The Nature of Man

1
The Nature of Man
2
The Nature of Man - Introduction

• Introduction
• Mans Existence
• Mans Death
• Is life now everlasting?
• The death State
• Why do we die?
• Is man immortal?
• Conclusion

3
The Nature of Man - Mans Existence

• Man is a creature formed from the dust
• Gen. 27 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.

4
The Nature of Man - Mans Existence

• Gen. 27 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.

• Formed
• Heb. Yatsar
• To sqeeze into shape
• Like a potter squeezing clay
• The LORD God made mans body from the dust
• But man was not yet living

5
The Nature of Man - Mans Existence

• Gen. 27 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.

• Breath Neshamah breath or atmospheric air
  - God filled our lunges with air

6
The Nature of Man - Mans Existence

• Gen. 27 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.

• Do we have a soul that is separate from our
  bodies?
• Ezekiel 1820 The soul that sinneth, it shall
  die.
• soul nephesh body
• Man became a living body

7
The Nature of Man - Mans Existence

• Man is sustained by the Spirit and by the
  breath of God
• Job 334 The Spirit of God hath made me, and the
  breath of the Almighty hath given me life.
• What is the Spirit of God?
• What is the breath of the Almighty?

8
The Nature of Man - Mans Existence

• Spirit of God The Power of the Highest

• Luke 135 And the angel answered and said unto
  her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the
  power of the Highest shall overshadow thee
  therefore also that holy thing which shall be
  born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

9
The Nature of Man - Mans Existence

• Job 3710 By the breath of God frost is given
  and the breadth of the waters is straitened.
• Breath of God Gods Power

10
The Nature of Man - Mans Existence

• Elihu speaks in Job...
• Job 336 Behold, I am according to thy wish in
  God's stead I also am formed out of the clay.

• Elihus body was like Adams, made of the dust of
  the ground (Gen.27 319 see also Gen. 27 Job
  273 3414-15).

11
The Nature of Man - Mans Existence

• Conclusion
• Man is sustained by the Power of God
• The Spirit of God The breath of the Almighty
  are talking about the same thing -
• Gods Power

12
The Nature of Man - Mans Existence

• Psa. 10425 So is this great and wide sea,
  wherein are things creeping innumerable, both
  small and great beasts.
• 29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled thou
  takest away their breath, they die, and return to
  their dust.
• 30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are
  created and thou renewest the face of the earth.

13
The Nature of Man - Mans Existence

• What can we learn from these verses?
• Breath ruach usually translated spirit as
  in v.30.
• breath (air) is not mentioned here
• If man had a soul then this verse tells us that
  so must animals
• The removal of Gods Spirit (the life power of
  God) - leads to the animals death

• 29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled thou
  takest away their breath, they die, and return to
  their dust.

14
The Nature of Man - Mans Existence

• Creatures return to the dust from whence they
  came
• Spiritruach the life power of God which He
  used to create man

• 29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled thou
  takest away their breath, they die, and return to
  their dust.
• 30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are
  created and thou renewest the face of the earth.

15
The Nature of Man - Mans Existence

• Recap
• Man is formed from the dust
• He does not have a Soul separate from his body
• He is sustained by the Power of God
• This is identical to animals

16
The Nature of Man - Mans Existence

• Body - Our meat, bones and guts
• Breath - The air that we breathe - Hebrew
  Neshamah
• Spirit - Gods sustaining power - Hebrew Chayim

17
The Nature of Man

• Introduction
• Mans Existence
• Mans Death
• Is life now everlasting?
• The death State
• Why do we die?
• Is man immortal?
• Conclusion

18
The Nature of Man - Mans Death

• Job 3414 If he set his heart upon man, if he
  gather unto himself his spirit and his breath
• 15 All flesh shall perish together, and man shall
  turn again unto dust.

19
The Nature of Man - Mans Death

• Job 3414 If he set his heart upon man, if he
  gather unto himself his spirit and his breath
• 15 All flesh shall perish together, and man shall
  turn again unto dust.

