By Nab B.
February 20, 2023
Updated Oct, 2025
“The first man Adam became into a living soul; the last Adam into a life-giving spirit."
(1 Cor 15:45 BLB)
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Man was potentially created to reflect the image of God, but not immediately! As an honourable creature, man was to choose between being in God’s image or his own image.
I will spare you the details of how man, in the end, chose his image! Ever since, his spiritual growth has been stunted; he remained in an infant state, referred to in scripture as soulish, earthly, or natural. (Compare 1 Cor 15:47-48)
In sin, we all, too, live and die in a state of soulishness.
"For in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Gen 2:17 ESV).
For out of it (ground) you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Gen 3:19 ESV)
Even after his sin of disobedience, God’s breath sustained Adam's flesh and his mental faculties. But that only lasted for a short time, so posterity can be saved.
People love to connect to their souls, but hardly to their Creator God! When some speak of soul connection or soul searching, they mean finding answers within their soul, apart from God.
The problem with this is that to God, all souls must decay and die unless regenerated by His Spirit,
“The soul who sins shall die” (Eze 18:4, 20)
“For the wages of sin is death.” (Rom 6:23)
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23)
When man died, creation died with him, “For the creation was subjected to futility" (Romans 8:20). "Futility," a word used in our Bibles, means "aimlessness," "lacking purpose," "nonsense," and "not permanent." Since all things terminate in death, "futility" is, undisputedly, a most apt word. Melancholic? Yes! But nothing better describes our soulish, earthly life in general.
James gives clues as to what causes us to be soulish. It goes something like this:
“When lust (desire) hath conceived (Gk: actively lay hold), it bringeth forth (begets) sin, and sin, when it is finished (completed), Bringeth forth (gives birth) death.” (James 1:15)
Our soulish condition commences with lust—an unrestrained focus on self or soul, which leads to sin. Sin keeps us perpetually "soulish." It's what we know best from "womb to tomb." No one coerces us into sin; we choose it as naturally as taking a breath!
Sin means "to miss the mark," that is, God's mark or image. No one knew who would be God's image, until Christ became "The image (or mark) of the invisible God." (Col 1:15) And not until we obtain the image of Christ, will we stay soulish.
It is not all bad news. Despite all of life's futility, soulishness, sin and death, it was gracefully, "Subjected in HOPES" by God who cares, as seen in these words:
“For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope (Gk., elpis: assured expectation) that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” (Rom 8:20-21 ESV)
This hope (Gk., expectation) is "The living Word of God," Jesus Christ (not just scriptures), who imparts to the willing a new (spiritual) life; one that conforms to the "image of God" through the Holy Spirit,
“For the word of God is living and active, Sharper than any two-edged sword. Piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, discerning [or judging] the thoughts and intentions of the [figurative] heart.” (Heb 4:12)
A true seeker is willing to lose his soulish life in a bid for a spiritual one! Soulish life, he knows, is a hindrance. The Lord said we must be willing to "lose," and "hate" our soulish life to gain the new one:
“For whoever desires to save his life (Gk: psuché or soul) will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul? Or what will a man give as an exchange for his soul?” (Matt 16:25-26)
“The one loving his life [soul] loses it, and the one hating his life [soul] in this world will keep it to eternal life (zoen aionion - ‘age-long life).” (John 12:25)
The word ‘life’ in our English Bibles has three different shades of meaning in the original Greek.
Bios life,
Psuché life,
Zoé life.
These three are poorly lumped together and translated as "life," missing their subtle differences! Recognizing this, you'd be able to choose the type of life God offers to those who believe.
Bios: Translated as ‘life’. It refers to the biological or physical life. When Jesus spoke of the Word being “Choked with the cares and the pleasures of this life (bios)” (Luke 8:14), he was speaking of those who lived a strictly biological life (eating, drinking, entertaining, and repeat!)
Psuché: Also translated as ‘life’. Psuché refers to the soulish-life, self-made, and fleshly, which seeks its own intellectual existence away from God. In Matt 16:25, Jesus said, “Whoever loses his soul (Psuché) for my sake shall find it.” He wasn't asking to kill ourselves, but rather to lose our self-absorbed, self-achieving life to find the real one (or ZOÉ. See next). Clearly, Jesus urges that soulish life, Psuché, must go!
Zoé: Translated poorly as ‘life’. ‘Zoé refers to "the divine eternal life of God," which is offered through Christ—the "life-giving Spirit.” (1 Cor 15:45)
Notice how Zoé (life) differs entirely from bios or psuché (life).
“In it was life [zoé], and the life [zoé] was the light of men.” (John 1:4) God was bringing His divine eternal life to us through the light—Christ.
“And the life [zoé] was made manifest, and we have seen and bear witness, and proclaim to you the eternal life [zoé aionion], which was with the Father and was revealed to us.” (1 John 1:1)
“Now this is eternal life [aionion zoé]”. (John 17:3)
“I have come that they may have life [zoé] and may have [zoé] abundantly.” (John 10:10)
“Through which He has given to us the precious and magnificent promises so that through these you might become partakers [sharers] of the divine nature, having escaped the decay in the world in desire.” (2 Pet 1:4)
We experience these types of life this way:
At birth, we get a physical biological life (Bios life).
As we mature, we develop a higher energized soulish life. It is strictly based on earthly wisdom, knowledge, intellect, feeling and even morality (Psuché life).
When born by the Spirit of God, we obtain and share in the divine nature (life) of God, which does not die (aionion Zoé).
Being Soulish keeps one unwilling, unaware, and ignorant of the spiritual things of God! It is a very undesirable condition, as Paul said:
“The natural (literally: soulish) man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Cor 2:14)
How undesirable? Study the negative and positive descriptions of being soulish versus being spiritual:
“The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption."
"It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory.
"It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.
"It is sown a natural (literally: soulish) body, it is raised a spiritual (relating to the realm of the spirit) body.
"The first man, Adam, became a living being (lit. Soul: psuché).” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” (1 Cor 15:42-49)
Another serious risk of staying soulish is becoming hostile to God—all the more reason to rid oneself of it.
“Those who live according to the flesh (self or carnal) set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit, life and peace, because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.” (Romans 8:4-7)
Even a believer can become soulish if he prioritizes unnecessary (or even necessary) pursuits over his new life, things such as work, eating, clothing, etc.
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious (divided, distracted) and troubled about many things; but one thing is necessary." (Luke 10:41-42)
“He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, allow me first, having gone away, to bury my father. But Jesus told him, "Let the dead (spiritually) bury their own dead. You, however, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:60)
“Do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’...But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matt 6:32 ESV)
A Spirit–born believer relies on God in all things, focuses on Christ, and savours spiritual things. His soulish and carnal life is gradually put to death—sacrificed.
“Set your minds on the things above, not the things on the earth. For you have died, and your life has been hidden with Christ in God…Therefore put to death members which are upon the earth: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” (Col 3:2,3,5)
We can now regain, through Christ, what Adam lost—the "image of God." It is God's gift to "whoever wishes" to be saved and renewed. The life of God, "aionion Zoé," has been available since Jesus' death and resurrection.
“Let the one who wishes (willingness is required) take the water of life without cost.” (Rev 22:17)
Does God care which way we choose? Not only does He care, He desires that we choose life with Him. Yet, He left the choice for us to make—our way or God's way!
“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live.” (Deut 30:19 ESV)
It is no picnic giving up our soulish, earthly life! A hard and lengthy battle often ensues. But the rewards of the "new glorified life" are unimaginable and incomparable to anything this life can offer!
"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Rom 8:18)
"It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.” (1 Cor 15:44)
