Dear Ted,
I just want to make sure that I understand your 2 recent posts correctly. http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/apr2008/tedp424.htm and http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/apr2008/tedp422-2.htm.
Are you saying that Adam was created with just a body and a soul and that no part of him was eternal? Also, are you saying that we are given eternal spirits only after we become Christians? I am not familiar with the debate about whether Adam had a spirit, soul, and body as opposed to just a soul and body.
We differ in our definition of death. I view it as a state of separation – not a cessation of consciousness. For example, our soul and/or spirit separates from our bodies when we die. The Second Death is the eternal separation of the resurrected unsaved from God. See Revelation 20:11-15 and Matthew 10:28. Consequently, spiritual death does not mean that a spirit is not eternal; rather, it means that the spirit is separated from God. Thus, when Adam and Eve sinned, they experienced spiritual death. There was an immediate break or separation from God. There was a need for reconciliation. And we see Christ’s ministry of reconciliation foreshadowed by the killing of the animals used to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve. (I really liked your observation that there were substitutionary deaths on the day that Adam and Eve sinned.)
Did Adam and Eve understand the concept of physical death before they sinned? Did they ever see anything die before then? Were they actually expecting to drop dead on the spot when they ate the fruit? I don’t know. Adam knew for a fact that physical death was not immediate because he ate after Eve. One thing that we do know for sure is that they comprehended the break in their relationship with God immediately after they ate the fruit. When He came in the cool of the day, they hid.
I agree that a body made out of dust is not inherently immortal. I think that God did not want Adam and Eve to go living forever in a sinful body and that is why He stopped them from eating of the Tree of Life. But, someday, everyone is going to be resurrected. "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt." Daniel 12:2. Eternity is not limited to life. There is such a thing as eternal separation from God. I call it eternal death. "Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:14.
If the unsaved do not have eternal spirits, then why would God bother to resurrect them, judge them, and toss them into the lake of fire? They would have ceased to exist upon their physical death. It does not make any sense unless there is something eternal in them. Something that remains after the body is dead. Something that is impossible to snuff out because it is from the essence of God. Something that has to go somewhere – forever.
Since God is triune, and Adam was made in His image, it follows that Adam was triune as well. "May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 5:23. (The only thing that the New Agers get right is their "mind, body, and spirit" phrase.) If the words of God are eternal, then wouldn’t His breath be eternal too? "God is Spirit." John 4:24. So when He breathed into Adam, He must have imparted His spiritual nature into Adam.
You state that man was only made with only a soul and not a spirit, based upon Genesis 2:7. But the spirit and the soul are practically indistinguishable from each other. "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit ..." Hebrews 4:12. And, taking the Word as a whole, we see that God has put a spirit in all men. "The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him ..." Zechariah 12:1.
There are different levels of life and death (i.e. separation) that are connected with the triune nature of God and man – spirit, soul, and body:
Holy Spirit
Spirit
Spiritual Death – separation from God
Spiritual Life – Second Birth/reconciliation
Father
Soul
Eternal Death – Second Death/eternity without God
Eternal Life – eternity with God
Jesus/Word in Flesh
Body
Physical Death
Resurrection of the body
It is interesting to view these different levels in connection with Jesus Christ. When He took on the sins of the world, He experienced spiritual death or separation from God. "My God, my God why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27:46. Note that this occurred before He died physically – like Adam and Eve. Then He went to hell, but instead of staying there to await judgment and eternal separation from God, He conquered death and hell.
Well, I’ve been long winded, as usual. I always read and enjoy your posts. I was just a little unclear about some of the implications you may be making.
Maranatha.
– Lisa Taylor