Man as we behold him is not all there is of man. He is a wonderful being.
He stands in the highest order of God’s creation.
He Is A Compound.
Man was created a physical and spiritual organism. He possesses an animal
and a spiritual life. Thus he is connected with two worlds. The physical
creation is termed the “outward man,” and the spiritual, the “inward man.”
“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the
inward man is renewed day by day.” 2 Cor. 4:16. “For we know that if our
earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of
God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 2 Cor. 5:1.
“Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up
by putting you in remembrance.” 2 Pet. 1:13.
In the quotation from second Corinthians the pronoun “we” is applied to
the inward man, and the “earthly house of this tabernacle” is spoken in
reference to the outward man. In the quotation from second Peter the
pronoun “I” has for its antecedent the “inward man,” and tabernacle refers
again to the outward man.
The Outward Man Is Denominated “Body.”
In the fifth chapter of Mark’s gospel there is recorded an instance of a
woman who was diseased and suffered many things of many physicians in the
outward man. She came to Jesus and touched his garment and she felt in her
body she was healed of the plague.
The Inward Man Is Denominated “Soul.”
By the one text given above it is plainly to be seen that the outer man is
the body. Many additional texts could be given but we consider it
unnecessary, because all at once believe it.
But why not as readily believe one text which calls the inner man the
“soul”? Some will not. This is the inconsistency of man. We will quote
more than one. “When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord.”
Jonah 2:7. “But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within
him shall mourn.” Job 14:22. “And the man of God said, Let her alone; for
her soul is vexed within her.” 2 Kings 4:27.
The Inner Man Is The Responsible Man.
“Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of
rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit
of my body for the sin of my soul?” Micah 6:7. Since it is the soul that
sins, of necessity the soul becomes the responsible man.
Sin Produces Death To The Soul.
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Ezek. 18:4.
The Value Of The Soul.
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose
his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Mat.
16:26. Here the “soul,” the “inner man,” is considered of greater worth
than this world. He who secures the eternal safety of his soul has
accomplished more than he who should gain this whole world.
The Soul Does Not Lose Consciousness When The Body Dies.
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the
flesh, this is the fruit of my labor: yet what I shall choose I wot not.
For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with
Christ; which is far better: nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more
needful for you.” Phil. 1:21-24.
If there is no conscious existence after death until the final
resurrection from the grave, how could it be “far better” for Paul to
depart? For him to depart this life is to be with Christ. “We are
confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be
present with the Lord.” 2 Cor. 5:8. How can language be plainer than this?
To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
The Place Of The Soul While The Body Lies In The Grave.
The Son of God in his beautiful narrative of the rich man and Lazarus
certainly teaches a conscious existence of the departed souls of both the
wicked and the righteous. The soul of the rich man was in torment in the
flames of hell. The angels carried the poor beggar to rest and bliss in
Abraham’s bosom.
“There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen,
and fared sumptuously every day: and there was a certain beggar named
Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed
with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs
came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and
was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died,
and was buried; and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and
seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said,
Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the
tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this
flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime
receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he
is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and
you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence
to you can not; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him
to my father’s house: for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto
them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto
him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said,
Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will
repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” Luke
16:19-31.
Soul-Rest.
The immortal soul of man is a conscious entity, whether in sin or in
righteousness. If in righteousness, there is a blessed consciousness of
peace, rest, and contentment. This internal sense of happiness man enjoyed
in his primeval state. By disobedience an awful change came over him, by
which the peaceful rest and full satisfaction of the soul was destroyed,
and the terrible miseries of sin were experienced. In sin the soul still
retains its consciousness. There is in fallen man an internal knowledge of
incompleteness. There is a missing link, an awful vacancy, and a kind of
intuitive knowledge that he must give answer for certain moral
responsibilities unto a great Creator. There are deep longings, restless
fears, dark uncertainties, and desperate strugglings for a satisfactory
hope.
By the entrance of sin into the world there was implanted in the nature of
man a “lust of the flesh,” which seeks the pleasures of the world. This
never brings contentment to the soul. It reaches to something far beyond
for rest. Jesus came to this world as the soul’s Rest-giver. “Come unto
me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and
ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Mat. 11:28, 29. The name of Jesus is
sweet to the soul whose cry is not stifled by the “lusts of the flesh.” It
is the disposition of the “carnal mind” to hush the pleadings of the
hungry, thirsting spirit by bidding it wait until some future time when
its demands will be given attention. The “flesh” gains its pleasures at
the cost of the soul’s rest, and when the soul gains rest it must be at
the cost of the lust of the flesh, and thus the war goes on between the
flesh and the spirit. How often in the days of one’s youth the soul
struggles hard for freedom and pleads for rest; the “flesh” quiets its
fears by promising to yield to its desires in maturer years. Old age comes
on, and the flesh, unwilling yet to make a sacrifice of the world, bids
the restless soul to hope for joy in heaven.
