Herbert W Armstrong

   Without the knowledge of the spirit of man, what it means and what it's doing in us, then our grasp of why we go through the things that we do, why we pray, why we study, why we fast, why we meditate, all of those things are out of focus until we understand the spirit in man. It is vital knowledge for us to be able to grasp, and the more you understand that, the more you will see why Mr. Armstrong's book is truly the most important book written since the Bible. And certainly should be something that we're going back to and rereading, going over it and really putting it into our minds because it's vitally important knowledge.

   Now let's just quickly review what we talked about last week. We talked about how man on his own is incapable of understanding spiritual knowledge, but he can't really grasp it. Because as we at least referred to very quickly, spiritual knowledge can come only through the influence of God's spirit and man doesn't have God's spirit within him right now.

   We talked about how God began to work out a great plan, how that he was eternal and how that in that course of eternity as the two members of the God family were living in eternity or inhabiting eternity as Isaiah puts it, that they were living in perfect harmony because they were living in the same way, a way that would produce perfect harmony and joy and peace. And they wanted to expand that way.

   We find that in the process of trying to expand and to develop that way and spread it out even further to enjoy the fellowship and the closeness that comes when other beings live that same way in perfect harmony and peace and cooperation, it created the angelic beings of spirit. And we brought out the aspect that spirit beings, once their character is set, it is set for all time. It cannot change.

   So we created the angels, or they created the angels, brought them into existence, and then we talked about Satan's rebellion and how Satan's character was set against God's way. And the other angels as well that went with him. How their character, their basic approach was set against God.

   And going on, we brought out that aspect that there is a penalty that comes upon them as a result of that. The penalty for man breaking the law of God is death, but as we also brought out, spirit beings cannot die. Therefore, their penalty is different, and we talked a bit about that as well.

   And then as we were wrapping up last week, bringing out the point that God had proven by this particular portion of his plan, he had proven that even spirit beings, eternal beings, who do have the knowledge of His way and yet don't have God's holy, righteous, and perfect character to live that way, cannot be trusted to administer God's government. Because somewhere down the line, if that character is not there, there will be rebellion. There will be chaos, and God's way is destroyed. So God is not going to give them that kind of power.

   And as we were bringing out at that point, God then began the process of reproducing Himself through human beings, creating man as physical, so that man could change. Not only could, but would have to change because everything physical does, that man could change. He could make wrong decisions and yet repent of that, turn around and begin going the right way, man could change. And therefore could begin to build the character of God over a period of time, even though he might make mistakes along the way. He could still begin to build the character and mind of God.

   At the same time, if he rejected God's way, he was only physical. And therefore, if he chose not to have the character of God, he would then be destroyed. Not live forever as the spirit beings but simply destroyed and ceased to exist.

   One other point that I want to emphasize that we brought out there because it's a very important one to keep in mind. Our life is composed of choices. We are constantly in the process of making choices. We may choose to do what God says, or we may choose to do what is right in our own eyes, which is in fact what Satan wants us to do. If we make the right choices, we build godly character. If we make the wrong choices, we build the character of Satan. Because Satan does have character. But his character is an evil character. It is a character which is negative, which is concerned with the self, which tears down everyone else. It is a self-centered competitive type of character.

   Now, next summer we will have the Olympics. And you watch the competition that is there. And you will see that it takes incredible character to reach that level of physical human performance. But the character that is being exemplified is not godly character. It is a character based on competition, trying to get for the self, or for your country, which is an extension of the self.

   So, as well tied in with that, I guess it's kind of a subpoint is a realization that a failure to make a decision at all, the failure to make a choice is a choice. And it is always the wrong choice. So we need to have those aspects in mind, again reminding ourselves how important this knowledge really is.

   Let's continue on now. Because we went through that phase talking about the spirit world and how God dealt with them. Now, we don't find a lot more about the spirit world as we continue on. As we'll see today, Satan comes on the scene. As he deals with Eve, but you find Satan coming on the scene as a serpent. He is not, you know, he doesn't have Satan painted across his side or anything like that. He doesn't stand there with the horns and a pitchfork and the smell of brimstone around him. He appears as an animal. Typical animal that would be seen by anybody else around. Well, anybody else, it's only Adam and Eve, but I mean a typical kind of animal they would see.

   And God does not come on the scene and say keep an eye out for snakes because they might be Satan. God doesn't even reveal to Adam and Eve that there is a Satan. They don't even know it. When do we find out that Satan appears as a serpent? Well, as a matter of fact, you find it in Revelation chapter 12. Where it says that old serpent Satan, the devil. Revelation chapter 12 is 4000 years after Genesis chapter 3.

   Now, you see, there are other things that began to be shown and I think I mentioned it in the Bible study. I was asking, or maybe it was on the Day of Atonement. Anyway, I was asking a Jewish guide about Satan. And the Jewish concept and her, her response was, in Judaism, we have no concept of a Satan. And as I mentioned at the time, my immediate thought was that explains a lot about Judaism. Because they don't even understand there is such a being. They don't understand what they're facing, what problems, what, what their enemy really is.

   But you see in the Old Testament, you don't find that much about Satan. It's just not revealed because it's not important for them to understand. It is important for us to understand certain things, but there's a lot about the angelic world we don't know. Why, don't we know it? Because we don't need to know it. Because I'm not responsible for angels, I'm responsible for me as a physical human being. So God doesn't reveal a lot of things to me about the angelic world, though there's a great deal going on. Another whole dimension that we're not even aware of.

