The Human Spirit In Union With A Physical Body, Or Man A Twofold Being

By H.M. Riggle

The Bible clearly teaches three states of the human soul, or spirit: First: — In union with a physical, material body. This is man's present state and it terminates at death. Second — A state in which the human spirit is separated from the body and remains conscious. This commences at death and terminates with the resurrection. Third — The reunion of soul and body. This takes place in the final resurrection, and continues ever after, which is the eternal state.

"For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day" (II Cor. 4:16). This text teaches that we are compound beings possessing an "outward man" and an "inward man." The one is visible, material, mortal, hence is subject to death and perishes, while the other is spirit and does not perish with the body, but "is renewed" day by day. The outward man is the part of us that can be seen, heard, and felt, and is subject to sickness and death;

therefore it decays and wastes away through disease and old age. It is the visible man. And "the things which are seen are temporal" — for a time only (II Cor. 4:18). At the very time the outer, visible man is perishing the "inner man" — the soul or spirit, is daily being "renewed" by receiving light and life from God." This Peter calls "the hidden man of the heart" (I Pet. 3:4). It is the invisible man — and "things which are not seen ARE ETERNAL" (II Cor. 4:18). These two parts of our being then are absolutely distinct in substance, and while the one is perishing the other is being renewed.

In mentioning the outer man and inner man Paul shows that he was no materialist. He believed that we have both a body and a soul, that we are a compound of flesh and spirit. And so far was he from supposing that when the body dies the whole man is decomposed, and continues so until the resurrection, that he boldly asserts that as the body of the regenerated decays the other is invigorated, that the very decomposition of the body itself in the saved, leaves the soul in the state of renewed youth. The doctrine of materialism was not apostolic. Paul was not a Sadducee — for they denied both angel and spirit (Acts 23:8). Paul originally was a Pharisee, and they confessed both. In fact they believed that spirits are conscious intelligences capable of speaking (Acts 23:9). He here speaks of the outward and inward man as distinct, though in life wedded.

Let us examine his language carefully. This outer man is part of us, but not us. This body is mine, but not me. There is a real inner man, invisible to the eyes of sense, that believes in God, loves him, has hope in him, and is capable of accomplishing many acts which the physical man cannot do. This material man will decay, while the inner spiritual man is being polished day by day, and is being fitted to shine in the Savior's crown "in that this visible form is a conscious element at work, a secret element of life that does not grow old and decay, but survives. It is right here that "life and immortality are brought to light through the gospel." Not brought into existence, but that which exists is clearly brought "to light." Day by day the soul's inner life grows stronger, richer, and deeper: "Strengthened with might by his Spirit in the INNER MAN" (Eph. 3:16).

This is the part of us that stands particularly with reference to God and eternity.

The outward man feeds on material substances. The inner man feeds on God through the Spirit. It is renewed by spiritual and heavenly influences. Divine knowledge, love, joy, peace, holiness, grace, and glory are what the soul feeds on. These are all found in Christ, the bread of life that came from heaven. Thus the inner man is as truly fed and nourished as the outer man: but the two are clearly distinct. Right here materialism must fall. It cannot stand in the light of these facts. Praise God. The Christian cries — "Let my body perish: I can look calmly on the changes of my mortality, on my pains and infirmities, on the advance of age, on the flight of time, and on death itself, for this will but set the inward man free in an infinite and eternal liberty." This immortal fire gave the martyrs courage, and lights our way through the valley of the shadow of death, and points to heaven where we have a "more enduring substance." Can all this apply to the brute? Why not? Because we alone possess this spiritual inner being that finds in Christ its seat of strength and spring of everlasting consolation.

Materialists make no distinction between soul and body. They usually argue that the soul simply means the whole man, including the body. In a debate I held with Elder C. W. Stephens, of the Second Adventist faith, he boldly asserted that when he stepped on the scales and weighed 145 pounds, his soul weighed that amount. In a discussion with Elder J.W. Watt, of the Seventh-day Adventist movement, he publicly took the same position. Here is a statement I distinctly remember — "The only spirit a man possesses is in his nostrils, and if you take a bad cold your soul is in danger." Such language is common in their literature. How dark and hopeless is this teaching in the light of the transplendent illuminating influences of the Holy Spirit that shine upon the pages of divine revelation and lift the veil and give us a true conception of spiritual things that are eternal.

