Humans are created.
Humanity can design amazing things! I encourage you to stop reading this page for a moment and look around at your surroundings; unless you are located in the mountains, sitting by the ocean, or hanging out in some other fabulous location surrounded by nature, you will be amazed at all the gizmos and gadgets that humans have made to make our life a little easier or prettier. In fact, even now, whether we support it or not, humans are determined that software should be able to move and mingle with us. Welcome to the world humanoid robotics! What an exciting new advancement that will change our lives, similar to how our lives changed when we introduced electricity, indoor plumbing, cars, phones, TV, and computers. Have you ever wondered why humanity is so interested in the business of creating things? I would suggest it is because we have been made in the image of our Creator. (Genesis 1:27)
In the Christian Bible, we read that God created everything. (John 1:3) How impressive is that! In regard to humans, we are told that He both spoke us into existence and molded us from dust, blowing the breath of life into our nostrils (Genesis 1:26 & Genesis 2:7). I find this fact interesting because it follows what science is learning about our world. Ralph Bergstresser, a peer of Nicole Tesla, said that during a conversation of theirs, Telsa stated, "If you want to understand the world, consider it in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration" and I believe this concept hints at what happened during creation. Both speaking and blowing breath involves energy, frequency, and vibration. In fact, everything right down to our individual cells contains energy, frequency, and vibration. It is mind blowing to think about the mechanisms that God used to create us but the truth is we probably will never know and that is okay. What we do know is that we were created.
The Bible also tells us that God created humans as a three-part conglomeration consisting of spirit, soul, and body.
The spirit, in my opinion, is the least understood of the three, I personally think of the spirit as my third ear and a second mouth that connects me to God and allows me to listen and communicate with Him. As for the functions of the spirit I like what Tom Smith the writer of the blog Holding to Truth stated "Within man’s spirit there are three functions: conscience, enabling man to know what God justifies and what He condemns (Rom. 9:1); fellowship, that man may contact God, worship God commune with God (John 4:24; Eph. 6:18a; Rom. 1:9); and intuition, giving man a direct sense of God and a direct knowledge from God (Mark 2:8; 1 Cor. 2:11)" The spirit allows us to hear that little voice encouraging us to make righteous decisions and we hear from that little voice when we do something wrong. When we repent, we feel peace of that action and then learn the beauty and blessing of grace. We are comforted, empowered, provided revelations, guided, given wisdom by God through our spirit. Through our spirit we also pray to Him, spend time with Him in His word, worship Him, and serve Him. Most importantly the spirit allows us to know that He is with us throughout our life.
I believe the soul is what makes us individuals. It consists of our mind, our emotions, and our free will. It allows us to consider, learn, and remember; love, hate, feel joy, grieve, have desires, serve others, and choose and refuse. Our soul chooses to follow God or turn away. Our soul is where our spiritual gifts, given by God, blossom. It is where our love languages reside. It is where we figure out what hobbies we will enjoy throughout our lives. However, an important part of the soul is that it remains thirsty, it craves and desires to be filled. (Psalm 42:1) I am sure that you have noticed there are people who fill their souls with many pursuits, but I encourage you to keep your eye laser-focused on God. One of my close friends has a saying: Keep the Main thing the Main thing. He couldn't be more correct.
Regarding the body, I see it as multi-faceted; consisting of a bridge, a temple, a way to deeply connect with a spouse and to physically serve God and the world. Firstly, regarding the bridge; John Kleinig masterfully wrote, " The human body was made to bridge two realms: the invisible, eternal realm of God and the visible, temporal realm of his creation." Our spirit and soul cannot live in the material world without a body, so this bridge was needed. Also, the body is a Temple for God's Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 states: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.” I find it easy to just read right over that verse and move on, but when the truth of this verse finally hit me, it shook me deeply. This is what true intimacy is and that level of closeness demands revering this divine indwelling called a body. I don't know about you, but I find it so much easier to think highly of a physical church than to revere the very temple of the Holy Spirit that I walk around in. Beyond the body as a bridge and temple, the body also provides an avenue for intimacy with our spouse and we are instructed by the Bible to keep that level of closeness in a marriage relationship. This rule is not to keep us from having fun rather it is so we can experience intimacy in the way it was designed. Therefore, within the marriage, God says that physical intimacy is good, and it has two purposes beyond enhancing intimacy and those are procreation and pleasure. Genesis says, “Be fruitful and multiply,” but Proverbs 5:18-19 also says to enjoy and be filled with delight and intoxicated by your wife’s love. Lastly, our body is created to serve God’s kingdom, so we should serve God and our human family in whatever way that we are physically able. So contrary to what your culture tells you; which is our body is flesh only, it is our body to do with as we please, the shape and size of the many aspect of our body defines our worth and we should serve ourselves all of this is untruthful. Instead, the truth is that our body is a bridge, a temple, a promoter of intimacy and is to be used to further God's Kingdom. If you truly believe these things, taking care of your body in many ways will follow out of reverence for God who created such a wonderful and good work.