   You know, are there angels in this room? Well, I certainly think so. How many? I don't know. Where are they? Well, I don't know. What do they look like? I don't know. Are they kind of sitting along the row up here at the top, watching, listening, so I don't know, could be. But I don't need to know, neither do you. So God doesn't reveal that to us.

   There are those rare examples in the Bible where it was important for someone to understand that, as you remember, was it Elijah's servant or Elisha's servant, one of the two. They thought they were about to be wiped out, and the comment that that the prophet made was there more with us than with them. And he prayed that God would open the eyes of the servant, and he could see all around the hillsides covered with angelic beings. So it was important for him to understand at that point, but right now it's not important for us to understand that there may be a time, but not now. So God doesn't reveal a lot of things about the angels to us.

   So we've looked at, in essence what we know about the time prior to Adam with the spirit beings. Now we find man coming into existence, and we need to begin seeing how God deals with mankind at the beginning as well as how he deals with us now, because there has been a change. And begin to understand more about what the spirit of man spirit in man is and why there is a spirit in man.

   Now, let's go back to Genesis chapter 1 and begin understanding a bit of this. Now this may be to a certain extent a review for some of you who were in Bible study, but at the time, there were only about fourth of the people in Bible study. So I know that most of you have not been through it. So I want you to note just a couple of things without taking the time to go through a lot of detail about it.

   In this book of Genesis, God is revealing Himself to His people, a physical people who do not have the spirit of God, and therefore, he is revealing Himself largely in physical terms. He begins to show these people who are now, remember, the ones who are beginning to read this are the people of Israel who have been brought out of captivity in Egypt. They are now in the desert. And Moses has been inspired to write these 5 books. So that while they are in the desert, this information is being made available to them.

   So for those people who are, who have come out of a nation that worshiped all kinds of wrong gods, gods who look like bulls and like birds and gods who were gods of the afterlife and all kinds of strange beliefs. You have to excuse me today I have a bit of congestion. Anyway, they're worshiping all kinds of gods, all kinds of strange beliefs, and God has destroyed that empire and now brings those people out, but he doesn't want them worshiping Him like the Egyptians worship their gods. He doesn't want them to look upon him like the Egyptians look upon their gods, because their concept of God in Egypt was totally wrong.

   They saw God as someone who must be placated. You offer up something to him to kind of keep him happy. You know, that's the same concept. It's believed in many religions today that God is harsh and mean. And you have to kind of keep him off your back. Yeah, that's why many churches talk about many Protestant churches especially, talk about CEF Christians. Stands for Christmas, Easter, and funerals. It's the only time they come to church. And that's the whole thing for them because they feel like, well, if I go a couple of times a year, then maybe God won't be too mad at me. And I'm kind of staying on his good side. And they offer up to God this little pittance. Oh they pay a little bit of money, not really tithing, at least in many cases, but a little bit because after all, gotta get as they put it, the man upstairs behind me.

   And they begin to look upon God much as the pagans looked upon their gods. They don't understand the true God and how great he really is. So God here is revealing to His people, this is the God you are called out to serve. This is the God who has brought you out and said, Now you're my people, and I'm going to tell you the way to live your lives.

   So he begins by revealing Himself there in the beginning, God created or brought into existence the heaven and the earth. The word there in the Hebrew for created means to bring into existence in an orderly form from nothing. So God begins to show his power over all matter, but everything you see, he says, I made it out of nothing. I simply said let it be there, and there it was. So he begins to reveal himself as a God of incredible mind-boggling power. He can make everything that exists out of nothing.

   You come on down a little further in verse 3 (Genesis 1:3), we find that that the earth was covered with darkness, and there are reasons for that and I won't take the time to go into, have to do with Satan's rebellion and Satan's love of darkness. And he says in verse 3, God said, let there be light, and there was light.

   Now again, what an incredible being. The Egyptians worship the sun. God said, I made it. How did I make it? Well, I said, let there be light, zap, there's light. That's all there is to it. So God shows not only was all matter, something that he created and was therefore under his control. But so is all energy. All matter and energy that's come into existence is completely under his control, and it also shows that he has power over darkness.

   We find in verse 6 that he brings this firmament into existence in the 2nd day. He calls that heaven. We come to the 3rd day and he gathers the waters together, and he brings the earth, the dry land, out. And in verse 11, God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth, and it was so.

   Now, again, here is an incredible statement of God's power. First of all, he brings matter into existence from nothing. Then he brings energy into existence, light and heat, and all the things that the sun and the moon can do. The sun specifically in this case. He shows his incredible power there and then he takes these inanimate things and gives them life. A chemical existence that we call life, at least, that's the term that we refer to it by. He brings them into a an existence where they can now not only live and function, but also the power to reproduce themselves. So that he sets into motion a law for them, which enables them to continue existing from that point forward. And that's all on the 3rd day.

   The next day we find the lights in the firmament in heaven to divide the day and the night, let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years. So we're talking about the moon, the stars, and the circuit that the earth travels through and how this is a regular thing and that God controls seasons, days, nights, and so on.

   You come to the next, that's the 4th day. The next day we find in verse 20, the waters bringing forth abundantly the moving creature that has life. The fowl of the air and so on. So now, instead of having just plant life, something that exists but really has no consciousness. I know there have been people who have tried to prove that plants have consciousness, that when you slice a tomato, it gets upset, but it's kind of hard to prove.

   However, now we have animals and animals do have a certain brain power. There's an awareness of what's going on. And there's an instinct built within them, so they begin doing things. So animals are aware of a variety of things. So God is beginning to bring into existence now not only matter, energy, and life, but consciousness, brain power. Again, this has not existed before, but God shows that he has the power to do that.

