The Spirit of Man
ICS Daily Devotions
Genesis 2:7 (NKJV) 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 being.
We are a three-part being, namely, body, soul and spirit. God made human out of the dust of the ground. The form of man that was made of dust only came alive after God had breathed into it. Therefore, the living being was made alive by the spirit.
However, in this modern age, man has placed a huge emphasis on the body. We spend time exercising to ensure that we stay healthy, have a well-toned body and good physique to look good in different clothes. We invest in anti-aging products, and some even undergo plastic surgeries or other procedures to look young, but eventually, our bodies will turn into ashes, regardless of whether we are buried or cremated.
The body is temporal, but it is the spirit of man that is the eternal being. Therefore, the spirit man is the real man that will live for eternity. While we should take care of our health and try to look good, we should not spend too much time and emphasis on it. Rather, we should spend most of our time and effort in developing the spirit man and drawing closer to God, because it is this part of man that will eventually leave the body and return to the presence of the Lord.
Many of us have neglected developing the spirit, but this is the part of man where faith is developed, the gift of the Holy Spirit operates, and through which the Holy Spirit leads us. Therefore, we need to understand this part of our being—the spirit man—so we can be led by the Spirit and be effective in living out our new life in Christ. We should constantly be reminded that we are a new creation. The new creation is found in the spirit man where God removes the sin nature and gives us His nature. We have the nature of God in our spirit the moment we are born again.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
The born-again believer is a “new creation”, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and has the nature of God. The born-again believer has the imputed righteousness and is sealed with the Holy Spirit for salvation. We are seen as righteous in Christ, even though we are not yet perfect and still have many flaws in our lives.
All of us are beautifully and wonderfully made. Therefore, we should not spend too much time on our physical body. The spirit man is the eternal being. Therefore, we should place most of our time developing it and drawing closer to God.
Sermon Series: The Make-up of Man
