The Dichotomous Nature of Our Physical Body and Our Spiritual Presence

CAST

spider...........................................world

 

caterpillar....................................me, i

 

butterfly........................................you

 

Love..............................................You, I, Me

 

( ).............................................poet

 

SETTING

 

I
 

PROLOGUE

"why can't i be what i want to be?"
   the caterpillar said to the spider.

"what do you want to be?"
  the spider answered.
    (spiders are always so practical!)

"i dream of being a butterfly,"
   the caterpillar returned.

"impossible!"
   the spider laughed.

CATERPILLAR SOLILOQUY

why can't i ever be what i want to be?
   the world is not fair;
   there is always two sides to every issue in the world,
   and besides that,
   the issue is never clear.
      it is a foggy world we live in.

i hate fogginess
   never understanding!
      why can't i understand?
         my want seems to never be strong enough!
            but i'll try anyway . . . . . . .

II

  CONVERSATION

 

"are you there?"

   i asked the spider.

"where is there?"
   the spider retorted.

SPIDER SOLOLIQUY

perhaps there is no there

   unless you happen to be there,

   and are you even then?

i'm not where i'm thinking most of the time.

   i really don't know where i am.

      i don't even know where i am

         is!

when i am in the i am,

   then i am;

      otherwise,

         i am not, 

            am i?

the i am in my life

   is not always there

      or here;

         then where is it?

            why don't i know?

               is it ever nowhere?

                  does something always

                  have to be somewhere?

somewhere is real
   isn't it?
      if someone is somewhere
      and i'm not there,
      is that someone really there?
         and am i really not there
         to that someone?

what if i am dreaming of somewhere?
   am i here?
   or there?

what if we both are not there?
   then does that place exist?

and how about the dream?
   does a dream ever become real?
      a dream goes from place to place;
      life goes from place to place;
      i go from place to place;
      you go from place to place;
         then is it all a dream?

when i dream
   i think that the dream is real
   and that life is not real;
      when i am not dreaming
      i think that that is real
      and the dream is not real.
         real is a part of me,
            but i'm not sure where it is.

III
 

CONSERVATION

"I Love You,"
   said the butterfly to the spider.

"you're not capable of Love,"
   screamed the spider.

"i know,"
   i replied,
      "but I am."
         (butterflies tend to be smug)

BUTTERFLY SOLOLIQUY

Love is always present,

   and real;

      we just can't touch it.

         we can only dream as a caterpillar,

            and even sometimes as a butterfly.

Love always understands,

   and understanding requires knowing.

      that's why there is little understanding

      and Loving

      in the world.

Love has three sides,

   yours,

      mine,

         and ours;

            and all are the same.

i work to understand mine

   sometimes,

      but yours is almost never understood,

         and therefore,

            ours does not materialize.

when we say

   "i love you,"

      what do we mean?

         many things,

            but never

            "i Love you."

               this is a non sequitur!

i can't even understand the i,

   let alone the you

   and the love . . . .?

i can't Love you

   because you are you,

      and i am i.

what is my relationship to you,

   if it is not Love?

      i do know that you are there,

         aren't you?

            you exist,

               i know,

               and i also think

               that you know

               that i exist

               and am here.

when i feel i Love you,

   you don't know

   unless i say or show you,

      and even then

      do you?

         i'm sorry about that;

            i'd like for you to know

            without me letting you know.

               then we may know

               the real meaning of Love.

i can Love myself,

   because i am myself.

      that's why Jesus said

      that i had to Love myself before I could Love You.

You are Me,

   in that i realize You

   only within me;

      therefore,

         Love me

         through You,

            not through you.

               (that makes me feel so lonely tonight)

God,

   why can't i have just one little glimpse

   of me through someone else;

      then i may understand,

         somewhat.

            (don't misunderstand,

               you are in the same boat;

                  don't feel like you are different;

                     you are not!)

i am an entity unto my self,

   and my self

   only.

      how sad.

i sometimes think i would like to be a Butterfly;

   i would be the same but different,

      i probably wouldn't understand the Butterfly;

         but then such a dream would be the real,

            and the real could not be understood either.

(did i just write this?

   or was then ever real?

      if it was,

         then why can't i have it again,

            or tomorrow today?)

 

IV

POET SOLILOQUY

when i do something that nobody else knows,

   why do i do it,

      and do i?

         it's very confusing.

they tell me there is such a thing as pluto.

   but is there

   if i don't really know?

      and how could i?

         could i be imagining

         thinks into existence?

            are the caterpillar and the butterfly

            really the same?

               could the butterfly be the

               imagination of the caterpillar?

perhaps the mass of our imagining becomes reality for us all.

   if reality is only in our individual realities,

      and we are taught reality by someone else,

         then reality

            to me

            is what others before me

            have taught was reality.

               we may be creating reality,

                  and reality is part of someone else

                     in me.

i have been wondering if that is why science,

   and religion before,

      has made so many things real for us.

we believe what a scientist or a preacher says,

   and if we all believe,

      it is real.

         then someone comes along

         and teaches that it is not real,

            and something else is,

               and we believe a new real.

reality is then merely what i think is real.

if you convince me that my reality

   is not real,

      then my reality changes

      to what you think

      is reality.

         but is your reality real?

            and can you ever really transfer your reality

            to mine?

isn't it nice,

   butterflies have wings

   and they lay eggs once in a while.

      i become you,

         and some understanding is thus forced on us . . . . .

            if we remember.
 

