We all know that human beings are created in the likeness and image of God. ”So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27). What does this mean? This means that men are created just like God, humans are spirit beings like God. John 4:24 says:
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
God is a spirit, and man is created just like God, so man is a spirit.
- God is a Spirit who has no body.
- Man is a spirit who lives in a body. Humans are spirit beings.
Creation process is like this: Genesis 2:7
“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.”
- God formed man of the dust of the ground – this then becomes our physical body.
- God breathed His breath/Spirit of life into his nostrils – It is the Spirit of God Himself who made us into His image. This then became our spirit. This is where the center of our lives is located. Our spirit must continue to connect with God, because it is the breath of God.
- After there is a spirit, we become human beings – This then becomes of our souls. This is where the mind, feeling, and our will are located. The existence of soul is strongly influenced by the presence of spirit. As long as our spirits are alive or connected with God, our souls will be alive. But if our spirits die or are not connecting with God, then our souls will die.
Humans are spirit beings, that’s why humans should live according to their spirit and not their soul.
So the process of human behavior should be like these:
- The Spirit of God speaks to the human spirit.
- What is accepted by the human spirit from the Spirit of God is sent into his soul, filling up his mind, feeling, and will.
- The mind, feeling, and human’s will tell your body to do it.
- The body does it as instructed by the soul.
After man sinned, men’s behavior process changed to become like these:
- The human mind receives signals from feeling and will then tell the body to do it.
- The body does it as instructed by the mind.
Before the fall, human’s behavior always begins with the spirit. But after the fall, human’s behavior always begins from his soul. The term used in the New Testament: living in the Spirit and living in the flesh. As long as humans live in the Spirit, they will continue to enjoy the Garden of Eden, where all needs are met without having to work too hard. This is possible because humans work with the ability of their spirits. But when humans live in the flesh, they live outside the Garden of Eden where they must exert all their efforts to meet their needs. This happened because they work with their own strength.
After we accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior and we were born again, we have the choice to walk in the Spirit or walk in the flesh
”But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you …. (Romans 8:9)
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16)
If we realize that humans are spirit beings, then we will choose to live in the Spirit. Our behavior process will always begins from the Spirit. And we will go back to live in the Garden of Eden, working with the Spirit’s ability and not by our own strength.
Also read: Resolving Problems Without Problems by Learning from God.
