Man

There are two categories of man; regenerate man (believers) and the natural man (unbelievers).

The Natural Man – The Unbeliever

The natural man is dichotomous with a body (tabernacle, house) and a soul which is directed towards man. The soul has the ability to understand, perceive, and categorize human phenomena and human phenomena only. In 1 Corinthians 2:14, “a natural man” is a soulish man and has no apparatus to process spiritual information.

“But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” (1 Corinthians 2:14, NASB)

The soul has essence or character. The soul essence includes self-consciousness which is awareness of the soul including awareness of your own existence (sentient). The soul essence includes the mentality and has a perceptive lobe and a conscience lobe. The mentality includes the thinking part of the mind and the norms and standards of the mind. The soul essence includes volition which is the decision maker of the soul. The soul essence includes the emotions which are the appreciator of the soul.

The old sin nature is not a part of the soul essence, but influences the soul as the distorter and frustrater of the soul. In Romans 5:12, “sin” refers to the old sin nature. Everyone in the human race is born with an old sin nature received genetically from their father.

“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—” (Romans 5:12, NASB)

The natural man has no human spirit which means all humans are born spiritually dead with no relationship with God and no fellowship with God. Eph. 2:1-5.

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),” (Ephesians 2:1-5, NASB)

Regenerate Man – The Believer

The regenerate man or the believer is trichotomous with a body (tabernacle, house), a soul, and a human spirit. 1 Thess. 5:23.

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23, NASB)

The believer’s soul is directed toward God and man. The believer’s self-consciousness makes them aware of their own existence as well as their everlasting relationship with Jesus Christ. The soul’s mentality thinks divine viewpoint when the believer is filled with the Holy Spirit based on the epignosis Bible doctrine in the right lobe of the soul. The soul’s volition knows God’s will through the intake and application of Bible doctrine and decides whether to follow through on the basis of it. The soul’s emotions appreciate the Word of God and Jesus Christ. See category on The Soul. See category on The Right Lobe of the Soul.

The believer’s old sin nature continues to influence and distort the soul when they are out of fellowship or carnal. When filled with the Holy Spirit, the old sin nature is frustrated and cannot control the soul. When the believer sins, the old sin nature immediately takes control of the soul.

The believer is given a human spirit at salvation (Regeneration). Rom. 8:16; Col. 2:13; Eph. 2:1-5.

“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,” (Romans 8:16, NASB)

“When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,” (Colossians 2:13, NASB)

The human spirit allows the grace apparatus for perception to function for the first time. The Holy Spirit teaches the believer’s human spirit when they hear Bible doctrine communicated. The resulting spiritual phenomena in the human spirit is transferred by the Holy Spirit to the left lobe of the mentality of the soul as gnosis or spiritually understood information. If the believer has positive volition toward that spiritually understood information, the Holy Spirit then transfers that gnosis to the right lobe of the soul as epignosis or full knowledge.

This is the only form of spiritual information that can be applied to life’s situations. The Church Age believer’s body is indwelt by the deity of Jesus Christ for fellowship and by God the Holy Spirit for the enabling power to live the spiritual life. Rev. 3:20; John 14:20; John 14:17; John 14:26. See category on the Grace Apparatus for Perception.

“'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20, NASB)

“"In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” (John 14:20, NASB)

“that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” (John 14:17, NASB)

“"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” (John 14:26, NASB)

Man’s Soul Image or Pattern

The soul of man is the real person. Man’s soul is made in the “image of God.” The soul of man is in the shadow image or pattern of the divine essence of God, not the exact image. This “image” is an image in principle – a shadow image. An exact image would be like an imprint on a coin or a photograph. The pattern is immaterial. The soul is immaterial. The soul can only be defined by its characteristics, just as the essence of God can only be defined by its characteristics.

In Genesis 1:26 is the statement of the plan. “Then God said” refers to the Godhead and indicates the concept of essence. “Let Us” is in the plural and also refers to the Trinity. “Make” is the qal imperfect of עָשָׂה (asah) and means to make something out of something, a pattern and also indicates that man is the basis for the perpetuation of the species. “In Our image” is צלם (tselem) in the Hebrew and means shadow image. The soul of man is the shadow image of God.

"Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."" (Genesis 1:26, NASB)

The essence of our souls is made up of self-consciousness, mentality, volition, emotion, and the conscience. God’s perfect essence is composed of the absolute characteristics of sovereignty, righteousness, justice, love, eternal life, omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, immutability, and veracity.

“According to Our likeness” means a model or pattern. The Trinity is the model or pattern. Each member of the Trinity has exactly the same essence, but they are different personalities. Every member of the human race has the same soul essence, but each have a different personality.

In Genesis 1:27 is the execution of the plan dealing with the mechanics. “God” is again אלהים ('ĕlôhı̂ym) and refers to the Trinity, Elohim. “God created” is בָּרָא (bara) and means to create something out of nothing. The soul of man is real, but it is immaterial and it is created out of nothing.

“In His own image” is צלם (tselem) and means a principle image, in the image or essence of God, soul essence. “Him” refers to Adam. “Male and female” indicated He gave man’s soul image a body. “He created them” means that both Adam and the woman had a body. Even though the woman was taken from the rib of Adam, she still had a soul. The woman would be renamed “Eve” after the Fall.

“God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27, NASB)

In Genesis 2:7, “the Lord God” refers to Jesus Christ who is the actual Creator. “Formed” is the qal imperfect of יצר (yâtsar) and means to form or mold as a potter molds a pot out of clay. Jesus Christ formed the body of man with all its functions including the ability to perpetuate itself.

“Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7, NASB)

In Genesis 2:7, “of dust from the ground” refers to the chemicals of the soil. “Breath of life” is נשׁמה (neshâmâh) actually “breath of lives” in the Hebrew and means God breathed in soul and human spirit life into Adam. A human spirit and soul life were imputed to the body upon the first breath. God gave the soul and human spirit of man a tabernacle (a body) and made them male and female. “And man became a living being” is נפשׁ (nephesh) and means a living soul. Soul life was given to the format soul.

In conclusion, an unborn baby does not have the “breath of life.” There is only biological life in the womb. Life is received from God the Father when He imputes soul life to the baby causing the baby to gasp for air. This is the point of physical birth. A living soul is imputed by God the Father to the baby at that time. The real life (soul life) does not come until physical birth.

Categories of Unsaved Man

There are three categories of unsaved man: immortal, moral self-righteous, and religious self-righteous. All categories of the human race are guilty before God. All have sinned when Adam sinned and fall short of the perfect absolute righteousness of God (+R). Rom. 3:23.

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Romans 3:23, NASB)

All are behind the barrier due to their spiritual death. All are condemned under the concept of absolute good and evil. In John 5:28-29, “did the good deeds” means accepting Christ as Savior and “committed the evil deeds” means doing the evil of rejecting the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross for all mankind.

" "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. " (John 5:28-29, NASB)

God is absolute righteousness (+R). Man has only relative righteousness (-R). God can only have a relationship with perfect +R. Provision for acceptability in God’s sight (+R) was made by Jesus Christ at the Cross. God’s +R and justice were satisfied. Therefore, God's very own absolute righteousness (+R) is imputed to man at salvation. Psalms 145:17; 2 Cor. 5:21.

“The LORD is righteous in all His ways And kind in all His deeds.” (Psalms 145:17, NASB)

"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21, NASB)

The Immoral Man

Immoral man is unsaved. He is the overt sinner whose sins are obvious. He is the bad man on which the moral self-righteous man and religious self-righteous man sharpen their egos. The immoral man is the man everyone condemns and looks down upon. The immoral man paints the town red, admits he lives such a life and doesn’t really care who knows about it. Romans 1 shows him to be abandoned to the whims and depravity of his old sin nature. Rom. 1:21-32.

