CENTRAL THOUGHT
Proper spiritual nourishment is needed for spiritual growth.
HYMN: GUIDE ME, O THOU GREAT JEHOVA
TEXT: 1 Thess.5:23; 1 Cor.2:1-16
INTRODUCTION Man is a triune being ( spirit, soul, body, 1Thess 5:23). However, we must realize from the outset that, although all humans have this nature, most of humanity is not living/nourishing them in the correct order. Our spirits, as our only means of communication with God who is spirit, are often buried beneath our soul or body so that the spirit has very little domination in our lives. Our true life, the only source of life, is our spirits (and it is the spirit that gives life), which should dominate the other areas of our lives here on earth. Our soul life and our bodies must come under the dominion of our spirits; today for many of us the opposite is true to the point that most are not even aware of the spirit aspect of their nature. We are happy when the soul and body are satisfied by the many means available-food, pleasure of all sorts, sex, etc.-but in and itself this does nothing but feed our lower nature appetites with a satisfaction that does not last. The spirit is eternal. Therefore, the most important feeding that we really need is feeding the inner man. By so doing we empower it to control the outer man.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this study are:
1.To understand what is meant by the total man.
2.To understand why/how we need to feed the total man.
3.To know the consequences of neglecting the feeding of the spiritual man.
BIBLE TRUTH
Q1. WHAT IS MEANT BY THE “TOTAL MAN”? 1 Thess 5:23, Gen 2:7
Man is composed of the spirit, soul and body. Hence man is said to be triune being. “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body to be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thess 5:23). “And the Lord of God formed msn of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul”(Gen 2:7). You may notice immediately that the “dust of the ground” is the body and the breath of life is the spirit. We see here that the spirit is the life-giving component of the human being. Without the spirit (breath of God) the body and soul would have no life force (energy) to operate. That is why the bible says that man became a living soul after the breath of life was breathed into him. This verse also introduces a component called the soul. Therefore, the total man encompasses the spirit, soul and body. We further analyze the constituent of the total man:
Body:- “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.” There was first the figure of clay, formed of the dust, concerning which it is written-“Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Gen 3:19). Into this lifeless form, God inbreathed “the breath of life.” The body is spoken of in scripture as man’s “tabernacle”, which he may “put off” (2 Pet. 1:14), in which he may be “at home” (2 Cor. 5:6), or from which he may be “absent” (v.8). It is said to be “mortal” (Rom.8:11), that is, subject of death, as a result of the fall. Men may kill it (Matt.10:28), and it may see corruption (Acts 13:36), from which it will be delivered at resurrection (John 5:28-29). Materialists say the body is the man, ignoring the spirit and soul as scripture describes them and their functions, and denying consciousness or any survival after death. With annihilationist, death is the “extinction” of man’s being, i.e. the destruction of the soul at death of the body. But these opinions do not agree with scripture. The body is the tabernacle in which the man dwells. At death the spirit returns to God taking with it the self-consciousness; the self-consciousness is the main feature of the soul.
Soul:- With reflection to Genesis 2:7, from the inbreathing of the Creator, which raises him far above the beasts, which are said to have “soul” ( Gen.1:30), man is the offspring of God (Acta 17:28), formed to have dominion, in the image and glory of God ( 1 Cor.11:7), though now fallen from his first estate. Man is linked with the inferior creatures by being, as they are, “a living soul”, and distinguished from angels, who are only “spirits” (Heb.1:7, 14), but not “souls”. While man is alive in the body, he is a “soul” (see Ezek.18:20; Lev.5:2, 4; 7:20, where the person-the individual -is clearly meant); when out the body, he is then called a “spirit” (Heb.12:23). It is the intermediate link between spirit and body, and the life of the latter. To it are ascribed the functions of loving ( 1 Sam.18:1), hating (2 Sam.5:8), desiring (Job 23:13), longing (Ps.84:2). Affections, intellect, appetites/ desires belong to the soul. The soul is said to be the seat or spring of sin-“the sin of the soul” (Mic.6:7)-for it atonement is said to be made (Lev.17:11), and as it is by the soul needed, so by it is it made, as we read, “When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed. He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied” (Isa.53:10-11).
