TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7
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​Memorize this Verse: (Cover the verse text and using just the first letters of each word try to recite the entire passage.)
7. A T L G F M O T D O T G A B I H N T B O L A M B A L S

Notes on this verse:

“Formed man”: Many of the words used in this account of the creation of man picture a master craftsman at work shaping a work of art to which he gives life (1 Cor. 15:45). This adds detail to the statement of fact in 1:27 (1 Tim. 2:13). Psalm 139:14. Made from dirt, a man’s value is not in the physical components that form his body, but in the quality of life which forms his soul (see Job 33:4).

The verb is used on occasion for the “potter” (Jer. 18:2). It expresses the relation of a craftsman to his material, connoting skill (Psalm 94:9), and a sovereignty which man forgets at his peril (Isa. 29:16; Jer. 18:4). Here is the “potter” par excellence, setting the design and pattern.

The corporeal part (physical human body), was “the dust of the ground” (which is not a symbol of the animal kingdom from which Adam evolved; note its use in 3:19), and the non-corporeal part was “the breathe of life. The word “breath” (Hebrew ruach), is “spirit.” “Life” is a plural, but Hebrew frequently uses the plural without meaning a numerical plural.

“Living soul” (Hebrew nepesh chayah) should be translated “living creature” as the same phrase appears in 1:21-24 applied to animals. Here the reference stands for the entire person, and is not used in just the metaphysical, theological sense in which we tend to use the term “soul” today.

In the Old Testament, the word “soul”, among other uses, refers to the whole person. It identifies something that cannot be defined materially and that is therefore distinct from the body (Isaiah 10:18). The soul is that part of us that is life. It is incorporeal existence.

At the creation of Adam, man did not have a soul but he became a soul, and the life-principle was the breath or Spirit of God (verse 7). Death is described as the soul’s departing from the body (35:18). The fundamental desire of a Christian’s soul should be for a deeper fellowship and communion with God (Psalm 25:1) (Gen. 2:7; Gen. 1:26).

So many religious people of our day are confused about this one verse. Somehow they seem to overlook the break between the words “breath of life” and “man became a living soul”. You see if that statement had ended at life, man would be alive.

Man, is in fact, that breath of life that God breathed into Him. This breath of life that God breathed into the body is what man is. It is the spirit. The body is the house that the spirit lives in.

Right now, you are probably thinking, “well, where does the sentence (man became a living soul), come in?” If the spirit of man lived in this house called a body and had no soul, there would be no conflict; but you see, there is a conflict. The spirit wants to be in control, and the body wants to be in control. Control of what? The soul which is the will of man.

The Bible says there is a war going on constantly between the flesh and the spirit. Why would that be, unless they were trying to take control of something? That something is the soul or will of mankind. We are a spirit, housed in a body and either the spirit or the flesh (body), controls the soul (will).

Mankind did not just slither into existence by evolution, but was rather created by a loving God in His own likeness. The difference between man and beast is the power to reason and have a will.

TODAY'S BIBLE READING

March 3
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Old Testament
Numbers 5-6  —  8.0 minutes
Psalms 50  —  4.5 minutes

New Testament
Matthew 22:1-14  —  3.0 minutes
Romans 2  —  6.5 minutes

Total Average Read Time — 22.0 minutes