I encourage you to take a little time to reflect on the various aspects of this article. Think one more time about the following questions: Why do we like to create? Who created us? What is a human? What is the body designed to do? As you answer these questions, I hope you begin to see that we are each so very valued by God our creator. The reason I want and pray that you understand this is because one of the attacks that sexual abuse wages effectively on its victims is removing our personal value. There is great risk not understanding your value to God because so much destruction can follow. In the next article I will take an in-depth look at how valuable you are to God.
Thank you very much for spending a moment with me, know that you are loved by God, your creator.
Review the main points:
· Humans design and enjoy creating because we are made in God's image.
· God created us.
· The human is three parts: Spirit, Soul & body
· The body is a bridge, a temple, a promoter of intimacy, and an avenue to be of service to the Kingdom of God
· We are God's creation and we are valuable
Next steps:
In my opinion, the only way to walk along the healing journey is to first ask God to provide guidance, comfort and strength as you take steps forward. Please understand that reading an article will do nothing but raise your awareness of a topic. Any modification of behavior takes daily discipline and dedication, as well as grace with yourself when you have a setbacks.
I encourage you to print this section out and tape it to your bathroom mirror or take a picture of it with your phone and set an alarm to read this when you are getting ready for the day or when you are preparing for bedtime.
Always practice telling yourself the truth and be grateful with that in mind here are some ideas:
1. I recommend for the next several days when you look at yourself in the mirror admire God's handiwork (look at yourself like you are looking at a stunning sunset). Just accept His creation. Practice a no judgement approach, do not say my hair looks awful, instead focus on the positives; for example, my hair has beautiful waves, I will make them more defined by adding gel. You are a miraculous creation, please treat yourself in that manner.
2. I also encourage you to thank God for your spirit, soul and body. Ask yourself: Is your spirit working the way it should? Is your soul thirsty for Him? Is your body glorifying Him? Ask Him to help you see ways you can grow toward him in each facet of your humanity.
3. Please have gratitude for your body so that self-destruction does not creep into your soul which will cause behaviors that harm you. Daily thank God that your body is a bridge between the eternal and material. Be humbled by the fact that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and let that understanding provide your body deep value. If you are in a marriage, be thankful that intimacy brings a high level of closeness to your spouse that God finds good. If you are not in a marriage currently, remember that God is with you and that is the most intimate relationship a human can experience. Lastly, if you have negative thoughts that continue to pop up in your mind about your body, try to identify the lies and then tell your soul the truth. Remember the soul is thirsty and will fill itself with something, make that something God who is love and truth.
4. Lastly, once a week, identify one way to serve someone and do it.
Scriptures found in the article:
John 1:3: "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:26: Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
Genesis 2:7: Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
Romans 9:1: I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit
Psalms 42:1: As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.
John 4:24: God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.
Ephesians 6:16-18: In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Romans 1:9: God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you
Mark 2:8: Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things?
1 Corinthians 2:11: For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20: Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
John 1:3: "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Other References found in the article:
Why Our Physical Bodies Matter to God by John Kleinig https://blog.lexhampress.com/2021/09/02/why-our-physical-bodies-matter-to-god/
What is the Function of Your Spirit by Tom Smith https://holdingtotruth.com/2013/07/21/what-is-the-function-of-your-spirit/
Quote: "If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration." The only source for this attribution appears to be an Arizonan by the name of Ralph Bergstresser, who was supposedly a friend of Tesla, and it is claimed that Tesla said this in a conversation with him in 1942. History of Science and Mathematics https://hsm.stackexchange.com/questions/15818/attributed-quote-to-nikola-tesla
Recommended Resources:
Compared to Who? A Proven Path to Improve Your Body Image BY HEATHER CREEKMORE https://comparedtowho.me/compared-to-who-book-for-christian-women-on-body-image/