SOMATOSPIRITUAL MODEL
A Biomechanist Looks at the Bible
by Brian W. Bergemann,
Ph.D.
Campbell University
Paper presented at the 9th
annual conference of “Christianity in
Sport, Leisure, and Wellness”, Dordt College, June 4-7, 1998, Sioux Center,
Iowa
The branch of biomechanics that I am interested is the study of human motion. How humans move and how that movement is controlled by the central nervous system gives rise to many sub disciplines, methods of analyses, and applications. The human body, including the skeletal, muscular, nervous, circulatory, and hormonal systems, are complex systems which are studied by the biomechanist in an attempt to understand how the person moves, learns skills, corrects faults of movement, and excels in many diverse physical performance conditions. It is necessary to develop a model of the mechanisms and structures that are salient to the process of voluntary motion and its control in order to try to understand this very complex organism. Unfortunately the model starts out simple and becomes more complex as more variables are added to the model.
The typical
model of the Motor System (a feedback control system) is shown in Figure
1. A controlled system has input from
the controller, which may be varied.
This input
DISTURBANCE
CONTROL
CONTROLLED SYSTEM ERROR DETECTOR
SIGNAL ERROR OUTPUT
CONTROLLER
SIGNAL
+
-
TRANSDUCER
FEEDBACK
SIGNAL
FIGURE 1. FEEDBACK CONTROL SYSTEMS
interacts with
external influences called disturbances and produces changes in the actual
output, which is the variable to be controlled. An example would be driving an automobile. The controlled system is the automobile, the
input would be the position of the steering wheel, the output would be the
position of the car on the road, and a disturbance could be a ball rolling out
in front of the automobile. The
transducer is a sensitive device that can measure the actual output of the
controlled system. It converts this
measurement into a feedback signal, which is transmitted to an error
detector. The error detector compares
the feedback signal with the control signal, which is the primary input into
the entire feedback system. The error
signal is the difference between the control signal and the feedback
signal. It alters the input to the
controlled system to reduce the amount of error. In the automobile example the transducer, error detector and
controller are all within the human system.
The visual system
measures, and the muscular
system controls and regulates and compensates for the disturbances that would make
the actual output deviate from the desired output. This is a very simplistic model of a control system, which may be
applied to the human body.
The sensory
system detects changes to the stasis of the body. It may be through sight, balance, muscle length, muscle tension,
pressure, or many other physical senses that we have to interact with our
environment. As we perceive conditions
in our environment and process these conditions consciously and subconsciously,
we filter the input signals through our brain, brain stem and spinal cord. Consciously our minds ponder the state of
affairs of our being and upon mental decisions to “act” the brain has already
surveyed the state of affairs of the environment, and the action is perform
accordingly. Conscious decisions based
on past experience, mental images of what is desired or what is to be avoided,
input from the environment and feedback from the body relative to the immediate
history of being produces the next step in action.
A Russian
biomechanist, Nicholai Bernstein postulated that the mind stores information
about movement as a “motor engram”, similar to a videotape that is constantly
being
“perfected” or altered to some degree.
We move on the basis of previously stored information about the desired
movement and the feedback system alters the stored “engram” as movement is experienced. Many types of engrams can be developed for
similar movements, but these engrams are different with respect to their
stability. A very stable engram would
be like walking. We have developed this
movement pattern over years of experience and the engram has been developed
into a relatively stable image. So
stable that just the desire to walk and its initiation produces the movement
patterns without much conscious thought or control. It has been “grooved” into our subconscious, or sub cortical,
mind.
Other
experiences related to verbal, social interaction, emotional, etc. are stored
in the mind and constitute a base of information upon which the individual
compares events that are experienced in the environment and acts upon these
events. The perception of the event is
processed through the filter of past experiences stored in the mind, as well as
other mechanisms that function to predict changes in conditions if certain
reactions by the individual occur.
Thus, the individual makes decisions based on past information and
future consequences.
In
studying and reading the Bible it became apparent to me that words were used in
the Bible that revealed that the physical senses were only a part of the
human’s perceptual abilities. In
Scripture, God used words that related to our physical nature to describe our
spiritual characteristics. “Seeing” and
“hearing” refer to the perception of light through the eyes and sound through
the ears. But Jesus used these words
when referring to spiritual discernment.
