Broadlands Bible Church
November 2, 2022
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Thesis: Man is a composite being made up of "body", "spirit", and "soul".
Introduction: We have been looking into the issue of what being a "Living Soul" means. This evening we are going to consider the significance of the physical analogy of "Nephesh" so that we may recognize the issues involved in being a "Living Nephesh".
- I. The Key Text And Its Contribution To Our Understanding.
- A. The key text is Genesis 2:7.
- B. The key phrase is: "and man became a living soul".
- 1. In order to attempt to cut through the fog, I have decided to go back to the basics.
- a. There are many biblical "metaphors" that attempt to give understanding regarding the "non-physical realities of creation" so that by the use of the "physical" we might at least begin to understand those things that are beyond "physical".
- 1) Man's body is the "physical" dimension of what he is.
- 2) The infusion of the "breath of life" into that physical dimension generated a veritable host of "beyond physical" elements of what man can do (it is "spirit" that energizes the body of dust).
- 3) Thus, we find the Bible resorting to the "physical" aspects of what we are, to attempt to give us an understanding of those elements of what we are that we cannot put under a microscope to discover.
- b. The "physical" meaning of "nephesh" (the Hebrew word originally translated "soul") is the part of the torso that begins with the eyes and goes down to the bottom of the neck.
- 1) This "physical nephesh" includes the senses of sight, smell, taste, hearing and touch, and the functions of initial digestion (including chewing and saliva), and breathing and speaking (and, perhaps, a few other sense and function issues I have overlooked).
- 2) Thus, as a "metaphor" for the "soul" of man, there are several possible non-physical realities that have their "physical mirror" in the "nephesh of the body".
- c. From this set of analogies between the "physical nephesh" and the "beyond physical nephesh", we can reasonably conclude a few "basics".
- 1) The most basic issue is man's retention of "spirit" within his "body": if "the breath of the spirit of life" is cut off, the spirit cannot be retained in the body (Genesis 7:22) and the body dies and begins to return to its mast basic component (dust).
- a) This aspect of "soul" is all that is included in the entire apparatus of breathing, so that man's "soul" is what maintains the "spirit" in a man, and is the major area of threat to the departure of that "spirit", which results in "the death of the body" as it is the "soul" that provides the oxygen to every cell in the body of man. This is the root of meaning in Psalm 69:1-2.
- b) Because we can easily see that the "soul" is "blessed" when it has easy access to air and is "cursed" when its access is cut off, so. by way of analogy, there is a nonphysical aspect of man that enjoys "blessing" and fears "cursing".
- c) This analogy means that man, as a "living nephesh", has an elemental aspect of "desire for life-giving good" and "fear of life-taking evil".
- 2) The next most basic issue is man's maintenance of the life that is in his body by "breath": the ability to eat and drink.
- a) The major issues here are food and water.
- b) The provision of food and water are highlighted in the "Shepherd" metaphor of Psalm 23:2-3 where "He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul...".
- c) The significance of this "food and drink" issue is highlighted by the complaint in the wilderness recorded in Numbers 21:4-5, where it is the "soul" that "loathes this light bread", a fact that the NASB completely hides by its translation, "...we loathe this miserable food" [this complaint led to the fiery serpent issue of the Gospel as given by Jesus in John 3].
- c) The major threats in this aspect of the "soul" are famine and drought.
- 3) And a third most basic issue is man's ability to vocalize his reactions to what his experiences are dumping on him. This is a critical aspect of "Nephesh": reactions to what experiences bring upon it are made known by speech.
- 4) From these most basic issues arises a basic fact: man's "nephesh" is almost completely dependent upon outside input.
- a) This is derived from the fact that the physical "nephesh" cannot provide for itself; air must be present for breathing, food must be put into the "nephesh" in order for the processes of eating to be possible; air must be available to push through the larynx in order for speech to be possible; etc. .
- b) This issue of total dependence upon outside input reinforces the fact that man is, by deliberate design and necessity of creation, a "dependent" of God.
- 5) And then, from these basic issues, we can apply the remaining details of the physical nephesh to those elements of "soul" that have their meaning for us in the analogies that exist between the "physical nephesh" and the "beyond physical nephesh".
- 3. The most critical issue for us, in respect to our having become "souls", is that we do not possess a soul, we are a soul, and as "living souls" we can never cease to exist as creations that are subject to the things to which we are subjected by outside forces [Note Paul's clarification of the basic identities of Adam and Christ in 1 Corinthians 15:45].
- a. This is the essential "danger" if "Death", because of "Law", is the final state for eternity.
- 1) "Life" and "Death" are realms of experience.
- 2) As such, "Life" is the realm of the experience of all of the provisions that make "Life" "Life" and "Death" is the realm of the experience of the absence of all "Life-giving" factors.
- b. But this is also the essential "blessing" if "Life", because of "Grace", is the final state for eternity.
- 1) This "Death"/"Life" reality sets the stage for man, as a "living soul", to be understood as A Creature Of "Fear of Loss Unto Death" And Of "Desire for Gain Unto Life".
- 2) With this analogy in place, we can see that the references to "Nephesh" or "Psuche", all have to do with something that presents to us "threat" or "promise".
- a. When "Nephesh" or "Psuche" are used in the Bible, there is always something to be "feared" for its ability to generate "loss" or something to be "desired" for its ability to produce "gain".
- b. Thus, "man" is a dependent creature whose most basic emotions are "fear/'grief" and "desire/joy", and everything fits into one's perspective on the basis of those two issues.
