UNDERSTANDING WHO WE ARE IN CHRIST!
Genesis 2:1-7
INTRODUCTION: Our subject for today Is “Who am I in Christ?” Genesis 2:7: God created man. Yet many very intelligent people today believe that man just happened. They believe that nothing times nobody plus time plus change and it all just happened. Not only does the Word of God tells us how man came into being but it also tells us why man came into being and what man is really like. We must understand who we are in order to understand how we are supposed to function properly.
I. WHO AM I?
Man was created in the image of God and our God is a triune God. We worship God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Now man is made up of three parts also. Man is body, soul, and spirit. Genesis 2:7.
II. THE BODY OF MAN
When the psalmist thought about the body of man: Psalm 139:14-16. Our bodies today are a home for the Holy Spirit: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. Our bodies are not what makes mankind so special because flowers have a body too.
III. THE SOUL OF MAN
What makes man so special is that man has a soul: Genesis 2:7. Our soul is our mind, our will, and our emotions. Our soul speaks of the real you. Our bodies are just the temporary tents we live in but our soul is eternal. 2 Corinthians 5:1. However, animals also have a soul: Genesis 1:20. The exact same Hebrew word for a man’s soul, “mepesh” is also used for animals. It is used in Genesis 1:24 and Genesis 1:30. Both man and animals have a soul. The definition of a soul is conscious life, self-conscious life. Men and animals have a body and a soul. That does not mean that animal’s body and soul are of the same value as a man’s body and soul. Both men and animals have mind, emotion and will. Man’s soul is the real person. It is the person who lives inside the house of our body. Speaking of the value of a man’s soul, Jesus said: Matthew 16:26-27. Our soul is our intellectual part of us: Psalm 139:14; Lamentations 3:20-21; Proverbs 2:10-11. Our souls are able to comprehend knowledge and say it is pleasant. Our soul is also the volitional part of man: Psalm 27:12. Our soul is the seat of our will: Psalm 41:2. Our soul is also the center of our emotions: 1 Samuel 18:1; Song of Solomon 1:7. We love with our souls: 2 Samuel 5:8.
IV. THE SPIRIT OF MAN
Genesis 2:7: The Hebrew word for life here is “cha” and it literally means “the breath of lives.” It speaks of the eternality of man’s existence. Man has a spirit. Animals don’t have a spirit. And spirit of man allows us to have God consciousness. With our soul: mind, emotion and will we have self-consciousness. With our sprit we have God consciousness. Luke 1:46-50; John 4:23-24. When we become Christians the Bible says: Romans 8:16. The soul and the spirit are always connected but they are not the same. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24. Proverbs 20:27; 1 Corinthians 2:9-14: the soulish man receives not the things of God but the spiritual man does. That is why we need a spiritual birth to know God: Jeremiah 33:3. We will only find God when he lights our spirits back to life. When Adam sinned he died, not physically, not soulishly but spiritually his light went out. John 1:4-5; John 3:3; John 1:12-13. God made mankind for His glory: Revelation 4:11; Romans 8:14;1 John 2:20-27 Matthew 5:16; Acts 16:31.