It is important to understand that we are all spirits living in bodies, and that when we die our spirits leave our bodies to live in Eternity, either in Heaven, or in Hell.
In order to fully understand the concept of the human body with an indwelling human spirit we do need to go back to the original Creation of human beings, as described in the Bible. This is covered in greater detail in our teaching CREATION: THE GENESIS ACCOUNT
THE ORIGINAL CREATION OF ADAM AND EVE
The creation of the spirits of Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were originally created as spirits, created in the likeness of God. Very soon after that the Lord God created bodies for them,“and man became a living being.”
We start in Genesis 1:26-27, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness’. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
Approximately 2,000 years ago Jesus Christ became a Human Being. In Genesis1:26 and 1:27 God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were all Spirits, and they created Adam and Eve in Their exact likeness. But before that Jesus Christ was a Spirit, as confirmed in the following Scriptures:
Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God (Hebrew, “Elohiym” pleural, literally “Gods”) created the Heavens and the Earth.”
John 1:1-4: “In the beginning was the Word (Jesus Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
Colossians 1:15-17, “Christ is the exact likeness of the unseen God. He existed before God made anything at all, and, in fact, Christ himself is the Creator who made everything in Heaven and Earth, the things we can see and the things we can’t; the spirit world with its kings and kingdoms, its rulers and authorities; all were made by Christ for his own use and glory. He was before all else began and it is his power that holds everything together,” TLB.
Thus the Bible states that God (pleural) originally made Adam and Eve as spirits in Genesis 1:27.
But before that Jesus Christ was a Spirit. Therefore they must have made Adam and Eve as spirits in Genesis 1:27.
We are told that God is a Spirit in John 4:25, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Therefore, when They (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) created something in their exact likeness, they must have created:
The spirits of Adam and Eve were created in Their exact likeness.
The Creation of the Bodies of Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were originally spirits, created in the likeness of God. Very soon after that God created bodies for them, “and man became a living being.” In Genesis 2:7, the LORD God (Jesus Christ) formed the first living being, called Man, as recorded in 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 being.” According to the Bible, our human bodies were originally created out of dust.
It is interesting to note that the chemical components of the human body are exactly the same chemical elements as the dust of the ground. Our physical bodies are made up of 17 chemical elements. In fact these are the same 17 elements that are found in the dust of the ground. It is a matter of common observation that, after a body has been cremated, only dust remains.
It appears, from reading these first two chapters of the Bible, that the Creation of the Human Body was a two-part process. First of all the spirits of Adam and Eve were created in the image of God, and then these spirits were breathed by God into a human body, formed from the dust of the ground.
It follows therefore, that we too, are composed of flesh, constructed out of the same chemical elements as the dust of the Earth, but containing an eternal spirit.
When we die our spirits leave our bodies
We are told in the New Testament that human life in the body cannot exist without the indwelling spirit. James 2:26 states, “The body without the spirit is dead”.
When Jesus Christ created the first human body in Genesis 2:7, that body was dead until Jesus Christ breathed into that dead body the “breath of life”. This “breath of life” would by definition have been the spirit of Adam created in Genesis 1:27.
OUR BODIES DIE, BUT OUR SPIRITS LIVE FOREVER
Example 1: Ecclesiastes 12:6-7
The Bible states, “Remember your Creator now while you are young – before the silver cord of life snaps and the gold bowl is broken; before the pitcher is broken at the fountain and the wheel is broken at the cistern. Then the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it”, Ecclesiastes 12:6-7, TLB. Thus at death the human body decomposes, but the spirit, which never dies, returns to God. This means that the “real you” is a spirit that will live forever.
Example 2: When Jesus died on the Cross, He gave up His Spirit
“So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit,” John 19:30.
Example 3: The raising of Jairus’ daughter by Jesus
A 12 year old little girl died, and Jesus raised her back to life. This is described in Luke 8:51-56, “When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl. Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, “Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping. And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead. But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Little girl, arise.” Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened”.
After death there is a judgement
We are also told in Hebrews 9:27, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgement”. When the physical body dies, our spirit will live on, and go either to Heaven or to Hell. Both of these places have been described quite graphically in many of the stories, and no doubt you have already decided that Hell is not where you want to finish up!