What is a Human Being?
Most people go through life without thinking very deeply about both who they are and what they are?
In the passages below, we hear about the creation of the first man and woman—Adam and Eve. It is important for you to know that these first humans are the “prototype” or the model for what we all are as human beings. God designed them to pass on the “Divine Design” to all of their children:
Genesis 1:26–27 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, … 1:27 God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.
Genesis 2:7, 21-24
2:7 The LORD God formed the man from the soil of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (soul).…2:21 … the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he was asleep, he took part of the man’s side and closed up the place with flesh. 2:22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the part he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 2:23 Then the man said,
“This one at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;
this one will be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.” {NET}
We were created in God’s Image and so We have a Physical Body.
In Hebrew (the language that the Old Testament was written in), the word “image” is used to refer to statues, models or replicas. In the Old Testament, this term in often used in reference to idols which are man-made, physical representations of unseen, false gods. Generally speaking, this term refers to a visible representation of something or someone. The Bible reveals that God in His true essence is Spirt and therefore invisible (see 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:27). We were designed to be the visible image of the invisible God in creation.
In Genesis 2:7 we see how God fashioned Adam from the “soil” or “dust” of the ground. The Lord-God takes physical matter to shape our physical bodies. When God designs and creates the first man, He gives him an appropriate physical body so that he can communicate God’s likeness to a physical creation. Adam’s physical body suits the purposes for which God created Adam.
We Were Created In God’s Likeness and so We Are Also Spiritual
The term translated as “likeness” in Genesis 1:26 is a word which means “to be like” or “to resemble”—exactly what you would think. The sense here seems to be that not only would humanity give “form” to the invisible God, but that we would also be like Him sharing the pattern of His personality: we have thoughts, desires, and emotions, and all the rest because God does.
God breathes the breath of life into the first man. In the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament) the word for “breath” is used in close association with the ideas of “wind,” or “spirit.” God’s “breath” is often associated with His Spirit. Job says, “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (33:4). In the Greek Scriptures of The New Testament, God is revealed as the source of all life who gives “life and breath” to all living things (Acts 17:25).
Here, in the beginning, we see that God makes Adam come alive by breathing His life into him. It is this “breath of life” that “empowers” and “enables” Adam to be the likeness of God in creation. Adam’s inner spiritual self, patterned after God’s own likeness, would control his physical body. We will discuss this in detail tomorrow. Turn back to circles that we discussed yesterday and see if you can link these ideas together with that illustration.
Our Physical and Spiritual components are united: The Soul
In Genesis 2:7, we see that Adam becomes a “living being” or literally in Hebrew, “a living soul.” The main point to see is that you cannot separate what is physical in us from what is spiritual; we were meant to function in both realms. Your physical body is the vehicle for your spiritual self. Without your material, physical body, no one could know what is going on “inside” you—in your depths! In a very real sense, your soul is the whole you.
What about Eve?
Eve was created from Adam to show that she was not inferior to Adam, but was of the “same stuff” as Adam. Even though women and men have different physical designs (and even spiritual designs), the basic “framework” is still the same. God created Adam first and then he created Eve from a piece of flesh that He removed from Adam’s side (Genesis 2:21-22). It is clear from Genesis 1:26 that Eve was not an “afterthought” on God’s part, but an essential part of His design for humanity. The Divine Image is expressed in the unique relationship of male and female in humanity. Therefore, in this first study we focus on the parts that we all share as humans, not in what makes us unique.
Can you relate what we have discussed today with our diagrams from yesterday? Take a few moments to think about and bring all of these ideas together.
What is the Heart and Mind?
Proverbs 4:23
Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.
The heart we will be discussing is not the physical organ that pumps blood through your body. This heart is the “spiritual organ” that produces your life. In our times, we see red hearts on Valentine’s day cards and the concept of the heart has been overly romanticized. When most people speak about the “heart” they are referring to the place of their emotions. This is not the Biblical view of the Heart however.
In the wisdom of Proverbs, we are told to guard our hearts more than anything else. Why? Because our Heart is the place from which our lives flow—it is the source of life. Your Heart is the “deepest” part of your spiritual self and it produces your life. God designed your heart to be the “place” where He would have the closest, most intimate contact and fellowship with you. All your life flows from this deep relationship with the One who gives all life.
It is interesting to note that the first time the Bible mentions the heart is in reference to the Lord-God Himself:
Genesis 6:5–6
When the Lord saw that man’s wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every scheme his mind thought of was nothing but evil all the time, the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
We are designed in the “likeness” of the Lord-God Himself; He has a heart and so do we.
Your heart is also the deep place within you from which all the facets of your personality are produced and come together to form the deep reality of your true identity. Your consciousness, your conscience, your thoughts, your feelings, yours desires, your imagination are all produced by your heart. It is that place where the real and complete “you” exists. Take a look at what Jesus said about the heart:
Luke 6:45
The good person out of the good treasury of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasury produces evil, for his mouth speaks from what fills his heart. {NET}
Everything flows out of our hearts. If our hearts are alive and full of light the way God intended, then our thoughts and desires and feelings will also be good. But if our Hearts are dead and darkened then all that is within us will be dark and twisted.
Your mind is the “gateway” and “guardian” of your heart:
Romans 12:1-2
Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing to God–which is your reasonable service. 12:2 Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect. {NET}
Your Mind is that part of your spiritual self that allows you to “manage” and oversee what is being produced by your heart. Just like our Hearts, we have a mind because the Lord-God does:
Romans 11:34 “
For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
Your heart and mind are completely intertwined and it is difficult to separate the two entirely. However, it is helpful if you can think about your Mind as the “gatekeeper” and “guardian” for your Heart. As we just said, your heart is the deepest part of your spiritual self, the place of the “real you.’ The Mind exists to protect this deepest part of your personality. The Mind exists to manage what comes out of the Heart and also what is allowed into the Heart.
To give you an illustration of this relationship, imagine that during our first meeting we had asked you to share your deepest, darkest, most embarrassing and humiliating secret. How do you think you would have responded? I bet your first thought would have been, “How do I get out of here as quickly as possible!?” That response is your mind in action. Your mind’s primary purpose is to protect your Heart, the reality of the real you.
The Mind is also the “key” to your spiritual growth and transformation. In the brief quote from Romans above we first hear that we are exhorted—strongly encouraged—to present our whole bodies, our whole selves to God to serve Him. Then he makes two crucial statements:
Do not be conformed to this world. As we will see, the World (all that is hostile to the Lord-God’s truth, goodness, and glory) is seeking to shape us according to its lies, evil, and shame. On the other hand, Father-God working in Christ through the Spirit is seeking to do something else.
Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Although it is hard to see in the English translation, the process of transformation is something that is being done to us. This passage could be very literally translated, “Allow yourselves to be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Here is the main point: Father-God desires for us to give ourselves over to His Truth that He has revealed in Christ, welcome His ideas and images into our thoughts so that we are transformed.
Understanding how your heart and mind work are central to all that we will teach you in this study. As a general statement, drawn from observations of many texts, it seems God desires to do His work in your heart, but He has given you responsibility for your Mind. This responsibility is vital to understanding Spiritual Formation and Transformation.