These verses are about what is the nature of man, humankind, and what is the state of the dead based on a chain of verses that are referenced in a specific order to help give clarity and context.* It has very minimal commentary so that you can do your own self-reflection and discovery of the verses. Many times the Bible explains itself if you just know where to look.
With each group of verses, there are probing questions to help you consider what is being said. Each verse in the study is linked to an online Bible, should you want to check the context of the verses around it. Also, allowing verification of what scripture says, as well as purity of a study based only on the Bible.
The Nature of Man
1. How was man made?
- Genesis 2:7 (KJV) — “”
- What part was made of dust? The Body.
- What as added to the body? The breath of life.
- What resulted? The living soul.
“The expression, ‘living soul,’ as used is Genesis, is often taken to indicate an order of being superior to the brute, and is the text of many an argument to prove the immortality of the soul. The incorrectness of this assumption will be readily seen by referring to Gen. 1:20, 21, 24, and elsewhere, in which passages the words translated ‘living soul’ are applied also to the entire lower creation. They are used indifferently of man and beast to express animal life in general; and it is in this light the apostle uses them
— Dr. J. P. Lange’s Commentary on 1 Cor. 15:45.
[1 Cor. 15:45], as the very course of his argument shows. Adam is spoken of as a living soul, not to prove his immortality, but rather his mortality.”
2. What three parts make up the entire man?
- 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (KJV) — “”
3. To what did man become subject as a consequence of sin?
- Genesis 2:16-17 (KJV) — “”
- Romans 5:12 (KJV) — “”
- Ezekiel 18:4 (KJV) — “”
4. With this death waiting for each, what is man’s nature?
- Mortal man, Job 4:17 (KJV) — “”
- Mortal body, Romans 6:12 (KJV) — “”
- Moral flesh, 2 Corinthians 4:11 (KJV) — “”
5. To what is this mortal life compared?
- A vapor, James 4:14 (KJV) — “”
- A wind that cometh not again, Psalms 78:39 (KJV) — “”
- A shadow, Job 14:2 (KJV) — “”
6. How only can mortals have immortal life?
- 2 Timothy 1:10 (KJV) — “”
- John 10:10 (KJV) — “”
7. What then ought we to seek?
- Romans 2:7 (KJV) — “”
8. When will immortality be given?
- 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 (KJV) — “”
Herodotus, a Greek historian, born B. C. 484, regarded as the first and one of the most reliable of profane
— Herodotus, Euter. 2, par. 123.
historians, says: “The Egyptians also were the first who asserted the doctrine that the soul of man is immortal.”
9. When does the trumpet sound that raises the dead and changes the living?
- 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (KJV) — “”
The State of the Dead
10. What do all living know?
- Ecclesiastes 9:5 (KJV) — “”
- Hebrews 9:27 (KJV) — “”
11. What change takes place at death?
- Psalms 146:4 (KJV) — “”
- Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 (KJV) — “”
- Ecclesiastes 12:7 (KJV) — “”
“That is, the spirit of life by which man lives, and which is only lent him of God, at death goes back to the great Author of life. Having come from Him, it belongs to God, and man can have it eternally only as a gift from God through Jesus Christ. Rom. 6:23. When the spirit goes back to God, the dust, from which man was made a ‘living soul’ in the beginning, goes back as it was, to the earth, and the individual no longer exists as a living, conscious, thinking being, except as he exists in the mind, plan, and purpose of God through Christ and the resurrection.
— “Bible Readings for the Home Circle,” p. 507.
In this sense ‘all live unto Him’ (Luke 20:38), for all are to be raised from the dead. (See John 5:28, 29; Acts 24:15; Rom. 4:17.)”
12. What can the living do?
- Psalms 146:2 (KJV) — “”
- What cannot the dead do?
- Psalms 115:17 (KJV) — “”
- Isaiah 38:18-19 (KJV) — “”
13. In what state did Jesus say the dead are?
- John 11:11-14 (KJV) — “”
14. What is death called in Psalms 13:3?
- “”
15. Until what time will the individual sleep?
- Compare:
- Job 14;10-12,15 (KJV) — “”
- Psalms 17:15 (KJV) — “”
- with
- Acts 13:36 (KJV) — “”
- John 5:28-29 (KJV) — “”
This study guide was based on Reading No. 17, pages 114-115 from Brief Bible Readings for Busy People,
prepared by the Home Missionary Department
of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
Review and Herald Publishing. Published originally in 1930.
View the original study guide, which this guide is based on, as a scanned PDF. Full credit to them.
*A Bible chain reference is a system of cross-referencing between different passages or verses of the Bible to connect and relate different concepts, themes, or topics mentioned in different parts of the Bible. It helps readers gain a deeper understanding of the overall message and meaning of the text. To use it, readers start with a particular topic or theme and then look up the corresponding list of verses, paying attention to the connections and relationships between them. Studying them in a particular order, helps one understand the topic from beginning to end. Just like peeling the layers off of an onion. It’s a useful tool for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of the Bible and its teachings.
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Home Missionary Department
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