   You find in the 6th day then that God brings man into existence. And God said in verse 26, Let us make man in our image after our likeness. Let them have dominion, rulership, governmental authority over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air, over the cattle, over all the earth, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, the image of God created he him, male and female created he them, and God blessed them. God said unto them, Be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it.

   Now, there's much that we can draw from that, but notice here that God says, I want men to be in my image and my likeness. Which means I want man to look like me as far as my basic form, because man is going to be my offspring. So it's only natural he should look like me, but also, He is to be like me in the way that he thinks. His mind is to be like my mind. He is to have the character of God.

   However, God did not create that character in him. It could not be created in him by simply God saying, let there be character. Character can only come through making choices. So God now creates a being which not only has consciousness as animals, but the ability to think, to reason, to make choices. To choose what course of action he will follow. And it gives him a certain responsibility. So that he can fulfill that command to make those choices. He gives him responsibility to rule over the earth. To exercise dominion and government as you could show on show by going further in the same way that God does. And to choose to live God's way. So he gave him those commands of what choices he should make, but he had the freedom to make whatever choices he wanted.

   So God now shows that he has the power to bring that into existence. And then as we brought out in Bible study, chapter 2 shows he also has authority over time, because he made the 7th day and made it holy. No human being can make anything holy in spite of what Jehovah's Witnesses will say. They come to your door and you say anything about the Sabbath, they say, oh, we keep every day holy. That's nice, nice trick. How did you make them holy? Only God can make something holy, and he made the Sabbath day holy, and that's it. So, how are you gonna keep Tuesday, holy? You can't do it, but that's another subject.

   So here has revealed to his people, I brought everything into existence. Out of those things which I made, I made plants and animals, and I made human beings and gave them the ability to think and reason and choose and build character as a result of that.

   Now how is it that we are able to do those things, how is it that we're able to think and to reason and to choose? What is it that sets us apart from the animal world? Because, as we mentioned last time, science cannot see that we're any different. I still remember a junior high school principal who taught all of us, the only difference between a human being and a monkey is that a human being has an opposable thumb. Meaning you can pick things up, whereas a monkey can't do that. Now, you know, I mean, who was gonna disagree with him if that's what he thought he was, but at the same time, is that the only difference?

   It reminded me of during one of the debates that Abraham Lincoln had with one of his opponents. He stood up and, and he said he got kind of upset about it and he said, this man doesn't have the brains of a jackass. And the man got all upset and Lincoln turned around and he said, Well, who am I to disagree? He does have the brains of the jackass. So it kind of reminded me of that with this principal teaching us that the only difference between man and monkey is that man has an opposable thumb. I was always tempted to ask him a few questions about his wife, but anyway.

   Science can't see that we're any different. Now they can't really tell what the difference is. They can see there's, there's something different as far as that's concerned, but they are doing all kinds of research. In fact, if you go across, Interstate 12 up there across Louisiana, you'll find that just off the road there is a world renowned primate research center. And there they are trying to teach primates, monkeys, and so on of various sorts to communicate as human beings. Now there's a rudimentary communication, but not the ability to think and to reason like a human, nowhere near it.

   The difference, the reason they can't tell that difference is because they can't understand anything spiritual. Because they cannot accept the fact that there's something outside the realm of science and nature. So therefore, as I mentioned last time, all education. All science is essentially off base in this world because they don't understand that simple fact that man is not the highest form of the animals, but is a totally different creation. Entirely separate because there is a spirit in man.

   Back in Job chapter 32. Job chapter 32. He says here in verse 8 (Job 32:8). But there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty gives them understanding. Now that says an awful lot in that one verse. It talks about two spirits in reality, but let's just note the one. There is a spirit in man.

   Now what do we mean by a spirit in man? Is this as religion has taught for many years, an immortal soul, something which has a separate existence all by itself, thinks and reasons. Some religions have taught that we have existed always as immortal souls, and then we were born as physical beings and God stuck us inside a physical body. And as soon as we die, then we're released and our immortal soul goes back again.

   Well, the spirit that we're talking about is much more like a power, like, let's say electricity or something along that line. Again, Mr. Armstrong has used that example many times of a light with electricity flowing through it. That's a very good analogy to show the difference between human and animal brain, because as you look quantitatively or qualitatively either way, there's not that big a difference between us and animals.

   If you take a light, just a light bulb. Screw it into a socket, but there's no power going through it. Do you have a light bulb? Yes, you do. But is it giving any light? No, there's nothing there. You turn on the power, and what happens? Suddenly you're emitting light. It becomes something almost entirely different. But if you look at it, does it weigh anything different? Oh no, is the same. The electricity flowing through doesn't change the weight of it. Is it still made out of glass and metal and, and so on? Well, yeah, it still is. And if you had no way to measure electricity. You know, let's say, you know, you take this out to some heathen people somewhere who don't know about electricity. And you do this, they're going to think what a miraculous, wonderful thing. Now you know there's electricity flowing through it, but they don't know that. It's a miracle. This thing is light. You turn it off, there's nothing there.

   In the same way where the mind is concerned. You have an animal brain, that's perfectly good. But it doesn't have the spirit of man flowing through it. Now when you take a brain that is perfectly good and suddenly you put the spirit in man flowing through that brain. You can't look at it outwardly and see that it's any different than the animal brain. But it becomes something totally different because of that power flowing through. So the spirit in man is like that power. It animates. It makes alive. It gives the ability to think and reason. That spirit in man imparts human intellect.

   Notice back in I Corinthians chapter 2. I Corinthians chapter 2. He says here, I'm breaking in on the thought, we'll come back and cover both of these chapters later on. And in chapter 2 and verse 9 (I Corinthians 2:9), he says, but as it is written, Eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love Him. But God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit, for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man save the spirit of man which is in him. Even so, the things of God knows no man but the Spirit of God.