All agree that the "outward man" is the body. Now let us ascertain what the "inner man" really is. The Bible testimony is clear. "But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn" (Job 14:22). Carefully note this language — soul "within" him, and flesh "upon" him. While the one suffers pain, the other mourns. While in union, they are clearly distinct in substance. God "formeth the spirit of man within him" (Zech. 12:1). "There is a spirit in man" (Job 32:8). "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matt. 26:41). Note the clear distinction between our flesh — the physical man, and the spirit, the inner man. "For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him" (1 Cor. 2:11). "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Cor. 6:20). "The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit" (1 Cor. 7:34).

But why multiply texts? Man is not wholly a material, physical being, neither is he wholly a spiritual being. He is both "body and spirit," "flesh and soul," an "outer and inner man"; and the two are clearly distinct in substance, but in this life are in union together.

The members of the body are but the instruments of the soul: "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righeousness unto God" (Rom. 6:12, 13). Here "your-selves" and "your mortal body," or "members," are distinct. The real inner man rules the outward man. It is the soul that is saved (Jas. 1:21), and when this great work of salvation is wrought

in the inward man the outward man is brought in harmony with that inward condition. Paul says, "I bring under my body." When the soul is saved the feet no longer dance on the ball-room Floor, the lips no longer lie and swear, the hands cease to steal, and by the grace of God we can glorify God in both body and spirit.

THE SOUL IS THE VOLITIONAL PART OF OUR BEING. IT IS A CONSCIOUS ENTITY, AND IS IMMORTAL.

"Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezek. 18:4). "Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" (Mic. 6:7). Note carefully the distinction between the physical and spiritual — "The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul. "The "soul of the son," the "soul of the father," "the soul that sinneth it shall die." Materialists have no little difficulty with these and similar texts. Soul here cannot mean animal life, breath, or the physical man. "The breath that sinneth, it shall die." "For the sin of my physical animal life." How would that sound? Remember, with materialists there is no other life in man but his natural, physical life. To admit spiritual life apart from our natural life would explode all their contention.

It is not the members of our body that are accountable to God. While the hand steals, the lips and tongue profane, the feet dance, and the eyes look on the opposite sex to lust after them, the real trouble is deeper. These members are but the external instruments of the soul. You might cut off the hand, pluck out the literal eye, and tear out the tongue, but the real trouble would still remain. Sin is not a physical affair. It is a moral, spiritual evil. It is not the breath, the animal life, the physical man that stands condemned before God. It is the soul of man. "The soul that sinneth, /'/ shall die." "The sin of my soul" Thus the soul! of man is vastly different from that of the brute.

There is another term that is frequently used in the Bible to denote the moral, spiritual part of us, and in a host of texts refers directly to the inward man. It is "heart." "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently" (1 Pet. 1:22). Here soul and heart mean the same thing. I shall now give a number of texts where the term "heart" cannot mean the muscle in our breast that pumps the blood through the body, but refers directly to the moral, spiritual man:

"The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide" (Ps. 37:31). "I will put my laws in their mind. and write them in their hearts" (Heb. 8:10). "Written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart" (II Cor. 3:3). "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that 1 might not sin against thee" (Ps. 119:11). "Behold thou desirest truth in the inward parts" (Ps. 51:6). » What sense would attach to these texts if man were only flesh and blood and breath and intellect? These scriptures would be meaningless and non-sensical. Apply these texts to the hippopotamus and see how they would sound. Note also that in Heb. 8:10 God said, "I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts." Here heart means more than merely the mind. God's law was to be written in both the heart and mind. Thought and mind in man is more than a property of matter — it is a faculty of the soul, and continues active after death, as this book will show. j A person might have the Word of God so stored away in his mind that he could

repeat from memory the whole book, but that would not effect for him what these scriptures declare. It is in our spiritual and moral being that God puts his law when he saves the soul from sin.

