The Nature of Man - Dichotomy — John Murray

O Lord our God, how great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. And although we are so wretched and miserable in ourselves, we praise and bless Thy Name for the riches of grace which Thou hast manifested and bestowed in the sum of Thy unknown love.

And we pray that we may abound more and more in gratitude, in thanksgiving, in praise of all that Thou wast, of all that Thou hast done and grant, that by the illumination of Thy Spirit we may be able more and more to explore the riches of Thy provision and the riches of that revelation Thou hast given us.

In Jesus' name, Amen. Now I have been dealing with the theological implications, theological implications of this doctrine respecting man as body. And I have come to this earth which was concerned with the resurrection of Christ and of course relatively with that the resurrection of believers at the end.

The Resurrection Body and the Consummation of Salvation

And I have just said at the close of the hour that Christ will be manifested in the body of His glory. And He will be seen, seen the second time. Now this emphasis upon His being seen points to the fact that all the demands of the physical will be fully realized and satisfied in the vision of His manifested glory.

Pointing of course to the significance of the body that Jesus possesses in His exalted glory will one day be manifested at the appearing of His glory and also to the significance of physical sight. Physical sight on the part of those who will be glorified with Him.

So I don't suppose anything could underline the significance of the physical more than precisely this consideration that in the consummation of the redemptive process, the consummation of salvation, the fullest realization of the demands, which we shall hold, just a word about the salvation itself in its more comprehensive aspects.

And very briefly, salvation, all of its aspects, concerns the body in regeneration, which of course is at the inception of subjective renewal. The body becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit and the emphasis therefore is upon the body.

Likewise in connection with sanctification and it will be until that process will be consummated in the resurrection of the body, medicine, that it involves the progressive eradication of that depravity which comes to the body as its seat.

And of course, body is a very different part of personality. There's very intimately upon the means that are to be used for the sanctification of the body, the means that are to be used for the sanctification of the body in bringing it into subjection.

And one of the saddest features of deviation from biblical doctrine, the way in which the sanctification of the body has been construed as the mortification of our physical entity, our physical entity.

Sanctification is not promoted by devitalizing the body, by bringing the body into subjection to Christ, to the Holy Spirit, ordering its appetites so that it may become the well-equipped and obedient instrument.

It's in He who empowers, mortified service of God, from which the whole doctrine of sanctification, the whole doctrine of salvation, rises the body as well as the spirit. Now, five and finally, the doctrine of the judgment, the doctrine of the judgment.

Judgment According to Deeds Done Through the Body

We are now again at the consummation. 2 Corinthians 5 and 8. It would have to be inferred from many other passages. Namely, that we are to be judged according to the things done through the body. We are to be judged according to the things done through the body so that it is embodied life that will be the criterion in the final judgment.

And therefore, this truth is the clearest refutation. That our probation is continued in the disembodied state. It has been called the intermediates. That our probation continued there in the period. There is nothing decisive.

Respecting eternal destiny is disembodied because we are to be judged according to the things done through the body. Hebrews 9 .27 eloquently emphasizes that truth. When it says that the two decisive events of death and the judgment were pointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment.

These are the pivotal decisive events pertaining to human destiny. On the first, before death, finalized in death, then the judgment points up to the body. It is a mythical part, a mythical aspect. Now we come to the second nature.

Man as Soul or Spirit

You see, we are dealing with the nature of man. And first of all we view man as body. Now we view man as soul or spirit. We don't take into account any of the evidence. And as far as the metaphysical is concerned, as far as the metaphysical is concerned, these are really synonymous.

I'm not saying now that soul and spirit may always be interchanged in the usage of scripture. Not at all. Because sometimes man, in his typical metaphysical being, is viewed as soul. Other times he is viewed as spirit.

And these are not necessarily interchangeable. But from what we may call the metaphysical viewpoint, he can be called soul or spirit. Now, in the emphasis which falls upon the unity of personality, in present-day psychology, even in what might be called orthodox Christian psychology, I am quite persuaded that some prejudice is done to the teaching of scripture by failing to take account of the fact that man is to be viewed as spirit.