"For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures." (Romans 1:21-23, NASB)

“For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” (Romans 1:25, NASB)

“And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,” (Romans 1:28, NASB)

“and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.” (Romans 1:32, NASB)

The Moral Self-Righteous Man

The moral self-righteous man is also unsaved. The moral self-righteous man is described in Romans 2:1-16. He is more confident, worships the god of nature often, is a good citizen type, a good fellow, the type the world likes to have around. He feels he is as good as any church goer, but rarely attends church. Church is for children and grandmas who need a crutch to lean on. The rich young ruler in Matthew 19 is an example of this type.

"But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God," (Romans 2:3-5, NASB)

"And Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. "Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." " (Matthew 19:23-24, NASB)

The Religious Self-Righteous Man

The religious self-righteous man is also unsaved. The religious self-righteous man is described in Romans 2:17-29. The religious man has the self-righteousness of the moral man and in addition he observes certain rituals of religion. The religious man regards himself as superior to all others because he has done more in order to gain a relationship with God. This is an illusion.

“But if you bear the name "Jew" and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law,” (Romans 2:17-18, NASB)

“you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?” (Romans 2:21-23, NASB)

“For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.” (Romans 2:28-29, NASB)

The religious self-righteous man is active in church, he talks about God, he is enthusiastic, he is always on the church calling program, or raising funds. He prays a lot, talks up religion, he may give up various items for Lent to gain points with God. He is full of self-sacrifice and would be called a deeply religious man by his peers. Nicodemus in John 3 is a type of the religious self-righteous man. The following is a development of the thinking of the religious self-righteous man who is up to the gills in his ritual and do-goodism.

There is a certain period of time that takes place every year called Lent, the six weeks preceding Easter. Lent is a human tradition and a very interesting human tradition, because at that particular time of year some unsaved people become very religious. It is stimulating to their ego to engage in some type of overt religious activity.

For example, a religious self-righteous man may give up something, something he probably enjoys the rest of the year very much. For example, let’s take Charlie Brown. Charlie loves bubble gum and bon-bons. Since he likes bon-bons better than bubblegum, he decides to impress God with giving up bon-bons for Lent. Charlie Brown has a tremendous yearning and craving for these rich, chocolate-covered bon-bons. So he decides to be a spiritual giant and give them up.

This sacrifice makes him feel much closer to God and makes him feel as if he has advanced spiritually, for a while his strivings have not been in vain. In fact, some people feel way down deep during this period that God is quite pleased with them and that the gates of heaven, those pearly gates may be opening up just a little bit. Charlie feels after going through six weeks without having had one rich, creamy bon-bon touch his tender palate that perhaps he is, just now, just a little closer to heaven and a lot closer to God. Maybe, just maybe, God will bless him in a business deal or some circumstance. He may be on the verge of a great year. Who can tell? God helps those who help themselves. After all he has done something for God! Charlie has thought about God, he has attended church, he entered into some ritual, and he has attained during this period a sense of human accomplishment. All in all, we have a respectable package called the religious self-righteous man.

The purpose of the Mosaic Law is to show man he is a sinner. Keeping the Mosaic Law does not save. The religious self-righteous man says he is saved by keeping the Mosaic Law and yet he cannot keep it. They are condemned by their own teaching. The religious broke the Mosaic Law. Rom. 2:21-23.

"you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?" (Romans 2:21-23, NASB)

The religious self-righteous man is guilty of teaching others a way of salvation which he, himself, cannot execute. Religion is inconsistent. The religious man observes rituals, but has no reality. Ritual without reality is meaningless. Reality can be counted for the ritual, but the ritual cannot be counted for the reality. Rom. 2:18-23.

"and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?" (Romans 2:18-23, NASB)

For example, the ritual of water baptism does not save anyone. The reality of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone results in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit resulting in union with Jesus Christ. Jesus condemned religion and called the Scribes and Pharisees “whitewashed tombstones.” Every self-righteous person has an area of hypocrisy. He puts a facade over something, whitewashing it. Matt. 23:27.

" "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. " (Matthew 23:27, NASB)