Estimated reading time: 2 minutes.
So far, in this chapter, we have considered what happens to the soul at death and have not dealt with the spirit, except to say that it, too, has a change of address. Previously, it has been demonstrated, in this work, that the soul and spirit of man are actually different aspects of the human reality. We have shown that just as the body is the house of the soul, the soul is the house of the spirit. And, just as the body and the soul separates at death, the soul and spirit may separate at death as well. Through the soul, man has self-consciousness—it (the soul) is the locus of personal identity. It is the soul that was made in the “likeness” of God—but lost that rectitude of character in its fall from grace. The spirit is referenced throughout this work as the “god-spark,” by which the individual acquires God consciousness and has fellowship with his/her Creator. Ecclesiastes tells us that the “spirit returns to God who gave it.” From this we are to understand that the spirits of all men return to God upon their death—whether they died in or out of faith.
As a result of the spirits’ return to God, the souls of the wicked dead are held in hades without their spirits. The separation of the spirits from the souls of the wicked (at death) is a permanent condition that has dire eternal consequence for their state in the resurrection. The tragic, and sad, reality of the Second Death, is the total lack of any God consciousness for eternity (and as a result—no fellowship with God). One may experience the chill of such an existence, by contemplating—what the author thinks is—the sadist verse of the Bible: “Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD” (Gen 4:16, NKJV). Such is the Second Death for those who die outside the graces of the Covenant; they go, forever, out from the presence of their Maker.
Conversely, in death, the souls of the righteous remain united with their spirits. This is shown in the text from Hebrews 12:23, where the individuals who have been made “perfect” (who make up a segment of the great cloud of spectators that witness the saints’ race of faith’ Heb 12:1) are called “spirits.” Here, the writer to the Hebrews employs the form of speech known as the synecdoche (part for the whole, or vice versa) in that “spirits” is used for the persons themselves, who have existence (at this moment) as a binary being of soul and spirit. The souls house the spirits, which remain in residents eternally with those who die within the graces of the Covenant. The presence of the “god-spark” (spirit) or the absence of the “god-spark” is the difference between eternal life and eternal death.
Apostolically Speaking,
☩☩ Jerry L Hayes
This essay is excerpted from the Bishop's book "Biblical Anthropology."
Biblical Anthropology is a study in what the Bible teaches concerning the origin, nature (ontology), history and destiny of mankind. Reviewed in this work is the debate over whether or not the human being is bipartite—such as only body and soul, or tripartite—such as body, soul and spirit. Biblical Anthropology addresses the question of whether or not the soul is mortal or immortal; that is, does the soul have existence apart from the body. What, exactly happens at death? Will there be a resurrection of the body, and if so what nature will the resurrected body take? These are important questions addressed in this book. Bishop Jerry L Hayes presents a very orthodox view of Christian biblical anthropology which relies heavily on holy Scripture with a generous sprinkling of quotes from the ancient churchmen such as Athenagoras, Tertullian, and Augustine to name a few.
Order your personal copy of this classic work on biblical anthropology by clicking the link provided here:
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