Who Am I ? #15

When we read the history of creation, we realize that the Creator only created species. For example, on the day He created trees (1), it is not said that He created the avocado tree or the mango tree. It’s just said He created the trees, because we know that the avocado tree and the mango tree are trees. It is not said that He created tilapia and horse mackerel, because we know that tilapia and horse mackerel are fishes. The day He created the birds (2), it is not said that He created the pigeon and the parrot. It’s just said He created birds, because the pigeon and the parrot are birds.

(1) Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth green grass, grass yielding seed, fruit trees yielding fruit after their kind, having their seed in them in the earth.

(2) And God created the great fish, and every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind.

By the way, what I want us to understand is that, during creation, the Creator spoke the names of species, knowing that these species were made up of individualities. Adam was given species to name individualities. To continue with our examples, he received the species tree, and he named the individualities: mango tree, avocado tree, palm tree, and so on. He received the species fish, and he named the individualities: tilapia, horse mackerel, etc. He received the species birds, and he named the individualities: pigeon, parrot, etc.

(3) And the LORD God formed all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air from the earth, and brought them to man, that he might see what he would call them, and that every living creature might be called by the name which man would call it. And the man gave names to all the cattle, and to the fowls of the air, and to every beast of the field…

Man is a species

And it is exactly the same thing that happened with man: when the Creator wanted to create man, He said “let Us create Man”. In other words, Man (with a capital M) is also a species, and man and woman are individualities. That is why we are used to just say Man did this or that, when we want to refer to man and woman. It is because we are aware of the fact that by saying Man, we are directly referring to the species Man, which contains man and woman. And as with the other species, it was also Adam who named the individualities for Man.

(4) And the man said, This one is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called woman, because she was taken from man.

What defines the fact that creatures belong to the same species is the fact that they share the same characteristics. We say that a mango tree and an avocado tree are trees, because they have the same characteristics. That is why man and woman are equal: both are of the same species, the human species. To say that man is superior to woman is a bit like saying that the mango tree is superior to the avocado tree — it wouldn’t make any sense, would it?

Man and woman are equal

(5) Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

This is the reason why God commanded man to have dominion over the fishes, plants, and everything that moves on the surface of the earth. He did not command man to have dominion over other men, because we cannot have dominion over a being of the same species as us.

Even saying that man is the head of the family does not mean that man is superior to woman, but rather that he is responsible for his family; for in any organization there must have a hierarchy and a certain order. Imagine yourself on a team where everyone thinks they are the coach — what a disaster! For an organization to function properly, it has to have someone who makes the final decision, after everyone has given their opinion, otherwise everyone will want to implement their idea, and that will lead to a disaster, guaranteed! Does this mean that the coach is superior to the players? What can a coach do without the players?

Man is a spirit, living in a body and possessing a soul

In the previous stories, we have explained where man comes from, and we have pointed out that this knowledge would be crucial for us in order to fully understand what happens next. We have said that man comes from the kingdom of heaven, and we have explained why. Based on this knowledge, we can now understand why man is a spirit.

In the story Similarities between the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth, we explained why man resembles God. Based on this, we understand why man is a spirit: because God is Spirit. When you see a lion, you know directly, without being told, that his children are also lions. You don’t have to be told. In the same way when you see a mango seed, you know that by planting it, you will have a mango tree. You don’t need prophecy for that, because you know that a parent can only beget something of the same nature. And it’s the same with man (I write with a lowercase m, because I know that you understand that we are talking about man as a species, and not man as masculine): when God created man, He said let Us make man in our image and likeness. In other words, let us create man, so that he may be like us (the us here implies the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit of course). And since God is Spirit, it is logical that, in order to be like Him, we must also be spirits.

Now, perhaps you could ask yourself the question: if we are spirits, then how is it that we can be in contact with the physical world? And this is where the body comes in. Man lives in a body, so that he can come into contact with the physical world. To make it clear, let’s use the following metaphor: let’s say that man is a letter, and the only way for a letter to be mailed is to be placed in an envelope. We clearly understand that the envelope is not the letter, but just a container of the letter without which the letter cannot be mailed.

The body plays the same role for man: without a body, a man cannot come to earth. You will never see a spirit walking around here on earth, for it is a rule established by the Creator: the earth belongs to men with bodies, not to men in their original form (just spirit).

(7) The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but He has given the earth to the sons of men.

This rule is so important, that Jesus Himself, when He came to save mankind, used a body, in order to be legal on earth. Since He is God, and the world belongs to Him, He could have just come in Spirit, but He respected the rule set by Himself. After all, if He Himself does not respect His own rules, will we? One of the reasons we get angry at our leaders here on earth is that they themselves sometimes break the laws they set isn’t it?

And that applies to any body, not just the human body. When God wanted to talk to Moses, He had to use the physical body of a tree. It is the same with people we commonly call fetishes: when they make people’s faces appear in mirrors, what they are doing is just using a physical body (the mirror), in order to perform a spiritual activity on earth. What I want us to understand here is that, the role of the body is just to allow the spirit to manifest itself on earth.

That is why a man never dies — it is just his body that dies, and so he leaves the earth, because without a body, he can no longer be here. He becomes illegal for earth. To come to the earth, what God does is just that He gives our spirit a body, so that we are able to interact with the physical realities of earth.

This is also why when our body dies, our spirit (which is us) goes either to heaven or to hell for eternity. The spirit never dies with the body, because the body is only an envelope for the spirit.

While our body allows us to be in contact with the physical world (allowing us to touch, see, feel, listen and taste), our spirit allows us to be in contact with the spiritual world (allowing us to talk to spirits — God and even evil spirits for some people — and listen to them) and our soul allows us to be in contact with ourselves (allowing us to feel, think and decide). Our soul is the center of our intellect, our will and our emotions.

Man dwells in a body but possesses a soul, so that he can make the information of his spirit comprehensible. By the way, everything revolves around the spirit. If you receive a spiritual message and you do not have a soul, how will you understand that message? We need an intellect, allowing us to understand the information we receive. And that intellect is in our soul. Once the spiritual message is received and understood, how will you decide to act, if you have no soul? We need the will, to be able to make decisions, after having understood them, and that is why we need a soul. Also, once you have made your decision, how will you enjoy the positive fallout or feel sorry for the negative fallout without a soul? We need emotions, in order to feel, and emotions are in the soul.

Man is a species that is a spirit, which lives in a body, and has a soul.

Question of the week: When you make important decisions, do you base yourself only on what your brain (soul) tells you, or do you also consider what your spirit tells you?

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May the Grace of God help us to obey His Law.

Thank you for reading me😊

Resources

(1) Genesis 1:11

(2) Genesis 1:21

(3) Genesis 2:19–20

(4) Genesis 2:23

(5) Genesis 1:26

(6) Psalm 115:16