“He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God”
(John 8:47). “In reply Jesus declared,
‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born
again” (John 3:3).
The
universe being made up of more that the four dimensions of space and time is
clearly taught in scripture. Herb Ross
in his books “Fingerprint of God” (1989) and “Beyond the Cosmos” (1996) report
that the Bible talks about many dimensions beyond the four. These “spiritual” dimensions are not seen
with human eyes but are perceived to some degree by the “spiritual senses”,
whatever they may be. In order to
postulate that we have spiritual senses, there are several things that have to
be determined. First, that there is a
spiritual realm, or other dimensions that exist and may be perceived. Second, that there are senses to perceive
it.
Multiple Dimensions
Hugh
Ross (1996) described the scientific reasoning that has led physicists,
astrophysicists, and mathematicians to the realization that there are extra
dimensions beyond the four that we know of as three dimensions of space and one
dimension of time. Einstein opened the
door to this reasoning through his theory of general relativity, and his
equations indicated an ultimate origin for matter and energy; an event that he
described as an expansion with deceleration.
This event has been call the “Big Bang” and has been confirmed through
scientific research. Einstein
recognized that the cosmos burst forth from an infinitely small volume, which
implied that the universe had an origin or starting point in the finite past. He even said that it implied a “superior
reasoning power.” Ross goes on to
report the steps that science has taken to unravel the understanding of
multiple dimensionality. The cause (or
“causer”) of the universe operates in a dimension of time and space completely
independent of the four dimensions. We
are bound by cause and effect in our space and time dimensions, but the God,
the Causer, the Creator, is not bound by it.
The Creator’s capacities include at least one more time dimension. “Physicists now demonstrate that the Causer
exists and operates in several spatial dimensions beyond our three, as well as
in at least one more time dimension” (Ross, 1996, p. 24).
The
unified field theory was an attempt to explain the relationship between all
four forces of physics, electromagnetism, gravity, and the weak and strong
nuclear forces. With the advent of the
particle accelerators looking into the fundamental particles and unification
energies, the supercomputers capable of generating solutions to complex
non-linear differential equations, and the ground- and space-based telescopes
with increased penetration into the far reaches of the universe, scientists are
able to substantiate more of the various theories that Einstein was able to
do. Einstein utilized a fourth dimension,
time, to help him with his theory. The
farther into space we look the longer it took for the light to get to earth and
the farther back into time we are looking.
The latest research has demonstrated that the four fundamental forces of
physics can be unified into a ten-dimensional model. So, from particle physics and astrophysics it is shown that God
must be operating in a minimum of eleven dimensions, nine spatial and two
temporal (Ross, 1996).
Ross
(1996) suggests that God limited us to the three spatial dimensions, because
the carbon-based life form, our bodies, need the gravity for stable planetary
systems, which included the temperature, atmosphere, day-night cycle, and other
conditions essential for life. Gravity
obeys the inverse square law in three-dimensional space. As the distance between objects doubles the
gravitational attraction drops to one quarter.
In four dimensions of space, it would drop to one eighth for every
doubling of the distance. Circular
planetary orbits are only possible in three-dimensional space. Also, electrons orbiting the nucleus of an
atom would spiral rather then follow circular paths, in a four or more spatial
dimensional world. Therefore, our
physical bodies could not exist in more that one time dimension and three
spatial physical dimensions. The more
we know about the universe and the multidimensionality of the cosmos the more
glorified the Creator becomes. So,
instead of glorifying the scientist, God is the One who is revered.
Another
tack at which to approach the problem of multidimensionality, is to look at two
types of writing in the Bible; the prophecy of scripture and the health
code. If one considered our one
dimension of time as a straight line going in one direction, it would seem
impossible to imagine that one could “look into the future.” But if one considers two dimensions of time,
there would be another time line intersecting our time line, perpendicularly
(Figure 2). With God operating in both
of these dimensions of time, He has an infinite amount of time at our instance
of time. Wherever the second dimension
of time intersects our time line, there would be an infinite amount of time for
God to hear every prayer of every person, and process all of them. Since the intersection of two lines is a
plane, God could also go forward in time, or backward in time as He pleases.