This delusive scheme often proves a success, allowing the flesh to go on
reaping its carnal lusts with the soul endeavoring to satisfy itself with
the hope of rest above. It is true there are wondrous joys in heaven, but
it is not all who shall get to enjoy them. It is very dangerous and
delusive to encourage the heart to hope for a home in heaven when the
flesh still loves this world. Bright hopes of endless glory in the world
above cheer us on amid the storms of life to that precious goal, but we
would not desire you to pass through this world heavy-laden, with a hope
of unloading your cargo of sorrow and pain somewhere in the beyond and
being happy there. As we cross the ocean of life, there is to be found a
blessed port where you can discharge your load of sin and sorrow and take
on joys to your vessel’s full capacity. Beyond life’s sail there remains
no port of exchange. The soul fitted for the delights of heaven, enjoys
heavenly delights in this world. In the divine economy there is a
sufficiency of grace to enable the soul to be blessedly at rest amid the
most trying circumstances of life. When our happy spirits, no longer
holden by the house of clay, shall soar away to heavenly rest, scenes and
experiences will arise of such a nature as to greatly enhance the felicity
of our hearts, but the revelation of heaven upon a pardoned soul, and
“The enjoyment of heavenly bliss
E’en in a world like this,”
to the humble Christian heart can never be told. Do not therefore, dear
reader, permit the thoughts of great happiness in the paradise above, nor
of some fancied coming age of universal peace and joy on earth, to hide
from your soul the precious realization of heavenly enjoyments, sweet
walks with God, and tastes of love in this present life and time. We
repeat, there is wondrous peace and happiness in heaven; all is joy there,
and upon the soul yielded to God’s control the sweets of heaven’s graces
are distilled like the gentle siftings of the evening dew upon the flower,
transporting the soul to wondrous joys all along the way of life. “Oh,
this blessed holy rest is to be found only ‘on Jesus’ loving breast.’ ”
Trials may come, storm-clouds gather, and billows threaten, yet “in Jesus
all is bright.” Make him your haven of rest.
Eternal Happiness.
Happiness forever—these words sound sweet and dear to almost every heart.
There is nothing repulsive in their tone, but, oh, what strength they give
to the weary, waiting soul. The hope of never-ending happiness in a bright
celestial world enables us to patiently endure the tortures and
afflictions of this sin-cursed, terrestrial sphere. It is not difficult to
persuade most people that somewhere in the great beyond there is a place
of peace and bliss, prepared for the children of God to inhabit forever.
But few men have disposition of spirit to wrest the clear declarations of
inspiration on this delightful theme. Perhaps no other subject in the
Bible is so universally received. Eternal rest to the Christian is the
voice of the Word forever settled in heaven. Oh, how our hearts glow with
rapture and our bosoms heave with waves of love and praise to God as we by
faith look into an eternity of perfect bliss prepared for us. “Come, ye
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world.” Mat. 25:34. “Well done, thou good and faithful
servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” “In thy presence is fulness
of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.” Psa. 16:11.
“The righteous shall go away into eternal life.” Mat. 25:46. “Then we
which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the
Lord.” 1 Thes. 4:17.
These few texts are sufficient to convince the reader that there is a
heaven of eternal joys, but before leaving this subject we will give one
text of caution. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall
enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father
which is in heaven.” Mat. 7:21.
Eternal Punishment.
Misery, wretchedness and woe forever—these words have an unpleasant sound.
They form no enjoyable theme for meditation. People usually reject all
thoughts of eternal unhappiness. Because of its unpleasantness many have
sought to explain the doctrine away. However it is as positively declared
in the sacred volume as the doctrine of eternal happiness. “And these
shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life
eternal.” Mat. 25:46. The punishment of the wicked in duration is equal
with the life of the righteous, but some, who no doubt have not been
rescued from the fears of hell, have endeavored to make the words
everlasting and eternal as used in the above texts differ in meaning with
respect to time.
Upon this subject we will quote from the treatise entitled, “What Is the
Soul?” by D. S. Warner: “The words ‘eternal life,’ as the great gift of
God to men, occur in the New Testament just twenty-nine times, and in
every instance the word eternal is derived from the Greek word _aionios_;
the same word which tells how long the punishment of the wicked shall last
in Mat. 25:46, and elsewhere. The words ‘everlasting life’ and ‘life
everlasting’ occur in the New Testament fourteen times, and by reference
to the Greek Testament you will find the word everlasting is, without a
single exception, translated from the same Greek word—_aionios_. Here then
we learn the wisdom of Heaven finds and uses no stronger term in all the
forty-three promises and statements of eternal and everlasting life to the
righteous in the New Testament than the word _aionion_, the very same word
which he uses to declare the eternal and everlasting punishment of the
wicked.... The Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit have described the
duration of their own existence, attributes and glory by the use of the
same word which we have seen fixes the eternal punishment of the wicked.
“In Heb. 5:9 we read that Christ became the author of ‘eternal [_aionion_]
salvation unto all them that obey him.’ If therefore this word does not
mean eternal, our salvation will finally fail and drop us back into the
hands of the devil. In Heb. 9:12 we read that Christ has obtained eternal
(_aionion_) redemption. If then the word only means a long period of time
our eternal redemption is not yet secured. In Heb. 9:15 we are told that
by means of Christ’s death for our redemption, we have ‘received the
promise of eternal [_aionion_] inheritance.’ Will the inheritance that
Christ has purchased by his death come to an end?”
In speaking of hell-fire in the ninth chapter of the gospel by Mark the
eternal—_aionion_—immortal Son of God five times says it is a fire “which
is not” and “never shall be quenched.” If it never shall be quenched, can
we possibly err in supposing that it will burn forever? “Then shall he say
also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” Mat. 25:41. “And
shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Rev. 20:10. “And the
smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever.” Rev. 14:11.
There are yet many other scriptures which positively teach everlasting
punishment in an endless hell. Whatever fears this doctrine may bring to
deluded souls, and however zealously they may labor for its refutation, it
stands unshaken. If you fear eternal punishment do not endeavor to calm
your fears by seeking to believe there is no endless torment, but seek the
Savior, who will save you from your sins and fears, and give you hope,
blessed hope, of everlasting peace and rest.