   And we went through that last week, referring to that. It tells us that we do not know spiritual things without God's spirit, but it also tells us we can't know the things of a human being without the spirit of man flowing through us. There's no intellect, there's no mind, there's no intelligence until the spirit in man flows through. Then we have the ability to understand the things of a man. What are the things of a man? Physical things. The things of this physical universe.

   And what we are able to comprehend is incredible. What the mind can do is almost beyond belief. For the average person, we use less than 10% of the actual mental power that we have. That makes us wonder what we really could do if we push ourselves further. 10%. We are able to do incredible things. There are people, of course, that can understand much more than you and I as far as those physical things are concerned.

   I made some comment the other day about black holes, and I was talking with a fellow who's got a master's degree in physics, and he said, he, you know, it can't exist. All the great physicists say yes, they exist, but you know, astronomers and so on, but they say it can't exist and I don't know how that I asked him, can you explain that? He said, no, can't explain that at all. Someone else came up and explained it to me. And it's a simple explanation. In a black hole, all the known laws of physics cease to function. Oh well, that explains it, doesn't it? I mean, you know, that's, that's literally and and that's truly what the scientists believe. And at that point everything changes. And that's the way you explain these things and you know, my mind doesn't understand that. I don't begin to comprehend those, but we're still dealing with physical things.

   Man is able to understand physical things because of the spirit in man. It imparts intellect, but it does something else that's very important. It is the imprint of the character and personality of that individual being. The spirit in man is what records the character and personality that is there.

   Now we used an analogy of a cassette tape. All of us have seen cassette tapes and, and cassette tape players. You can take that cassette tape and stick it in the player, and punch the play button, and let's say it's a musical tape and you get music out of it. And you can play it over and over again. You always get the same music. Well, now suppose you happen to have that cassette player with you, and you leave it on your car, you take off and it falls on the road and just gets broken in pieces. Take the cassette out of it. The cassette player is no good. It's destroyed. You can take the cassette out and you can set it back. And maybe months later, you buy another cassette player, take the cassette, stick it in, punch the play button, and what do you get? Exactly the same music. Exactly the same sound. The player itself really doesn't mean anything in one sense as far as the music that's going to come out of it. But the tape is what is important.

   Now, in essence, the spirit in man is like that cassette tape. And it is the imprint of the character and personality. Our body is essentially the cassette player. When it wears out. As all physical bodies will. As God intended from the beginning. What does God do? Takes that cassette. He takes it back. I'll show you that in a moment. And he holds it. And at the time of the resurrection when a brand new spirit body is given. Take out that cassette and you stick it in that spirit body, and I suppose you could say he punches our play button. And what does he get? Exactly the same person who was there before. Same personality, same character, same memories. But now, with a different body. The Spirit body. So the spirit in man is the imprint of the character and personality that's there.

   Now, of course, there's another resurrection too, two others, but one that is a positive one, the second resurrection. We have people who come up physically. They're given a physical body. That's what Ezekiel describes physical bodies coming together, bones and sinews and flesh and blood, all of it coming together. And what do you do? You take the cassette and you stick it in that physical body and you've got the same person again. You got your Grandmother, your Great Grandmother, old aunt Martha that died as a hardshell Baptist, and when she comes up in that resurrection, what's she going to be hardshell Baptist. It's gonna take some time to work with her. One of my favorites was George Meany. What's he going to be when he comes up? Still gonna be a meany. They're gonna be tough to deal with.

   OK. It's going to take a lot of work to deal with those people, but it's the same personality and same character. I think that's exciting because when I give a funeral, I always try to focus on that particular point that God promises we're going to be reunited with this person again. Oh, not the, not the physical body, but the personality, we will be reunited with an absolute promise. Because that spirit is the imprint of that character and personality. It is not a separate consciousness.

   Let's just notice a couple of scriptures that point that out to us. Ecclesiastes chapter 9. Ecclesiastes chapter 9. This congestion that I have is very helpful because sometimes I'll sneeze and it wakes up those who have drifted off.

   OK. Ecclesiastes 9. Notice verse 5 (Ecclesiastes 9:5). For the living know that they shall die, but the dead know not anything. Neither have they any more a reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. In verse 10 (Ecclesiastes 9:10), he says, Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work, nor device, no knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave whither you go. No knowledge at all.

   I'm going to do something that's a little unusual. Mr. Armstrong said he didn't want us quoting from the living Bible because of the inaccuracies in it. Well, I'm going to quote from the Living Bible, but I think he would approve the way I'm going to do it right now. I want to read you those two verses in the Living Bible plus a comment that the individual makes. In verse 5, he says, for the living at least know that they will die while the dead know nothing. They don't even have their memories. In verse 10, he says, Whatever you do, do well, for in death where you're going, there is no working or planning or knowing or understanding. And then he has a note at the bottom of the page, a footnote. These statements are Solomon's discouraged opinion and do not reflect the knowledge of God's truth on these points. And that tells you a little bit about why Mr. Armstrong said don't use that Bible.

   But you see, men cannot grasp that idea. God says, when you're dead, you're dead. You don't have any separate consciousness. The spirit in man doesn't know anything of its own. It is simply a power of cassette that's going through. You take that cassette out of your player and you set it down, what kind of music does it make? Not a bit. It is incapable of making any sound at all without being put in the player. And the spirit in man is much the same in Psalm 146.

