226. Excerpts from a Bible Study held in Fredrikstad Jan. 13, 1930

“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 being [soul].” [Norw.] Gen. 2:7.

In order to understand man’s true nature, we have to go all the way back to the beginning. The human body was formed from the dust of the earth, yet there was no life in it. Then God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.

So what is the soul? In Leviticus 17:11 it’s written: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”

“The first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” 1 Cor. 15:45. The first Adam fell in sin and would have been hopelessly lost if God had not sent His Son, the second Adam. That is why Jesus had to take upon Himself flesh and blood like the children so that He could help those who were in flesh and blood. Heb. 2:14. Jesus also had a soul like the first Adam, and He was born under the law in order to redeem those who were under the law. But Jesus poured out His soul, His life in this world. It pleased the Lord to bruise Him and to put Him to grief. When His soul made an offering for sin, He would see His seed and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord would prosper in His hand.

“Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors . . . .” Is. 53:10-12. [Emphasis added].

By nature we are like the first Adam—a living soul—who has fallen from God. But we can be raised up in Christ when we pray to God for forgiveness and power to walk in the newness of life. Our life in this material world passes away. Covetousness, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life also pass away when we live our life according to the will of God. We who were so alive to this world die to it. But we will experience the same thing Jesus experienced: the soulish man dies, the soul is poured out; we enter into the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, and we find eternal redemption. Heb. 10:19. All of our interests shift from earthly things to heavenly things. “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and the church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.” Heb. 12:22-24.

We must have the approval of the Judge if we are to obtain all this glory because judgment begins with the household of God—with us. Judgment brings acquittal for us from the guilt of many falls, provided we have the mind to judge ourselves. Rom. 5:16. Judging yourself is the same as losing your life in this world. Losing your life in this world is the same as pouring out your soul unto death when it regards everything earthly, everything that we perceive with our human senses. It means we resist sin unto bloodshed. The high priest in the old covenant carried the blood (soul) into the sanctuary. Heb. 13:11. It is the same in the new covenant. Our soul—the blood, our life in this world—is poured out from things that are earthly and material, and Jesus Christ, our heavenly High Priest, bears it into the sanctuary. There this blood will become one of the main witnesses that we have lost our life in this world and that we have kept it in the sanctuary unto eternal life. There are three that bear witness: the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and these three agree as one. This is the testimony of God, and it is greater than the testimony of man. 1 John 5.

But when Jesus is raised up from the dead through the blood of the everlasting covenant, we will be raised up from the dead together with Him through the same blood of the everlasting covenant. Heb. 13:20. However, we cannot be raised up from the dead until we have, in truth, died with Him. “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Col. 3:1-2. The soulish man seeks after earthly things, but the spiritual man yearns for those things which are above.

Because Jesus poured out His soul unto death, God raised Him from the dead. He broke the bands of death; it was impossible for them to hold Him. Jesus’ soul was not left in the realm of the dead, and His body did not see corruption. Why? Because there was no guile in His mouth and because He was always obedient to His Father. The prince of this world had no part in Him; he was powerless. In other words, his power was crushed in Jesus. Those who are now willing to obey Jesus receive His Spirit and mind, the power to overcome evil, and the power to overcome the prince of this world.

Now One who came from the loins of David will always be sitting on his throne. David spoke prophetically about the resurrection of the Messiah. He is the King of Israel and our great High Priest. Acts 2. He imparts His Spirit and power to us, the same Spirit in which He offered Himself. He does this so that we can receive Spirit and power to offer ourselves according to the flesh and become alive according to the spirit.

When we live in Christ, we are bound by the law in Him. 1 Cor. 9:21. We are not without law unto God. But he who sins gives the law power because the power of sin is the law. To put it another way, if I live a quiet, peaceful life here in Fredrikstad, the police have no power over me. But if I transgress their laws, the law gets power over me and so do its enforcers.

But now Jesus has come to destroy the power of death and all the transgressions of the laws, and He has brought life (divine life) and immortality to light through the gospel. 2 Tim. 1:10.

Because of this, all laws and all enforcers of the laws have forever lost their power over us.

This is part of the mystery of godliness: “Christ was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit [. . .].” 1 Tim. 3:16. Those who speak against this life become transgressors because this life is the embodiment of obedience to the law.