Spirit:- “The spirit of man which is in him” (1 Cor.2:11), “formed within him (Zech.12:1), a separate entity in each individual, his highest part, linking him with God, who is the “Father of spirits” (Heb.12:9), and the “God of the spirit of all flesh” ( Num.16:22; 22:16), which is equivalent of saying, of all men ( see Gen.6:12; Luke 3:6), saved and unsaved. This “spirit” which animates and controls the bodily organism is from God Himself. Without it the body is “dead” (James 2:26). At death it returns to God who gave it (Eccl.12:7). In the case of the believer, it is received by the Lord Jesus (Acts 7:59), and exists in consciousness apart from the body (Heb.12:23). To the spirit is ascribed the function of intelligence, understanding, and judgement. It can know “1 Cor.2:11), be “stirred” (Acts 17:16), be “provoked” (Ps.106:33), while by it moral and spiritual qualities may be developed, such as a “right spirit” (Ps.51:10), a “meek and quite spirit” ( 1 Pet.3:4). “My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior” (Luke 1:47) tells of its capacity of spiritual joy, while the spirit of God bearing witness “with our spirit” (Rom.8:16) tells of its capacity for intercourse with the Devine. The spirit of a human designates the lifeforce of the human soul. “This is the word of the Lord concerning Israel, the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of the man within him.” (Zech 12:1).
Our spirit originated from God as we read in Genesis 2:7. This spirit, or breath of life, is the life force that powers our bodies and soul. Note that it appears that this life force, spirit, or breath of life was in every creature on the life ( Genesis 1:30; 6:17; 7:22).
In summary, when God breathed into man He formed the spirit of man, which was meant to have dominance. At the fall, the dominance of the spirit was lost, hence man became soulish and carnal. But at new birth, there is a regeneration and restoration of the proper order ( 1 Cor.3:16). Having been restored, every believer must strive to live a Spirit-dominated life. The soulish-life produces a carnal believer, and the Spirit-dominated life produces a Spiritual believer, and to be carnally minded is death ( Rom.8:6-9).
Q2. WHAT DO WE FEED THE TOTAL MAN?
Physical food is require to feed the physical body. If the body is fed properly and operated properly then it will be a fine tuned machine. The body is an organic machine in the strict sense. It is our earth suit when we consider that the core of the human is a spiritual being. We know a great deal about the body because it is in a realm, the physical realm, that we are very familiar and comfortable with.
(Matthew 4:4 NIV) Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” The Lord Jesus emphasized our need for the word of God over and above physical food. Also, Job testified, “ I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” ( Job.23:12b). In order to maintain a healthy spiritual life, we must give ourselves to the control of the Spirit of God, the word of God (by study and meditation), to prayer (Acts.6:3, 4) and fellowship. Doing all these will ensure the preservation of the spirit, soul and body ( 1 Thess.5:23).
Q3. WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT FEEDING THE “TOTAL MAN”?
For our bodies to be healthy we need to eat the necessary food in the right proportions. Failure to do this results in malnutrition and sickness. Therefore, we should feed on wholesome food in order to stay healthy.
When a believer neglects giving appropriate attention to his spiritual life and wellbeing, he/she becomes soulish and carnal. In other words, the dominance of the spirit over the soul and body is lost. Such a believer cannot grow spiritually and becomes a slave to his fleshly desires and emotional dictates. Consequently, he drifts away from fellowship with God and often times with fellow believers. This is a dangerous state to find oneself, as the individual easily falls prey to the enemy and temptations.
DAILY LIVING APPLICATION
Man, as created by God, is a triune being, composed of “spirit, soul and body” (1 Thess.5:23). Fellowship with God is possible through the spirit. The believer should so nourish his spirit with the word of God that his spirit-dominion over his soul and body; this remains the only path to spiritual maturity and vibrancy.
Therefore, there is need to carefully nourish the spirit, so that fellowship with God and His people can be sustained.
MEMORY VERSE
1 Thess.5:23
“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE
Monday: The constituents of man. Gen.2:7; 2 Cor.4:16; 1 Thess.5:23; Heb.4:12.
Tuesday: State of man before and after the new birth.
John 3:3-8; Eph.2:1-3; Gal 5:16-23; Rom.8:9-14.
Wednesday: God’s provision for feeding the total man.
Gen.2:8-17; Jos.1:8; Ps.119:105, 127, 130.
Thursday: God’s provision for feeding the total man.
Ps.128:1; Isa.28:9-10.
Friday: Danger of self-will.
James 3:13-15.
Saturday: The will of God for the believer.
1 Thess. 5:23; Phil.4:19.