   Psalm 146:3. He says, Put not your trust in princes nor in the son of man in whom there is no help. Important scripture when we think about healing. But not your trust in princes nor in the son of man in whom there is no help. His breath goes forth. He returns to his earth in that very day, his thoughts perish.

   When a person dies, their thoughts cease. They're not aware of anything else. It's all over. The New Testament examples that we could find if we took the time to turn to them would show us examples like with the apostle Paul, who recognized that if he died, the very next instant of his consciousness would be the resurrection. The same is true for us. The very next instant is to be the resurrection.

   Now with that concept in mind of what the spirit is that it is not a separate consciousness, but it is the imprint of the character and personality. It is the power that flows through the brain to give us mind power. Let's look at some of the scriptures that talk about the spirit in man.

   First of all, let's go back to Ezra. Ezra chapter one. This shows us God working on that human spirit. Ezra 1:1. Now in the first year of Cyrus, King of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, King of Persia. That he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and put it also in writing, saying, Thus says Cyrus, King of Persia, The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He's charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. So God working through the spirit in man, which was in Cyrus. Cyrus wasn't converted, so he couldn't have been working through the Holy Spirit, but he worked through the spirit in man. And he placed a thought in Cyrus's mind, and Cyrus knew God Himself wants me to do this. So God worked on this carnal man through that spirit in man.

   Let's go to Proverbs chapter 20. Proverbs chapter 20. He says here in verse 27. Proverbs 20 (Proverbs 20:27). The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly or the innermost workings of that individual. So he said the spirit in the man, the spirit in man is like a candle as far as God is concerned. So that God can look deep within the recesses of our minds to see what's really there, to understand what's going on inside of us. God looks upon that spirit in man to know what our character really is, not just the outward appearance. That's why we're told back in I Samuel 16:7 that God doesn't look like man looks on the outward appearance but he looks on the heart. He looks at the spirit in man to see what's really going on there. Not just outwardly.

   In Ecclesiastes chapter 3. Ecclesiastes chapter 3. Verse 20 talking about death. Let's go to verse 19 (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20), that's the logical starting right. For that which befalls the sons of men befalls beasts. Even one thing befalls them. As the one dies, so dies the other. When the animal dies, it doesn't have any consciousness. Your, your pet cat doesn't go to heaven, you know, it doesn't happen now it's not a doggy heaven somewhere. When dogs sit around in non-spiritual bones all day, you know, not, not that at all. When they die, they cease to exist, that's it.

   Yeah, they have all one breath, so that a man has no preeminence above a beast for all his vanity or his temporary. All go into one place. All are of the dust and all turn to dust again. Who knows, or better put, who can prove or show positively the spirit of man that goes upward and the spirit of the beast that goes downward to the earth.

   Now this may be a little confusing in the sense that, you know, you mean there's a spirit in animals too, it doesn't, doesn't say that. The word for spirit means is the same word that is translated breath, and it seems to be more properly put, the spirit of man that does go upward and the breath of the beast that just remains here in the earth. There is a spirit in man, but it doesn't just remain there. It doesn't just go into the grave, but God preserves it.

   Now let's notice another example of this in chapter 12 of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes 12. In verse 7, this whole section has been talking about death. And it says here in verse 7 (. Ecclesiastes 12:7), then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

   You see, we have a spirit in man. The people to whom Solomon is speaking, and perhaps even Solomon himself did not have access to the spirit of God. God's spirit wasn't available, so he cannot be talking about the spirit of God. He must be talking about the spirit in man which God gave, but he says when we die our physical bodies turn back into dust. And that spirit in man returns to God who gave it. But it doesn't have a separate consciousness. It is simply preserved until the time God is going to give that individual a new body through the resurrection, whether a spirit body or physical body.

   Now you might tie in with that. I won't turn back to it, but Acts 7:59. What did Stephen say? He looked up to the heavens and he said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. You see, he understood there is a spirit in man. And he said, I want that to be received. I want God to preserve it and to keep it until the time of the resurrection, he recognized that.

   Let's go to the Book of Psalms and we'll see some other interesting aspects about the spirit. Psalm 32. Psalm 32:2. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputes no iniquity and in whose spirit there is no guile. You see again the spirit in man as being the imprint of that person's character. That in his character there is no guile, no deception. He's not the kind of person who's trying to deceive or put on a front. So again, God looked at that spirit in Psalm 78.

   Psalm 78:8. Talking about Israel. He says, I want them to remember my works that they might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that set not their heart aright and whose spirit was not steadfast with God. Again, you see the spirit as a virtually you could insert the word character. The character was not steadfast with God. So that spirit shows the character of that individual.

   And a couple more examples in Proverbs. Proverbs 14. Proverbs 14:29. He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding. But he that is hasty of spirit exalts folly. In other words, here, spirit shows a character flaw. He that doesn't control himself properly, his personality and character allows him to be quick-tempered.

   Oh, I know there are people who love to, to almost glory in being quick-tempered. I've heard it for years. Oh well, I'm Italian. I got an Italian temper. I got an Irish temper. I got a Russian temper, I got a Polish temper. On and on, every, every group claims, oh well, I've got this kind of a temper or that, as if that's an excuse for this character flaw which God describes. Having a temper is a character flaw, and God says the spirit in man shows that.

   Just across in the next column, at least in my Bible in chapter 15 and verse 4 (Proverbs 15:4). A wholesome tongue is a tree of life. But perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit. Now, what is a breach in the minds of an individual of Solomon's day who would be reading this particular thing? A city is surrounded by a wall, and the only protection a city has, and obviously the people inside that city is by that wall being built up strong and solid, with no breaks in it.

