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Introduction
“So also it has been written: “The FIRST MAN Adam became into a LIVING SOUL; ” the LAST ADAM into a LIFE-GIVING SPIRIT. However, the spiritual was not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The FIRST MAN was made of DUST from the EARTH; the SECOND MAN from HEAVEN. As the one was made of dust, so also are those of the earth; and as is the heavenly one, so also are those of heaven. And as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” 1 Corinthians 15:45-49.
In the previous study titled, “No longer Judged for Sin but for Righteousness,” we proved how the first-death refers to the natural, that is, it is Adam’s body that died NOT his spirit. And we indicated that there is no such thing as spiritual death, that is Adam’s condition was dictated by Sin that now dwelt in his body to hold his Soul in captivity, as Paul says, “I am fleshly sold under Sin.” In this study we aim to expand on this by examining what Mankind was ORIGINALLY created to be, which we will contrast against what mankind GETS TO become in Christ. Through which we hope to show the MAGNITUDE of the EFFECT of the Cross of Christ, that brought an end to Sin, Death, the Law, and the FLESH. The main principle being Mankind became flesh in Adam through Sin and in Christ spirit through Righteousness. Making a CLEAR distinction between what we were in Adam to what we become in Christ, as Paul says, “the First man was from the Earth; the Second Man is from Heaven.” Note: the Second Man, who became Spirit is from Heaven meaning the First man who was from Earth WAS NOT SPIRIT.
Adam: the First Man
When Adam was created Genesis states, “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 being [SOUL].” Genesis 2:7. Now in this statement there are THREE main components that make up Adam, the dust of the ground to make up his body, the breath of life in his nostrils to say his spirit and what ADAM essentially became that is the SOUL. Now the issue we have in the church is that we associate Adam to the breath of Life and NOT what he BECAME, even to translate the last part of that statement to mean CREATURE or BEING rather than what he BECAME a Living SOUL.
So we imagine when God formed man from the DUST, that He formed the CLAY into flesh and blood, THEN He breathed the spirit of Adam to occupy it. But the reality is when God breathed into the form of CLAY, the clay was transformed to be both Flesh and Blood and Adam awoke to be a living being. Mankind was created to be a three part being, intertwined as one, his body is as much a part of him as his soul, given life by the breath of God. The difference between these two statements is that one makes him a visitor, a SPIRITUAL being bound to the natural while the other ties Adam directly to the earth making him a NATURAL being. The former point of view is what is commonly believed in the Church, which is what we seek to disprove in this study. In all honesty this seems VERY simple, yet we have somehow discounted a mountain of evidence to attribute spirit-hood to mankind. We assume because we are made in the image of God, we must also be spirit as God is Spirit. Likeness does not mean that, we can walk the streets of London and we will see statues of bronze made in the likeness of mankind, but they are not flesh and blood. If we take it to mean as God is Spirit we are also made spirit, then are we created God? No we are NOT. But God made us in His likeness through flesh and blood, as He made His angels, the sons of God in His likeness as spirits.
The very name of Adam: הָֽאָדָ֗ם (hā·’ā·ḏām) has a great significance, in that it is associated with the Hebrew word for the ground: הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה (hā·’ă·ḏā·māh). And it is also worth considering, his names association to the Hebrew word for blood, (דָּם: dam). So Adam is literally associated with “Ground Man,” or even “Blood Man.” So in the name of Adam, God is in essence telling us where Adam came from and what he essentially is, that is a Soul. The Soul is composed of emotion, mind, conscience and will, it is the personhood and character of that being. This has significance in the sense that we imagine that the BODY of Adam was made of the DUST, but by the same reasoning we forget to associate his BLOOD was also made from the GROUND, and it’s the BLOOD of man or even any living creature that is associated with the life, personhood, or SOUL of that being. So we can say Adam’s BODY and SOUL was formed from the VERY earth beneath our feet. This is a very important point to bear in mind, because it is the main concept that undergirds what we are studying.
It is worth considering that the statement that DEFINED the creation of MANKIND contained within it his TRIUNE nature, BODY, SPIRIT & SOUL. So when we read the creation of Adam, Adam did not just become a “living being,” but “a living Soul.” The difference between these two translations is very subtle yet it is significant. That it is Adam’s created nature that was revealed in this statement not the mere fact that he became a living creature. And even in the case that people prefer the term “being,” to avoid the obvious use of the word “Soul,” the intended meaning of their translation is precisely as what the soul represents, that is the personhood. They are NOT saying Adam became a creature, but Adam became a self aware living being and it is this association that determines what Adam was, that is a SOUL.
And we will prove this from the words Paul used to describe this moment of creation translating the Hebrew to the Greek. In the main text of our study Paul writes, “The first Adam became into a living (ζῶσαν: zaó) soul (ψυχὴν: psuché);” the Last Adam into a life-giving (ζωοποιοῦν: zóopoieó) spirit (πνεῦμα: pneuma).” 1 Corinthians 15:45. The main point is that both sides of the statements are equal when we consider the term “being,” which applies to both natural beings and spiritual beings. That is as much as Adam was a living being, Christ is also a living being, the difference between the two statements is what essentially that “being” is. Which is the VERY point Paul is trying to prove, saying “the spiritual was not first, but the natural.” From that statement he is concluding that the being of Adam was Natural while the Being of Christ is Spiritual, which He became being born from the dead.
And it is NOT the matter of the life-giving aspect of Christ that is the point of consideration, because Adam was also able to create after himself, as God commanded him to multiply and be fruitful. If the matter of life-giving is the point, then Christ could have just simply became a life-giving soul (ψυχὴν: psuché). But what Christ became is essentially different, that is Spirit and it is contrasted against what Adam WAS, a Living Soul. So it is in this respect the Lord said to Nicodemus, “That having been born of the flesh is flesh, and that having been born of the Spirit is spirit.” John 3:6. Meaning flesh CANNOT give birth to spirit NOR can spirit give birth to flesh. The main point we want you to see is, the line of progress tracing the triune being of mankind, from being created a Living SOUL, to becoming FLESH through the SIN of Adam then to being saved by becoming SPIRIT through the Righteousness of Christ. It is the fact Adam became flesh that made it necessary for Christ to come as FLESH so that through His DEATH in the flesh, He might make a way for Flesh-mankind to become Spirit-Mankind, which the bulk of this study is seeking to establish.
Now, if Paul wanted to call Adam a living creature he could have simply used the word, ktisma (κτισμάτων) to mean creatures which is used in several places in the New Testament. John writes, “a third of the creatures: ktisma (κτισμάτων), having life: psuché (ψυχάς) in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.” Revelation 8:9. Here John says, the creatures having a “soul” in the sea died, so we have creature and soul associated. Now, we can contrast Revelation 8:9 against the statement which John makes in relation to it saying, “And the second poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood, as of one dead; and every living: zóé (ζωῆς), soul: psuché(ψυχὴ) that was in the sea died.” Revelation 16:3. When we compare these two statements, the “creatures having a soul [life]” is DIRECTLY translated to mean “Living Soul.” The point we want you to see is that the SOUL is the main focus. If living creature was John’s intent, he could have simply used the Greek word, ktisma (κτισμάτων) for creatures and zóé (ζωῆς) for living, but he laboured to show us in the first instance that this creatures had a soul then in the second that they were living soul not just creatures.
Now, looking at this we can see the amazing similarities that are used to describe the state of Adam to that of the state of sea creatures. That is, Adam was a living: zaó (ζῶσαν) soul: psuché (ψυχὴν) and the Sea creatures are also living: zóé (ζωῆς) soul: psuché (ψυχὴ). The difference between these two statements is in the use of the word “living” which in Adam is derived from the VERB zaó (ζάω) meaning to live while in regards to the sea creatures it is derived from the NOUN zóé (ζωή) meaning life. So we can read the translation of the sea creatures to mean, every “Soul Life” died. Which brings us back to the main point of our discussion, be it creatures of sea or land or even mankind the essence of all created beings is in the Soul.
And this is illustrated to us in the Command God gave to Noah from the moment animals became a potential food source for mankind. God said, “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall NOT eat FLESH with its LIFE, that is, its blood.” Genesis 9:3-4. The term that is used to describe the “lifeblood (נָ֫פֶשׁ : nephesh)” is the same word that is used to describe what Adam became, that is a Living Soul. And God follows this statement with, “Surely for your lifeblood “(נָ֫פֶשׁ : nephesh)” I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man.” Genesis 9:5. The same lifeblood of the animal is described along with the lifeblood of mankind. Again the point we are trying to establish is that rather than a living creature it is a living soul that applies to both mankind and animals.
