0803 – Our Spirit Is an Eternal Being 我们的灵是永恒的

Man was created in God’s image, and in God’s likeness.

Genesis 1:26-27(NKJV) Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

In other words, God Himself was the template that He used to create man. God made man as much like Himself as possible. We are in the same class of beings as God. We are not God, but we have been made in the image of God. Man was created for fellowship. For God to be able to have fellowship with man, man has to be in the same class of beings as God.

John4:24(NKJV) God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Man was created in God’s image, and in God’s likeness, so man is a spirit. God is a Spirit. Angels are spirits. Satan is a spirit. Demons are spirits. Man is a spirit that lives inside a body.

The part of us that is the real us is our spirit, not our soul and not our body. We are spirit beings. We have a soul. And we live inside a physical body. Our body is the “clothing” for our spirit. Just as the space suit allows man to live in space, our “earth suit” allows us to live in this physical world. Our spirit and our body are not the same. There is an inward man, and there is an outward man.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NKJV)Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Both are called a “man”. Our outward man is perishing (progressively decaying) and it is growing older daily. This is speaking about our physical body. We will all die one day because our organs will eventually fail us.

The outward man is temporal, the inward man is eternal. One is perishing and the other is being renewed, so they cannot be the same. The outward man is seen, whilst the inward man is not seen. Our inward man will never cease to exist. The inward man, referring to the spirit, will get stronger and be renewed each day as we feed on the Word and pray in the Spirit.

We have an eternal spirit. We have been born into an existence from which we will never escape.

Sermon Series : From the Closet to the Street (Part 2)

我们的灵是永恒的

人是照着 神的形像造的,有着神的样式。

创世纪 1:26-27 神说,我们要照着我们的形像,按着我们的样式造人,使他们管理海里的鱼,空中的鸟,地上的牲畜,和全地,并地上所爬的一切昆虫。神就照着自己的形像造人,乃是照着他的形像造男造女。

换句话说, 神是以祂自己为模板来创造人类。 神尽可能地把人类造得像祂自己。我们和 神是一类人。我们不是 神,但我们乃是照着 神的形像被造的。人被造是为了与祂团契。 神若要与人团契,人必须与神同属一类。

约翰福音 4:24 神是个灵,所以拜他的,必须用心灵和诚实拜他。

人是照着 神的形像造的,且有神的样式,所以人是灵。神是灵。天使是灵。撒旦是灵。魔鬼是灵。人是住在肉身内的灵。

我们真正的部分是我们的灵 ,不是我们的魂,也不是我们的肉身。我们是有灵的活物。我们有魂。并且我们生存于肉身之中。我们的肉身是我们灵的“衣服”。就像“宇航服”能让人在太空生存一样,我们的“地球服”能让我们生活在这个物质世界里。我们的灵和体不是一样的。我们有内在的人,以及外在的人。

哥林多后书 4:16-18 所以我们不丧胆。外体虽然毁坏,内心却一天新似一天。我们这至暂至轻的苦楚,要为我们成就极重无比永远的荣耀。原来我们不是顾念所见的,乃是顾念所不见的。因为所见的是暂时的,所不见的是永远的。

两者都被称为“人”。我们的外在的人正在毁坏 (逐渐腐烂),并且每天都在变老。这是指我们的肉体。总有一天,我们都会死去,因为我们的器官最终会衰竭。

外在的人是短暂的,内在的人是永恒的。一个正在消亡,另一个正在更新,因此两者不可能是同一个人。外在的人是看得见的,而内在的人是看不见的。我们内在的人永远不会停止存在。当我们靠神的话语得到喂养,靠圣灵祷告的时候,内在的人会一天比一天强壮。

我们有一个永恒的灵。我们生来就无法逃脱这样的存在。

讲道系列:从内室到大街(第二部分)