nephesh

Martin Collins, wrapping up his sermon series "Back to Life" by focusing on the seventh sign narrated by the Apostle John, the resurrection of Lazarus, reiterates that the statement, "Jesus wept" reveals that Lazarus was precious in God's sight. All of us who are called by God are so precious in His sight that Jesus Christ, before we were even born, died for us, saving us from oblivion. God has made it possible for the spirit in man to link with His Holy Spirit, revealing the deep things of God and building in us godly character, qualifying us to become one with Christ, spiritually His Bride. Without a calling from Almighty God, there is no hope in avoiding the consequence of sin. Human effort will not remove sin. The seven miracles narrated by John illustrate that Jesus (1.) is the source of all joy (turning water into wine), (2.) has power over sickness (healing of the nobleman's son), (3.) has the power to transform helplessness to wholeness (healing of the invalid), (4.) is the Bread of Life (feeding of the 5000), (5.) has power over nature (walking on the water), (6.) is able to reverse the deleterious effect of sin on the mind (healing of the blind man), and (7.) has power over life and death (resurrection of Lazarus). Jesus made it clear that "believing is seeing." God demonstrates His profound love for us, submitting us to a demanding sanctification process to make us ready for His Family.

John Reiss:  A friend of mine lost her father about a year ago. She loved him very much, and his sudden death distressed her. Mary (not her real name) is pretty religious, ...

Martin Collins, focusing on Habakkuk's stance of assuming the position of a watchman, being willing to accept God's ultimate judgment on his people even when the circumstances seem to contradict revelation, emphasizes that all of God's called-out ones are also watchmen, needing to live continually by faith, discerning, listening to, and responding to God's instructions, not only hearing them, but taking them to heart. Without having faith like Abel, Abraham, Noah. and Enoch, judging by faith rather than outward appearances, we cannot please God. Abel, Enoch, and Noah all believed God and were willing to endure temporal loss for a greater reward. Faith constitutes unshakable belief and confidence in God that He will do everything He has promised. Like the apostle Peter, we must learn that human faith, at its best, is not sufficient; Godly faith cannot be worked up, but is a gift from God which we must constantly put to use. This kind of faith comes by hearing God's Word. God holds His called-out ones to a much higher level of accountability, but He has also provided the necessary tools for overcoming and as well as for producing spiritual fruit. In spite of doubts arising from negative appearances, we need to cling to God's promises, even in the worst of times, realizing that all iniquity will be punished eventually. Like the heroes of faith, all of which had to do something to demonstrate their faith, we must be productive in our faith, understanding that faith without works is stone dead. Faith is not a preference, but rather a commitment. Even faith as little as a mustard seed is an open door to God.

The common belief among Christians—and other religions have similar depictions of the afterlife—is that one's immortal soul goes either to heaven or hell after death. David Grabbe argues that this ignores the biblical concept of the second death, an event beyond physical death that not only undermines the traditional heaven-hell and immortal soul doctrines, but also highlights God's perfect sense of justice.

Charles Whitaker, beginning with a potpourri of examples from lexicographers on the definition of the word mind, treating the concept as a verb, adjective, and noun, and mentioning that the King James translators render some twenty Hebrew words and eight Greek words into the English word "mind," concludes that the task of understanding the concept of mind is difficult. In our current parlance, many associate "mind" with the brain, assumed to be the center of cognition and decision making, but the Hebrews, who did not have the word for mind in their lexicon, used metaphorical extensions, called synecdoche, using the terms "heart" (center of the life-blood) and the head (location of the thoughts) to refer to the repositories of the breath of life (ruach) given to human souls (nephesh). As an abstract noun, most lexicons will be limited because mind is narrowly associated with the human brain, having a cerebrum and cerebellum like every other mammal, but is qualitatively different in that it can receive both the spirit in man and God's Holy Spirit, making possible abstract and symbolic behavior (thinking, speaking, writing, and creating), as well as a docking mechanism for God's Holy Spirit. All behavior begins with thoughts. Satan continually broadcasts attitudes into our carnal mind, attempting to lure us into distrust and eventually hatred toward God's ways and into a narcissistic 'get' way of this world.

Richard Ritenbaugh tackles the question, "Do we contain an immortal soul?" The prevailing idea is that the soul is the indestructible part of a human being that lives on. The Hebrew word nephesh refers to a living being; the Latin word anima and the Greek word psyche refer to breath. In Leviticus 17, we learn that the life resides in the blood. A body is greater than a biochemical reaction; the life force comes from outside the body. Elihu observed that there is a spirit in man, giving him the ability to think and understand, giving him a point of contact with God, separating him from the animals. Paul differentiates the spirit in man from God's Holy Spirit, dividing a human being into spirit (mind), soul (our life), and body (flesh). Nominal Christianity has absorbed heaven, hell, and purgatory from Greek mythology and the philosophy of Plato, who propagated the doctrine of the immortal soul in his Phaedo. The idea of the immortality of the soul is nowhere in the Old Testament, unless one deliberately distorts the account of Enoch's translation and the witch of Endor. Genesis 2:16-17 affirms that it is possible to die, and Ezekiel 18:4 and 20 affirm that the soul (the life) that sins shall die. Galatians 3:22 indicates that all have sinned. Eternal life must come as a gift, but it is not something we have right now, except as an earnest payment. Hebrews 9:27 reminds us that we all die once. God keeps our human spirit in reserve for safe-keeping until the resurrection from the dead.

Following the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse is the Fifth Seal, depicting souls under the altar crying out to God for vengeance. Richard Ritenbaugh goes into the details of this prophecy of persecution and martyrdom of the saints.

As Christians, we have to live life with the thought that some things will stick with us through the grave. Bill Gray explains that we will take nothing out of this life except our character.

John Ritenbaugh, citing Romans 1:20, reiterates that the invisible things of God are clearly seen through the things that are made. The numerous scriptural references to angelic beings (experiences of Abraham, Lot, and Daniel and the references to Michael, Gabriel, and Satan (the Prince of Persia) indicate that the spiritual entities have tangible substance. The main proof text of the "no parts, no shape or form" teaching (John 4:24), far from teaching that God has no body, indicates that spiritual substance is just as real as natural substance, except that it is a much higher type of matter, governed by higher laws including refined feelings, emotions, and thoughts. We have abundant testimony from the both the special revelation (God's Word) and the general revelation (the Creation) that God and angels are not universal nothingness floating around in nowhere.