as distinguished from the spirit, is the seat of appetites and desires. Through our soul we have self-consciousness.

The body, soul and spirit of man are generated at the moment of conception. The body being man=s environmental, or world consciousness, is the container of the soul which is mans self-consciousness (intellect, emotion, and reason). The spirit, being man’s God consciousness.

Our Frail Bodies

Our bodies grow tired, weary, sickly and finally die, but our soul and spirit, when we are saved, will not age, become sick or die.

Wherever we go today we see people with all kinds of physical problems. Go to the hospitals, clinics, rest homes and even many homes have people suffering from various afflictions. We have heart, lung, intestinal, kidney, brain, eyes, hearing, bones, back, spinal problems and more, causing untold pain and suffering to myriads of people all over the world.  There is the cancer, diabetes, heart disease, clogged arteries, nervous system problems, anxieties, chemical imbalances, and on and on the list goes that inflict the bodies of untold millions of people.  What a world of suffering among the human family.  Why? SIN! Sin brought this upon us, no matter what some may say or think.

Even today, people committing acts of sin are adding to the ever present sentences of death. What I mean is, some people would not be pledged with some of their afflictions if they were living a life pleasing to God.

For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 1 Corinthians 11:30-31

What we have been discussing above is bad enough, but did you know that the soul and spirit of most people are even worse off than their bodily afflictions. If we could see the souls and spirits of people we would see an even more alarming sight of afflictions. Think of it this way. We feed our bodies with food to satisfy our hunger and hopefully, we eat the kind of food to give us good health. We exercise to promote good health. But, did you know the invisible man, the soul and spirit of man needs food as well? Too many don’t even realize this.

To be truthful, most peoples soul and spirit is desperately sick, while others are feeble and suffering from lack of the nourishment they need. Just as our body needs food, so does the soul and spirit of man need spiritual food. We need the Bread of Life that only comes from God. Many people have good physical health, but their soul is starving. Others even faithfully go to church, but they are not being fed the bread of life they so desperately need.

Only Gods Word will sustain us, nourish us and enable us to grow in the Lord, and to be a full grown healthy spiritual individual. Every person has this need.

Think of all the people you meet every day that are spiritually starved and do not even recognize it. They feel no need for God, the church, the Bible, or salvation. Why? Because they are dead to the things of God.  Unless they come under the sound of the gospel, they will live and die without Christ. Their eternity will be in hell forever in everlasting torment because they never repented of their sin.

So there are millions of people among us who are spiritually dead and are not even slightly aware of it. They don’t know God or his son the Lord Jesus Christ. Most of them don’t even seem to be worried they might go to hell if they were to suddenly die, because Satan has them so deceived. Some think they are alright because, “I’m a good person” or they have connections with some religion, or some prestigious group. But little do they know he doesn’t accept religious, famous or powerful people.

*HE ONLY ACCEPTS BORN AGAIN PEOPLE*

The Death of Jesus                       

God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

Think of what a blessing to mankind it could be if man would only take advantage of what Jesus did for us by dying on the cross and paying for all sin. Far too many people act like Jesus, and what He’s done for mankind is the farthest thing from their minds. Folks, it should not be this way. People are just not taking care of their souls, and thinking about their eternity as it should be, and this is so sad. People just live day by day without taking care of the most important thing they have, which is their soul. And, our soul is the only thing that really is ours in this world. Everything else belongs to God, and we all will give an account of how we used the things of this life one day when we finally meet our Lord Jesus.

My friends, in closing I’d like to reiterate if a soul is not cleansed from sin by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, then that soul has no hope for eternity. Be sure of your destiny today by calling upon His Holy name. He will respond.

There are people who buy nice clothes, new houses with nice furniture, and drive fancy vehicles. When they die they have it all planned to have a nice casket surrounded with flowers. They lived in style and want to be put to rest looking like a successful person who had done well in life. But their soul (which is their true being) has gone to hell for eternity. Loved ones and friends would have a right to weep because their loved one has lost their soul forever, but sadly many don’t know enough about God to even know the dangers of dying and going to Hell. 

People without proper beliefs have missed the purpose for which they were born to experience. God had a better plan for their life and they rejected it for a few nice things instead. Are you living like this? Living for “things” and not for Christ? I truly hope not my friend.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.  Matthew 6:33

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you: Matthew 7:7

Father in heaven, we thank you for all of your many sacrifices and blessings. Thank you for your precious Word that tells us of our need. Bless all our readers and their families in this upcoming year 2019, as always, and may your hearts give you praise. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

“Loving the Savior” Preacher