PART TEN
KJV Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath (neshammah) of life; and man became a living soul.
‘Spiritual’ believers of all persuasion, religions and doctrines have disputed for centuries over the accurate understanding of mankind (‘adam’), and how to properly describe man. Is man (‘adam’) a spiritual being, having a physical experience? Or is ‘adam’ a three-part being, expressed as body, soul and spirit? Or is ‘adam’ a soul, living in a physical body, and possessing a spirit? Everyone that has an ‘expert’ opinion or position on this subject can be relied upon to provide a litany of favorite verses, or historical documents, or writings from antiquity to prove their own hypothesis. And I suppose that is the way it should be. However, very few ever sway an opposing ‘expert’ to succumb to their own ‘theology’. People tend to believe what they want to believe.
Most of the ‘expert’ opinions exposited by believers is based on some writings or documents in which the believer has gained confidence and/or trust. This writer is no different. However, most who confide in written historical information do so by taking the writings literally, and attempt to make a literal story line support or endorse their own ‘spiritual’ viewpoint. And therein lays the dilemma. None of us that exposit ‘spiritual’ expertise can confess having been involved personally in the literal written histories in which we trust. None of us! And that now brings me back to Gen. 2:7.
“And YHWH Elohim…breathed into his nostrils the breath of life…” All Hebrew words should be thoroughly investigated and understood before trusting any description of what that word is revealing. This is true of all Hebrew words, but especially so of the words we translate into English as ‘life’ and ‘death’. We don’t intend to expound on the ‘death’ component in this writing, but if ‘life’ has been misunderstood, then most likely ‘death’ has also been misunderstood.
The Hebrew word translated most often as ‘life’ is ‘hkhai’, and pronounced as ‘hkhigh’, almost identically to the pronunciation of the English ‘high’. However, the first letter of this word ‘hkhai’ is the eighth letter in the Hebrew alphabet, pronounced as ‘hkheyt’. We have discussed this letter previously in this writing. ‘Hkheyt’ is a guttural letter, and like most gutturals, the pronunciation of this eighth letter has been lazily dropped from Western tongues, and most often replaced with the softer ‘h’ sound. The problem caused by the mispronunciation of this guttural, as also with all gutturals, is that religion has consequently lost the important differences that these individual letters are communicating, and therefore has lost much of the significant nuances that the different Hebrew letters provide in a given word. This is nowhere more important than in the handling and understanding of the word we translate as ‘life’.
‘Hkhai’ (Strong’s #2416) is a two letter word, which is derived from the three letter root verb ‘hkhah-yah’ (Strong’s#2421). There are many derivations of this three-letter root verb, but the more common expression of the word is from the two letter word ‘hkhai’. The usage of this word becomes more understandable when the reader realizes that this word, in all of its forms, is simply describing biology. This word ‘hkhai’ is used to refer to human biology, animal biology, insect biology and even plant biology. Biology is simply the process of maintaining and sustaining a physical existence via the ‘life’ processes that all biological life exhibits to sustain their being, and to reproduce and pro-create their species. All ‘life’ forms, regardless of the individual genus or species, must be able to do this. Otherwise, it could not be considered biological life.
The opening chapter of The Book is the very introduction to the concept of imparting the Spirit of Truth in Love into the presence of the biological life form referred to as ‘adam’. ‘Adam’ was the ‘chosen vessel’ of biological life into which could be imparted Spirit Life. And yet ‘adam’, when devoid of the active presence of Spirit Life, is no more than just biology. Of all of the life forms discussed and described throughout the scripture, ‘adam’ is recognized as the most developed and capable manifestation of ‘hkhai’. ‘Adam’, as the most capable expression of creation, has the potential to perpetrate the most good or evil, chaos or order, destruction or benevolence. No other life form expressed as ‘hkhai’ is instructed to “…choose you this day whom you will serve;” [Deut. 30:19, Joshua 24:15] And even with ‘adam’, when there is no evidence of Spirit Presence recognized, ‘adam’ also is referred to as simply ‘hkhai’; biological. Without the Presence of the Spirit of Truth in Love, ‘adam’ is just another beast of the field.
