Is the Human Spirit Dead?
We are often told that the "spirit of man," the human spirit, is dead in the unregenerate. We are told the human spirit became dead when Adam sinned, that it is no longer functioning the way it was created to be. However, not one person has been able to proved this from the Scriptures. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that Adam died a spiritual death when he ate of the tree. One person explained it this way after quoting James 2:26, "Of course we know this means a physical death after the spirit (or ghost) has departed, and is an eternal thing. However, while the spirit (although dormant) is still in the body, the body is only functioning for a very short period (around 70 years in some cases) where it is inevitable, it will eventually cease too. Because God could no longer dwell with man after the fall (outside a blood sacrifice), mans spirit became dead. It had not a lasting life source. The Holy Spirit of God cannot reside where there is sin. God withdraws and therefore the spirit dies. Man is left to his own devices, to his own wisdom, where the soul can no longer yield to the spirit. He is spiritually lost in other words. It may not be spelt out like this .... 'the spirit dies because of sin!'"
Note that there was no Scriptural support for his point of view. The person went on to say after quoting Proverbs 29:18, "Where there is no vision, the people perish! Is this a physical death or spiritual death in the NT sense, when carried over to us to learn by metaphorically? Remember, the term "spiritual death" is never mentioned in the Bible. Just the same ... don't we mean NT wise (metaphorically speaking - unless one believes OSAS doctrine) that Hosea 4:6, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge is meaning being destroyed spiritually, which is the reason we are warned about the Devil getting around in NT times as a roaring lion, seeking whom he might devour. Is not this devouring, a spiritual devouring also?"
The Bible does not say that people are "destroyed spiritually" for lack of knowledge. They are simply destroyed because they lack knowledge. Also note there was an admission that "spiritual death" is not mentioned in Scripture.
From those I have been having discussions with, the one thing I notice is that not one soul has clearly established from Scriptures that a spirit can die or is dead. We will be told that the unregenerate spirit cannot respond and have communion with God. I agree that that lost person cannot have communion with God, however, he can respond.
The Bible never says a spirit can die. A demonic spirit cannot die, an angelic spirit cannot die, nor can a human spirit die. If one wants to talk about spiritual death and use that term, we should define what it does mean so there is less confusion. It doesn't mean that a non-Christian is dragging around a dead "spirit corpse" every place he goes. In a truer sense, being spiritually dead means being totally out of touch with God and righteousness. This is what happened to Adam and Eve the day they sinned. At one time they had fellowship with God, they talked and walked with God everyday until the day they sinned. Adam's nature did not change when he sinned, but the nature of his relationship with God did.
Contrary to popular belief in the majority of religious denominations, man did not lose his spirit; neither did he lose the function of it when Adam sinned. Adam was created whole (body, soul, and spirit) and complete. His body lacked nothing in the way of humanity. What happened when Adam fell is that the Spirit of God departed from him.
I will prove from Scripture that no human being in this world has a dead spirit. I will prove from Scripture that a person has the same spirit before he was saved as well as after he is saved.
Read the following Scriptures and judge for yourself.
Scripture #1
I will begin with:
Ex. 35:21-22.
"And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD'S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets,all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the LORD."
Note: "....every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing," These are unregenerate Jews in the wilderness, and he said every one whom his own spirit made him willing, every one whose own heart stirred him up. This was not even God stirring the spirit or the heart. This is the act of the individual. This is the individual who wanted to contribute to the work of the tabernacle and the building of it. His own spirit, that man tells us is dead, stirred him up and made him willing to take his earrings, bracelets, etc., off and give them so they could be melted down and used in the temple.
This verse clearly shows 2 things:
That these unregenerate sinners could be made willing by the stimulation of their own heart and spirit.
- We find their spirit was alive and active and not at all dead.
Scripture #2
1 Chron. 5:26,
" And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day."
Here we have two corrupt, unregenerate, uncooperative heathen kings. The Bible says God stirs their spirit. God interacts with that spirit. If there's a spirit there to be stirred, and if the spirit needed to be stirred to motivate them, then that spirit wasn't dead. If God needed to touch or stir that spirit in order to make that spirit choose so that they end up going in the direction that God wants them to go, then the spirit was not dead. It was quite the opposite. It was not inoperative, it was quite functional.
Scripture #3
2 Chron. 36:22,
"Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up."
The Bible says the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia. It is obvious God accomplished his will through a heathen king.
Scripture #4
Job 20:1-5,
"Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste. I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer. Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth, That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?"
And in Job 32:8 we read,
"But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding."
The Bible shows us there is a spirit in man and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. Is that a spirit that is dead? Is that a spirit that has ceased to function? Is that a spirit that is uncooperative?
Scripture #5
Ps. 34:18,
"The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."
The Scripture is clear that the Lord are nigh unto them whose heart is broken and the Lord saves such that have the contrite spirit.
Scripture #6
Ps. 78:8,
"And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God."
Is that a dead spirit? Why was their spirit not steadfast with God? Because they were a stubborn and rebellious generation.
Scripture #7
Prov. 11:13,
"A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter."
This person has a faithful spirit. The Bible has yet to say that a person has a dead spirit. God commends the man or woman that has a faithful spirit and conceals the matter. In other words, the person doesn't spread it as a matter of gossip.
Scripture #8
Ezek. 13:3,
"Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!"
Does the word of God say, "Woe unto the foolish prophet, that follow their own dead spirit?" No, the word of God says they follow their own spirit. That's a foolish prophet. His spirit is leading him astray.
Scripture #9
Haggi 1:14,
"And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,"
We see that God stirs the spirit up of Zerubbabel, the spirit of Joshua, and the spirit of the remnant. Does this say anything about a dead spirit?