If this were the case, one could
have an infinite number of time lines running an infinite
number
of directions. This according to
general relativity and the Bible, is the situation
with
the Creator. If the Creator were to
choose, He could move and operate for infinite
time,
forwards or backwards, on a time line that never intersects or touches the time
line
of
our universe. As such, He would have no
beginning and no end. He would not be
created
(Ross, 1996, p. 62)
2nd dimension of time
Our time dimension, unidirectional
Figure 2. Two dimensions of Time
He
knew us before the foundation of the world, because He was operating in at
least two time dimensions and could move forward or backward. He even showed that He knew what would
happen in the future, by giving prophets a glimpse into the future. Prophecies concerning His Son, Jesus Christ,
were given centuries before Christ’s birth.
So many prophecies were given and actually fulfilled in the person of
Jesus, that the statistical probability of eight of those being fulfilled in
one person is one in 1017.
That is a 1 with 17 zeros after it.
If 48 prophecies were fulfilled in the person of Jesus the probability
would be one in 10157
(Stoner, 1963; as cited in McDowell, 1979). What is remarkable is that about 200 prophecies were fulfilled
through the life of Jesus and around 100 more are to be fulfilled in the future
(McDowell, 1979).
Another
tack is to look at the health code of the Bible. God cared so much for His people that He gave a health code
through Moses that was unique for it times, and still holds true today. Moses, being educated in the Egyptian
schools knew only Egyptian knowledge, yet in the Egyptian medical book Papyrus
Ebers there was nothing found in it that was used in the Pentateuch. All of the health and medical information
that Moses declared was unique and from God.
In the book “None of these Diseases,”
McMillan, MD (1958) discusses all of the health related commands in
Leviticus and Deuteronomy and proves their correctness through modern
research. This treatise by McMillan on
the health code of the Bible, and the fulfillment of Bible prophecy were the
primary reasons for my believing the Bible as the true, infallible Word of God,
however since then, God has revealed Himself to me in many different ways that
are more convincing.
This
explanation may not prove the existence of God, but it lays out a considerable amount
of evidence for a multidimensional cosmos created by a powerful, loving,
Causer, Creator. The next perspective
on multidimensionality has to do with the human’s perspective. That is the perspective of sensing the other
dimensions.
Spiritual Senses
When
Nicodemus queried Jesus, “How can a man be born again?” Jesus responded by telling him that a man
must be born of water and the Spirit, and “Flesh gives birth to , but the
Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John
3:6). He also said that, “…The wind bloweth
where it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from
or where it is going. So it is with
everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).
One cannot see the spirit since it is like the wind. You can hear the wind in the trees, or you
can see the wind bending the branches of the trees, but you cannot see the
wind. One only sees the effect of the
wind on objects. So it is with everyone
born of the Spirit. One sees the effect
of the Spirit on the life of the person.
What
are the effects of the Spirit on the life of an individual? The effects of the Spirit are the actions
that the Spirit influences. An
individual who is perceptive about spiritual matters and perceives the Spirit
of God produces actions that reflect this spiritual influence. In Galatians 5:22-23 these actions are
summarized as “fruit.” The word fruit
would be analogous to the actions of a person who is affected by the Spirit of
God. These fruit are, “… love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance….” So one may not see the Spirit of God but may
see the effects of the Spirit on the lives of those who are spiritually
perceptive, i.e. “born again.”
Where
in the body are the spiritual senses?
This is difficult to determine.
If we consider where in the body thoughts originate, we run into a
problem there, since we do not know the neural mechanism of a thought. We do know that thought is related to
consciousness, memory, and learning.
They all go hand in hand.
Comprehension of the sensory information that is being perceived by the
person makes a person aware or conscious of the stimulation and this results in
a thought, as well as a memory.
Thoughts are based on perception and/or memory. From past memories a person can develop
thoughts that are created from combinations of memories, which have been
logically or abstractly put together (Guyton, 1971). What kinds of thoughts we have depend on our perception, our
memory, and the way we process this information.
The
results of a thought may be only a memory, or it may result in the person
taking some action. Most all of our
actions are the result of a thought.