“And the LORD God…breathed (imparted) into his nostrils (anger; carnal passion) the breath (neshammah) of life (hkhai; carnal biology), and man (‘adam’) existed a ‘living (hkhai) soul”. [Gen. 2:7]
The most common expression in scripture, when referring to mankind in the basest of terminology, is to call ‘adam’ a ‘living soul’; or more simply put, soul life. If ‘life’ is referring to the manifestation of biology, then what does the word ‘soul’ imply? The Hebrew word translated as ‘soul’ in this verse is ‘nephesh’ (Strong’s #5315). The vast majority of the times the word ‘nephesh’ is used it is translated as ‘soul’; but not every time. Sometimes ‘nephesh’ is translated as ‘creature’, a few times as ‘life’, a few more times as ‘person’, plus several other ways that can be noted. ‘Nephesh’ is sometimes referring to animal life (biology). However, the vast majority of the times ‘nephesh’ is used it is in reference to the biological life of ‘mankind’, or ‘adam’, when ‘adam’ is operating independently of the influence of Spirit Truth. Man (‘adam’) operating independently of the Spirit of Truth in Love, tends to manifest chaos, disorder and destruction. And that is an apt description of ‘soul’. However, the word ‘nephesh’, that which we translate as ‘soul’, implies a much more complex potential than just perpetuating biological existence. ‘Soul’ indicates that there is a reasoning mind, and a plethora of appetites and desires that must be managed and orchestrated in this ‘life’ we call ‘adam’. ‘Soul’ expresses a complexity of emotions and impulses, all of which seem to demand a vehicle of expression. And wherever you find a plethora of desires and needs demanding to be answered, you will find the potential for disorder, chaos and confusion. And the most graphic word I know of to describe the demanding presence of disorder, chaos and confusion is in the single word ‘babylon’. ‘Babylon’ is the dominating influence of confusion.
Into this scenario of ‘adam’ come the words from Gen. 1:26-27: “Let us (Elohim; God) make ‘adam’ in imaging us as the likeness of us…” This is my paraphrase, but I trust it implicitly. This paraphrase does not contradict the King James English, but rather puts the King James translation into a more clarified understanding. The Hebrew language of the Old Testament continuously describes the on-going process of infusing ‘adam’ with the Spirit of God to empower ‘adam’ to image God. And image is an action verb, not a benign idol. And on the authority of Yashua, God is Spirit. For ‘adam’ to become ‘Adam’, and ultimately to become Christ, ‘adam’ must put on the Spirit of Truth in Love, and learn to conduct his affairs in submission to the Spirit of Truth in Love. Then, and only then, can Adam exercise rule in the lesser, more aggressive lifeforms that continuously demand to be expressed. For Adam to be able to serve the garden in Truth and Love, Adam must be infused with the Spirit of Truth and Love. This is the summation of the pageant described in Genesis Chapter One. Adam must be united with the Holy Spirit of Truth in Love. However, in Genesis Chapter Two we are introduced to YHVH Elohim, or LORD God. Before ‘adam’ can learn to appreciate what it means to submit to the Holy Spirit of Truth in Love, ‘adam’ must first learn what it means to utterly fail to “…image God as Our Likeness” when not completely submitted to the authority of the Spirit of Truth in Love. ‘Adam’ must learn what it means to fail when ‘adam’ compromises the Spirit of Truth.
YHVH Elohim, or LORD God, is the spiritual compromise within ‘adam’. All of the clamoring voices of all of the carnal appetites within ‘adam’ demand to be heard. When ‘adam’ is given non-negotiable instructions, ‘adam’ immediately begins to rationalize how to prevent being bound and restricted by those instructions, or commandments. The primary mission of carnal ‘adam’ is to avoid being bound by restrictive commandments, while at the same time being ‘not guilty’ in the breaking of those restricting commandments. How can I, ‘adam’, not be bound by rules without being guilty of breaking those same rules? This question is the very nature of religion, and the fingerprints of ‘adam’. ‘Adam’ wants to do what his carnal and soulish appetites demand, yet without being guilty of breaking rules and commandments that declare negative consequences or retributions. This is the very dilemma that is the playground of YHVH Elohim, or LORD God. For the Spirit of Truth in Love allows no room for compromising Truth and Love with carnality. Religion, however, demands an escape clause. The compromise of religion is the reality of anti-Christ. Religion says ‘adam’ can have it both ways. And ‘adam’ is the original religious expression of which the only remedy is Christ. There can be no place for anti-Christ in the Spirit of Truth and Love.
The role of LORD God is to provide compromising ‘adam’ a vehicle of rescue that allows ‘adam’ to compromise the unwavering demands of Truth and Love. Love, as we all know, never seeks its own. And Truth never compromises Love. For ‘adam’, these are unachievable goals. But in Christ, all is possible. LORD God provides ‘adam’ an escape clause of progressive remedial pardons and a mediated judgement. LORD God is anti-christ, for ‘anti-christ’ simply means an alternative anointing. Therefore LORD God must be supplanted by Christ. Supplanting is a recurring theme throughout the scriptures. Abram had to be supplanted by Abraham. Sarai was to be supplanted by Sarah. Jacob had to be supplanted by Israel. Moses was to be supplanted by Joshua. King Saul had to be supplanted by King David. And David would have to be supplanted by Christ. The ultimate remedy for all of carnal and soulish mankind, therefore, is for ‘adam’ to be supplanted with Christ. For Christ is the acknowledgement of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit of Truth in Love. The biological life of ‘adam’ would have to bow the knee, and submit in humility to the Spirit Life of Truth in Love. YHVH would have to be supplanted with Christ.
alan