The terms “inner man” and “outer man,” or their equivalents, are employed in modern psychology, but the psychology of the Bible is more analytical inasmuch as it indicates a subdivision of the invisible part of man, thus teaching us that man is not dichotomous but is a trichotomous being. We find this plainly taught in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 and indicated in Hebrews 4:12 and Luke 1:46-47.
This tripartite being may be illustrated by a third piece of cardboard containing three circles. Within the inner circle print the word “spirit.” Within the second circle (surrounding the first) place the word “soul,” and within the outer circle the word “body.” (See Fig. 3.)
Explain that the spirit is the seat of God-consciousness, the soul the seat of self-consciousness, and the body of world or senseconsciousness.
With the spirit we know God and our relation to Him and our relation morally to every created object. With our soul powers-the intellect, sensibilities (affections, emotions) and will-we are able to deal with the intuitions of the spirit, the claims of these various soul faculties and the record of the bodily senses.
“The spirit of man,” not the soul, is said to be “the candle of the Lord” (Prov. 20:27). Caution the class in reference to a careless use of these terms. Do not say “soul” when “spirit” is meant and vice versa. Avoid the phrase “body, soul and spirit,” as it inverts the Divine order of arrangement. In a normal condition the powers of the spirit control the powers of soul and body. To illustrate, the spirit may be compared to the mistress; the soul, to the housekeeper; the body, to the servant. Invert this order and the result is a disordered household.
Many persons seem to think that spirit and soul are synonymous and feel that any attempt to teach differentiation along this line is unnecessary. Perhaps the best argument in favor of such teaching is the fact that the Bible reveals such differentiation. While it is not always easy to clearly discern the reason for the use of these words in some passages, yet a deeper study of the passages in question would doubtless reveal much that a superficial reading might overlook.
It is lamentably true that the failure to give this subject the study that it deserves has resulted in much that is “soulish” being regarded as “spiritual.”
The outer man, or body, was formed for the purpose of manifesting the wonderful powers of the invisible inner man; hence the delicate relation existing between them.
While the powers of soul and spirit remained normal and poised as created, the body would manifest an unchanged existence; but should the Uncreated Life of God enter the spirit of man, it would soon permeate the soul powers, and as a result of this transformation of the inner man, the earthy particles of the body would experience a change that would eliminate the possibility of death and corruption.
On the other hand, if the powers of the inner man experienced disorder and darkness as the result of a changed attitude of dependence upon God, the inherent possibility of death in the body of dust would no longer be held in abeyance, but the entire physical part of man would undergo dissolution and corruption.
Before proceeding to the next subject, let us consider what wonderful beings came into existence when God created the first human pair. And here let us observe that while we have thus far spoken only of the creation of the man, we must remember that the personality of Eve was as truly created as was that of Adam.
We are inclined to look down from the heights of our fancied superiority upon this first pair, as pitifully ignorant of all that the ages have bestowed upon us in accumulated wisdom and knowledge. Alas, how mistaken we are. The first man with intuitive knowledge easily performed, unaided, humanly speaking, what the scientific man of today is unable to do until he has spent years of diligent study and has received help from countless human sources. Notice in verses 19 and 20 of the second chapter of Genesis that the Lord God brought the various animals that He had created to Adam “to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.” Where is the scientific man of today who could perform this feat in classification?
If we could but look upon the first pair, fresh from the creative hand of God, with powers of spirit strong and unsullied, soul powers poised and vigorous, bodily powers unimpaired and free, we would exclaim, “Alas, how are we fallen.”
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