Some are reflexive, and the thought may follow the action, as in the
case of the patellar tendon reflex. But
mostly the actions that we do are the results of the thought processes. When we consider the actions of people we
could reasonably assume that those actions were precipitated from some thought
processes. In the field of psychology,
the thoughts and actions of individuals are scrutinized to determine the
patterns of thought that resulted in a particular behavior. If the neurophysiologist cannot tell us what
the mechanism for the thought is, then the psychologist cannot get to the cause
either, except that they hypotheses can be formulated related to the behavior
caused by the thought process.
If
we go back to the words of Paul in Galatians, we note that the fruit of the
Spirit, or the behavior that is influenced by the Holy Spirit through our
spiritual senses, results in actions and emotions like love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. It is possible that the person did not
perceive through their spiritual senses at all, but through their own reading
of the Bible or other writings, or by hearing someone speak about the
Bible. The person could have remembered
words, and the words produced the thoughts that resulted in a change of
behavior and emotions characterized by the words love, joy, peace, etc.
The
Bible however does indicate that we have a spirit and that it communicates with
God’s Spirit. In Romans 8:16 it says,
“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” God has created us with a body, mind and a
spirit. In I Thessalonians 5:23 it
says, “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and
through. May your whole spirit, soul
and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” If God’s Spirit testifies (affirms, attests,
points, certifies) with our spirit, then our spirit is capable of
perceiving. In I Peter 3:4 it says that
“…it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and
quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” Unfading is also translated from the Greek
word aphthartos according to the Lexicon for Strong’s Number 862 as “not
corruptible”, “not liable to corruption or decay”, “imperishable”, “immortal”
(Blue Letter Bible, 1998). The Bible
also speaks of the “heart.” “Jesus
replied, ’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind'” (Matt 22:37). “To
love him with all you heart, with all your understanding and with all your
strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all the
burnt offerings and sacrifices” implies that there are three parts of the
human; spirit, mind, and body (Mark 12:33).
The Bible uses the words “soul” and
“heart” to refer to the inner man. The
Hebrew word for soul is “nephesh”, according to the Lexicon for Strong’s Number
05315, it means soul, life, creature, person, mind, living being, desire, seat
of the emotions, seat of the appetites.
The word for heart in the New Testament is the Greek word “kardia,”
according to the Lexicon for Strong’s Number 2588, it means the seat of
physical life; the center of all physical and spiritual life; the vigor and
sense of physical life; the center and seat of spiritual life; the soul or
mind; the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites,
affections, purposes, endeavors; the understanding; the faculty and seat of the
intelligence; the will and character; the soul so far as it is affected and
stirred in a bad way or good; or the soul as the seat of the sensibilities,
affections, emotions, desires, appetites, passions (Blue Letter Bible,
1998). The words of Jesus were, “Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30).
Paul refers to the whole spirit, soul and body being kept blameless at
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (I Thessalonians 5:23). The soul and spirit of the human are
immortal as Jesus expresses in John 10:28, “I give them eternal life, and they
shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” Again in John 11:25-26, “Jesus said unto
her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.
He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives
and believes in me will never die.’ “
What then is spirit? As discussed earlier about multiple
dimensions, God has created additional dimensions beyond the space and time
dimensions that we are familiar with.
Since “God is Spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in
truth” (John 4:23) we also have a spiritual or multidimensional part of our
being.
The Spirit Realm
God has implied in the written Word
about the Spiritual realm. In Ephesians
1:3 it says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ”, and
in 2 Corinthians 5:1 it says, “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in
is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not
built by human hands.” Although God has
allowed us to be perceptive in the spiritual realm, He is not the only being in
the spirit realm. Other spiritual
influences outside of God’s Spirit exist in this spiritual realm, and they are
perceived as well. In Ephesians 6:11-12
it says, “ Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against
the devil’s schemes. For our struggle
is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Satan inhabits the heavenly realm.
The Greek word epouranios is here translated as “heavenly realm”,
according to the Lexicon for Strong’s number 2032 it means existing in heaven;
things that take place in heaven; the heavenly regions, heaven itself, the
abode of Goad and the angels; the lower heavens, of the stars; the heavens, of
the clouds; the heavenly temple or sanctuary; of heavenly origin or nature
(Blue Letter Bible, 1998).
