Sunday: “A Living Being”
Read Genesis 1:24-27 and Genesis 2:7, Genesis 2:19. What similarities and differences can you see between the way God created the animals and humanity? What does Genesis 2:7 tell us about human nature?
The Genesis account declares that on the sixth day of Creation week the Lord God brought to life land animals and the first human beings, a couple (Genesis 1:24-27). We are told that He “formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky” (Genesis 2:19, NIV). He also “formed a man from the dust of the ground” (Genesis 2:7, NIV).
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Although both animals and man were alike made from “the ground,” the formation of the man was distinct from that of animals in two main ways. First, God shaped the man physically, and then “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7, NIV). He was a physical entity before he became a living one. Second, God created humanity as both male and female in the very image and likeness of the Godhead (Genesis 1:26-27).
Genesis 2:7 explains that the infusion of the “breath of life” into the physical body of Adam transformed him into “a living being” (Heb. Nephesh chayyah) or literally “a living soul” (KJV). It means that each of us does not have a soul that can exist apart from the body. Rather, each one of us is a living being or a living soul. The claim that this “soul” is a conscious entity that can exist separate from the human body is a pagan, not a biblical, idea. Understanding the true nature of humanity prevents us from accepting the popular notion of an immaterial soul and all the dangerous errors built upon that belief.
There is no conscious existence of any isolated part of the human being separated from the person as a whole. God created us in a fearful and wonderful way, and we should not speculate beyond what the Scriptures actually say about this specific matter. In fact, not only is the very nature of life a mystery (scientists still can’t agree on exactly what it means for something to be alive), even more mysterious is the nature of consciousness. How does the few pounds of material tissue (cells and chemicals) in our heads, the brain, hold and create immaterial things like thoughts and emotions? Those who study this idea admit that we really don’t know.
| What a miracle life is! Why should we rejoice in the gift of not just life, but of eternal life as well, an even greater miracle? |
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Praying you bring sharing ability back🙏
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Modern science has made us very much aware that we do have a lot in common with not only animals but other forms of life too. We like to think of ourselves as unique but the more we read the DNA book the more we understand that God was using a fundamental template when he created life and us. That does not stop us from being unique but it does raise the question about what it is that makes us unique.
I watched a Youtube video recently where the ornithologists pitted the reasoning power of a Torresian Crow against a New Zealand Kea. They had to solve puzzles in order to get rewards of food. Both birds are highly intelligent and were able to solve the problems to get to the food. Interestingly they solved the problems in different ways. I thought about my own ability to reason and solve problems as I watched this video, and had a little bit of an insight into the similarities of thought processes that must occur in both the birds and me. (I know that someone is going to quip that I am a bit of a bird brain - but I don't mind. Birds are not stupid)
Against this background, I have to ask myself what is it that makes me essentially different to animals. I don't think the answer is simple, but it is in the creator-created relationship. God loves us and in creating us gave us the capacity to love and relate to him in a special way. The creation of man is not just an account of what happened. It is filled with markers about the relationship between God and us. And while we may not have the capacity to understand all of this, we can appreciate and enjoy that relationship.
Corollary: We do not love God in order to get the reward of eternal life. We are not like Crows and Keas, hoping to get a good feed. God loves us in spite of ourselves, and in so doing set the marker for our relationships with one another. This is something that is unique among created life.
Just a thought. When my cat was dying, he wanted to be with me and found obvious comfort and relief from being cradled in my lap. Maybe in real life the Crows and Keas would live life for more than a good feed, if they were not in a "scientific" experiment.
We may not be so unique as we think. God made life in this world for love.
Amen
How do one reconicle this week's lesson with 1 Peter 3:19 (Christ preaching to spirits in prison) and Luke 16:19-31 (parable of the rich man and Lazarus.
Lesson 9 deals with these queries.
My understanding of the origin and nature of human beings is based on Gen 1 and 2 and the quote below from Patriarchs and Prophets pg 45.2
Most important to me is that body and spark of life became a living being.
Man was to bear God's image, both in outward resemblance and in character. Christ alone is “the express image” (Hebrews 1:3) of the Father; but man was formed in the likeness of God. His nature was in harmony with the will of God. His mind was capable of comprehending divine things. His affections were pure; his appetites and passions were under the control of reason. He was holy and happy in bearing the image of God and in perfect obedience to His will.
PP 45.2
I believe what Adam was in his perfect state is what our state will be when we are connected to Christ. I'm not sure exactly when we'll reach that state, may be not until we are in heaven.
