Greater Loss vs. Greater Gain
We beleivers in Christ should not be
surprised by this: our natural man is dead toward God ever since we are born. It
is written that my mother conceived me in sin! Our precious Father in
heaven, is still very active at work through the Spirit of Christ the Holy
Spirit; Ruach Hakkadosh.
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me; Psa. 51:5.
Our souls ever since the Garden of Eden,
“Episode of Fall” are devastated. Peccatum Originale- Latin word
means Original Sin. This affects all humanity, in various format. We
have no inner spiritual life; and this means our life was endangered by the
life giving Spirit of God. Good news is, The Spirit of God indwells in
every believer in Christ.
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life; Jn. 6: 63.
Biblical idea of original sin – the idea that all humans are born sinners,
receiving a sinful nature as sons of Adam and daughters of Eve. “This verse is
both by Jewish and Christian, by ancient and later, interpreters, generally and
most truly understood of original sin.” (Poole)
For the Son of man is
come to seek and to save. Therefore he went to lodge with the publicans and the
sinner in order to save; Lk 19:10.
Lost Zacchaeus was seeking for Jesus. The reality was, Jesus came to seek him. When the transformation came because of Jesus, in a sense, Zacchaeus was a loss to his parents; to the religious leaders, to his community, even to his friends he might have had. But, Zacchaeus was not lost to God.
“As the story of his conversion unfolds, his seeking Jesus (Luke 19:3) turned out to be the result of Jesus’ first seeking him (Luke 19:10).” (Pate)
Strong's Greek: 622. ἀπόλλυμι (apollumi) -- To destroy, to
perish, …
Word Origin: Derived from the preposition ἀπό (apo, meaning
"from" or "away") and the base of ὄλλυμι (ollymi, meaning
"to destroy" or "to lose"). • אָבַד (abad, ): Often
translated as "to perish" …[i]
Jesus is the only one who can restore
our souls. Our hearts are hardened willingly to serve the enemy of our
souls. By nature we serve ourselves, and that is idolatry of our hearts/self! With
our own selfish desires we want to worship ourselves and serve the enemy. So, the
joy of communicating with God, and worshipping God of The Truth is lost!
This means our souls are in trouble with fear, worry and anxiety. Depression, guilt, anger, bitterness and other issues, the maladies of the heart fills us because we lost our True Personal Identity!
Soul is the intellectual property endowed to mankind at the Creation of Adam and Eve in the Garden. The breath of God, the wind of God, Ruach Hakkadosh, the Spirit of God breathed into the nostrils of man, in our souls and gave life, i.e.; God’s image was parted to mankind. This image of God in us was lost at the colossal tragedy at the Garden! God’s breath is there with us, but His image in us was lost! So, here we are in the fallen image, and in the image and likeness of fallen Adam and Eve!
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:
and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the
air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing
that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created
he him; male and female created he them; Gen. 1: 26-27.
And Adam lived an hundred and thirty
years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his
name Seth: Gen. 5:3.
Genesis 5:3 When Adam was 130 years old, he had a son in his …he had a son in his own likeness, after his own image. This phrase echoes the language of Genesis 1:26-27, where God creates man in His own image. Here, the transmission of the …[ii]
And begot a son in his own
likeness, after his image, and named him Seth: Even as Seth was in Adam’s
fallen image and likeness, so also is
every one of us. We are all sons and daughters of Adam, born fallen even as
Adam was fallen. It would be redundant to say it, but every other person has
been born in Adam’s image and likeness except Jesus.[iii]
Our precious soul consists of mind,
will, intellect, and emotions; the metaphysical aspects of humanity, and that is
very priceless and was given to us at the time of conception. We are all born
in the image of man, as descendants of Adam and Eve. So, we had lost the priceless,
precious image of God in us!
So, the Son of man came to save that
was ruined, devastated, destroyed, perished, smashed, fell, dismantled, and lost! Scriptural references for soul health: Psa. 30: 2;
120: 7; 34: 15; 17 ; 41: 4; 46: 1; 103:1-2.
Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his
holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Psa.
103: 1-2.
David understood that true worship was something deeply inward, of the soul. It is not just about outward forms or expressions, but also about something real from the soul. “Soul music is the very soul of music.” (Spurgeon)
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth; 3 Jn. 2.
“Both verbs [for prosper and be in health] belonged to the everyday language of letter writing” This phrase was so common that sometimes it was condensed into only initials, and everyone knew what the writer meant just from the initials. (Stott).
Health of our soul is so important for our overall health. The third Person of the Trinity, The Holy Spirit; Ruach Hakkadosh breaths life into our soul once a person becomes a believer in Jesus Christ.
“It is a wicked wresting
of Scripture to deny that original sin and natural depravity are here taught.
Surely men who cavil at this doctrine have need to be taught of the Holy Spirit
what be the first principles of the faith.” (Spurgeon)
[i] Bible Hub https://biblehub.com › greek
[ii] Bible Hub https://biblehub.com ›
genesis
[iii]Enduring Word
https://enduringword.com › bible-commentary Enduring
Word Bible Commentary Genesis Chapter 5
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