Now, we might argue animals do not have souls, but we forget the serpent opened its mouth and spoke to Eve and it was described as having the characteristic of being canning in Genesis 3:1-2. And if the Soul of an animal is not significant, why did God restrict us from eating its blood, while its flesh is made food for us? Moses wrote, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your SOULS; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ And he follows with, “Whoever hunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with DUST; for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life.” Leviticus 17:11, 13-14. There are two points we need to bear in mind, the first is that the blood of the innocent animal that was sacrificed, that is its “soul” was made to atone for the GUILT of the Soul of Mankind, and not the guilt of his spirit. The Second point is that God commands the blood of the animal to be covered with dust the same as a body is buried, the significance being the blood is from the ground just as much as the body is.
The Soul and Blood are one and the same thing. When Cain killed his brother Abel, God said to Cain, “The voice of your brother’s BLOOD cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.” Genesis 9:5. Please note, it is Not Abel’s body, NOR his spirit but his BLOOD, that is his Soul that cried out to God as it returned back to the ground. So we can see both Flesh and Blood that is Body and Soul of mankind, are from the ground and only the BREATH of LIFE comes from God, that is the spirit.
The Lord Himself said, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.” John 8:23. Now we know the Lord’s body was formed on Earth, in the wombs of Mary, as stated in Luke 1:31-32, and as also described in Hebrews 2:14. However we also know the Lord existed from everlasting in Heaven as described in John 1:14, Romans 8:3, Philippians 2:6-7 and which the Lord Himself affirmed saying, “And now glorify Me, You Father, with Yourself, with the glory that I had with You before the world existed.” John 17:5. So the Lord is not telling us we are from below just because our body is from the earth, but the fact both our body and soul are from the earth UNLIKE Himself, who once was a Spirit as God is Spirit. [John 4:24] And if we are from the Earth, then it means we WERE NOT created to be spirit, but Natural that is a Living Soul. Which is the concept Paul was proving from 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 that Adam was from Earth but the Second Man the Lord is from Heaven.
David also said, “For You formed my INWARD parts; You covered me in my mother’s WOMB. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvellous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the LOWEST PARTS of the EARTH. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.” Psalms 139:13-16. David clearly placed his origin to be the very depth of the Earth, and the formation of his INWARD and OUTWARD parts to be formed in his mother’s Womb. The point is the statement, “The earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind.” Genesis 1:12. Applies as much to every living creature with the breath of life as it does to the grass of the field because we are all brought forth from the earth. In fact a woman is directly compared to the fertile ground, in respect to her husband who is a seed. [Jeremiah 3:1 & Isaiah 62:4-5]
Now in relation to this we will consider the statement of Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5. Now, this might seem like Jeremiah held a form of existence before he became a man, for God to have known him but that is very wrong. David was also declaring, God had ordained him to be both king of Israel, and a prophet by the simple fact that ALL his days were already written before he was formed in the womb. Making the same exact point as Jeremiah but making his point from the perspective of the Books of Heaven and not as Jeremiah did in the knowledge of God. To simplify, God could have said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb, all the days of your life were written before Me,” which would have the same effect. The point both David and Jeremiah are making was that God sees beyond the limitation of time and space and is not to be confused with the root of mankind.
The Last point we will address in regards to the Creation of Adam is the Breath of Life that he received from God. The main issue as mentioned above is that we associate our being to the Breath and NOT to what that breath formed us to be. The effect of the Breath of Life is best described by Elihu, in the story of Job, when he said, “The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me LIFE.” Job 33:4. Elihu is making the point that the Spirit of God formed his body and soul while the breath of God sustains him, the word he used to mean “gives me life” is to say “it causes me to live.” And again Elihu says, “If He [God] should set His heart on it, if He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.” Job 34:14. The significant point being, the breath of life from God animates the body, as James also said, “For just as the body apart from spirit is dead.” James 2:26. So we can say, the Spirit of God formed the body and soul of mankind while the breath of God causes us to live. The same as the electric force that makes all the appliances in our house work.
And this breath of life is available to every living creature on the Earth, God said to Noah, “And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven ALL FLESH in which is the BREATH of LIFE; everything that is on the earth shall die.” Genesis 6:17. And again, “And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. All in whose nostrils was the BREATH of the SPIRIT of LIFE, all that was on the dry land, died.” Genesis 7:21-22. The very SAME term that is used to describe the CREATION of Adam is used to describe every living being on earth. As Solomon said, “Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?” Ecclesiastes 3:21. That is to say the SAME breath that animates the living creatures of the earth animates us also, which is the POINT Solomon was making. And Solomon describes the end of Natural mankind as, “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the SPIRIT will return to God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:7. The SPIRIT Solomon is referring to is, the BREATH of LIFE that is present in every living being on earth. Therefore, Solomon is saying our Body and Soul will return to the ground but the spirit, the breath of life that is in us will ALWAYS return back to God.
Now, there are two concepts of LIFE which we need to distinguish between. The First which God described as, “ALL FLESH in which is the BREATH of LIFE.” Genesis 6:17. The Second which God described as, “For the LIFE of the flesh is in the BLOOD.” Leviticus 17:11. Now the First statement is in regards to the CAUSE and SUSTAINER of Flesh-life which comes forth from God, which has to do with the breath that is the spirit as Elihu described saying, “The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me LIFE.” However, the Second is in regards to the EFFECT, that is in respect to what was caused INTO being, that is Blood, the Soul-LIFE, which unlike the body that returns to DUST, the Soul-Life is ETERNAL, which Adam BECAME.
Now the main aspect of the spirit of mankind, that is the breath of the Almighty, is that it brings the gift of God with it. So we can “ASSUME” the spirit we have is as UNIQUE to us as our body is. Elihu said, “But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.” Job 32:8. He said this after assessing all the natural aspects of mankind’s age and wisdom but he attributed understanding to the effect of the breath of God. James also says, “Every good act of giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of shifting.” James 1:17. That is our talents, abilities, and wisdom is given to us in our spirit by God to the benefit of mankind. However it is ultimately up to us whether we use it or neglect it, or even if we use it for good or evil. So the overall point is that Adam was a Living Soul, who had a spirit and lived in a body. Now this was the ORIGINAL state of creation which God intended, and in this study we will trace the descent and ascent of mankind through Sin and Righteousness.
We should NEVER forget that the Natural was created to be Eternal, and that when “God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was VERY GOOD.” Genesis 1:31. What made the natural to be transient and corrupt is the entrance of Sin and Death through the fall of Adam. Paul wrote, “Because of this, just as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death passed to all men, because all sinned.” Romans 5:12. So when we examine the creation of Adam we have to view him in the light of perfection which he once had dwelling in a PERFECT world which God made for him. Mankind was PERFECTLY suited for the NATURAL world as the angels were to the SPIRITUAL therefore Adam had NO NEED to be in HEAVEN, since EARTH herself was a PARADISE.
Creation of Eve
Now, we will study the creation of Eve, in order to determine what makes her UNIQUE from Adam. And we have to do this in the respect to her unity with her husband because the first thing Adam said when he met the woman that was taken out of him was, how a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. That is, Mankind is one unit which is made up of a husband and a wife. So we will examine Eve in this unity to determine if God gave her a unique spirit or did He give her a unique soul? If her spirit is unique then Mankind is essentially spirit however if her soul is unique then Mankind essentially becomes a soul. Now, in one of the most controversial passages of the Bible Paul told Timothy “Adam was formed first then Eve.” 1 Timothy 2:13. The point is there is a clear consequence to the order Adam and Eve were created especially in terms of the image and likeness we bear.
God said, “So God created MAN [Adam] in His own image; in the image of God HE created him [Adam]; male and female He created THEM [Mankind]. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply;” Genesis 1:27-28. This is saying Adam was created to bear the IMAGE of God but Eve was created to resemble Adam. It is in this regard Paul said, “For truly a man ought not to cover the head, being the IMAGE and GLORY of GOD; but the WOMAN is the GLORY of MAN. For man is not of woman, but woman of man. For truly man was not created on account of the woman, but woman on account of the man.” 1 Corinthians 11:7-9. That is to say, there is only ONE figurehead that represents the ENTIRE human race and it is NOT Adam and Eve but JUST ADAM, just like there is ONLY One figurehead that represents the New Creation, the Spirit-mankind that is Christ not Christ and His church. We can see this in Romans 5 where Paul contrasts Adam to Christ and not Adam and Eve. Now, please note, Mankind is on the account of Eve, that is why God said, “male and female He created THEM,” the “THEM” is representing mankind as stated in Genesis 5:1-2. And Paul said, “For just as the woman is of the man, so also the man is by the woman.” 1 Corinthians 11:12. That is fruitfulness and multiplication came because of Eve. Likewise in the New Testament, the Multiplication of believers on earth is through the Church which is submitted to the Head, the Lord Jesus Christ being in the SPIRIT, so the Church is the GLORY of the Lord Jesus Christ as Eve was to Adam.