One of his characteristics that we should attain for is "bringing every thought to the obedience of Christ"
2 Corinthians 10:5
I have to be thankful to God for life every minute. But I'd say that my life and all of the created Universe would mean nothing without One thing, that for me, is the most important of all. This last question "What a miracle life is! Why should we rejoice in the gift of not just life, but of eternal life as well, an even greater miracle?" is very provocative! Because nothing makes sense without the MOST "crazy and mysterious and out of bound" demonstration of LOVE of God for us which is the person of JESUS CHRIST! Neither this or the after life! I do not want eternity or any other blessing without this marvelous example, the ONLY, most exceedingly way of God in telling us that HE LOVES US! I want to PHYSICALLY be in the presence of my Redeemer, that's my ultimate prize, that's the best I could ever get from God!
"Although both animals and man were alike made from “the ground,” the formation of the man was distinct from that of animals in two main ways. First, God shaped the man physically, and then “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Gen. 2:7, NIV). He was a physical entity before he became a living one. Second, God created humanity as both male and female in the very image and likeness of the Godhead (Gen. 1:26, 27).
I do not see the first way as supported by the Scriptures nor the Spirit of Prophecy. Man is distinct from animals because he was made in the image of God not because of his material makeup.
EXCEPT Solomon was wrong when he wrote: "Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals." Eccl. 3:19
Do animals have "soul"? Revelation 16:3
Which in the KJV reads, "every living soul died".
They do have a level of "free will" and emotional and intellectual range that is far above plant life!
They are not robots, and can freely show love, fear and other emotions, and the ability to figure things out.
But their level of "soul" if it is thus defined, is not the same as humans. They cannot plan and execute their plans anywhere near the level of humans and they operate more in the literal, not in abstract thinking. They also seem to be programed somewhat, as in spiders spinning webs, birds building nests after their kind, migrating abilities, etc. Certain species are known for their specific abilities unique to their species.
What I see in Genesis is God creating the human race to be His friends and companions. They were not created to automatically serve and worship Him. God wants us to worship Him because we choose to do so -- we want to do so -- we not only love to so, we intellectually know and believe that He is good and worthy to be praised and worshipped.
After all, the whole great controversy is the result of God risking all in order to give human beings FREE WILL and thus the ability to render (or not to render) true, free, heart and mind felt love in our relationship with God.
I don't believe people or animals "have" souls. But in the language of KJV English, they *are* souls. Thus a more accurate reading of Rev.16:3 incontemporary English would be that "every living being died." And that's how most modern translations appear to render it.
I am certain that all agree that God made man in His Image and Likeness to fulfill a purpose. By attempting to understand the purpose for which the ‘living soul’ – man, was created, we can deduce/understand why man was made in his Creator’s Image/Likeness. Understanding this, will help us find purpose in 'life'.
As I understand Scripture, the ‘Living Soul’ and its assigned position as the caretaker/-giver to God’s earth and all that is within, would therefore be the original purpose for man to have been created – Gen.2:4-15. Yes, man is very industrious and uses his intellectual capacity to 'create' things, but he seems to have forgotten that his first calling is to be a 'caregiver'.
I see man’s creation to have been only for the purpose of representing the Creator here on earth; being His Ambassador to all forms of life; representing to all living creatures His Image in His Likeness. Yes, Life in all its wonderful forms is a miracle, but God had a serious purpose/task for man to fulfill which the other creatures were not given. In its original state, all life was able to enjoy ‘just being alive’; now it is not so any longer. Strife and covetousness has replaced care and benevolence.
True life, formed to be a living soul of heart, mind, and spirit, capable of expressing the Image and Likeness of our Creator, is what the Son of God and Man, Christ Jesus, has come here to restore. We who believe are again caregivers and caretakers of God’s Creation to exclaim His Power, Glory and Honor throughout the Universe.
First of all, I want to thank Mr. Timm for reminding us that God created the "physical entity" of man, then God Himself "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul".
So, I say this, because I have argued over a hundred times in my lifetime (or it seems like that many times) with people (and we should not argue, but I did) about the crazy notions and theories, which still exist today, that we humans somehow evolved from lower animals, or more specifically from an Ape or a monkey. We, human being, did not evolve from an ape or any other animal. We were uniquely and wonderfully "formed and created" (Psalms 139:14) by our Creator, God. Do we have some of the same organs as other lower animals? Yes, that would be because God created the lower animals too. God created each animal with the parts (organs) they needed in order to survive.
