As Is The Physical So Is The Spiritual

In order to communicate and educate, Man has a need to “vocabularize” and define the things that pertain to his existence. Science and religion are the two major disciplines that have assumed the responsibilities of making sense out of human existence, a subject that seems to loom larger than Man himself. The spiritual and the physical are two terms by which religion defines the existence of life.

Over time and geographical locales, cultures have developed various philosophies and theories in their pursuit to make sense of this phenomenon called life. It has been noted that attempts to distinguish between the spirit and its body have always proven to be very illusive, because the spiritual and the physical are not really separate in identity. Rather they are two different dimensions of functionality of the one being or creature.

Comprised of different materiality as far as human perception is concerned, they appear foreign in fact opposing to each other, however, close examination will reveal that together they constitute the same entity. In fact as far as life on earth entails, a spirit without form is unidentifiable, therefore, it has no validity nor authority, and is considered alien. On the other hand a body without spirit is without life (James 2:26a). Therefore, it is clearly seen that one authenticates the other, and the two form one whole.

The Spiritual Identified in Nature

As a figure of speech the word spiritual and physical are both adjectives. The former gives descriptive understanding of the things of the spirit, while the latter does the same for the physique. The spirit is invisible to the naked human eye, while the physical can be readily seen.

Herein lies the foundation of the premise that the physical and the spiritual are opposite to each other. However, I will venture to prove that the physical is truly the manifestation of the spirit. The spirit which is the life or the power of Man to move and maintain his being, would be inconsequential without a body, and the physical human body would be a mere corpse without the spirit. That which is described then as spiritual is in actuality physical actions.

As an analogy: The wind is invisible (spirit) but by its force trees and oceans move (physical). The body can only do what the spirit bids it to do; and if the body does nothing then the spirit is inactive. Also I think sufficient evidence exists in the earthly realm to prove that the human spirit is not the only form of spirituality that exists.

Demons, Angels, Ghost and Man

If I am to accept theses of demons, angels and ghosts, I would dare say that spirits can make themselves visible. However, for any spirit to be authenticated as belonging to earth it has to possess a tangible natural body. Not surprisingly the body has to be alive, because ontologically and logically, dead bodies are not natural to the existence of life on earth. This also proves that there is an ever-living Creator, who is the Originator of the universe, its properties and original inhabitants. God is an eternal (always in life) Spirit.

Therefore, if He was reproducing Himself, thus the product would likewise have to be a spirit which is natural to life, as oppose to death. Death then is an opposition to life on earth. In the Christian religion, death is regarded as an enemy to be defeated, eternally. (1Corinthians 15:26) The ultimate reality is that the original Man, created by God, was comprised of both spirit and physique in the determination of his being. Anything less than that is a fraud and/or alien to earth.

The Existence of God

There is the doctrine of God, who is identified to be a specific, unique spirit, that is the only one of His kind. (Isaiah 46:5, 9) There are many who would dare to deny the existence of such a God, but due to the overwhelming amount of evidence, it is safe to say such minds are drowned in folly, utter irresponsibility and denial. Allow me at this point to add briefly that some gods are created by their worshipers.

Therefore, there are gods of stone, wood, paper, steel, iron, silver, gold, platinum and flesh, to name only a few. Now it certainly does not take much to see the foolhardiness of such a matter, because surely between the creator and the created, the creator is the greater. Thus, if one makes an idol of any physical material, then he is in fact representing himself as god. Idolatry then is self-worship, though the worshiper is too afraid to admit it.

Is Man God?

Now there are some men who are a bit bolder and will openly say that they themselves are gods. Most often they qualify such statement with the assertion that they are god internally, meaning that their body itself is not god, but rather it is a dwelling place for the god inside of them. However, if they should be questioned in regards to their potentiality to maintain their own life in themselves, it will quickly be seen that they are suffering from a serious case of disillusionment.

I would give them credit in effect that they give, though inadvertently, creditability to the argument that there is more to Man than flesh and bones, and that Man’s inner spirit holds government over his physical self. And though the human spirit is powerful, in and of itself, it is not God. This is readily known from the fact that there are certain natural laws, such as the law of gravity and human digestion, that exist independent of Man’s control or capabilities, be it spiritual or physical.

If Man is god all by himself, he has certainly forgotten how he created the universe. In addition he seems to lose total control of nature at times and then he himself call those resulting disasters “acts of God”, in effect admitting that those disastrous events are entirely outside of his sphere of power.

The Original Relationship Between Man and God

As the topic declares, the physical and the spiritual are only different expressions of the same being or life. In relation to Man and God, God is the Spirit, and Man is the physical manifestation, making Man and God one. This was the case in God’s original intent (Isaiah 43:7) but the entrance of sin by Man’s willing consent has caused a diversion.

However, God will not be daunted. Eventually God will accomplished that which He began, and Man will be perfected and complete (Philippians 1:6; James 1:4; Colossians 4:12b; Hebrews 12:23) “So God created Man in His own image and after His own likeness. Male and female created He them. And God breathed into Man the breath of life and Man became a living soul.”(Genesis 1: 27; 2:7)

Therefore, the intertwining relationship is that God gave Man his identity, and Man shows forth the invisible God. That which God wants to get done in the earth, the Spirit holds governance, He does through Man, which is His physical being. Likewise, that which Man does in his physical body, is first determined by his inner spirit, which originated from God. Many scientists, falsely so called, will not consent that Man has/is a spirit.

They explain the inner being with terms such as id, ego, superego, will, conscience and the very common designation of thought and mind. They will also talk about their inner feelings of the heart which influence their decisions and subsequent actions. Putting terminologies aside, they are admitting to an inner invisible dimension to mankind, and that it holds dominion over the physique.

Man: Spiritual and Physical

Apart from holy writ, which declares that God breathed into Man the breath (Greek – “pneuma”; Hebrew – “ruah”) of life, science and nature support the existence of the spirit. It is common to nature that the human body dies and decays. Death, which is also a spirit, that is intangible, is the ultimate enemy of life. If the physical was all there was to Man, then the human race would have no legacy, hope or purpose. In death there are no perpetuation of thought or development (Psalm 146:4; Ecclesiastes 12:7).

It is impossible for even the worse skeptic to deny history, the perpetual increase of knowledge and progress of mankind. Although reincarnation and ghost-theories are prevalent, they are deemed invalid on this basis: In the first theory: To come back to earth in a lower life-form by mere chance, makes one null and void to fulfill leadership roles of “God-ship” which is necessary for the progression of the universe.

According to the second theory: To be roaming the earth without a living tangible body disqualifies any such being from having dominion. The position of headship was given to Man in the day that he was created (Genesis 1:26). A ghost is an intruder and/or a nuisance to living Man. As long as time has existed there is no record of an authentic family/community of ghosts, perpetuating goodness for mankind any where in the earth. So thus to be a valid member of the human race, one has to possess both the spiritual and the physical simultaneously.

One is not validated without the other. They both identify the reality of the living soul as created and formed by God. They are not contrary one to the other, because as is the physical so is the spiritual.