   And if you examine the city walls of that period of time, you'll find all kinds of elaborate structures to make those walls safe. They would even build the gate many times in such a way that you had to come in one gate and then go across a 90 degree angle immediately into another gate. They did that because the people outside might get a battering ram and ram into the one gate, but they wouldn't have room to turn around and ram the gate inside. So they had to do all kinds of things to make the walls secure with no breach in them, because a breach in the wall was the same as defeat and death and slavery.

   He says here, a person who doesn't control his tongue has a breach in his character. There is a break. There is a breach. There's a flaw which can end up with him being destroyed. So again, you see the spirit in man referred to as the character, the express expression imprint of that character.

   And as has been brought out in Mr. Armstrong's book, the spirit in man is the bridge between physical and spiritual. God is not going to change our physical bodies into spirits. When the time comes for the resurrection, we're done with this physical body. And the older you get, the happier you are about that. You know, maybe when you're 17, 18 years old, you think, boy, I'm, I'm great, you know, I'm in good shape or whatever. The older you get, the happier you are, you're not going to have to hang on to that physical body. An alarm goes off in the morning. You wake up and everything hurts. And what doesn't hurt doesn't work, you know, I mean it just, it's, it's one of those things. You don't wanna hang on to that. You're glad to get rid of that thing.

   And that's what God says. Sure, you're not going to have to hang on to the physical body. What is it that's going to become spirit? It's gonna take the spirit in man. It's already a spirit substance. That is the imprint of the character and personality and place it in a spirit body. So that spirit in man, the power that flows through us, but which of itself is not physical but spiritual, that is the bridge between our physical life and the spirit life we'll have for all eternity. So that spirit in man is very, very important.

   But as God shows us, man is still incomplete and very much in need of another spirit. Because the spirit in man does not give eternal life. It cannot. The spirit in man does not give us the character of God. Godly character comes only from God. So there is a greater need.

   Now let's turn back here to Genesis again in chapter 2. Sorry, sorry about that. I know you're not really sorry. I watched for weeks people drift off, you know, and I keep thinking, well, maybe God blesses me with one of these things. In case somebody was asleep, I want you to know that was not the last trump.

   OK. So, all right. Now here in Genesis chapter 2. We find in verse 8 (Genesis 2:8), the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he'd formed, and out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that's pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

   Come on over to verse 15 (Genesis 2:15), the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it, which is a very significant statement too. We won't take the time for it right now. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it, for in the day that you eat thereof, you shall surely die.

   Now again, without belaboring the point for those who were at Bible study, we need to understand at least just a bit about what those two trees represent. We have a tree of life, or a tree which gives life, and a tree, the knowledge of good and evil, which if you take of it produces death. So obviously a tree of life and a tree of death.

   Now, let's examine, first of all, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. What is it? Many times people have viewed taking of that tree as a matter of overt rebellion to God. Then I will not have God rule over me. I'm going to disobey God every time I get the chance. That's not the attitude at all. Because as you find later on, as we get to chapter 3, we can see there that Eve's attitude was not one of saying, I'm really been looking, I've, I've just been waiting for a chance to disobey God, and here it is. But instead Eve did what she thought was right. She thought it was the right thing to do. She was wrong in that, but she convinced herself she was right. In other words, essentially what this tree is, as you examine what Satan said, well, let's just go on to chapter 3 for a minute. Maybe it'll help us understand a little better.

   Verse 1 (Genesis 3:1). Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made, and he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Again, it does not say Satan. Only later on do we know it's Satan. Eve did not know it was Satan. In fact, she probably didn't even know there was a Satan. You know, she's the new kid on the block and she meets an animal that speaks. How does she know animals don't speak? You know, God didn't come along and say animals don't talk. So here was simply another creature who spoke.

   And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, You shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

   Now, again, it takes it would take a long time to explain all of this. But in essence boiling it down, what is Satan saying? God said, if you take of that tree, it's going to produce in you death. Satan comes along and says, how do you know that's true? Have you examined that? You have a mind. You can think, you can reason, you can work these things out of your mind. How do you know you're going to die if you think of it? Have you ever seen anybody die? Well, no. The only proof you have you're going to die is that this one who says he's God and made everything, and you don't know that either, told you you would. You don't know whether that's true or not.

   And she had to say, well, I guess that's right. I, I really don't know. And now look, just stop and reason it out a little bit. If it's not true that you're going to die, then why is he telling you don't take the tree? It's because he knows if you take that tree, you're going to be ruling yourself. You're gonna be making your own decisions, and he's not gonna be able to tell you what to do. So he's telling you, don't take the tree to keep you from being able to rule yourself, so he can exercise authority over you. He's trying to keep from you what you ought to have.

   She's saying, yeah, that's right. I ought to have that tree. And of course, we know she went ahead and took it. And it produced death. Just as God said it would. But you see, Satan appealed to her human ability to reason. And he said you stop and reason it out. And all I'm not telling you take of the tree or don't take of it. All I'm telling you, this other guy said, don't take of it. I wouldn't tell you what to do. I'm just telling you, think it out for yourself. Don't let somebody else tell you what to do. You figure it out, and you do what's right in your eyes. And she did what was right in her eyes, as did Adam. She was deceived. Adam wasn't, but they both did what was right in their eyes.

   Now, that's what that tree represents. Is taking to yourself the right to determine for yourself what's good and what's evil. The knowledge of what's right, what's wrong, what's good and evil in your life. Instead of having God reveal it to you. Instead you say I'm gonna figure it out. And I'm not going to have God rule over me. As a matter of fact, when you really get down to the bottom line, it is rebellion to God. But it doesn't appear that way when you first make the decision.