"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Prov. 4:23). "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, etc." (Mark 7:21). "A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things" (Matt 12:35). The heart then is the treasure-house, the fountain and spring from which flows our outward life. If man were no more than an animal how could this be? Will such texts apply to the ape or giraffe? Heart here can only apply to the soul, the real inner man. "Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart" (1 Sam. 16:7). The Bible speaks of the heart as being "deceitful," "desperately wicked," etc. And again we read of a "clean heart," "perfect heart," "honest and good heart," and "pure heart." All such expressions can only apply to our spiritual and moral nature, the soul, or spirit, of man. "And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:8, 9). On the disciples at Pentecost, and later on on the household of Cornelius, was poured out the Holy Ghost, at which time their hearts — souls — were purified.

In the great work of salvation it is not the flesh, bones, or blood, nor is it the breath or mere animal life that is converted, regenerated, and changed from a sinful state to a righteous condition, but it is the heart, the soul, the real inner man. It is more than the mind. For a Jew or Mohammedan simply to see that his religion is wrong and the Christian faith and religion is right, and in belief accept Christ as the Son of God, will not change his moral nature. It takes more than that. A man may with his mind endorse the whole truth and yet be a sinner. Salvation goes deeper than the mind. Now if man were wholly a material being and possessed no conscious spiritual entity he could not undergo a spiritual change. All the change that could be wrought upon him by his Creator would be material and physical or fleshly. The brute cannot undergo a moral or spiritual change.

The very fact that man has become morally defiled by sin and can be morally purified by the blood of Christ in salvation proves beyond all question that he is more than a physical being, that he has a spiritual nature, and that this spiritual nature is a conscious entity. This is what Paul meant in Rom. 7:22, 23: "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members." The twofold nature is here clearly taught. The inward man delights in the law of God and at the same time the law of sin works in the members of the physical body. This was Paul's experience under the law before his conversion. In order for this inner man to delight in God's law he must first learn that law, get a knowledge of it. How could this be unless he is a conscious entity, an intelligent being? Yes, the soul is capable of knowing God, understanding his will and word, and delighting in his law. "For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?" (I Cor. 2:11). The Spirit searcheth the deep things of God and reveals them to us, just as the human spirit knows all the things of a man and makes us conscious of them. That is exactly what this text and its context teaches. Therefore the human spirit is a conscious entity.

As we have seen the soul is the volitional part that sins against God, becomes defiled and depraved, and feels the sting of guilt and condemnation. Therefore it is the soul that needs to be saved. "Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls" (Jas. 1:21). "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul" (Ps. 19:7). "The salvation of your souls" (1 Pet. 1:9). "That the spirit may be saved" (1 Cor. 5:5). "Ye have purified your souls" (I Pet. 1:22). "Purifying their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:9). "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God" (Matt. 5:8). What a beautiful wreath of heavenly truth!

In salvation the spiritual and moral nature of man is restored. "He restoreth my soul" (Ps. 23:3). All these scriptures teach the conscious existence of the human soul. God has promised to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins" (Luke 1:77). How is this given? "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself" (1 John 5:10). "Knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance" (Heb. 10:34).

In what part of our inward being is this precious knowledge and witness given? Answer: "The Spirit itself beareth witness with OUR SPIRIT, that we are the children of God" (Rom. 8:16). It is by our spiritual nature that we are made conscious of God. The blessed Holy Ghost communicates to "our spirit" a sweet consciousness of our acceptance with him. Materialism cannot stand in the light of this truth. Paul further explains this experience in Gal. 4:6; "God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." Our "hearts" and our "spirit" here mean the same thing — another proof our heart, or spirit, is a conscious entity.

But our materialist friends say spirit means breath, wind. How would this sound? "his wind beareth witness with our wind , that we are the children of God." Our "God hath sent forth the breath of his Son into our breath, crying, Abba Father." No, friends, "there is a spirit in man," an intelligent, conscious entity, that can be saved through the blood of Jesus Christ and can receive from God through the Holy Spirit a sweet inward assurance and consciousness of it. This is the immortal part of our being.

