"What is Man?" Psalm
8:4-6. - Hebrews 2:5-8.
That nocturnal meditation and
contemplation of the Psalmist, which led him to ask this
question and to answer it by placing man at the centre of
the universe, has bounded all the ages, gone back to the
eternal counsels of the Godhead before the world was, and
passed on to the consummation of those counsels in the
inhabited earth to come, and beyond it. It is a question
as to the Divinely conceived destiny of a specific
creation called Man. Those thoughts had phases: "For
a little while lower than the angels"; crowned
"with glory and honour"; "to have dominion
over the works of thy hands". The question of the
Psalmist is taken up and enlarged upon by an inspired
Apostle . "Not unto angels did he subject the
inhabited earth to come ". "Thou didst put all
things in subjection under his feet".
But between the Divine conception and
its ultimate realization there is all the tragedy of
human disruption, and all the glory of Divine grace in
redemption. What is before us here is to say something of
the nature of that disruption as to man's own being, and
therefore to see what conformity to the image of God's
Son means as to the overcoming of that disrupted state.
It is the question of man's own person, and what kind of
person can alone inherit the kingdom of God.
For such a high and glorious destiny
not only a spiritual or moral state is required, but a
certain type or species of being. As the crawling
caterpillar or silkworm has to spin its shroud and yield
that form of life in order to awaken in a new order,
break through into a new world as a beautiful moth or
butterfly, so has man now to pass out of one order and be
constituted anew with faculties and capacities for a
higher. Man, according to God's mind, and according to a
dim and intangible sense in himself, is of a universal
character, with universal interests. But something has
happened which, on the one hand, makes the realization of
God's intentions impossible in man as he now is, and on
the other hand, causes man to persist in a vain effort to
achieve such realization. This terrible contradiction of
things at the centre of the universe is the occasion of a
new intervention on the part of God in the person of His
Son. This intervention has several features. It shows
what a man is according to God's mind; it secures the
removal of the man that is not so according to God; it
brings in the powers and constituents of a new creation;
and it reveals and secures what man will be when he
reaches the mature form which was ever in God's mind as
the end and not the mere creation state of even unfallen
man. As we see it, this all hangs upon the setting right
of derangement in the nature of man whereby his living
and full relationship with God is renewed. This, in the
main relates to one part of his being called the pneuma or
spirit, and it is here that we therefore need to have
enlightenment.
An All-Important
Distinction
On two occasions in his writings the
Apostle Paul used a phrase which is of peculiarly
important application to the subject which is before us.
It is found in his letters to the Romans (2:18) and the
Philippians (1:10), and the marginal rendering is
"distinguish
the things that differ".
We cannot but feel that a very great
deal of loss would have been prevented, and gain would
have been secured, if that distinguishing had been
applied to the matter of soul and spirit. This is no
matter of merely technical interest to Bible students,
but one which involves and touches the spiritual life of
God's people at almost every point, and governs the whole
question of life and death in spiritual things. There are
few things more vital to fullness of life and
effectiveness of service than this. It embraces so very
much of the meaning of the redemptive purpose of God in
and by the Cross of Christ. Many of the most perplexing
problems which have pressed upon the Lord's people and
servants through the years have their solution here. We
might just mention one or two of these.
Firstly, there is the essential and
basic difference between the New Creation and the Old
with which there is bound up that heart-breaking problem
of totally or largely unsatisfactory conversions:
converts who seem to have given evidence of the big
change over, but who—all too early—reveal
symptoms that the really radical, regenerative, work is
doubtful. This includes that heart-burning enquiry
concerning the large numbers who make a profession under
all the peculiarly favourable (?) conditions and
provisions of well organized and advertised evangelistic
missions, and of whom so great a proportion either drop
back soon after the mission is over, or are untraceable,
or are only kept by a ceaseless provision of evangelistic
hot air and high tension atmosphere. It is said of one
city in Great Britain, that every second man you may meet
has at some time been 'converted', although now, of
course, the great majority have nothing to do with such
things. This, surely, in turn raises other questions as
to what may be God's ways and means in the realm of
evangelistic activity, and what are men's.
