The dual nature of man
26 – “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.
27 – So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 – And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” (Genesis chapter 1 verses 26 to 28)
The blessing was bestowed on the spirit man.
We as Christian believers need to understand the concept of man in Genesis chapter one and two for us to be able to dive into the mystery about man being complete spiritual and complete physical. And also to understand the relationship between the two natures of man and his realms of operation and how one can utilise it for his purpose to reveal its true glory.
Man was first created a spirit being and this brought man in the same realm with the heavenly. Everything about man is the spirit of man. It was the spirit man that exercise dominion over every creations. From every indication, the spirit man carries the blessing to function. Man is everything being in the spirit, man is nothing being out of the spirit. The blessing was bestowed on the spirit man.
The physical man would have made no sense if God did not breath into it and man became a living soul
God blessed the spirit man, and bestowed on the spirit man the capacity to be fruitful, the capacity to multiply, the capacity to replenish the earth, the capacity to subdue the earth, the capacity to exercise dominion over the fish of the sea, the capacity to exercise dominion over the fowl of the air, and the capacity to exercise dominion over every living thing that move upon the earth.
The beauty of the physical man, is the indwelling of the spirit man. The physical man has no ability to function on its own effectively without the spirit man. The physical would have remained a mould of clay without any significant impact if not the indwelling of the spirit man. The physical man would have made no sense if God did not breath into it and man became a living soul.
There is no better indication about life if the spirit aspect of man was not active
5 – “And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
6 – But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
7 – And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis chapter 2 verses 5 to 7)
I am not making the impact of the physical man sound irrelevant. Of course the physical man is the house for the spirit man. The physical man is the reason the spirit man is visible. Though no one can see the spirit, but the functionality of the physical man talks and proves more about the spirit man. There is no better indication about life if the spirit aspect of man was not active.
It is obvious that when God made the physical man, He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.
“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis chapter 2 verses 7)
God is Spirit and it is the spirit man that relates more with God
God actually breathed into the physical man the spirit man that carries the blessing. The blessing of God was never bestowed on the physical man. It is the spirit man that is the beauty of the physical man. The spirit man has the tendency and ability to relate fully with God because that was the aspect of man that is created in God’s image after God’s likeness. God is Spirit and it is the spirit man that relates more with God.
Man was created to relate more with the spirit where he can draw the strength and energy to do wonders on earth and thereby revealing the glory of God. Since it is the spirit man that relates with God, it is advisable for man to pay more attention to his spirit man than the physical. Once the spirit man is toned, everything is possible. It is the spirit man that can access the mystery in the spiritual realm and being able to convert it to the physical.
Conclusion:
It is amazing how people pay more attention to the physical man than to the spirit man which carries the blessing. If we get it right in aligning the spirit man to the Will of God Almighty, we will get it right in exercising full dominion over every creations and the earth.