"Your heart shall live forever" (Ps. 22:26). How much is implied in these words. This teaches the absolute indestructibility of the seat of our spiritual affections — the heart, or soul. There is one thing in this fleeting world that is immortal, the nature of which is undying, and that is the human soul. It "shall LIVE FOREVER." So positively teaches the Word of God.

How beautifully this text in Ps. 22:26 blends with that of 1 Pet. 3:3, 4: "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." Here again immortality is clearly brought to light. The subject is adornment, outward and inward beautifying. The embellishment of a true Christian is not external decorations, "not that outward adorning" of the body with costly apparel, gold, etc. Do not spend your time trying to adorn and beautify the outward man, the physical body for it is corruptible and will soon decay and die. Your "mortal body" "mortal flesh" (Rom. 6:12; 8:11, 11 Cor. 4:11). How vain to spend valuable time hanging jewels on this poor "vile body" of ours. What then shall we adorn? Answer: "Let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible." How plain this statement. A "hidden man" which is "not corruptible" dwells inside this corruptible and decaying body. The adorning of this inner

man — the soul — is not something that we put on, but is a state or condition of our spiritual being, a "meek and quiet SPIRIT." The hidden man of the heart is our spirit, and it is beautified by meekness and quietness in salvation. "He will beautify the meek with salvation." "The beauty of the Lord God is upon me." "Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty. God hath shined."

On the text Dr. Adam Clarke remarks — "Hidden man of the heart. Tins phrase is of the same import with that of St. Paul — Rom. 7:22 the inner man; that is the soul, with the whole system of affections and passions. Every part of the scripture treats man as a compound being: the body is the outward or visible man; the soul, the inward, hidden, or invisible man." "All the ornaments placed on the head and body of the most illustrious female are, in the sight of God, of no worth; but a meek and silent spirit are, in his sight, invaluable, because proceeding from and leading to himself, being incorruptible, surviving the ruins of the body and the ruins of time, and enduring eternally." This is sound. Man possesses both a corruptible and an incorruptible part. The outer man is corruptible — subject to natural decay, and as a result, death. It is the only part of us that will put on immortality and incorruption at the resurrection (see Phil. 3:20, 21; 1 Cor. 15:42, 44). The inner, or hidden man of the soul, the human spirit, "is not corruptible." It is spirit — "for there is a spirit in man." All spirits, now and all the time, and evermore, are indestructible; and the human soul is spiritual. Materialists will argue that it is not the hidden man but the adornment that is incorruptible, the ornament the hidden man is to wear. But this ornament is not a trinket of some kind — it is a state, a condition of the soul when saved by grace. The inward man, being incorruptible, must be adorned with incorruptible, imperishable graces.

The words "not corruptible" in 1 Pet. 3:3, 4 are derived from the Greek word aphtartos. This same word is found in the following texts: 1 Cor. 9:25, "incorruptible (aphtartos) crown"; 1 Cor. 15:52, "the dead shall be raised incorruptible (aphthartos)"; 1 Pet. 1:4, "Inheritance incorruptible (aphthartos); and in I Tim. 1:17, "now unto the King eternal, IMMORTAL, (aphtartos). " Here then we unmistakably have its true meaning. The Deity is aphthartos — immortal; and in the final resurrection the dead shall be raised aphthartos — incorruptible, and Paul defines this — "this mortal shall put on immortality" (1 Cor. 15:54). Immortality is from either of two Greek words — aphthartos or aphtharsia, which mean imperishable, incorruptible; or from athanasia— deathlessness. The words "not corruptible" in 1 Pet. 3:4 are rendered "imperishable" in Bible Union and Sawyers translations. "Imperishable-Not subject to decay; indestructible"— Webster. So this text properly rendered reads, "The hidden man of the heart, is that which is immortal — imperishable" So there is no evasion of the fact that inside our mortal flesh there lives a conscious entity, a soul or spirit, an intelligent being, the real inner, hidden man of the heart, and it is immortal, imperishable, and does not go down in decomposition with the body.

"That day of wrath, that dreadful day

When heaven and earth shall pass away;

What power shall be the sinners' stay?

How shall he meet that dreaded day?"

—The Day of Judgment by Walter Scott