Chapter 8The Crowning Touch: The Natural Man: The Body And Yahweh God formed man of the dust of the ground. Genesis 2:7. ADAM'S BODYThe tendency is to think of the body as only a "shell" in which the soul and spirit reside. The expression of "the flesh" is often attributed to a carnal soul. One deliverance teacher stated that the body is an innocent instrument of the soul, being a neutral entity. Yet the scriptures never call the body a neutral entity. Paul said to the Philippians that Christ "shall change our vile body" (Phil. 3:21a). He also told the Romans to "let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof" (Rom. 6:12). The lusts are in the body. He further says, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh), dwelleth no good thing" (Rom. 7:18a). The flesh as an expression, refers not to the body alone, but, rather to the soul obeying the lusts of the body. The body needs to be considered as a person. It is one part of the total person of a man. Otherwise, why is it important for Jesus to be bodily resurrected and for the promise of God that all will be bodily resurrected (Dan. 12:2)? God could just make a new body and not bother with resurrecting our old bodies. That is why we are "waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body" (Rom. 8:23b). But when Adam was first created, the body was not enmeshed in sin, but was perfect. The purpose of Adam's body was to serve his spirit through the decisions of his soul on behalf of God's will in the material creation. The body is the means of moving and interacting with the created world. It has it's own thought processes (consider body reflexes), will (which became corrupt later in sin: the desires of the flesh is an expression of bodily will), and feelings through the sense of touch. As such, it has a two way capacity. It can sense the external world and express the internal realm of the spirit through the soul. In its proper place of function, the body receives information from the world and responds according to the dictates of the spirit through the soul. ADAM'S PHYSICAL APPEARANCEWe don't know what Adam looked like. But there are suggested possibilities. The Hebrew word adam .$! , from which Adam's name derives, means "ruddy." The reference is to the red coloration of his blood. Perhaps his skin color was a reddish brown from the combination of earth and blood. As discussed earlier, there have been footprints found with dinosaur tracks that range in size from 9", 12", 16" and even 25"! The Bible says "There were giants [6] in the earth in those days" (Gen. 6:4). Those days refer to antediluvian days. Assuming that Moses is the writer, then he could be saying that they were giants in comparison to his generation. If Henry Morris is correct in his assumption that Noah is the original writer of Genesis 6, then giant becomes relative to their sizes. As we have seen by the fossil footprints, there were a variety of different sizes. Dennis Lindsey suggests that Adam was 16 feet tall, Noah was 15 feet tall, king Og was 14+ feet tall, Goliath was 9+ feet tall and modern man averages at 6 feet tall [7]. 
Finally, Adam was created naked, but he was clothed in the glory of God. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai after communing with God for 40 days, the Bible says that "the skin of Moses' face shone" (Ex. 34:33b). If a sinful man would shine from communing with God for 40 days, how much more the perfect man at the beginning of creation. So, while he didn't wear clothing made of fabric, he was clothed in the glory and righteousness of God! HEALTHY BODIESThe body needs proper nourishment, exercise, rest, and cleanliness to be kept healthy. Nourishment has three main elements: food, water, and air. For survival, food is the least important, since the body can survive for a week or more without eating. As a part of God's creation, Adam's body is made from the same substance of God's faith. Adam came from the soil and his food is derived from the soil. Adam was an herbivorous person when God first created him. Genesis 1:29 states: "And God said, 'Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed... and every tree, in the which is the fruit.. to you it shall be meat." The regular consumption of animal flesh did not occur until after the Flood when the vegetation was destroyed and God said to Noah, "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things" (Gen. 9:3). Likewise, the soil came from the water (Gen. 1:9), which is more vital for Adam's survival since man can only go a few days without water before dying of thirst. And thirdly, air must be breathed every moment which is the most vital nourishment for our bodies since death occurs when oxygen deprivation occurs after only a few minutes. Physical sustenance of soil (food), water, and air draw a parallel to body, soul, and spirit in survival. For the body without the spirit is dead (James 2:26), but the spirit without the body continues to live. Adam was also given work to do. "And Yahweh God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it" (Gen. 2:15). This was a God given exercise that not only served the creation but helped maintain Adam's physical health. He also slept. "And Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept" (Gen. 2:21a). Rest was needed for Adam's health before the Fall, and became even more important after the Fall when the Curse caused greater wear and tear on the body. A healthy body is further maintained by a healthy heart and spirit. Proverbs 17:22 says, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones." Proverbs 18:14 says, "The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?" Both proverbs show a connection to physical health via the heart & spirit. When one keeps a positive attitude so that joy is strong, then physical health is experienced. Likewise, when virus or bacteria attack the body, the spirit carries it to healing. But a wounded or broken spirit opens the body to illness. The old adage, "Cleanliness is next to godliness" is unscriptural, but nonetheless true. Holiness is the quality of separation, especially unto God. Cleanliness is a physical practice of holiness. Washing the body off with soap and water separates the germs and bacteria that could grow and become harmful to the body. Therefore, cleanliness is a part of healthy living and is a physical principle that applies to both the spirit and soul. The BODY as a MODEL for SPIRIT & SOULPaul tells us (in reference to the resurrection body) in 1 Corinthians 15, "There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual" (1 Cor. 15:44b & 46). This is the order by which God created Adam: body (from the earth), spirit (from His breath), and soul (as the result of spirit and body interacting). Paul further said, "For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made" (Rom. 1:20a&b). It is by the body that we can understand the invisible soul and spirit. The body is a visible model to the invisible man within. The body God created for Adam functions by interdependent systems. The Muscular System moves the body; the Skeletal System frames the body; the Digestive System nourishes the body; the Circulatory System transports nutrients to care for the body; the Respiratory System provides oxygen for the body; the Nervous System guides the body; and the Endocrine System regulates the body. Since the body came first, then it is possible that the spirit and soul have systems connected and similar to the body's systems. Since the spirit and soul are one with the body, then it is probable that specific organic systems function on behalf of the spirit and soul. As a speculative possibility, specific body parts may [8] function in conjunction with the spirit and soul. Briefly they are:
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