   So that tree represented, choosing to do what's right in your own eyes. That's why religion today accepts 9 of the 10 commandments. Because they can reason them out physically themselves and say that's right in my eyes. Thou shalt not kill. Oh, that makes sense to me. I don't want to kill if, if everybody follows that command, then I'm safe, my family's safe, we're fine. No steal, that makes sense. Don't commit adultery. Well, that makes sense. And they can reason their way physically through 9 of the 10 commandments.

   But they come to one that says, remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. And they can't reason that through because holy is spiritual. And I can't reason it physically. And they said, well, yeah, it makes sense to keep 1 day in 7. Well, part of one day in 7. Because you ought to be able to use the rest of the day for golfing and fishing and doing all those things. But it makes sense to me, yeah, we need that day of rest, but I don't see why it makes any difference what day?

   Well if you reason physically, there is no physical way that you can show this day is any different than any other day. You as a converted Christian, physically can't show that the Sabbath is any different than Sunday or Friday. Sun came up this morning and goes down tonight, just like it will tomorrow and it was the day before. You can't show any difference. But spiritually, there's a difference. So man reasons physically, and he does what's right in his own eyes. That is automatically going to produce death because somewhere down the line God is going to tell a person to do something. And if they're doing what's right in their own eyes, they're going to say that doesn't make sense to me. You know, rebel with what God says. God won't have rebellion in His kingdom, and therefore, if a person has that kind of an attitude, the only thing you can do is let him die, that’s it, end of story.

   The other tree produces life, eternal life. And as we see from that tree, that tree, well, let's go over to the end of chapter 3. It tells us here in the chapter 3, verse 22 (Genesis 3:22). And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us to know or to take to himself the knowledge of good and evil. That means occasionally he's going to stumble across something that's good. But they'll also stumble into an awful lot of evil. And now lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever, therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man, and he placed at the east of the Garden of Eden cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life. So he now cuts man off from that tree.

   What would that tree have done? It would have given life. Life which Adam and Eve did not have. All right, what is it that gives that kind of life? Romans chapter 8. Romans 8:9. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken, which means to make alive, your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.

   It is the Spirit of God that gives life. It's the tree of life that gave life. So that tree of life represented the spirit of God. That by partaking of that tree, they could have had access to the spirit of God.

   Now, God tells us in Acts 5:32, that he gives his spirit to those that obey him. Adam and Eve had access to that tree of life as long as they had not disobeyed God, but as soon as they disobeyed, God cut them off so they no longer had access to the tree of life or the Spirit of God. They cut off from it, and so were their descendants because of that same attitude that they had. Because they began to develop what we call human nature. As we examine it, human nature is not really human, it's Satan's nature. And the more you examine it, the more you see that that is exactly the attitude and character of Satan. They began to develop that because they made the wrong choice. And by making that choice, they enthroned Satan as the one who would rule over them.

   Notice just a page back here in Romans 6:16. He says, Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? To one or the other, there's no middle ground. You're either going to obey one or the other. They chose to obey the way of Satan, and they enthroned Satan as their ruler. He would have power over them.

   Now that spirit, that spirit of God, which had been available, would have done many things for them. It would have placed within them the seed of eternal life. It would have begun to build in them the very character of God. And it would have given them spiritual understanding. And we'll have to examine some of those things a little bit more next time, but I want you to keep in mind that God uses physical types to show us what we need to understand spiritually. And the type that he has used in the human realm is that process of human reproduction. It shows us what God is doing. That's one reason why Satan is so desperately trying to destroy the normal relationship within the family. In Satan's world, any kind of sexual activity is OK except normal, proper healthy relationship within the confines of marriage. You've never seen a movie about that. And you never will. That's not proper, but anything else Satan says is OK because he wants to destroy that perfect human picture.

   Let me just mention to you a couple of the types that we begin to draw from that human reproductive process that shows God's spirit working in us. Let me just go to one more verse here I wanted to point out. In Romans 8:16. It says the spirit itself, referring to the spirit of God as verse 14 shows us, the spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, the human spirit, that we are the children of God.

   Now, many of you have children. And as those children grow older, you see in them certain of your own characteristics. Sometimes physically, sometimes emotionally and mentally, but you see certain characteristics there. You know, when somebody brings a new baby to church, what's the first thing you hear? Oh, it looks just like his father, or just like his mother. You hear that kind of a thing, you think this looks like, you know, well they're both bald, you know, but I mean that's I don't see any other relationship here.

   But still, we know that people see those resemblances. Now, if you were to see a picture of my father and me standing side to side, there would be no doubt about our relationship. Because there are enough physical characteristics that are the same. In fact, I think if you even saw a picture of my grandfather and I, you would have no question. He had a big belly. He was oh, he was, you know, we have certain characteristics alike, premature gray hair and so on. I'm only 23, but...

   Anyway, there are those characteristics which we pass on, and you see them physically passed on. What God is saying here is that as you, you know, you are, you have the spirit in man, but you take in the spirit of God and as you take that in, you begin to take on the characteristics of God and people begin to see by the way that you live that you are the child of God. They know who your father is by the way you look. The way you act, the way you conduct yourself.

   Now, on the other hand, realistically, there's another spirit available. The Spirit of this world, you can take that in too. And when you do, then you take on the characteristics of the one who generates that spirit. In fact, you may remember that Christ spoke to a group of Pharisees and he said, you are of your Father, the devil. Who is the father of lies? So you can take on those characteristics, and you can show who your father really is.