The IMPORTANT point we need to see is that, it is NOT that Eve was LESS but that EVE was TAKEN out of ADAM to bear his IMAGE and LIKENESS. That is why when Adam saw Eve he said, “This is now BONE of my BONES and FLESH of my FLESH; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Eve was NOT taken out of the ground even though by mere proxy through Adam it applied to her, but she was taken out of Adam, which is the reason in the FLESH Woman is the glory of Man. And it is this hierarchy that in essence made EVERYTHING rest on the HEAD of Adam. So what Adam became affected us all, so Eve died because Adam died, not because she was cursed to die. [Genesis 3:16-19]
The NEXT thing we need to address is, how long Adam was alive before God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” Genesis 2:18. Now, the commonly accepted narrative of the creation of Adam and Eve is that they were both created on the SIXTH day, perhaps Adam in the morning and Eve by the evening, completing the day. But the surprising factor is that Adam was on the earth for a clear 3 days before Eve came to be. Adam was only preceded by the creation of Light, the Heavens and the separation of water from dry land, then the VERY first living thing on the Earth was the “Ground Man: Adam, meaning he had preeminence over every living thing that came after.
The Bible states, “This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, BEFORE any PLANT of the field was in the EARTH and BEFORE any HERB of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. 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 being.” Genesis 2:4-7. In this description God clearly states that before there was a single PLANT or HERB on the earth, God formed Man from the ground. And this was followed by an event which was described in the first chapter as happening on the third day, that “The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.” Genesis 2:8-9. Meaning the DAY Adam was created, is the day the earth produced plant life which was to be his food. Therefore, since Adam preceded the plants it means Adam was created on the Third day.
And it was while Adam was the ONLY living creature on the Earth that God filled the sky with the Sun, Moon and Stars. And God seeing Adam was alone, “Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them.” Genesis 2:19. The important point for us to see here is that EVERY LIVING thing was created on the ACCOUNT of ADAM, meaning Adam MUST precede every fish of the sea, birds of the air and the beast of the field, which were ALL created on the FIFTH and SIXTH day. Finally at the mid to end of the SIXTH day, that is on FRIDAY “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: “This is now BONE of my BONES and FLESH of my FLESH; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one FLESH.” Genesis 2:21-25
Now, here Adam says, Eve is flesh of his flesh and bone of his bones that she was taken out of him, giving the definition of marriage, that when a man and woman come together they join to be ONE FLESH, meaning one BODY. Now this might seem simple but, even though Eve was formed from Adam’s flesh and bone, yet her BLOOD was of her own. The significance of this point is that when a Husband and wife are joined to be one body they also share the same spirit which Malachi will show, but their souls remain UNIQUE.
Malachi wrote, “But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.” Malachi 2:15. The “ONE” is in relation to the Husband and Wife’s UNITY in the BODY to become one flesh as Genesis 2:24 states. Which in effect is meant to bring forth Godly Offspring, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified in the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified in the husband. Otherwise, your children are unclean; but now they are holy.” 1 Corinthians 7:14. Now, it is in regard to this UNITY of oneness in the BODY that he says, “having a remnant of the Spirit.” That is a husband and wife being joined to be one body WILL share in the SAME ONE spirit. [1 Corinthians 6:16] The point being Adam and Eve who represents the ONENESS aspect of MANKIND, have a Body that is UNITED, a spirit that is SHARED but have a SOUL that is UNIQUE, which essentially makes mankind a SOUL.
So Peter, like Malachi, warns that we ought to take heed of our spirit, which a husband and wife share, because causing the spouse to be grieved by wounding them CAUSES God to shut out our prayer. Peter says, “Husbands do likewise, dwelling with them according to knowledge, as with a weaker vessel, with the female, rendering honour as joint-heirs also of the grace of life, so as for your prayers not to be hindered.” 1 Peter 3:7. And Malachi graphically demonstrates this saying, “You cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and crying; So He does not regard the offering anymore, nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.” Malachi 2:13. The point is two separate bodies are united to be one unit through having the SAME spirit.
Now, there is a purpose to the reason we showed that Adam was on Earth for a whole three days before Eve came out of him. The similarities we are drawing is in relation to our CURRENT state in Christ through the Spirit, that is we are LITERALLY in Christ as Eve was in Adam for a whole three days before she took his form. This has significance to us which we will touch on later in reference to what it means to be born again, through which we will show what it means to be a SPIRIT.
Fellowship with God
Now the MAIN issue with the teaching that assumes Adam was created spirit is that we are FORCED to INVENT the barrier that came between Mankind and God is because our SPIRIT was DEAD. Now, before addressing this Major ERROR, we first need to lay the foundation on how Adam and Eve with all their innocence, in a world that was created to be Very Good, interacted with God. First God tells us, “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” Genesis 2:25. The very first thing God wanted us to know was that the BODY of Adam and Eve without anything covering it was perfect and without shame. Please Note: the emphasis is the BODY, stark naked before God.
And it is in this state of nakedness that Adam and Eve related with God, Genesis records, “He [Adam] heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.” Genesis 3:8. It was not a voice out of heaven that Adam heard but God in a PHYSICAL form WALKING in the garden of Eden to the point HIs footsteps were making noises as the grass and soil beneath His feet rustled. If it was in his spirit Adam heard God, then he would not have hidden himself, as David said, Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” Psalms 139:7. We have to understand the FLESH of Adam had NO SIN in it and was full of light, so God can directly commune with Adam physically, he was created for this very purpose so he could stand STARK NAKED before God and feel no shame. So mankind was NOT created spirit, who has a soul and lives in a body. Rather AT CREATION, Mankind was a Living Soul, who lived in a body with the Breath of the Almighty giving him life and WORSHIPED God in the NATURAL that is in his BODY.
Adam Became Flesh
Now, the interesting point in the main text of our study is that Paul does NOT say, “Adam became a Living Flesh,” which would have corresponded to the statement that “Christ became a life-giving spirit.” Bearing in mind the context of Paul’s teaching is in regard to the BODY, contrasting the Natural body to the Spiritual Body. [1 Corinthians 15:44-49] Yet Paul calls Adam “a LIVING SOUL,” which is semantically correct because EVEN the BLOOD is formed from the ground. Even so, why would Paul compare Adam’s blood to Christ being Spirit and not his body? The answer is, in the realisation of what makes us FLESH and what makes us SPIRIT, that is the presence of an OUTSIDE force in relation to Sin or Righteousness. For which reason Paul did NOT compare FLESH to SPIRIT even though they are directly correlated, as stated in Galatians “For the flesh desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.” Galatians 5:17. But he compares the Soul of Adam to the Spirit of Christ, that is what Adam was ORIGINALLY created to be to what Christ BECAME, leaving in the middle the current state of mankind which is sinful-flesh.
So in this part of the study we will examine how Adam through Sin became FLESH. That is from a Living Soul which had dominion over his body, to becoming a captive slave to the desires of his body that dominated him through Sin. Sin is not an issue of the spirit be it dead or alive but the condition of the body. This is ILLUSTRATED to us in the first Sin, when Adam listened to the desires of his wife, that is to say his body which was deceived by the serpent and sinned. Which in essence is the definition of sinful flesh, the serpent working in our body deceiving us to do what is evil.
The serpent deceived Eve saying, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your EYES will be OPENED, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:4-5. Adam and Eve already knew good, because they were created in the image of God so they themselves were good being full of light and lived in a world that was perfect. So, the serpent enticed Eve by making her think through the knowledge of evil she would be more like God, so in essence he made evil to be desirable in her eyes. [Genesis 3:22] But the deception was that God knew Evil through the law of contradiction, that is anything that is NOT of Him is evil, not because He did or experienced Evil. As the Lord said, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good, except God alone.” Mark 10:18. And John also says, “God is LIGHT, and in Him is NO darkness AT ALL.” 1 John 1:5. Meaning the knowledge of Evil was NOT at ALL required to be like God in fact it is the VERY thing that makes us LESS like Him.