• Spirit Ruach - Gods Power
• Breath Nashamah - the air in our lungs
• These two added to the formed body gave life
• Death is the reversal, God takes them away

20
The Nature of Man - Mans Death

• Body - Our meat, bones and guts
• Breath - The air that we breathe - Hebrew
  Neshamah
• Spirit - Gods sustaining power - Hebrew Chayim
• Take away any one of these and we die

21
The Nature of Man - Mans Death

• Eccl. 318 I said in mine heart concerning the
  estate of the sons of men, that God might
  manifest them, and that they might see that they
  themselves are beasts.

22
The Nature of Man - Mans Death

• Eccl.319 For that which befalleth the sons of
  men befalleth beasts even one thing befalleth
  them as the one dieth, so dieth the other yea,
  they have all one breath so that a man hath no
  preeminence above a beast for all is vanity.
• 20 All go unto one place all are of the dust,
  and all turn to dust again.

23
The Nature of Man - Mans Death

• Eccl. 318 I said in mine heart concerning the
  estate of the sons of men, that God might
  manifest them, and that they might see that they
  themselves are beasts.

• Man, in respect to death differs not from the
  beasts
• In mental capability he is the highest of the
  creatures and was hence promised dominion over
  them (Gen.126,27)

24
The Nature of Man - Mans Death

• Eccl.319 For that which befalleth the sons of
  men befalleth beasts even one thing befalleth
  them as the one dieth, so dieth the other yea,
  they have all one breath so that a man hath no
  preeminence above a beast for all is vanity.

• In death the same thing happens Breath is
  removed
• Breath ruach Spirit - the sustaining
  power of God which is common to man beast alike

25
The Nature of Man - Mans Death

• Eccl.320 All go unto one place all are of the
  dust, and all turn to dust again.

• Their bodies dissolve and corrupt to dust
• An animal dies in exactly the same way as a man
  does

26
The Nature of Man - Mans Death

• Some people have problems with verse 21.
• Eccl.321 Who knoweth the spirit of man that
  goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that
  goeth downward to the earth?

• Word Spirit carries meaning mental disposition
  cp. Eccl.211 Then I looked on all the works
  that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that
  I had laboured to do and, behold, all was vanity
  and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit
  under the sun.

27
The Nature of Man - Mans Death

• Eccl.321 Who knoweth the spirit of man that
  goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that
  goeth downward to the earth?

• Man aspires to greater things
• While men and beasts are alike in death, during
  life, however their ambitions differ.
• The beast is incapable of mans ambition and
  pride (See Eccl.127 Job 3414-15).

28
The Nature of Man - Mans Death

• Conclusion
• When man dies,
• Gods Power is removed
• He stops breathing air
• He returns to dust
• In death man is identical to animals

29
The Nature of Man

• Introduction
• Mans Existence
• Mans Death
• Is life now everlasting?
• The death State
• Why do we die?
• Is man immortal?
• Conclusion

30
The Nature of Man - Is life now everlasting?

• James 414 Whereas ye know not what shall be on
  the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a
  vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and
  then vanisheth away.

• Seeing mans life is in Gods control, he cannot
  presume to make future plans with any certainty.
• Life is not, naturally, mans eternal possession

31
The Nature of Man - Is life now everlasting?

• James 414 Whereas ye know not what shall be on
  the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a
  vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and
  then vanisheth away.

• Man and the hundreds of generations that have
  come and gone are just like the vapour cloud of
  steam, which appears so tangible but dissipates
  leaving no trace of its existence.

32
The Nature of Man - Is life now everlasting?

• Job 141 Man that is born of a woman is of few
  days, and full of trouble.
• 2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down
  he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.

• Life is like a flower one day it is full of
  blooms, but the next day - withered and gone
• A second comparison. Like a shadow of no
  substance and leaving no trace of its existence

33
The Nature of Man - Is life now everlasting?

• Psa. 395 Behold, thou hast made my days as an
  handbreadth and mine age is as nothing before
  thee verily every man at his best state is
  altogether vanity. Selah.