Then there is the difficult problem of
the very slow spiritual growth of those who really have
received Christ. That spiritual maturity is a life-long
matter is not doubted, but we are thinking of unduly
delayed growth, with all the long-continued features of
childhood or even of childishness. This is a matter
deeply deplored by the writers of the New Testament
letters, and, indeed, represents the main occasion of the
mass of the New Testament itself. In the letter to the
Thessalonians (the earliest of Paul's letters) the
distinction between soul and spirit is just stated
without discussion or explanation (1 Thess 5:23).
The letters to the Corinthians can be said to centre in
the same matter, when we remember that
"natural" in chapter 2 verse 14 is really
"soulical" and then that there is so much about
the "spiritual" and "the spirituals",
i.e. spiritual gifts. In the letter to the Hebrews,
again, the whole subject matter is to be viewed in the
light of "dividing asunder of soul and spirit"
and "the Father of our spirits". In every case
it is a question of spiritual progress or arrested
progress.
There are many other questions, such as
that of the small degree of real and genuine spiritual
value resultant from so great and so long-continued an
output of energy, devotion and resource. And what
of that realm of the prosperity and success of spurious
and ultimately harmful spiritual movements? Then the
whole question of deception has to be seriously
faced. The deception of Christians so that they are
either led completely astray, or get into some state
which renders them non-effectives in the work of God and,
often, a positive denial of the very foundations of faith—this
is, indeed, a branch of things which cannot be ignored,
neither can every such case be wholly a matter
for the medical expert.
To the above, many more spiritual
difficulties could be added, and some of them will be
mentioned and dealt with as we proceed. While each
may have more than one explanation because of peculiar
governing factors—and no one will think that we are
claiming to have found the cause and cure of all woes—we
do believe that the failure to discriminate in the matter
of soul and spirit accounts for more of these conditions
than has been recognized by the vast majority of the
Lord's people. Having indicated the importance of
this consideration, let us get nearer to the actual
matter.
Whence This
Blindness?
If all these—and many more—sorry
conditions are largely due to a failure to recognize a
vital difference, we must ask why it is that the failure
has been so general. Of course, when we are seeking to
trace spiritual deflection we shall always reach back at
once to its source. As the one who has ever desired to
spoil God's work and to frustrate God's purpose, Satan
would find very great gain in hiding this, and
in keeping God's people in ignorance as to so important a
truth. This he has certainly done; hence the prayer of
Paul: "having the eyes of your heart
enlightened". But Satan has ways and means, and we
must recognize these in order to be delivered from the
evil one as well as from the evil. So we begin at the
end.
The Generally
Accepted Position
As to the being of man, the well-nigh
universal position is that he is mind and matter, soul
and body. Even in those directions where Christians would
accept the Bible phraseology—"spirit, soul, and
body"—either an inability to recognize the
tremendous issues bound up with this threefold
designation, or a fatal carelessness, results in a going
on as though the differences were not there. But there
are other and more positive factors to be taken into
account.
The teachers of God's people have
failed! Why have they failed? Primarily because they have
not taken God's Word and definitely sought the
enlightenment and teaching of the Holy Spirit direct.
Or may it be that the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit as Teacher has not been a reality in so many
cases?
There may be a third explanation. Is it
because of fear of appearing unusual, singular, peculiar
in running counter to so widely an accepted position?
This leads us to ask: Whence this position? Is it of
heaven or of men? Note the scriptural alternatives.
There are two quarters responsible for
the present position and acceptance. Consciously or
unconsciously, certain pagan philosophers or 'Christian
Fathers' have influenced the whole course of
interpretation in this matter. So far as psychologists
go, their basic conclusions are pagan. The two who laid
these foundations were Plato and Aristotle. We are not
stating the teaching of these, and while we recognize
that Aristotle could more easily be reconciled with the
Biblical position (although still with considerable
maneuvering) yet we want to point out with emphasis that
neither of these had a Bible in hand, nor did they know
anything of a basic experience by which, through the Holy
Spirit, the inner man is renewed and enlightened. Theirs
was only the light of natural reason, the wisdom of this
world, and only suitable for a realm of its own kind.