God’s Spirit is available to all of
us who seek Him, and His Spirit clarifies for us the aspects of the spiritual
realm that are not of God. As we
receive spiritual influences, God’s Spirit relates to us concerning those
spiritual influences that are not from God.
Scripture informs us that the spiritual realm is made up of spiritual
beings that are not proponents of God’s spirit and are in opposition to God’s
Spirit. There are demons (fallen
angels) that try to influence us. They
are the spiritual forces of evil (darkness) in the heavenly realms. Therefore, these other spirit beings and
spiritual environments may be perceived by an individual with spiritual
sensitivity, and may influence the individual in a similar way as the physical
environment. When the spiritual
environment is perceived and the individual acts upon the information received
through the spiritual senses, the actions that the individual produces may be
represented as either “works of the flesh”, or “fruits of the Spirit.” These works of the flesh are summarized in
Galatians as “…sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft;
hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissentions,
factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies
and the like” (Galatians 5:19-21).
These so-called “works of the flesh” are actions that the individual
does voluntarily by making a conscious decision to act.
When
an individual ignores the Spirit of God (the light) and allows the anti-God
spirits (the “spirits of darkness”) to influence his/her decisions to act, that
individual begins to block the Spirit of God from their perception. The more
the individual does the works of the flesh the less perceptive the person
becomes to the Spirit of God. It is
like the individual becomes deaf or blind to the things of the Holy Spirit. Eventually the Spirit of God can be so
barely perceived that it virtually has no further influence over the
individual’s decision-making capacity.
“This is why I speak to them in parables; though seeing, they do not
see; though hearing they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: ‘You will be ever hearing but never
understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become
calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their
eyes. Otherwise they might see with
their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I
would heal them “ (Matthew 13:15).
This refers to the spiritual eyes and ears, an analog to the physical
senses. “Furthermore, since they did
not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a
depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil,
greed, and depravity. They are full of
envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice.
They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and
boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are
senseless, faithless, heartless, and ruthless.
Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things
deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve
of those who practice them” (Romans 1:28-32).
“When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand
it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in the heart. This is the seed sown along the path” (Matthew 13:19). When man ignores God so completely that the Spirit of God can no
longer penetrate the spiritual senses to the decision-making portion of the
mind (soul) then God gives them up. How
complete is this giving up is unknown, however the consequences of living apart
from God often brings a person to the point of pleading with God and spiritual
communication is restored.
Hearing God
How
do we know that we are hearing God’s voice?
The model of man may look something like Figure 3 with the spiritual
senses inputting into the mind or soul as the physical
SPIRITUAL SENSES SPIRITUAL REALM
FEEDBACK
FEEDBACK
FIGURE 3. SOMATOSPIRITUAL MODEL
senses do. What we perceive in our mind must not be
contrary to the Word of God (Isaiah 8:20).
Anything contrary to the written Word of God is of the demonic or
satanic spirits, or may be our own desires or lusts of the flesh. The Word of God is the true “light” and will
reveal to us what is from the “darkness.”
God will never ask us to do things that are immoral or contrary to His
law. In James 1:13-15, it says, “When
tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but
each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and
enticed. Then, after desire has
conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth
to death.” When God speaks to us, “…the
wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace loving,
considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere”
(James 3:17).
Free Will vs. God’s Will
This
controversy has been going on for many years.
Does man have a free will to choose God, or the Devil, or reject all
consideration of the other dimensional, supernatural aspect of self; or does
God predestine the person before the person was even conceived to either heaven
(being children of God) or to hell (being children of darkness without God)
without the individual’s consent? It is
ironic that in 1618 in a Dutch city of Dordrecht (Dort) that the Dutch
Calvinists had it out with the Arminians over whether the Calvin doctrine of
TULIP was true, or the Arminian doctrine which denied the perseverance of the
saints, saying that God’s grace could be resisted by man was true. What resulted from this synod were the Canons
of Dort, an affirmation of the Calvinist doctrine of faith. T.U.L.I.P. stands for “T”, total depravity
where fallen man was totally unable to save himself, “U”, unconditional
election where God’s election was not conditioned by anything in man, “L”, limited
atonement where Christ’s atoning death was limited to the elect, “I”,
irresistible grace in which the gift of faith given by God’s Holy Spirit cannot
be resisted by the elect, and “P”, perseverance of the saints where those who
are regenerated and justified will persevere in the faith (T.U.L.I.P., 1986).