34
The Nature of Man - Is life now everlasting?

• Conclusion
• Life as possessed now is not everlasting

35
The Nature of Man

• Introduction
• Mans Existence
• Mans Death
• Is life now everlasting?
• The death State
• Why do we die?
• Is man immortal?
• Conclusion

36
The Nature of Man - The death state

• Man is unconscious knowing nothing
• Eccl. 95 For the living know that they shall
  die but the dead know not any thing, neither
  have they any more a reward for the memory of
  them is forgotten.
• 6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their
  envy, is now perished neither have they any more
  a portion for ever in any thing that is done
  under the sun.

37
The Nature of Man - The death state

• Isa.3818 For the grave cannot praise thee, death
  can not celebrate thee they that go down into
  the grave cannot hope for thy truth.
• 19 The living, the living, he shall praise thee,
  as I do this day the father to the children
  shall make known thy truth.

38
The Nature of Man - The death state

• Psa.497 None of them can by any means redeem his
  brother, nor give to God a ransom for him
• 9 That he should still live for ever, and not see
  corruption.
• 10 For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the
  fool and the brutish person perish, and leave
  their wealth to others.

39
The Nature of Man - The death state

• Conclusion
• In death man is unconscious, knowing nothing
• His body corrupts

40
The Nature of Man

• Introduction
• Mans Existence
• Mans Death
• Is life now everlasting?
• The death State
• Why do we die?
• Is man immortal?
• Conclusion

41
The Nature of Man - Why do we die?

• Rom. 623 For the wages of sin is death but the
  gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ
  our Lord.
• What is Sin?
• 1 John 34 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth
  also the law for sin is the transgression of the
  law.

42
The Nature of Man - Why do we die?

• Gen.317 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast
  hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast
  eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee,
  saying, Thou shalt not eat of it cursed is the
  ground for thy sake in sorrow shalt thou eat of
  it all the days of thy life

43
The Nature of Man - Why do we die?

• 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth
  to thee and thou shalt eat the herb of the
  field
• 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,
  till thou return unto the ground for out of it
  wast thou taken for dust thou art, and unto dust
  shalt thou return.

44
The Nature of Man - Why do we die?

• Conclusion
• God has condemned all men to death because they
  inherit Adams nature and walk in his sinful ways

45
The Nature of Man

• Introduction
• Mans Existence
• Mans Death
• Is life now everlasting?
• The death State
• Why do we die?
• Is man immortal?
• Conclusion

46
The Nature of Man - Is man immortal?

• Contradictions that arise if man is immortal
• 1 - Men would not perish like beasts Psa.4914,
  19-20
• 2 - Immortality would not only be for the
  righteous Rom. 26-8
• 3 - Immortality would not be the gift of God Rom.
  623
• 4 - Neither could immortality be now hidden with
  Christ in God Col.33

47
The Nature of Man - Is man immortal?

• 5 - Immortality could not be said to have been
  brought to light by Jesus and the Gospel 2
  Tim.110
• 6 - Immortality would not be dependant upon
  belief in Jesus Christ
  Jn.640 1125 316,36.
• 7 - Paul would not have waited anxiously for the
  redemption of the body Rom.823

48
The Nature of Man - Is man immortal?

• Conclusion
• Man is Mortal...
• . Because of sin
• . (disobedience to Gods Laws)

49
The Nature of Man

• Introduction
• Mans Existence
• Mans Death
• Is life now everlasting?
• The death State
• Why do we die?
• Is man immortal?
• Conclusion

50
The Nature of Man - Conclusion

• Man is a creature formed from the dust
• He lives by the Power of God
• This is identical to animals
• Life as possessed now is not everlasting
• In death man is unconscious, knowing nothing, His
  body corrupts
• God has condemned all men to death
• Man is Mortal

51
The Nature of Man - Conclusion

• What hope is there?
• Luke 112 And he said unto them, When ye pray,
  say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be
  thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as
  in heaven, so in earth.

52
The Nature of Man - Conclusion

• Mans True Hope
• Is the Kingdom of God
• On earth
• Ruled by Christ His Saints
• How can I be in this Kingdom?

53
The Nature of Man - Conclusion

• Mark 1616 He that believeth and is baptized
  shall be saved but he that believeth not shall
  be damned.

54

• Good Night