Then as to the 'Christian Fathers',
Augustine and others. They, in turn, flirted with the
teaching of the said pagan philosophers, and came under
their influence. If we could accept the infallibility of
these 'Fathers' on some other more obvious matters, we
might modify our attitude as to their position on this so
much less patent issue; but we cannot! The 'Fathers' of
the Church would have acted wisely if they had kept clear
of the entangling alliance with Platonism, which seemed
to offer at first such advantages. Now, the position is,
that to be a teacher of God's people demands
some understanding of man, especially of what he is and
what his purpose is. For such a knowledge, either in the
schools or in private study, the works of psychologists
have been taken up. All of these are built up on the
aforesaid pagan foundation. Of course, things have
travelled a long way since Plato's days, and there is a
whole world of research and experimentation extra to
those pioneers; but—again—the basic formula is
unchanged; man is said to be dual—mind and matter,
soul and body. It may be that in some Bible institutes
the more Biblical interpretation is taught, but how
necessary it is that it should come as a revelation and
not merely as a subject. It seems to us a crying shame
that this matter has not been recognized as to its
tremendous and far-reaching consequences. It is difficult
to attend a convention of the most spiritual order, or
find some special effort for God, without perceiving the
governing influence—all unconscious—of the
psychology which is not of the Word of God. What
tremendous things would happen—though perhaps unseen
(much safer so)—if influences were spiritual rather
than soulical!
But what a change in the standard of
values is necessary to let go the seen for the unseen,
the present for the eternal, the earthly for the heavenly
and the 'successful' for the real!
The Position as
in the Word of God, A Comparison
The phrase "the hidden man"
is but one expression used in connection with this
subject. But let it be seen at once to discriminate
between the 'inner' and the 'outward' man in a different
sense from what is meant apart from the Scriptures. It is
not the discrimination of the psychologists or
philosophers as such, whether they be ancient or modern,
pagan or Christian. For them the 'inward man' is the
soul, and the 'outward man' the body. Not so in the Word
of God. There the "inward" or
"hidden" man is the spirit, and the
"outward" man the soul or body, either or both.
These two terms or designations are respectively
synonymous with "spiritual man" and
"natural man", and these two are capable of
being divided asunder by the sword of the Spirit—the
Word of God. It is as dangerous to make one what God
calls two as it is to put asunder what God makes one. The
only oneness of the three—spirit, soul, and body—is
that they compose or comprise one man. The literal
translation of 1 Thessalonians 5:23 is, "your
whole person", or "your whole man", or
"the whole of you, spirit, soul, and body"; and
three distinct words in the Greek are used, as elsewhere.
The Spirit of God does not use words at random, just for
variety's sake. Basic spiritual principles are involved
in words used by God. The very word 'natural', as
applied to man, as we know, is the Greek word psukikos,
the Anglicised form of which is psychical. 'Spiritual' is
the adjective of 'spirit', and 'soulish' or 'soulical'
the adjective of 'soul'. In James 3:15,
"sensual" is used, but "soulical" is
more accurate, and it is interesting and significant to
note in passing, that in that Scripture there are two
descriptions of wisdom.
Man Unique in
Creation
That which makes man unique in the
whole realm of creation is not that he is or has a soul,
but that he has a spirit and a soul; and it may be that
the union in one person of soul and spirit makes him
unique beyond this creation in the whole universe. God is
spirit. Angels are spirits. There are many passages in
the Scriptures which indicate the difference between the
inner 'I' of the spirit and the outer 'I' of the soul.
