A Biblical Understanding of WHOLENESS GMM – Chapter 3 HHP – lesson 3

GENESIS LAYS THE FOUNDATION OF OUR FAITH Especially chapters one, two, and three We must study these chapters carefully to understand: Who God is Who we are as persons What has gone wrong with us and with the world We cannot understand the Gospel unless we understand the teachings of Genesis 1 - 3

WE WERE CREATED WHOLE Genesis 2:7a The Lord God formed man from the dust of the earth.

WHAT DOES THIS TEACH US? God made us and we are totally separate from him We are not “emanations” from God, or simply extensions of His being We are physical beings Our physical body is good Because it is God’s gift to us, we are responsible to God for how we care for it

WHAT DID GOD MAKE OUT OF DIRT ? God made all our cells, tissues, organs, and systems He made them to function together We are fearfully and wonderfully made Yet when God finished making this body, it was not yet alive

GENESIS 2 : 7 B “God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being” We are separate from God Yet have something of God within us – His image – Soul and Spirit

THE IMAGE OF GOD Genesis 1:26 and 27 “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness. Let them rule….. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; Male and female he created them.”

MALE and FEMALE Both are equal in God’s sight In almost every culture in the world, EXCEPT THOSE BASED ON THE BIBLE, men dominate women Wherever women are suppressed by men, this is unbiblical and morally wrong

THE IMAGE OF GOD Self-knowledge and personality Thoughts, intellect, wisdom Creativity and imagination Relationships and communication Feelings, emotions, intuition Joy, appreciation of beauty Sexuality: masculinity, femininity come from God. They are good.

Matthew 22 : The biblical formula for Health – RIGHT RELATIONSHIPS With God With others With self Right relationships favor health

I THESSALONIANS 5 : 23 b May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ From God we are endowed with soul He has also given us spirit God is Spirit and we are spiritual beings

DESCRIPTION OF TERMS Mind – thoughts, intellect, reason Soul – feelings, emotions, desires, beliefs, memories Spirit – the will  Where we communicate with God or with other spiritual powers  Where we ask basic questions about life Heart – mind, soul, and spirit together “Inner being” is a similar term

Proverbs 4 : 23 Keep your heart with all diligence  Like a warden who guards a prison Out of it come the springs of life. The condition of the heart has a great influence on health and on response to illness

SICKNESS OF THE BODY AFFECTS SOUL AND SPIRIT Fear – of death, of pain, of incapacity Anxiety Guilt Worry – about costs, outcome, consequences Anger These can impede the healing process

PROVERBS 14 : 30 Peace of mind make the body healthy Envy is like a cancer Psychoneuroimmunology described three millennia ago

CONCLUSIONS Physical illness affects soul and spirit Care for soul and spirit is just as important as care for the body We can learn much about care for soul and spirit from God’s Word Healing of the heart FAVORS healing of the body