Genesis 2:7 (NKJV) 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 being.
We are a three-part being, namely, body, soul and spirit. God made human out of the dust of the ground. The form of man that was made of dust only came alive after God had breathed into it. Therefore, the living being was made alive by the spirit.
However, in this modern age, man has placed a huge emphasis on the body. We spend time exercising to ensure that we stay healthy, have a well-toned body and good physique to look good in different clothes. We invest in anti-aging products, and some even undergo plastic surgeries or other procedures to look young, but eventually, our bodies will turn into ashes, regardless of whether we are buried or cremated.
The body is temporal, but it is the spirit of man that is the eternal being. Therefore, the spirit man is the real man that will live for eternity. While we should take care of our health and try to look good, we should not spend too much time and emphasis on it. Rather, we should spend most of our time and effort in developing the spirit man and drawing closer to God, because it is this part of man that will eventually leave the body and return to the presence of the Lord.
Many of us have neglected developing the spirit, but this is the part of man where faith is developed, the gift of the Holy Spirit operates, and through which the Holy Spirit leads us. Therefore, we need to understand this part of our being—the spirit man—so we can be led by the Spirit and be effective in living out our new life in Christ. We should constantly be reminded that we are a new creation. The new creation is found in the spirit man where God removes the sin nature and gives us His nature. We have the nature of God in our spirit the moment we are born again.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
The born-again believer is a “new creation”, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and has the nature of God. The born-again believer has the imputed righteousness and is sealed with the Holy Spirit for salvation. We are seen as righteous in Christ, even though we are not yet perfect and still have many flaws in our lives.
All of us are beautifully and wonderfully made. Therefore, we should not spend too much time on our physical body. The spirit man is the eternal being. Therefore, we should place most of our time developing it and drawing closer to God.
Sermon Series: The Make-up of Man (Part 1)
人的灵
创世纪2：7耶和华神用地上的尘土造人，将生气吹在他鼻孔里，他就成了有灵的活人，名叫亚当。
人是由身体、魂和灵三部分组成的。由尘土塑造而成的人类始祖亚当，是在耶和华将自己生命的气息吹在他鼻孔里， 他才成了有灵的活人。
无论如何，现代的人，都把重心放在身（肉）体上。我们花时间运动来确保身体健康，锻炼一个健美的身躯，如此一来，穿起不同款式的服装，体态也优美。我们购买抗老美容产品，有些人甚至通过整容或其它手术使自己看起来更年轻，可惜最终，我们的身体将被埋葬或火化，归于尘土。
人的身体是短暂的，但是人的灵却是永恒的。所以人的灵才是永活的“真”人。虽然我们该照顾身体的健康，尽量赏心悦目；我们却不该投注太多的精力在肉身上，也不应过分强调。相反地，我们该拨出更多时间和精力来培育灵人，更亲近神，那是因为人的灵终将离开肉身，回到上帝的同在里。
我们当中很多人忽略灵命的栽培，岂不知人的灵正是信心成长的所在。圣灵的恩赐也在这里运作，圣灵藉着灵人指引我们。因此我们必须了解人的这部分——灵人–才能由圣灵带领，有效地活出基督里的新生命。我们应该时不时提醒自己：我们是新造的人。新造之物是在灵人身上找到的，在那里上帝除去了罪恶的本性并把祂的品性赐给了我们。就在我们重生的那一刻，我们的灵就具备了上帝的品性。
哥林多后书5：17若有人在基督里，他就是新造的人，旧事已过，都变成新的了。
重生的信徒是个“新造的人”，得到圣灵的赋能，具备上帝的品性。重生的基督徒拥有白白得来的公义，由圣灵封印作为得救的凭据。我们在基督里被看作公义，尽管我们尚不完美，生命中依然有许多瑕疵。
我们被造，奇妙可畏，所以我们不应该花太多时间在必死的身体上。而人的灵是永远存在的。因此我们应该把大多数的时间花在培养灵人，与神亲近上面。
讲章系列：人的组成（第一部分）
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