Evil is the CREATION of the Devil, the Lord said, “He was a murderer from the beginning, and has not stood in the truth, because there is NO TRUTH in him. Whenever he might speak falsehood, he speaks from his own; for he is a LIAR , and the FATHER of it.” John 8:44. God CANNOT Lie and God has NO Darkness in Him, so knowledge of Evil is the knowledge of the devil. As Paul says, “for through the Law is knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:20. So to bear the IMAGE of GOD is having His nature that is RIGHTEOUSNESS resulting in a CONSCIENCE that is free of Sin, NOT the material of our makeup, be it natural or spiritual. Good and Evil are not some philosophical concepts, they are the nature of God and of the devil respectively. The Lord said, “The EYE is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is CLEAR, your whole BODY will be full of LIGHT. But if your eye is EVIL, your whole BODY will be full of DARKNESS. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” Matthew 6:22-23. The Eye is a reference to the understanding, therefore when Adam’s eye was clear, his body was full of light but when he opened himself to know evil then his whole body became full of darkness. So even though Adam had the same naked body as always but NOW he understood differently and it filled him with shame.
So when Adam and Eve transgressed God’s command believing the LIE of the devil, which he spoke from within himself, the DESIRES of the serpent found a place in their flesh. Genesis states, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” Genesis 3:7-10. Please Note, it was NOT death that they experienced at that VERY moment but the FEAR of it, through their eyes being opened to the knowledge of evil, the one concept they were NOT wise to. As Paul says, “For you have not received a spirit of bondage again to fear.” Romans 8:15. That is the fear of death as stated in Hebrews 2:15. So Adam and Eve saw with their natural eyes as they have always done but now it was TAINTED with a darkened understanding. Their eyes were opened to see through the eyes of the spirit of the wicked one as to acquire his dark mind to be at work in their flesh.
And instantly this new flesh mindset condemned them for their nakedness and they felt shame, so they sought to cover themselves from one another. It is like the soul putting on corrupted flesh glasses through which to perceive the world, as a result it responds in fear, greed, wickedness and hate, according to the spirit of the world that works in the body. [1 Corinthians 2:12] So Adam and Eve received the spirit of bondage resulting in fear therefore hid themselves from the presence of God. That is because darkness now dwelt in our body, our natural reaction is to flee from the Light. As the Lord said, “The Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone practising evil hates the Light and does not come to the Light, so that his works may not be exposed.” John 3:19-20. So Adam and Eve fled from the presence of God so that He may not see their nakedness.
So a LIE became the root cause of an evil conscience toward God and the devil was the father of it. So the devil entices mankind to doubt the word of God and to act contrary to His purpose through false beliefs in regards to the FLESH. And the Lord said, “You are of your father the devil, and you desire to do the desires of your father.” John 8:44. So a seed of lie was planted into the heart of all mankind, from which comes forth all manner of evil desires. It is always through a lie, a pursuit of things that never satisfies but exacts a greater price from us. James says, “A man is tempted, being drawn away and being enticed by his own desire. Then desire having conceived, gives birth to sin; and sin having become fully grown, brings forth death.” James 1:14-15. The problem is we fail to identify the root of those desires as EVIL, so we attribute Ambition for ruthlessness, self protection for betrayal, love for lust, whereby by deceiving ourselves we bring forth our own death. The mind of the flesh is darkness, it will always be opposed to the Light as Paul says, “The mind of the flesh is hostility toward God; for it is not subject to the Law of God, for not even can it be.” Romans 8:7.
And Paul describes the working of darkness as, “And you, being dead in your trespasses and sins— in which once you walked according to the age of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit now working in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all also once lived in the desires of our flesh, doing the things willed of the flesh and of its thoughts; and we were by nature children of wrath even as the rest.” Ephesians 2:1-3. The source of Sinful flesh is the spirit of the evil one, which through the one act of Adam had acquired dominion over our body as he has done over the world. Which Paul describes as ”the spirit of the world,” in 1 Corinthians 2:12 and “the spirit of bondage to bring fear” in Romans 8:15. And the effect of this NEW state of BEING in the Flesh, Paul described as, “I am fleshly, having been sold under sin. For what I do, I do not understand. For what I want, this I do not do; but what I hate, this I do. Now if that which I do not want, this I do, I consent to the Law, that it is good. And in that case I am no longer doing it, but the SIN dwelling in me. For I know that there dwells in me nothing good, that is, in my FLESH. For to will is present with me, but not to do good.” Romans 7:14-18.
Here Paul explains what it means to be in the FLESH, that is to be SOLD to the presence of Sin that NOW dwelt in our physical BODY. And being Sold under Sin is to walk according to the age of this world, the spirit of the air that affects the desires of our flesh and mind COERCING us to do what is evil. It is in this regard he says, “For I delight in the Law of God according to the inward man; but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and making me captive to the law of sin being in my members. O wretched man I am! Who will deliver me out of this body of death?” Romans 7:22-24. Here Paul separates mankind into two states, inward man and outward man. The inward man is in reference to the SOUL and the outward is in reference to the BODY which is bound to SIN. He is saying even though my SOUL desires to do good, yet it is held helpless by the power of SIN, that is the spirit of the world that is at work in my body to entice me to do what I hate. This is the state of fallen mankind in Adam to be in Sinful-Flesh.
And God in response to Adam’s Sin said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:… For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:17,19. The death of the body to return back to dust is the consequence of Adam’s disobedience. One bite was enough to corrupt his innocent body which was now made subject to the law of Sin and Death. [Romans 8:2] And for a body that was made wise to the knowledge of Evil being a dwelling place for darkness there is no other outcome but death. Paul said, “the body is indeed dead on account of sin.” Romans 8:10. God did not say to Adam there is a possibility of life through knowing good and evil but the sure outcome of death. So by the works of the law in the flesh, there can never be any justification to life.
And since our VERY SOUL was made from the ground our SOUL enters the heart of the Earth as our body decomposes to be dust. So the Earth received both the Body and Soul of mankind ever since the death of innocent Abel, but the breath of life that was in us always returned back to God as Solomon stated in Ecclesiastes 12:7. So most of the prophets of the Old Testament wrote about entering Sheol, like David and Hezekiah, and even Samuel the prophet was raised up from the depth of the earth from his place of rest, none of whom entered heaven with the exception of Enoch and Elijha, and they had to be taken up body and soul, because through DEATH, both body and soul belonged to the earth. Even the Lord Jesus Christ at His death, His SOUL entered Sheol, His body the Grave and He released His Spirit to God, the depth of which we will discuss in the next section. That is why the term spiritual death is an absolute error, the breath of life in us was NEVER dead, but our body and soul were, through SIN.
And Ezekiel said, “The soul who sins shall die.” Ezekiel 18:4. The Soul is the command centre, the decision maker and it WILL bear ALL consequences even though it might have been influenced by the Flesh or Spirit. Adam as a Living Soul sinned, giving heed to the desires of his body Eve who was deceived by the serpent. And our body was dead because of Adam’s one sin, [Romans 8:10] however our soul dies on the account of our own deeds which are committed in the body of sin. That is the soul/blood was bound to the body which was sold as a habitation for sin through Adam. [Romans 7:14] And because sin dwelt in the body, the desires of the sinful flesh had dominion over the soul. And by the deeds which are rooted in the desires of sinful flesh, the soul is defiled, therefore became dead in sins.
Now this NEW state of MANKIND had a problem because Sin in our body became a barrier between us and God. So terms like, “the body of sin,” in Romans 6:6, “sin of flesh,” in Romans 8:3, “the body of the flesh” in Colossians 2:11 are all used in order to point to our current state. Which meant Adam through an evil conscience in regards to his own body, could no longer commune with God as he has always done. Adam’s exposed shame of his body had to be covered, and the makeshift effort of Adam and Eve to cover themselves with fig leaf was not sufficient, so the Lord sacrificed an animal to atone for them and He covered them with its skin. [Genesis 3:21] And God through Abraham established circumcision on the 8th day, in a portrayal of the day Adam fell to know evil and became flesh.
And from Abel to the Temple of the Law there was a continual practice of the sacrifice of innocent animals in the worship of God in a bid to cover the same nakedness of Adam we were made aware of. The Law is spiritual but it was served in the FLESH, the VERY reason circumcision, dietary requirement and all manner of fleshly ordinances were a necessary requirement in the portrayal of holy flesh. And this worship of God in the body continued until the day the Lord Jesus Christ declared, “An hour is coming and NOW is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father also seeks such who worship Him.” John 4:23. Therefore, SIN was the means through which Mankind became flesh through Adam.
Now we close this section with this one statement of the Lord, “And you should not be afraid of those killing the body but not being able to kill the soul. Indeed rather you should fear the One being able to destroy both SOUL and BODY in Gehenna.” Matthew 10:28. The Lord made it VERY clear that it is the BODY and SOUL of mankind and NOT his spirit that is cast into Hell. Mankind was NOT CREATED spirit, ONLY in Christ do we get to be SPIRITS. We do not realise when we say that we were created spirits, we are actually taking away from the work of the Lord Jesus Christ who had to SUFFER to make us one.