God also created the Angels. God created us a little lower than the Angels (that is the pre-sinned version of man was created a little lower than the Angels), and He created the animals to be lower than humans. There is so much we do not understand about God's creation plan, but we will have eternity to ask Jesus to explain it to us. But until then, please do not listen to this foolishness about man evolving from lower animals.
It is also not wise to listen to, or learn from, some people, organizations, and institution, because as we saw in our lesson from last week, they will mix a little truth with their error (or falsehood). We need to pray that God gives us "spiritual discernment", to know truth from error, even when it is mixed with both truth and error.
Secondly, when the bible says that "God created man in His own image", that involved more than just the physicality of human beings. It involved the character of God. One of the beloved Elders of my church always reminds us, that "our character is the only thing we will carry with us to Heaven, when Jesus returns". "The image of God" involves a lot more than what I can comprehend. However, what little I do understand is that God's desire was for us to show forth the "fruit of the Spirit", to show "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" to All that we come in contact with, in our homes, jobs, church, anywhere, and also to animals. But unfortunately, we still have a lot to learn, sob!
Let us all pray for the "fruit of the Spirit".
Hi Mr. Isaac, I think that, at least for Luke 16:19-31, it goes back to "why Jesus spoke to them in parables?". Jesus could have told them in clear plain language the same thing that our lesson this week is saying, which is that "man was created from the dust of the ground" and will return to dust of the earth. However, Jesus taught the same concept in parable because He could address several misunderstandings all at once. The principal concept of this parable is not the state of the dead, but it was the request for God to send the dead back to warn the living. Jesus told them that God will not send anyone who has died, whether they were righteous or wicked, back to warn the living. "The living know that they will die, but the dead know not anything...", Ecclesiastes 9:5. God has given us, the living, enough warnings, through "Moses and the Prophets", to be saved. If we will not heed those warnings, then we will not listen to the warnings of the dead as well.
Also, the "great gulf fixed" is the concept of the "state of the dead", in that the dead cannot wake up to talk or warn anyone. Also, Abraham is not currently in Heaven; he is resting in his tomb alongside all the others that have passed on into the state of death. There are only a few humans in Heaven at this time: Enoch, Moses, and Elijah (and maybe, not sure, those that rose from the dead with Jesus, maybe). I don't know why these are the only three confirmed humans in Heaven; but all the other deceased human beings will have to wait until Jesus' second return to this earth, when Paul tells us in 2 Thessalonians 4:16, that "the dead in Christ will rise first". What a glorious day that will be!! I will see my mother and grandmother again (and my other faithful relatives), and I will finally be able to meet Abraham in person.
God bless you all.
Hi Mr. Edwards, you are partly correct. However, we must remember that when Solomon wrote Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, in his later years of life, he was a very depressed man, after experiencing a lifetime full of death and disappointments. He was writing these scrolls to his sons and daughters, as a warning to live a better life than he had; attempting to impart the little bit of wisdom he had left to tell them to make better choices. So, yes, some of his writings maybe sort of mired, but not with error, but with sadness and depression; there is a difference. The concepts in Solomon's writings is still God's truth.
Also, as I said before, we have a lot to learn about God's creation plan; so, I don't know if it was the "same breath" or not, for man and animals. We can all ask Jesus that question when He comes; but by then, for most, this question will not be important anymore.
God bless!
We should rejoice in the gift of eternal life because death no longer separates us from God, family, friends, and nature. Last week, in lesson 2, we learned how death became a part of our world because of our first parents' disobedience. The Tree of Life will be restored again and we can eat from its fruits to live eternally with Christ (literally) in our midst without the veil separating us from Jesus. We can at last walk with our creator just like how our first parents did in the Garden of Eden. We can be around with our loved ones forever without worrying about them aging and dying. We can enjoy the company of our friends without worrying about long distance communication since visitation can be easily accessed using heavenly transportation. We can enjoy the beauty of nature without seeing beautiful flowers dying off, but more importantly, we can play with wild animals like pets. And, our cherished pets we had on earth that gave us joy and happiness can bring that same joy again without seeing them sick and aging away. “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”, (1 Corinthians 15:55 KJV). The result of sin is death causing separation from God, family, friends, and nature. But, thank God, Christ overcame the power of death where all things are new and restored. The word separation will no longer be in our dictionary or use of vocabulary when it comes to death. Death will no longer be a part of our new world and we can rejoice in the gift of eternal life, an even greater miracle.