Ross (1996) indicates that those who
support the “free-will” side emphasize holy living and separation from
evil. This type of emphasis is looked
upon as “legalism” or “rules of righteousness” by the side that adheres to
God’s sovereign choice. The Calvinist
side emphasizes the “freedom in Christ” or “grace living”, while the free-will
side calls this “license.” Man has
tried to plug truth into a four-dimensional world and has approached the
controversy as contradictory. However,
what if both were true and we approached it as a paradox? The Bible clearly says that no receives
salvation unless they choose it and also that no one received salvation unless
God chooses them. From man’s
perspective in a four-dimensional world, he is choosing what to believe. From God’s divine perspective in the
multiple dimensions beyond our four, He calls and chooses those who will be
saved.
There are spiritual influences on
our lives. As we respond to the Holy
Spirit and become more Christ-like, God has a greater and greater influence on
our lives, but as we respond to the flesh or to the spiritual urges to sin,
God’s influence on us becomes less and Satan’s influence on us increases. It would now seem possible, when considering
the multiple dimensions of time that God would know how we would react under
certain circumstances, and God could prescribe the exact conditions that would
cause our will to respond in the way that fits into His plan. Likewise, He would know every circumstance
that would cause us to reject God and strengthen the Devil’s influence on
us. However, God could control the
increases and decreases of His will and Satan’s will on our lives so that it
fits into His plan. This is only a
postulate of how the paradox could be resolved, but we can trust God that the
paradox is His creation for His and our good (Ross, 1996).
Consequences of Living in the Flesh
The consequences of living in the
flesh are separation from God. “But
your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His
face from you, so that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). God cannot tolerate sins, which are actions
that are contrary to His nature. Our
sins have disqualified us from being together with God in the heavenly
realms. “As for you, you were dead in
your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the
ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who
is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Ephesians 2:1-2). Where sin is present there is a wall or
barrier between God and us so that there are no means of communication with
Him. The death that is spoken of means
separation, and a spiritual death is separation from God. This spiritual death will eventually lead to
eternal death. “Do not be afraid of
those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body
in hell” (Matthew 10:28). Hell is
translated from the Greek word geenna which, according to the Lexicon for
Strong’s number 1067, is the place of the future punishment called “Gehenna” or
“Gehenna of fire” (Blue Letter Bible, 1998).
This was originally the valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where the
filth and dead animals of the city were cast out and burned, a fit symbol of
the wicked and their future destruction. “I say to you that many will come from
the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the
darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew
8:11-12). “Then he will say to those
on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire
prepared for the devil and his angels’…’Then they will go away to eternal
punishment, but the righteous to eternal life’ ” (Matthew 25:41,46).
Salvation
Man was created to have a
relationship with God, and God has communicated to man since the creation. This relationship that God wanted with humans
had to be based on doing what was right in God’s sight. If we did not do what was right, we were
guilty of sin, or missing the mark (Strong’s number 266; Blue Letter Bible,
1998). The consequence of sin was
death; eternal separation from God. The
Law defined sin, and God revealed through the prophets that a blood sacrifice,
a scapegoat, was needed as a repayment for any sin that was committed by the
individual. This blood sacrifice was
only temporary and needed to be performed annually in order to repay for the
sins of the previous year. The Law was
an expression of what God considered sin.
God did not intend for eternal life to be the reward for following the
Law completely and without error. He
intended for the Law to show people that they could not follow the Law
perfectly. His intended will for our
lives was so much more that the Law anyway.
He knew that it was impossible for us to live perfectly, according to His
Law, but it was necessary to be perfect, or free from sin, in order to live eternally
with God. “This righteousness from God
comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace
through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Roman 3:23-24). “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the
Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that
it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the
likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.
And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous
requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to
the sinful nature but according to the Spirit”
(Romans 8:1-4).
God Himself provided the ultimate
sacrifice, or scapegoat for our sins.