Jesus Christ: Last Adam & Second Man
In the previous section we have shown how a Living Soul became bound to sinful-flesh being infected by the devil’s own darkness. In this section we will show how God provided an answer to our condition, through the sacrifice of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, which ultimately led to the New Creation to become Spirit-Mankind through receiving God’s own righteousness. So we are able to see a clear line of progression from the darkness that once came into our flesh to bring us to bondage and death, NOW Light also comes into our spirit to bring us to freedom and Life. So in essence what makes us Flesh or Spirit is where our eternal SOUL is rooted. Paul says, “For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit, life and peace.” Romans 8:6. Which means our Soul NEEDS to be liberated from the grip of FLESH & BLOOD, which we were created to be in order to become a NEW CREATION that is Spirit. So it is a literal EXODUS of our Soul, from being IN THE FLESH to being IN THE SPIRIT, through the DEATH & RESURRECTION of the Lord Jesus Christ. So the Lord is identified by two main characteristics, the Last Adam, which is in regard to the End of the Old Man of the Flesh, and the Second Man, which is in regard to the Beginning of the New Man of the Spirit.
Last Adam: Natural Man
The Son of God, “the WORD,” was always God in heaven, He had to come down to the EARTH to become the Son of Man. This is significant because it goes to the HEART of what it means to be FLESH and what it means to be SPIRIT, which our main text is addressing. There has NEVER been a Heavenly Man, prior to the Lord Jesus Christ entering heaven by His own Blood. So, John says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God… And the Word became FLESH and dwelt among us.” John 1:1-2, 14. And Paul in Philippians says, “Christ Jesus: Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider to be equal with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, having taken the form of a servant, having been made in the likeness of men. And having been found in appearance as a man He humbled Himself, having become obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:5-8. So in these statements John and Paul are clearly describing to us how God became a Man.
And Paul in Hebrews further elaborates on this saying, “Since the children have partaken of BLOOD and of FLESH, He also likewise took part in the SAME things.” Hebrew 2:14. This is important because Jesus Christ did not come down to earth as a Spirit being, but as Flesh and Blood and as such His Life was bound to the Blood just the SAME as ours was. As Moses says, “For the LIFE of the FLESH is in the BLOOD.” Leviticus 17:11. As described above there are two concepts for life, the breath and the blood, that is one who is created flesh his life is in the blood even though the breath of the Almighty sustains him. So Christ in becoming Man, had to have His life in the Blood the same as any other Flesh and Blood mankind. John says, “This is the One having come by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and by blood.” 1 John 5:6. And in Romans Paul explains, “God, having sent His Son in likeness of sin of flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” Romans 8:3. That is the Lord Jesus Christ took the form of Flesh and Blood for the purpose of addressing the Sin that dwelt in our flesh through Adam.
However, the body of the Lord Jesus Christ had no darkness because there is no sin in Him. John says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has NOT overcome it.” John 1:4-5. And, “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5. The Lord also said of Himself, “For the ruler of this world comes, and in Me he has nothing.” John 14:30. Meaning, the ruler of darkness had NOTHING in the Son of Light, in respect to the darkness that came into the body of mankind, when Adam ate the fruit of evil and became subject to death. So Jesus Christ, in being Flesh and Blood had no spot or blemish in Him and because of that “For in Him all the fullness of the Deity dwells bodily.” Colossians 2:9. That is, the Lord Jesus Christ the Last Adam, as a Man, hosted the presence of God in His BODY, which was FULL of LIGHT, to make an offering for Sin. Paul writes, “Because all the fullness was pleased to dwell in Him, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace by the blood of His cross through Him.” Colossians 1:19-20.
In the previous section, we have seen how God instituted animal sacrifice to address the SHAME Adam and Eve saw in their NAKED bodies, by providing them with ANIMAL SKINS as a physical covering. However, this sacrifice did NOTHING towards the Evil conscience, which Adam in Eve NOW had. [Genesis 3:21] And we have briefly seen how this became a normal practice, through which Mankind worshipped God right through to the Law of Moses, which EXPLAINED the significance of such sacrifices. Nonetheless, even the Law could do nothing in regards to the heart of mankind, which still desired to do evil and a conscience that was condemned. And Paul says of the sacrifice that was offered in the Law, “For if the blood of goats and of bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those having been defiled sanctify them for the purification of the flesh.” Hebrews 9:13. Meaning, as Adam was designed to worship God in body, these offerings only provided to sanctify the body, however it did nothing for the conscience of the one that offered it. So Paul says, “Otherwise, would they not have ceased being offered, because of those serving having been cleansed once, no longer having CONSCIENCE of SINS? But in these, there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and of goats to TAKE AWAY sins.” Hebrews 10:2-4. So while animal sacrifice provided a covering for the body, it did not take away Sin, because the death of an animal can NEVER account for the death demanded of Mankind as a consequence of an Evil conscience.
This brings us to the ULTIMATE Sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, which Paul describes as, “HOW MUCH MORE will the BLOOD of CHRIST, who through the eternal Spirit OFFERED HIMSELF unblemished to God, PURIFY our CONSCIENCE from dead works, in order to serve the living God!” Hebrews 9:14. The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ purifies our conscience, the one thing NONE of the offerings that preceded Him were able to do. Evil conscience is a product of a choice that came into effect when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God. Therefore, animal sacrifices can NEVER account for such a choice, not that the blood of an animal is equivalent to that of Mankind. Nevertheless, the Lord, by choosing to submit Himself in obedience to God, even the death of the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ was able to purify our Evil Conscience. [John 10:18, Romans 5:8-9, Philippians 2:8] Therefore, the life Christ gives us is a conscience that is cleansed from evil, in having our Soul washed by His own BLOOD to be as clear as His own, as to “no longer having conscience of sins.” Hebrews 10:2. And Paul writes, “Therefore there is now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1.
Blood is a reference for the Soul, and Isaiah shows how the SOUL of the Lord Jesus Christ was used to redeem us from an evil conscience saying, “When You make His SOUL an offering for SIN… and, By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall JUSTIFY many, for He shall bear their iniquities… and, Because He POURED out His SOUL unto DEATH, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He BORE the SIN of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:10,11,12. So when Isaiah says He poured out His Soul, he is saying He poured out His Blood unto death. So it is the Soul/Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that made an offering for our sins in order to cleanse our Souls from an Evil conscience.
That is, Our Soul is purified in the knowledge of this one TRUTH and we can NEVER be moved from it. James says, “Therefore, having put aside all filthiness and abounding of wickedness, receive in humility the implanted WORD, being able to save your SOULS.” James 1:21. And Peter describes this WORD as the preaching of the Gospel of Christ saying, “Having purified your souls in obedience to the truth unto sincere brotherly love, love one another fervently, out of a pure heart, having been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, by the living and abiding word of God.” 1 Peter 1:22-23. The implanted word that is able to PURIFY and SAVE our SOULS is the knowledge and belief, that the Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed us by His own Blood and was raised back to life by God. This word is received by our SOUL, not spirit or body, it is implanted in our soul.
Now, the obvious point to make here, is that at DEATH the Soul is separated from the Flesh, which has significance to us as we relate to the Death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul writes, “For the bodies of those animals whose BLOOD is brought for sin into the HOLY PLACES by the high priest are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the gate, so that He might SANCTIFY the people by His own BLOOD.” Hebrews 13:11-12. The MAIN point we need to see is that it is the SOUL/BLOOD that entered the Holy Place, likewise Christ also entered Heaven itself. “For Christ has entered not into holy places made by hands, copies of the true ones, but into heaven itself, now to appear for us in the presence of God.” Hebrews 9:24. This is the FIRST TIME EVER in ALL of CREATION a SOUL of one born Flesh-Mankind entered Heaven, because He was Born from the DEAD by the SPIRIT.
Now, for this to come into effect the Last Adam had to address the two main aspects that afflicted Mankind, that is the defiled Soul and the Body bound to Sin. And Paul describes the complete process of the cleansing of Soul and Body as, “Therefore brothers, having confidence for entering the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by a NEW and living way, which He dedicated for us through the veil that is His flesh, and having a great priest over the house of God, we should draw near with a sincere heart, in full assurance of faith, our HEARTS having been sprinkled CLEAN from an EVIL CONSCIENCE and our BODY having been WASHED with pure WATER.” Hebrews 10:19-22. So Paul is saying our SOUL having been cleansed now enters heaven itself, because we hold in our hands the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, as an offering for our sin. So it is always the Soul that is brought before God, as it was represented in the Law it is also in the Heavenly Temple. THIS is the place where we are DEFINED as spirit with the Lord, because through the Lord Jesus Christ our Soul is also separated from our flesh, and put into our spirit made alive by the Spirit of God, so we may enter Heaven itself.