Scripture #10
Mal. 2:15,16
"And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously."
Why would God exhort those Jews to take heed to his own spirit if that spirit is dead? As unregenerate as these people were, God expected them to take action in regard to their own spirit. They were to take heed to their own spirit so that they didn't do anything that could be interpreted as treachery towards their own wives.
As you can see, nothing has been taken out of context. All that has been done here is dealing with Scripture verses that have to do with the "spirit of man." Nowhere, so far, have we seen anything that says the human spirit is dead in the unregenerate sinner. Nowhere does Scripture say that the spirit in an unregenerate sinner is inoperative. Nowhere does the Scripture say that the human spirit has ceased to function since the day Adam sinned.
However, I will not stop here, but continue.
Scripture #11
Matt. 26:41,
"Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Jesus wanted them to watch and pray so they would not enter into temptation. Jesus told them the spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak. These are unregenerate disciples Jesus is talking with; they have never been born again, they don't have the Spirit of God. Jesus knows their spirit is willing to do the right thing, but he said their flesh is weak. So the flesh is in danger of overcoming that spirit that's willing.
If we were to think and preach like a Calvinist, Jesus would have never told those disciples their spirit was indeed willing, he would have told them their spirit is dead, that it was of no use. He would have told them they were incapable of trying, staying awake, or praying. Why? Because they are dead in spirit. These poor disciples are in a helpless situation because they are spiritually dead and their mind is only set on doing evil continuously. That they have been like that since the day they were born and their is no hope until God decides to overpower them against their will, that is, if they are the elect.
This is not the Jesus of the Bible. The Jesus of the Bible knows the spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak. Every unregenerate sinner is willing to do the right thing, but their flesh is weak.
Scripture #12
Luke 1:47. Mary said,
"And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour."
Scripture #13
John 3:6-7,
Jesus said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
This is one of the verses that would be used to try and prove that the spirit is dead, because he said, "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." The new birth is in reference to God becoming our Father and us becoming his children. It's not something about a mechanical work over on the human spirit.
The Bible says, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. " It does not say, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is a spiritual rebirth of the human spirit." The Bible does not say that. In fact, when we become a child of God (John 1:12), our body is not changed nor is our human spirit changed or altered in any way at the moment of salvation. You have the same spirit after you are saved as you had before you were saved.
The question might be, "Well, what happens when a person is saved?" When a person is born again, the Spirit of God comes in and seats with his spirit. The two spirits become one, not in the sense that it merges together. In other words, you have God's Spirit dwelling in fellowship or accompanying your spirit, but your spirit is still the same. When you go over to Romans 8:16, it says the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit. So we've got the Holy Spirit bearing witness with our human spirit (two spirits...His Spirit....our spirit).
So when we are born again, it's not that we have a new human spirit. It is the addition of the Holy Spirit. 1Co 6:17 says, "But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." It doesn't say "has one spirit." He says we're one spirit with the Lord. That's the same as a man and a wife are joined together and they become one flesh, that doesn't mean one or the other ceases to exist, but there is a union there just as their is a union between two spirits.
Let's read a verse in the Bible that shows the human spirit is not changed after being born again.
2 Cor. 7:1 states,
"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
These words are directed at born again, blood bought, Christians. And God's word tells those who are his, the dearly beloved, to "....cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit." Right here proves that you did not get a new human spirit at salvation. The human spirit was not altered in any way. You simply got the Holy Spirit to accompany your human spirit. Your spirit was not dead. It was right there all along. It's the same spirit, it has the same filthiness, and it needs cleansing after you are saved just like it did before you got saved.
The Bible is so clear and fits our experience if we'll only believe what the Scriptures says. People get off into this other world about the spirit dying or having a dead spirit. But after spending some time and searching the Scriptures, all this is so foreign to the Bible. The majority of Christians have followed the road of Catholicism and Calvinism and its philosophy. The Bible warns, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."
We are all made in the image of God. We are a three-fold image (body, soul, and spirit). The Bible says God is our maker, he is the one who hath made us (Ps. 100:3). He gives us a body, soul, and spirit. The Bible says God "hath made man upright" (Ecc. 7:29), and it's the LORD who "formeth the spirit of man within him" (Zech. 12:1). The body depends on the presence of the human spirit to be a living body (James 2:26). The human spirit given to the human race through Adam is the essence of life itself. The spirit breathed into Adam became Adam's own spirit, separate from God. All who are conceived are made alive by that spirit, and therefore can never be destroyed.
God does not make man a depraved being. Man is not born a sinner. We are made in the image of God and it is the image of God within that testifies to our moral duty. Man is universally conscious of his duty and his ability to do the right thing. The depravity of all human beings is not a depravity that was given to them at the time of conception, but the depravity of original image came because of the use made of that image. (Ecc. 7:29).
I would like to quote a Christian brother who states the matter so well of abusing and misusing the image of God.
"By misusing and abusing the image of God through wrong choices, we have not destroyed our three-fold-image, we have criminalized it. On an individual level, in our own personal history of moral choosing, we have become depraved in choice but not depraved in the mechanism of choice, the will itself. To misuse a thing or to use it contrary to its intended purpose is not a depravity of the substance of the thing but a depravity of intent on the part of the abuser. The failure of the will to overcome is not the cause of sin but the result. To speak of human depravity is not to speak of our moral constitution but to speak of our intentions and actions. God is responsible for my attributes (nature); I am responsible for my actions. To blame my actions on my attributes is to excuse myself of responsibility.
We can thus conclude that we are indeed personal souls with free and independently functioning wills. We are responsible to do what we can, accountable to do what we ought, to blame for not doing what we should, and therefore accountable for all lack of conformity to the image of God.
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