For instance, Paul says: "My spirit prayeth, but my
understanding is unfruitful" (1 Cor 14:14). Then, in
1 Corinthians 2:14, he says that "the natural
(soulical) man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of
God... and he cannot know them because they are
spiritually discerned", or, "are discerned by
the spiritual (or spirit ones)". This distinction is
very marked in Paul's recounting of the reception of his
special revelation:
"I will come to... revelations
of the Lord. I (the outward man) knew a man in
Christ (the inner man) above fourteen years ago,
(whether in the body, I [the outer man] cannot
tell... God knoweth;) such an one (the inner man)
caught up to the third heaven. And I [the outer man]
knew such a man (the inner man) (whether in
the body or out of the body, I [the outer man] cannot
tell: God knoweth;) how that he (the inner man) was
caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words
which it is not lawful for a man (the outer man) to
utter. Of such an one (the inner man) will I
(the outer man) glory: yet of myself I (the
outer man) will not glory" (2 Cor 12:1-5).
Here, in passing, we note that, unless
the Lord gives the gift of utterance, the things revealed
to the spirit cannot be expressed by the outer man. In
another place the Apostle asked for the prayers of the
Lord's people that he might have "utterance" to
speak the mystery.
Many other instances might be given,
such as "I delight in the law of God after the
inward man", and Romans 7 as a whole.
Then we draw attention to the
following:
"I rejoice at the coming of
Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus... for they
refreshed my spirit" (1 Cor 16:17-18).
"The Spirit himself beareth witness, with our
spirit" (Rom 8:16).
"To deliver such a one unto Satan for the
destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in
the day of Jesus Christ" (1 Cor 5:5).
"...that she may be holy both in body and in
spirit" (1 Cor 7:34).
In the New Testament there are very
many occurrences of both "soul" and
"spirit", and inasmuch as our present and first
purpose is to distinguish between these, or to note that
they are distinguished by the Word of God, we must define
a general rule by which they are divided. This general
division can be marked in this way; the soul (often
translated "life") relates to man in his own
conscious life here in this world; his good or evil; his
power to do, to achieve, to enjoy, to profit, to know and
acquire what is of this world, and to live as a
responsible, self-conscious being, answering to God for
himself and his life, and so taking account of his life
as to include the reality of a Divinely intended higher
destiny and intention than just to live to himself and
for the brief span of this life. The soul can be affected
by and responsive to something higher, but its immediate
relationship is not with God. Such relationship is
indirect and secondary.
The spirit is that by which—given
the necessary "renewing"—man is directly
related to things Divine. He is thereby constituted to be
capable of relationship with spiritual beings and
spiritual things. This is a broad and general rule, and
if some passages seem to contradict it, the difficulty
will usually disappear if we remember the proviso that,
on the one hand, God holds man responsible as an
intelligent, self-conscious being who can at least choose
and seek; and, on the other hand, when the spirit has
been renewed and brought into living touch with God, the
soul is affected thereby, and both receives from God and
gives to God by way of the spirit. All this will be dealt
with much more fully as we go on. A passage from Paul's
letter to the Corinthians might well and aptly be cited
here:
"Things which eye saw not, and
ear heard not, and which entered not into the heart of
man, whatsoever things God prepared for them, that love
him. But unto us God revealed them through the Spirit:
for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things
of God. For who among men knoweth the things of a man,
save THE SPIRIT OF THE MAN, WHICH IS IN HIM? even so the
things of God none knoweth, save the Spirit of God. But
we received... the spirit which is from God; that we
might know the things... of God" (1 Cor 2:9-12).
Each kingdom is governed by and limited
to its own nature. A beast and a man cannot go far in
mutual intercourse. What is a Handel oratorio to a dog?
So far we have but been paving the way
for our real business, and now we must come immediately
to grips with it. But may we repeat, before commencing a
new chapter, that ours is no academic or technical
undertaking. For this we have neither ability nor
inclination. We are burdened with a great desire to see a
real change in the spiritual condition which exists
today, and our object is wholly spiritual, and for God's
pleasure and satisfaction in His people.