This requires the liberation of our Souls from the grips of the Body of Sin through Death, in order that we may live for righteousness. In respect to this, the Death of the Lord Jesus Christ was described in the Psalm of David as, “For You will not abandon my SOUL into Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see DECAY.” Acts 2:27. This is describing how the Body of the Lord was laid in the Grave while His Soul descended to the depth of Hades. The focus here is on the FACT, at Death the Lord Jesus Christ’s Soul was separated from His flesh, and this is the VERY point the LAST ADAM came to ACCOMPLISH. That is the Nature of Adam must END in DEATH, as God said, “For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:19. Making it an absolute necessity for DEATH to have to take place, in order to be set free from the condition that came through the Sin of Adam, that is from being IN the FLESH.
So Paul says, “a NEW and living way, which He dedicated for us through the veil that is His flesh,” that is as the Veil of the Temple was Torn the Lord Jesus Christ body had to be torn in death, in order to make a NEW WAY of Living. Paul in Corinthians points to this moment as, “And He died for all that those living no longer should live to themselves, but to the One having died for them and having been raised again. Therefore from now, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have regarded Christ according to flesh, yet now we regard Him thus no longer.” 2 Corinthians 5:15-16. That is, when Christ was raised from the DEAD He is no longer regarded according to the Flesh, no longer according to Adam but according to the Spirit. Peter says, “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, so that He might bring you to God, having been put to DEATH indeed in the FLESH, but having been made ALIVE in the SPIRIT.” 1 Peter 3:18. That is to say, the Life of the Lord Jesus Christ was no longer in the BLOOD as in Flesh but IN the Spirit, which He obtained through DEATH. As Paul says, “For that which He died, He died to sin once for all; but that which He lives, He lives to God.” Romans 6:10.
Likewise, when we partake in the Death and Burial of the Lord Jesus Christ through Water Baptism, we are partaking in the SAME things, that is our Soul is also separated from our FLESH in Burial. Which Paul describes as, “As many as have been baptised into Christ Jesus have been baptised into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised up out from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also should walk in NEWNESS of LIFE. For if we have become united in the likeness of His death, certainly also we will be of the resurrection, knowing this, that our OLD MAN was crucified with Him, so that the BODY of SIN might be ANNULLED, that we are no longer enslaved to sin. For the one having DIED has been FREED from SIN.” Romans 6:3-7. So, through water baptism, which represents the grave, we are making the SEPARATION of the Lord’s Soul from His body to be our own. That is, we are also raised up no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit, having been set FREE from the rule of Sin that works in our body, so as to live in a NEW WAY.
Please Note the Two step process, the knowledge of the Blood of Christ purifies our Soul as to be born of the word, with a conscience cleansed from Evil. And as any newborn Jewish baby, we now need to be circumcised from the body of Sin we were bound to in Adam, which Water Baptism provides. As Paul said, “our hearts having been sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our body having been washed with pure water.” This is called the Circumcision of Christ, that is a Spiritual Circumcision. As Paul said, “he who is a Jew is one on the inside; and circumcision is of heart, in spirit, not in letter.” Romans 2:29. And he explains what circumcision of the heart is in Colossians saying, “In whom also you were circumcised with the circumcision made without hands in the removal of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, in which also you were raised with Him through the faith of the working of God, the One having raised Him out from the dead.” Colossians 2:11-12. Now, the practical application of water Baptism should not throw us off, in fact it is the demonstration of an act of faith. And it is an ABSOLUTE necessary aspect of the life we are to live in THIS world.
So when entering the Water in Baptism, we are entering the Grave with the Lord Jesus Christ, on the account that we were crucified to death with Him on the cross. The death of the old man, which Paul described as, “Now those of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Galatians 5:24. That is, to be set FREE from the passions and desires of the evil one, that worked in our body to dominate our Soul. So in DEATH our Soul is separated from the dictate of the body of SIN. Therefore, Water Baptism represents the gateway to a NEW way of life we are to LIVE in Him in this world, described as “to walk in the Newness of life,” or “a New Living way.” As Peter describes this saying, “Who Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that, having been DEAD to sins, we might LIVE to righteousness.” 1 Peter 2:24. Please Note: righteousness has a way of living, it is not some identification concept but it MUST be practically worked out in the NATURAL body. That is righteousness has an effect the same as Sin has an effect.
Therefore, water baptism is a simulation of the Death and Burial of the Lord Jesus Christ, that ACTS to circumcise our Living Soul from being ruled by the body of Sin, which came to effect in Adam. And Peter expresses this process pointing to the VERY day Adam fell saying, “Water Baptism now saving you, not a putting away of the filth of flesh, but the demand of a GOOD CONSCIENCE toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 3:21. Note: it is a DEMAND, an expression of alignment with God. An Evil conscience toward God began at the fall, when Adam and Eve ate of the tree of good and evil and KNEW the Nakedness of their own body, which resulted in enmity with God. Paul described this as, “Because the mind of the flesh is hostility toward God; for it is not subject to the Law of God, for not even can it be.” Romans 8:7. It is from this darkened state of the Body and Soul we are now rescued through water Baptism, in putting to rest the hostility towards God, in the liberation of our Soul from the body of sin. [Eph. 2:14-15]
What we need to see is, how the Lord, the Last Adam, effectively dealt with the Body and Soul of Mankind that fell in the Sin of Adam. Therefore, we need to distinguish between the Blood and Body of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ purifies and redeems our eternal Soul in the forgiveness of sins. [Eph. 1:7, Col. 3:14] While His Body has to do with the life we are to LIVE in the flesh, in the PRESENT world. This is portrayed in the Lord’s supper: the Cup of Wine, in respect to the Blood of the New Covenant in the forgiveness of sins, and the Bread, in respect to His Broken Body in relation to the healing of our NATURAL body. [1 Cor. 11:23-34] And it is in the SAME regard that Water Baptism now has significance to affect the way we are to LIVE for righteousness. Peter describes it as, “Therefore Christ having suffered in the flesh, you also arm yourselves with the same mind, because the one having suffered in the flesh is done with sin, so as to LIVE the remaining time IN the FLESH no longer to men’s desires, but to the will of God.” 1 Peter 4:1-3. The One having suffered in the flesh is one who took part in the suffering of Christ, being conformed to His Death and Burial so as to live free from Sin as Paul aso says, “For the one having died has been freed from sin.” Romans 6:7
In the Law, a Jewish child born to Jewish parents is Jewish by blood, but he will be excluded from the assembly if he is not circumcised. Likewise, a person who professes to be a Christian and is not Water Baptised, has NOT been circumcised with the Circumcision of Christ. And this will have bearing in the manner of life that person is to Live for God, be it victorious one in the Spirit or a failure in the flesh. Now, many times we point to the Robber that was crucified with Christ and state how he entered paradise with the Lord, even though he was not baptised. [Luke 23:40-43] However, we forget that this Robber, having been purified in his Soul by his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, had no need to be baptised in order to live for righteousness since he had no more life to live. So, Water Baptism holds great significance for Christians who come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, because it is meant to affect our BODY in relation to the righteous life we are expected to live in the PRESENT WORLD for the Lord Jesus Christ, as to be cut away from a life IN sinful-flesh to a life IN the Spirit.
In conclusion, the Last Adam has effectively dealt with the Soul and Body of mankind through DEATH in order to enable us to LIVE in a New Way. Paul says, “For the Law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the Law of sin and death.” Romans 8:2. Meaning, what Christ became, being in the Spirit has saved us from what we were in Adam, that is in the flesh. The important point for us to see is, we have to make the Death and Burial of the Last Adam our own, in order to Live for the Second Man. However, Christianity by and large has stopped with the Last Adam and has totally disregarded the expectation of the Second Man, who is the Source of LIFE. Paul said, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved, entirely blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thess. 5:23. Please Note: the Natural Body that has to do with the present world is included in this statement. Meaning there are consequences to what we have offered our members to be used for, as Paul says, “Neither yield your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but yield yourselves to God, as living out from the dead, and your members to God as instruments of righteousness.” Romans 6:13.
