Category: Immortal Soul

THE IMMORTAL SPIRIT OF MAN

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By

Shelby G. Floyd

 

Good morning! I am sure we all had a great Thanksgiving with our family and friends. The songs we have sung today are really great and go perfectly with my lesson. I really like that last song about “the soul that never dies!”

My subject today is the “The Immortal Spirit of Man!” The Bible says that all Scripture is given by inspiration of the Almighty. And the word of God is able to make us perfect unto salvation. That salvation is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:14-17). And it is in Christ that we find the complete growth and purpose of man.

GOD MADE MAN IN HIS IMAGE

 

Man has an immortal spirit. And I use the word man in the sense of Adam being the federal head of the human family. That includes man and woman. So we are talking about mankind.

We read in the Bible the question: “What is man that you are mindful of him?” And so we will answer that question in the course of this lesson. Did you know that all of us have an immortal spirit or soul? This soul/spirit came from Almighty God. Soul and spirit are sometimes used interchangeably. But there is also a slight distinction between the soul and the spirit. We will discuss that later.

In order to introduce this lesson, we must go all the way back to Genesis. The Bible says that God created man in his own image. Just think about that. We are made in God’s image. What or who is God? He made us in his image. “So God created man in his own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27 NKJV). This recounts the origin of man in one verse of Scripture. Man and woman were made in God’s image! Therefore, we were made to honor God.

In Genesis we read “The Lord created man out of the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). This expressed the twofold nature of man. The body was made out of dust. There is not anything made out of dust today that can equal what God made out of the clay! But God did not stop after he had made man out of the earth! “He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7).

And then God planted man in the garden of Eden. I have always wondered where the garden was located. Many others wonder too! It is identified as being near the river Euphrates. But we are lost in locating the other three rivers.

Anyway, in that garden, God placed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Trees are a great blessing. We have all enjoyed the fall scenes of Indiana. Indiana has a forest of oak trees operated on behalf of the USS Constitution and any repairs that ship may need. It is off-limits to everyone else!

Therefore God created a beautiful garden for man and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was there. And it appears that man did not know the difference between good and evil until he ate of that tree. God commanded him not to eat of it.

Do you remember your innocence growing up as a child? You never committed any sin. And then the first time you committed sin; you did not have a good feeling. Then you thought, “I am now a sinner, because I know the difference between good and evil!” That will give us some idea of how Adam and Eve felt when they realized the difference between good and evil (See Genesis 2:15-17). And God said to them, “you will surely die!” Man did not die physically that day. Man died spiritually because he was separated from God. And after he was separated from God, he hid from Him because he was guilty. Continue reading “THE IMMORTAL SPIRIT OF MAN” →

TAKE CARE OF YOUR SOUL

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Shelby G. Floyd

The sole goal of most people today is how much profit they can accumulate of this world’s goods and riches.

Jesus taught that we should value our soul over everything else in this world: “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul” (Matthew 16:26)? According to Christ there is no profit if a man [anthropos-mankind] could gain the whole world (which is impossible), and then end up losing one’s soul.

What is the soul of man that Jesus is talking about? The word “soul” is translated from [psuchen]. This word literally refers to our “breath of life” without which we would be dead. By extension it refers to “the (human) soul in so far as it is constituted that by the right use of the aids offered it by God it can attain its highest end and secure eternal blessedness, the soul regarded as a moral being designed for everlasting life” (Thayer, p. 677). An example of this use is in the book of Hebrews where the overseers watch out for the souls in the congregation: “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you” (Hebrews 13:17 NKJV).

In many passages of scripture the soul refers to that part of man distinguished from the body which is not dissolved by death. In this sense Jesus warned, “Do not be afraid of those who
kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28, NIV). “Hell—Greek—geenne—Gehenna—place of everlasting punishment!”

Each person had better wake up and take care of the soul. Our soul will live forever. Our soul will have no end and is either destined for eternal joy or woe.

The soul of mankind cost God the price of the life and blood of his unique Son: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, NIV).

God has revealed his plan of salvation to redeem the soul of man from the ravages of Satan and sin. Sinner friend, take the time to learn the conditions of salvation and act thereupon in obedience. Trust and obey!

Copyright © 2022 Shelby G. Floyd, All Rights Reserved

Shelby G. Floyd, Minister, Heartland Church of Christ, 1693 West Main Street, Greenwood, Indiana 46142

THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL

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By

Shelby G. Floyd

1 Thessalonians 5:23
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
NKJV

There is a class of people whom we call materialists that deny that man has an immortal soul. When the Bible says that God “created man out of the dust of the earth, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,” they take that to mean that man is just body, bone, blood and breath, and that when man dies he ceases to exist. I do not believe that, but I do believe just the opposite, that man has an immoral soul or spirit that dwells in this house or tabernacle of clay. A hundred years from now when most of us will be dead in the body we will still be alive in another world.

So we are going to explore the Bible, the Old and New Testament, to see if there is an inward man as well as an outward man, an invisible man as well as a visible man. Continue reading “THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL” →