08/31/2016 WHO ARE WE?
Genesis 1:26-27 And GOD said, Let US make man [humanity] in OUR image, after OUR likeness…[King James Translation] So GOD created man [humanity] like HIS MAKER, Like GOD did GOD make man; Man and maid did HE make them. [Living Bible Translation]
Genesis 2:7 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 soul. [King James Translation]
Summary
Most of us have heard the creation story thousands of time. Many of us grew up with Bible children books and pictures depicting stars, the sun and the moon, water, animals, fish and eventually the man and finally the woman depicted as molded figures from clay. But this is “the children’s” version of creation.
What the Bible tells us is that humanity was created in two stages.
Chapter 1:
The first chapter of Genesis discusses GOD creating the spiritual nature of humanity. The Bible says humanity was created like HIS MAKER, GOD. John 4:24 states:
GOD is Spirit, and HIS worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. [New International translation]
So, if GOD created us to be like HIM, we too are spiritual beings.
Our “spirit” is often associated with the “deepest nature” of “who we really are.” Spirit is associated with our ability to connect with our Maker, GOD. GOD “sees” our deepest thoughts, what is in our heart. HE knows our spirit. We interact with GOD spiritually—through prayer and in faith. That is why expressions and statements like “Loving GOD with all your heart,” “Loving your neighbor as yourself,” “Being honest with yourself,” “Losing my moral compass,” or “Falling in Love With GOD*,” have meaning.
There is a part of humanity that is beyond what we see or touch with the physical human eye. Our spirit defines our connection with GOD in ways that the physical (i.e., how we act and appear) cannot. While we may deceive others with what we may do or say, we cannot deceive GOD. HE knows our spirit.
There is no spiritual gender preference. GOD created spiritual humanity---“male and female.” GOD is no respecter of persons or gender. Romans 2:11
Chapter 2
The second part of the creation of humanity involved the “physical” creation of humanity. This physical creation was not from earthly clay, but from “dust.” Humans are not potted plants—formed from the soil or rich earth. We can’t sit in the sun, do nothing and be health and grow. Nor are we molded from clay, as many of our children’s books suggest. GOD created physical man from “dust.” Genesis 3:19 states “you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” In an article, “Where Does All The Dust Come From?, it was noted that the grey dust that we see in our homes (perhaps 70%) is probably mostly human skin, since humans shed skin cells and replace them with new skin cells every month. See, http://www.scienceshorts.com/Ssw/051217.htm.
We also know from studying human anatomy that the human body is “wonderfully made” (Psalms 139:14) and that we include: water, muscle, brain, lungs, kidney, tissue, stomach, sensitivity to pleasure and pain etc. All of these various parts are complex and essential to the well-being of the whole body.
Both the physical and the spiritual parts of who we are require proper maintenance.