God became a man, and lived among us on earth, and was crucified, or
sacrificed like the perfect lamb, to be the payment for our sins. “When you were dead in your sins and in the
uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled
the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood
opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and
authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the
cross” (Colossians 2:13-15). The very
sins that block us from communicating to God and from being eternally in Heaven
with God are erased through the belief that Jesus Christ was the sacrifice,
“once and for all”, for our sin. “I
have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in
me. The life I live in the body, I live
by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians
2:20). Recognizing and accepting this
atoning work of Christ for ourselves allows us to be rid of our sin, and our
spirit becomes more and more influenced by the Holy Spirit so that we are
becoming more and more like Jesus Christ.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”
(Ephesians 2:8-9). “Since the children
have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by His death He
might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free
those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Hebrews
2:14-15).
Prayer
Praying is another concept that has
to do with communicating with God. Our
spirits can be praying to God continually without ourselves consciously aware
of it, and we can also be praying consciously to God. Often the prayers are for things that we want; blessings for
others, divine intervention in our problems, etc. Prayers can be a thankfulness of what God has done or will
do. As we pray with thanksgiving we are
acknowledging by faith that God will deal with our request according to His
will and in the best timing. He knows
what has happened in our life in the past, and what will happen in the future. He knows what circumstances have to be
changed in the present and the future to bring about our requests. Sometimes God’s answer is, “No” or
“Wait.” But through faith we know that
God cares for our situation and us, and wants us to be well. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, has
says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”
(Philippians 4:6-7). Notice the fruit
of spiritual communication with God; peace and a guarded heart and mind. Our mind needs to be guarded because it is
under attack daily by satanic influences.
One needs the full armor of God to stand against the spirits of darkness. “For though we live in the world, we do not
wage war as the world does. The weapons
we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish
strongholds. We demolish arguments and
every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take
captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians
10:3-5). “And without faith it is
impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he
exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
Prayer is thinking as God
thinks. He said that we had the mind of
Christ. “For who has known the mind of
the Lord that he may instruct him? But
we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). As we look back on the somatospiritual model and the effect of
the spiritual realm on our minds, we know that this daily attack on our minds
by the spirits of darkness may cause some effects to our mind. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve
what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2). And we also know that because we are born of
the spirit we are new creatures with Christ living in us and God has given us
His mind. “For I am convinced that
neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the
future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all
creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ
Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).
Wholeness and Wellness
In order to consider the wholeness
or wellness of the individual, it is now apparent that we have three aspects to
our being; the body, the mind and the spirit.
We know that when the body is ill the mind if often ill, as well. Likewise, when our mind is under intolerable
stress for long periods, our body suffers with ulcers, or headaches, or
hypertension, etc. The Bible indicates
that many behaviors or “fruits of darkness” lead us to physical maladies. “A heart at peace gives life to the body,
but envy rots the bones” (Proverbs 14:30).
“A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to
the bones” (Proverbs 15:30). “Pleasant
words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones” (Proverbs
16:24). “A cheerful heart is good
medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” (Proverbs 17:22). These are a few examples concerning the
effects of the mind and the spirit on the bones; a physical manifestation.
Our bodies are the temple of the
Holy Spirit which is in us, which we have from God and we are not our own. We are told that we have been bought with a
price and we should glorify God with our body and our spirit (1 Corinthians
6:19-20). “Dear friend, I pray that you
may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is
getting along well” (3 John 1:2). “Do
not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and
nourishment to your bones” (Proverbs 3:7-8).
Conclusion
I have attempted to cover many
topics that pertain to a model of the human in terms of the body and its
physical senses; its motor control and its actions; the spirit which is the
multidimensional aspect of ourselves that will continue to exist beyond the
death of the body; and the mind, which receives input from the physical and
spiritual senses and processes them.
This paper is too short to go into any of these topics in depth. Most models are like mosaics that become
clearer, as well as more complicated, as they get closer to the truth of
reality. The evidence that is presented
in the Bible and other sources, including the Holy Spirit, gives us more
substantial reasons to believe. We have
an awesome God who is worthy of honor and praise and must be worshipped in
spirit and truth. What He has in store
for us is inconceivable when one considers the universe and its multiple
dimensionality. We will live with Him
throughout eternity and we will be kept busy with the affairs of God throughout
the universe. “However, as it is
written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has
prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9)