Second Man: The Life-Giving Heavenly Man
Now, we have reached a point to examine what it means to be SPIRIT. In the previous section we have shown how the Last Adam brought Flesh-Mankind to an end in Death. Making a way for the Second Man to now stand as a representation of a New Creation, that is Spirit-Mankind.
We will begin by examining the statement that distinguishes the Last Adam from the Second Man, which in essence addresses the question of what it means to be spirit. Paul in Corinthians described Adam and Christ using terms like, “The first man Adam, & the Last Adam,” and he also used a second pairing term like, “the First man, & the Second Man.” Now, in the first pairing Christ is described in a term that illustrates a link to Adam’s nature, so He is called “the last Adam” because He came in the likeness of sinful flesh. However He is also called “the last,” because Christ’s death not only put away sin but also the very nature of life in the flesh that is Natural existence. However in the second pairing, Christ’s relations to the likeness of sinful flesh is completely severed. He is no longer referred to as “the last Adam,” but “the Second Man,” whose origin is definitively described as from Heaven apart from the first man who is from Earth. So Paul says, “The first man was made of dust from the earth; the second Man from heaven.” 1 Corinthians 15:47. The first man is natural, the Second Man is spiritual. Mankind was NEVER created for heaven but for the earth, and it took the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ for mankind to become spirits in order to enter heaven. The point we want to make is THERE is a GREAT gulf that exists between Adam the First man and Christ the Second Man.
The Word was always God in heaven, He had to come down to earth to become Man, and when He was lifted back up to heaven He stood before the throne of God as the Son of Man, as Stephen said, “Behold, I see the heavens having been opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Acts 7:56. As also in Daniel 7:13-14, and Rev. 5:6. And Christ as a Spirit-Man was complete in heaven when He put on His spiritual body, to become the FIRST Heavenly Man. Paul says, “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, firstborn out from the DEAD, so that He might be holding preeminence in all things.” Colossians 1:18. So now through Jesus Christ our origin is also changed. Heavenly creatures are not described as flesh and blood but as spirits, just as God is Spirit, the angels are spirits and Christ the Second Man is also NOW Spirit. So when Christ comes back He comes back as the Heavenly Man and we who are in a mortal body are changed to be like Him. As Paul says, “And as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” 1 Corinthians 15:49. The main point we need to see is the transformation of the Last Adam from being Flesh-Mankind to BECOMING Spirit-Mankind through Death, which is the SAME transformation that applies to ALL of us in Him. So the Lord Jesus Christ is the FIRST Spirit-Man in Heaven the SAME as Adam was the FIRST Flesh-Man on Earth.
And Paul calls this the New Creation and says, “Therefore from now, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have regarded Christ according to flesh, yet now we regard Him thus no longer. Therefore if anyone is IN CHRIST, he is a New Creation. The old things have passed away; behold, the new has come into being.” 2 Corinthians 5:16-17. This is the part that throws people off, because we take the verse, “old things have passed away; behold, the new has come into being,” and we apply it DIRECTLY to ourselves, rather than to see ourselves as a proxy of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Second Man by the Spirit of God. That is, we are meant to look at what He has become and we are supposed to account it to be true of ourselves, in assurance of the Holy Spirit to the fulfilment of the promise of our spiritual body, which is the main purpose of 2 Corinthians 5. The key word is “in Christ,” that is we partake of the New Creation because we are LITERALLY put in Him, by having His Spirit in us. As Paul says, “Now you are NOT in FLESH but in SPIRIT, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you; but if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him.” Romans 8:9. So even though we have the same Soul and Body, what He has become applies to us, as John says, “Just as He is, also are we in this world.” 1 John 4:17.
So the difficulty is in distinguishing between what we are “IN HIM” in the Present world and what Christ has ALREADY become. That is, we DO NOT seem to understand the New Creation applies to the complete package, which addresses Spirit, Soul and Spiritual-body. Therefore we have difficulty in reconciling the gap between what we are in the present world, and what we are to become when we SEE Christ, which in the present is bridged by the Promise of God, the Holy Spirit. The image of the Heavenly Man is in a future tense, meaning we have not yet acquired it. The main point is that to be Born requires the fulfilment of obtaining a BODY in the likeness of Him who created us, be it natural or spiritual. The Lord said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless anyone be born of water and of the Spirit, he is not able to ENTER into the kingdom of God. That having been BORN of the flesh is flesh, and that having been BORN of the Spirit is spirit.” John 3:5-6. Being born requires a possession of a BODY. As we are born bodily as flesh through Adam to enter Earth we are also now required to be born bodily as spirits through Christ in order to ENTER the Kingdom of God.
The point we want you to see is that, the New Creation is FULLY realised ONLY in the Lord Jesus Christ, in Spirit, Soul and Spiritual-Body, having become the FIRSTBORN of the Heavenly-Mankind: the Second Man. So, when Paul says, “the new has come into being,” he is saying it in respect to Christ. He is the Firstborn from the dead, and in Him ALL things are NEW, or Better YET He is ALL Thing NEW. Therefore, if we are IN HIM, we are ALSO considered as NEW, even though in this life we have not yet fully attained to the complete newness of Christ, however we have the Holy Spirit as a GUARANTEE to the fulfilment of that promise. So Paul says, “And indeed, being in the tent we groan, being burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that the mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the One having prepared us for this very purpose is God, having given to us the PLEDGE of the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 5:4-5. So in our case it is a Pledge but in CHRIST it is COMPLETE! And Paul illustrates our current state as being “In Him” saying, “He [God] raised us up together and seated us together in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:6. Now, it is Christ who has entered heaven and it is Christ who is seated at the right hand of God, but because we are in Him, having His Spirit dwelling in us, we are also counted as if we are seated with Him in heaven, because we are literally One body with Him.
Now, in the beginning of this study we stated how there is a reason we showed that Adam, the Ground-Man was on Earth a whole THREE days before Eve was taken out of him. The point being Eve was in Adam even though she did not yet take a physical form in the likeness of Adam to be his glory. And Paul relates this aspect of creation according to what it means to be born Flesh and says, “For just as the woman is OF the man, so also the man is BY the woman. And all things are of God.” 1 Corinthians 11:12. Now, the similarities we are drawing is in relation to our CURRENT state IN Christ, the Heavenly-Man through the Spirit, being able to distinguish between “being IN HIM” as Eve was in Adam and what we BECOME when we SEE HIM as He is. As John says, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.” 1 John 3:2. Meaning, when we see Him we will be BORN spirits as He is Spirit, bearing the likeness of His Heavenly body. Which Paul describes as, “For our citizenship exists in the heavens, from whence also we are awaiting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our body of humiliation, [to be] conformed to the BODY of His GLORY.” Philippians 3:20-21.
Therefore, the term that applies to the Church of God for the past two thousand years, now entering to the third millennia, is described as being IN Christ, JUST as Eve was IN Adam for Three days. This gives great significance to what it means to be SPIRIT, which mankind NEVER was prior to the Lord Jesus Christ. So, the term IN Christ, is not some concept that is used to denote a group of people that belong to the same ideology, but as ones who are LITERALLY put in HIM, to make up HIS ONE body. Paul says, “ For also in ONE Spirit we all were baptised into ONE body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink one Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:13. The point Paul was making is that we by partaking of the SAME Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ we have become part of the ONE Body of the Lord. [Ephesians 4:3-5]
So terms like, a Promise, a Guarantee, a Deposit, are all used to describe the life we live now, pointing us forward to our birth, the redemption of our body. Paul says, “In whom you also, having heard the word of truth, the gospel your of salvation, in whom also having believed you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of PROMISE, who is the GUARANTEE of our inheritance to the redemption of the acquired possession, to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:13-14. And the redemption of the acquired possession that is of our spiritual body is described using terms that portray labour pains, as Paul says, “And not only so, but we ourselves, even having the firstfruit of the Spirit, also GROAN ourselves in ourselves, awaiting divine adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.” Romans 8:23. And again, “And indeed, in this we GROAN, longing to be clothed with our dwelling which is from heaven.” 2 Corinthians 5:2. So the term to be born of the Spirit as it applies to us in the PRESENT world is to have the Holy Spirit who is the GUARANTEE of the fulfilment of the promise of the NEW CREATION.
And this promise will be fulfilled on the day the Lord returns to receive His bride, which Paul describes as, “We will NOT all sleep, but we will all be changed— in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the LAST TRUMPET. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For it behoves this, the perishable to put on the imperishable; and this, the mortal to put on immortality.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. That is to say when we are presented to Him, we will put on a spiritual body in His likeness, in the same manner Eve was taken out of Adam. And as Adam’s first statement when he saw Eve was, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh,” followed by a description of marriage, “a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.” Genesis 2:23-24. Likewise, we are also made of the Word and of the Spirit to be born spirits as the Lord. [John 3:5] And the VERY next event that takes place in Heaven is, the marriage supper of the Lamb, as John says, “We should rejoice and should exult and will give to Him the glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. And it was given to her that she should be clothed in bright, pure, fine linen. For the fine linen is the righteous ACTS of the saints. ” Revelation 19:7-8.