   Now we begin to draw this analogy of the human reproductive process. Humans have, as I remember it, may have the figure a little bit off, but as I remember it, the figure is that we as humans have to pass on genetically 46 chromosomes in each cell. But as that reproductive process begins to develop, we have two parts contributed, one by the woman, one by the man. The egg or ovum contributed by the woman has only half of the chromosomes. The sperm contributed by the man only has half the chromosomes. When the two come together, you have the 46 and you have the characteristics of both being united.

   Now, in essence, we as individuals, as we begin to come along as we are living our lives are like that unfertilized ovum. We do not have a life of our own. We're not really alive, we just have a temporary chemical existence. Just as that egg within the mother, within the woman does not have a separate existence of its own. It cannot exist on its own.

   Now in that reproductive process, there is a ripening that takes place through the stimulation of the various hormones. The individual eggs, which are there from the time of the of a child's, well, prior to, but at least from the time of birth on, these eggs slowly begin to ripen. And every other month as it is set up normally, one of the ovaries produces a ripened egg. It is matured to the point where it is finally capable of being fertilized. It's ready to receive it.

   Now, if it weren't ripened and it were released and came in contact with the sperm, nothing happens. Because it's not ripened it's not prepared. But when it finally is ripened and ready, then it's expelled into the fallopian tubes and begins its journey where it can be exposed to this sperm and become fertilized, become a new being.

   Much in the same way God has to work with us. God cannot call a person at just any time. It's one thing, you know, Mr. Armstrong has stressed so much. A lot of us come into the church with the old Protestant idea of, well, I'm gonna get my relatives saved. Your relatives right now are like the unripened eggs. If God's spirit were made available to them, they couldn't do anything with it. They're not ready. But only when God brings them to the point where they're ready and they then receive of his spirit.

   Now, then that egg begins to pass down through the tubes and can be fertilized on its way down. If it becomes fertilized, then you have new life. At that point, the parents have contributed all the life they're ever going to contribute to that child. At the instant of fertilization. That's it. They're never going to contribute any more life. It will then become a parasite and it will draw nutrients from the mother until birth. But it will not be given any more life than it was at that point. That's one reason why Mr. Armstrong feels so strongly as he does about abortion. Because once conception has taken place, that's all the life the parents are ever going to give. They have control up until that point and from then on. They're not gonna control it anymore. It's under God's control.

   So anyway, that ripened fertilized egg begins to come down. And as, as it's fertilized, and then it must attach itself within the womb of the mother. Now, if it doesn't attach itself, it passes on out and it's lost. That's it. The only hope it has of survival even after receiving, as we would say in the spiritual sense, God's spirit. The only hope is by staying attached to the mother. No matter what trauma or injury that mother may go through, that new being must stay attached or it dies.

   Now what is the, the spiritual type? The church is the mother of us all. The church is our mother. Where do we, where does the fertilization take place within the church? And we must stay attached within the church, no matter what trauma the church may go through, no matter what trial, what difficulty, anything else. If a physical mother carrying a child loses an arm, and the child then say, oh well, you know, we're gonna do this, I'm gonna go somewhere else to live. You stay attached or you die. The same is true spiritually. No matter what the church of God goes through. You lose friends, you lose relatives, you lose people who mean as much to you as your arm. You stay attached or you'll die too.

   So there's a tremendous analogy there. And I think another part too that is very encouraging as well. The parents each contribute certain characteristics to that child that's coming along. We all know that with children. The rebelliousness comes from the other side of the family. But realistically we do contribute things. In the same way as God begins to deal with us, each of us brings a unique set of characteristics.

   Now are your children, if you have more than one, are they all the same? Or do you sometimes sit back and say, Are all of these really mine? Somebody mix something up at the hospital and give me one that wasn't mine? I don't know where these came from because they're so different. To realize these special characteristics that each one has. We're not the same, even with brothers and sisters. There are certain things we share, but there are some things that are vastly different.

   Well, in the same way as God begins to deal with us, we each bring a unique set of characteristics. And then God adds his spirit to us. And that spirit gives to us even different characteristics, so that God allows for all of us within the family of God to have a vast array of personalities. Some people are humorous, some people are more serious. Some people are talented with music and art. Some of us barely recognize music and art. The different characteristics that are there, but that's OK.

   God wanted that just as you wouldn't want all your children to be exactly alike, look alike, act alike, and so on. That would be boring, wouldn't it, to be the same. Because they'd all probably be like the worst one anyway. You wouldn't want them all be the same. You like the diversity and the uniqueness of each one. That's special, and that's important to God too.

   I wanna go to one more scripture today and then we have to close for today. Back in First Corinthians chapter, well, I Corinthians 12. And let's pick it up. Verse 4 (I Corinthians 12:4). Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit. There are differences of administrations, but the same Lord, and there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which works in all, but the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal, for to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same spirit. To another faith by the same spirit, to another the gifts of healing by the same spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another divers kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But all these work that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

   So God pours out his spirit. But he may give different characteristics to different people. God's spirit acting upon you will not necessarily produce the same things that it produces acting in me. Because I brought a different set of characteristics to that point of reception of God's spirit than he did. So our personalities may be different.

   Now, there are certain characteristics that we'll all have. We found in Galatians 5, the fruits of the Spirit, we're all going to have those. Different degrees perhaps, but those characteristics will be in all of us. But these he lists here won't necessarily be in all of us. That's all right. God gives different characteristics to each one. And he intends it that way. He wants it that way.

   Well, you can go on and on and draw many, many more analogies from that particular concept that God is working in each of us to produce something very, very special through his spirit. And we have much more to cover, a lot more that we need to go on with and see how God's spirit works with us a little bit more and as well to see Satan's influence. We must understand that before we can begin to conquer some of the problems that we have. We have to stop for a couple of weeks.