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outside of the matter of a flower, a
plant or an ani mal. Science has
demonstrated that all living sub–
stance arises
only
from other sub–
stance already living. The law of
biogenesis proves that life comes
only from life. When life ceases,
nothing is left but dead matter.
Nothing is more certainly proved
by science ·than the utter impossi–
bility of the appearance of life in a
resurrection through any powers
inherent in that dead matter.
There is the reproductive pro–
cess- reproduction in plants, in ani–
mals and in humans. But there is no
way to extend indefini tely the life of
a particular individual. Nothi ng
inherent within the individual can
bring life back after death, or cause
any resurrection of life in any man–
ner whatsoever from that which is
inherent within the plant, the animal
or the human being. All living mat–
ter, then, is mortal matter with a
temporary existence. · Flesh is mal–
ter, and man is flesh.
What about this doctrine, then,
of the immortality of the soul ?
Science has
never
found a soul
within any man.
There is no way that science can
observe the nonphysical. There are
no scientific evidences whatsoever
of an "immor tal soul" that leaves
the body at death-that is, some–
thing that can think, see, hear,
taste, smell and reason apart from
the human body.
And so secondly, what does the
Bible
actually say?
What the Blble Reveals
Jesus Christ, the very Son of tbe
Living God, is quoted as saying
under inspiration, "That which is
born of the flesh is flesh [that's
what it is] ; and that which is born
of the Spirit is spirit." J esus said
that man is born of the flesh. That's
what man is. And then again, "Ex–
cept a man be born" of the Holy
Spirit of God, he cannot enter into
the kingdom of God (John 3:5-6).
Jesus Christ taught that man
can
enter
into tbe very family- the
kingdom--of God, but he must be
born over again. He has been born
once, and he is now flesh. But he
must be born again as a spirit
being- t h is time, born of God.
Then
he shall become
spiri t!
That's what Jesus Christ was
6
saying in John 3:5-6. Man is flesh,
not
spirit. Man is not a spiritual
entity, but a fleshly being, purely
and simply.
In Genesis 3:19 God said to
Adam, "For dust
thou
art." He
said tbis to the man. He continued,
"In the sweat of thy face shalt
thou
eat bread, till
thou
return unto the
ground; for out of it wast
thou
tak–
en." This is
not
just talking about
the man's body. God bad said, "For
dust
thou
art, and unto dust shalt
thou
return." The "thou" was the
conscious man to whom he was
speaking.
Man ls a Soul
In Genesis 2:7, we read this: "And
the Lord God formed man of the
dust of tbe ground." Out of what
substance was man made? Man was
formed "of the dust of the
ground"-not
out of spirit.
Next, God "breathed into bis
nostrils the breath of life" (air that
goes in and
Ot!l
of the nostrils) and
"man became a living soul."
It
does
not
say that God put an "immortal
soul" inside of him. God put the
breath of life into him- that is, air,
or wind-and man became a living
soul. So man
is
a soul , he does not
have
a soul.
Notice Psalm 146:3-4: " Put not
your trust in pr inces, nor in the son
of man, in whom there is no help.
His breath
goeth forth, he returneth
to his earth ." Note that.
It
doesn't
just say "his body."
Jt
is
he
that
returns to the earth- "in that very
day bis thoughts perish." He ceases
to think! His thoughts perish.
What God gave at creation is the
breath. God breathed into man's
nostri ls the breath of life. But that
breath
leaves him
at death. Dust he
is, and to dust he returns.
Now consider Psalm 104:29:
'Thou hidest thy face, they are
troubled: thou takest away their
breath, they die, and return to their
dust." T he breath then is what God
gave.
It
goes forth at death. God
takes away the breath when the
person dies. He returns to dust, and
simply becomes dust again.
Next consider Ecclesiastes 3:19-
20: "For that which befalleth the
sons of men [human beings] befal–
leth beasts [God is speaking of men
and animals]; even one thing befal–
leth them: as the one dieth, so dieth
the other; yea, they have all one
breath." The same breath in the
nostri ls of animals is also in the
nostrils of every human being.
Continuing: "So that a man hath
no preeminence above a beast: for
all is vanity. All go unto one place
[both man and beasts]; all are of
the dust , and all turn to dust
again." That's man and animal
ali ke.
The Bible absolutely
refutes
the
idea of the immortal ity of the sou l.
What God gave at birth is the
breath of life. He breathed into the
nostrils of animals and man alike
the breath of life. It leaves t hem
when they die. Then they return to
dust.
What Js the Llfe of Man?
The life of mortal man is in his
breath. But what is the function of
the breath?
First the breath goes into the
lungs. Simultaneously the blood
flows through the lungs on the way
back to the heart and is pumped
through the arteries and the veins.
The oxygen from the air oxidizes the
blood.
Jt
then becomes created ener–
gy that keeps up the body, giving a
person life-producing energy.
The life is in the blood, and the
blood needs the breath of life to
keep it active and alive.
In Genesis 9:4 we read this: "But
flesh with the life thereof, which is
the blood thereof, shall ye not ea
t."
Man is flesh and blood. His life is
in the blood, oxidized by the breath
of
life- not
by an immortal sou l.
Who Has lmmortallty?
Many twist the biblical passages
about death to apply to the body,
clinging to their fallacious idea of
an
immorta/ soul.
There are no
such words in the Bible as
immor–
tal soul.
The word
immortal
occurs only once in the King J ames
Bible. That's in 1 Timothy
1:17.
There it refers to Christ as the
King who has been made immortal
and who is now very God.
In the English language, the
word
immortality
occurs five times
in the King James Bible. First, only
God has it, not man. You'll find
tbat in l Timothy 6:16. Secondly,
Christ brought immortality to light
through the gospel so that man can
(Continued on page 41)
The
PLAIN TRUTH