That is just saying that according to the biblical teaching, there is an aspect of entity in man. Entity in man. Or soul or spirit. And that we must not argue with man's metaphysical constitution. We must not have the same differentiation in which man comes.

Scripture as Revelatory Data for Systematic Theology

Provide us with a systematized psychology. Provide us with a systematic formulation on any subject. The Bible provides us with revelatory data. In systematic theology, we try to systematize these data on each particular topic in order that we may have an inclusive view of the teaching of scripture on each particular subject on which it provides us revelatory data.

Now it is with these data of the teaching of scripture that I am now going to deal in respect of the teaching in respect of the teaching that man, soul or spirit. Certain considerations and these are big numerals 1, 2, 3 and 4.

And first of all there is a frequent usage in scripture whereby man has the use of sukhe the ego, earthly use of life. And there are numerous instances in the New Testament that use of sukhe whereby it simply denotes life.

Not the life more than meat and the body than weight. Just to give you a few. Matthew 6 .25. Matthew 10 .39. Matthew 20 .28 followed by Mark 10 .45. Remember these instances. Jesus came to give his life and ransom for many his life.

And numerous passages in the West of the New Testament I have just given you these few. And then there is the use of sukhe. And then secondly the fact of the sukhe is used to designate the passion. The passion has the synonym of the passion opponent or the satan.

Synonym of passion also is quite frequent in the New Testament. Random instances. Matthew 12 .18. Acts 2 .27. Romans 2 .9. Romans 13 .1 1 .21. 1 Peter 1 .9. 2 Peter 2 .25. To be very very concrete. Romans 13 .1.

Let every soul be subject to the highest powers and authorities that be. You are not going to escape from your responsibility by emphasizing the word soul that is only in your soul. That's it. It's only in your soul.

It means let every person 2 .19 a text that is frequently misunderstood in the streaks of receiving the end of our faith even the salvation of our souls. Not the salvation of the whole person but the whole personality that is saved.

For instance that use of the word sukhe there is however in that frequent use a very frequent use of the term sukhe the synonym of the personal pronoun that is meaning the person in its entirety. There is reflection upon the continuance the permanence and the preciousness of personality.

Continuance, the permanence and the preciousness of personality. Just let me remind you Hebrews 13 .17. James 1 .21. And thus we shall notice later on this emphasis upon the permanence and preciousness of personality is to a very large extent derived from the fact that sukhe sukhe soul is often used to definite that aspect of human personality which is abiding undergo dissolution of these terms sukhe and panuma spirit.

Biblical Distinctions Between Soul, Spirit, Flesh, and Body

Spiritual distinction between soul soul and body. Sometimes its contrast between body and spirit. Sometimes its contrast between spirit and flesh that with a certain variety of terms the scripture does draw this man's personality with respect of its metaphysical differentiation.

Metaphysical differentiation from what is called body. No not have any one term that corresponds to soul in the Greek or body in the English. No one term that corresponds to soul in the Greek or body in the English.

And consequently there is a great variety of terms used in the Old Testament. Perhaps one of the most important is sa-sa sa-sa between flesh. Better read it with others. I don't need to burden you with them.

In the New Testament however it is drawn in terms of the difference between soul and body spirit and body or flesh and spirit. Spirit and flesh. And I'll give you the most obvious example. First there is Matthew 10 .28.

Remember Matthew 10 .28 where Jesus himself says. Fear not them that kill the body but I am not able to kill the soul. Fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in heaven. Supe and sola are the terms used for this differentiation.

Now this is a very interesting passage. Because soul is used as a physical symbol he makes a physical symbol. Jesus is pointing to the differentiating properties which this entity is endowed in consequence of which it is not subject to this disintegrating forces which can be brought to bear upon the human body.

Fear not them that kill the body but I am not able to kill the soul. The long tomb has been there that has been touched cannot be assailed in the way in which the human body can. Now you have something very similar not entirely soul but somewhat similar in another word of Jesus Luke 24 .39 when he says that spirit has not flesh and bones as ye see me having clearly fine with the fact that the body is endowed with certain properties which cannot be eradicated of the spirit.