This ought to astonish us; we understand how the member of the Triune God became Flesh-Man in order to die for our sins, but do we ever wonder that the same God the Word, who existed in the form of God from Everlasting has committed Himself to be found in the form of Spirit-Mankind for the rest of eternity in order for us to be joined to Him as His wife. This is the mystery Paul is speaking about in Ephesians when he said, “Because of this, a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will be into one flesh.” This mystery is great; but I speak as to Christ and as to the church.” Ephesians 5:31-32. So our existence as Spirit-Mankind is ENTIRELY dependent on this truth, we become spirits because of Christ.
Now, this requires us to practically understand what it means to be spirits in the present while we are still in the mortal body. That is we need to understand how in the present the Holy Spirit is the embodiment of the promise of Christ, expressed as “being in Him.” In the beginning of this study we stated how Adam the one created to be a Living Soul descended to be Flesh through Sin. Now, we who were once flesh through Adam also now ascend to be spirit through the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is even though we are still in the natural body our soul is no longer bound to the flesh but is liberated to be in the spirit through the indwelling of the Spirit of God. Remember, what made Adam flesh was when darkness entered his Natural Body resulting in bondage and death, now similarly through the Lord Jesus Christ Light also enters into our spirit to bring us to Freedom and Life. As Paul says, “But if Christ is in you, the BODY is indeed DEAD on account of SIN, but the SPIRIT is LIFE on account of RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Romans 8:9-10. In fact it would be far EASIER if we describe being spirit as, as righteous spirit as we did for sinful-flesh because it lays hold of the root that is the presence of the Spirit of God through whom the nature of righteousness is now in us.
So the Second Man became a Life-Giving Spirit. The Lord said, “For even as the Father raises up the dead and gives life, thus also the Son gives life to whom He will.” John 5:21. So this authority to impart life was given to the Lord Jesus Christ as the Second Man. When Adam was created, God breathed into him the breath of life and Adam became a Living Soul. But when Christ the Son of Man was raised from the dead by the Spirit of God, He Himself now being Spirit, that is His Soul is no longer in the blood but in the Spirit, He then breathed into His disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” John 20:22. Through which Christ imparted His own life to us, therefore the Lord says, “Because I live, you also will live.” John 14:18. So our life in the spirit is bound to the fact we are united as one with Him, as Paul says, “The one being joined to the Lord is one spirit.” 1 Corinthians 6:17. So Christ the Last Adam became a life-giving spirit, having obtained eternal redemption to impart His OWN life to us. And this unity is described in Colossians as, “For you have died, and your life has been hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3. That is the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead dwells in us to be our life and this is what makes us spirits. [Romans 8:11] That is our SOUL having died to flesh life is now raised to spirit life through the Spirit of God. As Paul says, “you are NOT in FLESH but in SPIRIT, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.”
So, the present life in the flesh can be best described as a gestation period for the spirit-mankind that is growing in us until we are born BODILY into the reality of that truth through Death or Rapture. So, this life is of the Word, and of the Spirit through FAITH. And Paul warns us saying, “If indeed you continue in the faith, established and firm, and NOT being moved AWAY from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, having been proclaimed in all creation under heaven.” Colossians 1:23. Meaning, enduring to the end is the major aspect of this life of faith we live. Paul says, “But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he might shrink back, My soul does not take pleasure in him.” But we are NOT of those DRAWING back to destruction, but of FAITH to the PRESERVING of the SOUL.” Hebrews 10:38-39. So adhering to the very end of our course through faith is a vital aspect of our walk as Christians. And Paul giving a STERN warning of the danger of complacency says, “For it is impossible for those once having been enlightened, and having tasted of the heavenly gift, and having become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and having tasted the goodness of God’s word and the power of the coming age— and then having fallen away—to restore them again to repentance, CRUCIFYING in themselves the Son of God and subjecting Him to open shame.” Hebrews 6:4-6.
There are two main points we want you to see here, the first is, the present life in the flesh is described as, a taste of the power, a taste of the goodness of God, through having become partakers of the Holy Spirit of the promise, meaning it is NOT the final outcome therefore it requires us to be vigilant in faith to the very end. The best natural example we can use is the process a pregnant woman goes through to bring life into the world. Even though a life is created at the moment of conception, this process can be interrupted by various factors such as failing to eat and drink, or the consumption of harmful substances such as alcohol and drugs can be destructive to the health of the child. Likewise the process of being born again is not completed until the day we are born in a spiritual body. The Lord Jesus Christ is the New Creation, He is the Second Man of Heaven, but we are In Him through the Spirit of God and so we live the life of spirit while still in a mortal body through faith. As Paul says, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And that which I now LIVE in the FLESH, I live through faith from the Son of God, the One having loved me and having given up Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20.
The second aspect is in regards to the interruption of the process, that is the possibility for any believer be it new or seasoned to fall away from life in the Spirit to the life in the flesh and sin resulting in death. Please Note, the reason Paul gives for those who fell away is that they are “CRUCIFYING the Son of God,” again. The Cross of Christ is specifically purposed to address Sin, as Peter says, “Who Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that, having been DEAD to sins, we might LIVE to righteousness.” 1 Peter 2:24. Meaning, the point Paul is addressing is that, these people have gone back to their old lives to wallow in Sin. Therefore, we fall away into Sin be it by Law or by living for the dictate of the flesh in allowing sin to reign in our mortal body. This can be as a result of false doctrines as in Galatians, 2 Peter 2 and also Jude. Now, we normally relegate the warning of Hebrews as speaking to the Jews and not Gentiles, that it is speaking in regards to going back to the Law. But we forget the same Blood that set the Jews free from the Law is the one that set us free from Sin. And if a Jewish person can return back to the Law and fall, it MOST certainly means a Gentile can also return to Sin and fall. Paul says, “For if you LIVE according to FLESH, you are about to DIE; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:13.
The Nature of Righteousness which we have through the Second Man must be put to practice, as John says, “If you know that He is righteous, you know also that everyone PRACTISING righteousness has been BEGOTTEN of Him.” 1 John 2:29. And again with a solemn warning he says, “Little children, let no one lead you astray; the one PRACTISING righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. The one practising sin is of the devil.” 1 John 3:7-8. And Peter also clearly portrays a diligent effort that is expected from the believer in order to enter the Kingdom of God says, “Therefore, brothers, be diligent, rather, to make your calling and election sure. For PRACTISING these things, never at any time shall you stumble. For in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly supplied to you.” 2 Peter 1:10-11. The emphasis is on PRACTICE!
We can do NOTHING to EARN what the Last Adam has done, but God expects us to put to practise what the Second Man has GIVEN to us. So James says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22. However, the Church is entangled and focused on the Last Adam and has forgotten we are EXPECTED to resemble and Live for the Second Man who is the giver of Life. Paul says, “Likewise, my brothers, you also have been put to death to the Law through the body of Christ [the Last Adam], for you to belong to another, to the One having been raised out from the dead [the Second Man], so that we should BEAR FRUIT to God.” Romans 7:4. Meaning, we are expected to grow in the knowledge of the Second Man whose image we bear in order to bear fruits of righteousness. So Paul says, “You are to have put off, concerning the former way of life, the old man, which is being corrupted according to its desires of deceit, and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to have put on the new man, having been created according to God in righteousness and holiness of truth.” Ephesians 4:22-24. [Colossians 3:9-10]
In summary, in this study we have traced the line of progression of the Human Soul through the triune nature of Mankind, from being created a Living Soul, being made flesh through Sin of Adam and finally redeemed to be made spirit through righteousness in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. So while in this mortal body what determines what we are, be it in the flesh or in the Spirit is to what we have submitted ourselves to. As Paul says, “Do you not know that to whom you YIELD yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves to him whom you obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?” Romans 6:16. The point is when we are saved the Lord Jesus Christ does NOT overrule our WILL, therefore we can go back to flesh life either by Law or through Sin whereby we make ourselves subject to death and fall away.
The main point we want you to grasp is that we are in the process of being born, and as a pregnant woman is careful for the child that is growing inside of her we ought to be vigilant of the life of Christ that is being formed in us. So we may say like Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness is laid up for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me in that day.” 2 Timothy 4:7-8.
Bread Bait. 
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