You have a very patent metaphysical differentiation. Now take another Matthew 26 .41. Matthew 26 .41 where Jesus said to his disciples and his family that spirit truly is willing but the flesh is weak.

Spirit truly is willing but the flesh is weak. Now there again not perhaps to the same extent to some extent you have reflection upon different metaphysical constitution where flesh is not used in the ethical.

When it is used in the ethical sense it means sinful human nature. When it is used in the ethical sense it means sinful human nature and includes the spirit as well as the body a characterization of the person in his entirety.

But here in this passage a contrast is drawn between the spirit and the flesh reflecting on the willingness that characterizes the one from the infernal state which characterizes the other. Of that differentiation he says his spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

Now take another 1 Corinthians 2 .11. 1 Corinthians 2 .11. Here you have again the word spirit who of man knows the things of a man say the spirit of man which is in him the spirit of man which is in him.

Now the word body is not mentioned there as members of that man. In his western sense he does have a spirit in him that is in him. And the implication is that he is more than a spirit in St. Andrew's Romans 8 .16 where Paul speaks of the Holy Spirit as bearing witness to us and therefore bearing witness to that thing that is in us that is characteristic of us.

2 Corinthians 7 .34. Referring to the virgin the unmarried person she is careful for the things of the Lord in order that she may be holy both in body and spirit both in body and spirit. And therefore in that word of the apostle the entirety of personality the entire personality the entire personality that can be expressed by the two metaphysical aspects from which human personality may be viewed namely body and spirit.

Again then parallel to that is 2 Corinthians 7 .1. 2 Corinthians 7 .1 where you have flesh and cleanse yourself from all filthiness of flesh is not used there in the ethical sense. It is used in the metaphysical sense.

Or if it were used in the ethical sense there could not be any differentiation between flesh and spirit. Since there is differentiation here we must regard this passage again as reflecting upon the two aspects from which human personality in its entirety may be viewed namely flesh and spirit.

Related to that is 1 Thessalonians 5 .23. The last I shall mention is James 2 .26. The body without a spirit is dead. Upon that text a figurative interpretation James is talking about the body in Christ has been what has been without the Holy Spirit that is not consistent.

It is a comparison that the body without the spirit is dead or the selfless is dead drawing an analogy from the phenomenal realm something that is true certainly foolish to place upon it any other than the literal interpretation namely that the human body without the spirit is dead something that is perfectly apparent to everyone.

Disembodied Consciousness and Personal Identity

You see there you have from various parts of the New Testament reflecting the viewpoint of our Lord and his apostles. It is better to begin that contemporary today because of the emphasis upon the unity of human personality in terms of psychology an emphasis which is to be appreciated and which must not be denied.

There is nevertheless the tendency to depreciate metaphysics that I say means a deviation from the wisdom of Scripture itself. Scripture is interested in metaphysics because it is interested in metaphysics.

It provides us with revelatory data demanding the application to the nature of man of metaphysical distinction of unity. Here we do not have very many passages 2nd Corinthians 5, 1 -10 and 2nd Peter 1, 12 -15 in square the Scripture that pertains human personality a tabernacle in a body and the body is well protected.

A garment to be laid aside or of a house that is to be dissolved. A garment to be laid aside or of a house to be dissolved. Now you must not place this in such perspective must not place these passages in such a perspective that you will be preponderant emphasis on the body as an integral part of human personality in these passages I did in these passages there is no suggestion that the body is a mere incident the body we know in contrast the abiding and incorruptible body which will be the abiding and incorruptible body which will be ours in the resurrection.

But never the less my interest in citing these is simply to show that these are abiding that which belong to the corruptible body. That viewpoint, that observation when placed in the context of the other evidence which I have given you becomes corroborative.

What I have just said strictly respecting these metaphysical distinctions. Then why this is the final application that the scripture calls disembodied persons spirits. Disembodied persons are called spirits numerous and scripture represents the disembodied state as one of consciousness one of consciousness continuous with the consciousness that belongs to us in this life as one in which there is awareness in all identity to repeat that and to represent the disembodied state as one of consciousness as one of consciousness that is continuous with consciousness in the present life and as one of awareness of personal identity that is to say as one of as one in which there is apathy.

Now the bell.