  Many persons have endeavored to explain things non-physical, things not of this world. Some even claim to know some things about this non-physical world. However, I believe that by definition we can say that we know nothing, but because we think it is vital for our physical survival we presume much. The use of the term SPIRIT is somewhat universal for this other worldly realm, and the Bible refers to it in many different ways. Bullinger in an excellent study, Word Studies on the Holy Spirit (1979; Kregel/Grand Rapids) has identified 14 uses for the Greek term pneuma in the Bible. In this study, I am using only two definitions/characterizations of the term SPIRIT—spirit and Spirit or spiritual and Spiritual. Initial capitalization of the S indicates the other world, the Godly pneuma, sometimes delineated as Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. The word spirit, without the capitalization represents the concept of the spiritual [s] part of the physical body. We have a physical body and a spiritual presence. Below I have tried to show this graphically using the illustration presented earlier.

In previous writings I have discussed this symbolic graphic in detail, and here I will continue the metaphorical meandering represented by this visual.

Jesus’ Use of Pronouns

I was once in a Bible study with several college professors, some being Bible teachers at a Christian college. One asked a question that, at the time, sounded peculiar. The way I remember it, it went something like this—“Have you ever wondered why Jesus referred to himself as I am?” Of course, I thought . .. because he was! That went to, was what? Simple questions, but in my mind these questions morphed into “What did Jesus mean when he referred to himself with the simple pronoun, I?” That simple statement began a study that resulted in many wonderful inquestioning nights. It concentrated into trying to understand who Jesus was and thence who I was in light of the Spiritual image of God.

From the beginning I saw that there was something about how Jesus spoke about himself, and therefore I centered my study on the pronouns of Jesus—I, me, and my. It may seem rather juvenile to be doing research on biblical pronouns, and their meaning might be clear in your thinking. However, for me there is a mystical message behind the words that is far from clear. I know Bible words are important, but I believe it is the meaning behind the words that has real significance to the inquestioning mind, not the actual words. Even so, we have the words; without the words, the personal message is probably lost. Therefore, I have this irresistible urge to understand the message behind the words of Jesus.

Let’s start: Run a Bible search of “I am.” The first thing that jumps out at me is that there are many meanings of I am in the Bible each with its own surreptitious message, sometimes making it difficult to understand. What did Jesus mean when He used the terms I and me? Let’s dissect some of these pronouns in verses from John to example our search. As you read, think bold, underline as spiritual/Spiritual and bold alone as physical, understanding that these are my own interpretations.

John 6:35
Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

We can see that the first I has to refer to something other than the physical Jesus. Even the most literal Bible student would not think of Jesus as being bread; nor would he be thought of as bread of life, whatever that might be physically. Jesus is using metaphoric words referring to his spirit self. (I call this the real person.) Neither of the me’s can refer to physical because, of course, a human being will get hungry and thirsty, and Jesus was referring to the same me with both words. Therefore, I interpret this verse as saying that our spirit should go to the Spirit to find Spiritual (Godly) responses.

John 7:8
You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come."

Here the I and me refers to the physical Jesus. It refers to something the physical Jesus is doing in his physical life.

John 7:28
Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, "Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me."

Interpretation is always conjecture, tenuous, and personal, and here the text becomes more complex. When Jesus used the term you, he seemed to always be referring to the physical, and when he refers to God, he often uses he and him, always Spiritual. It is when he refers to himself that he vacillates between physical and spiritual/Spiritual. The first me and the first I are obviously physical. The second I might refer to either physical or spiritual. Of course, both the he’s and him’s are Spiritual. The second me goes along with the first he so it must be spiritual too. It is clear that Jesus understood the dichotomy between physical and spiritual/Spiritual. Reading this scripture without these delineations is almost impossible to understand.

John 7:34
You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come."

Jesus considered his real self to be spiritual. So this could be interpreted as “You look for the physical me, but you being physical cannot find the spiritual me. Where I as a spirit am, you are not there yet.” Interpreting this theologically might mean that they hadn’t received (started inquestioning) the Holy Spirit yet, and that Jesus felt that his real self was already in the spirit.

John 8:23
But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

Here Jesus is delineating the dichotomous worlds directly, physical and spiritual, and stating that we are a part of the physical—human life. Interpreted this would translate as the following: You people are living in this physical world.  I'm living in my spiritual/Spiritual world.  Therefore, you are of this physical and I am not in this physical world.

John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

In this familiar verse the message is clearly Spiritual. The real Jesus, Spiritual, is the way; the only real truth is the Spiritual Jesus; and the Spiritual life is real life.

Finally, the masterly introductory message to John shows that the Spiritual Jesus has always been.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Matthew and the Kingdom of Heaven

Extending our interpretation beyond the pronouns but still using the spirit/Spiritual and physical delineations helps greatly in understanding scriptures.
As partial corroboration of this tenet is Matthew’s rather insistent reminder throughout his writing that we can have a little bit of the Spirit (Kingdom of Heaven) while still here on earth. Read the Parable of the Sower as an example. Here are a few lines from the parable with some of the words interpreted. Remember the code as you read by thinking bold, underline as spiritual and bold alone as physical.

"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

Mankind does have the power to understand (I prefer the word perceive with the perception emerging through inquestioning) at least something about the Spirit. I interpret this to mean that anyone has the power to do this. Furthermore, I consider the spirit/Spiritual life to be real life. All the physical living we have to endure is only pretense, a life sentence of pretense if you will. And, it is only through this life, being our self, that we can perceive the spirit/Spirit, the real life, the way we will perceive eternity.

Paul’s Explanation of Life in the Spirit

I have attempted an elucidation of Romans using my own interpretation of life in the spirit. Most all of the book of Romans is Paul’s way of explanation of the physical and spiritual life. Here is a part of my interpretation of Chapter 8.

8:1 Therefore, God holds nothing against those of us who are saved in Christ Jesus because it is through Christ that the true life in my Spirit has set me free from this world of sin and spiritual death. The religious law and teachings are meant for our sinful nature, our physical, emotional, and mental makeup, but God sent Jesus in the form of a human to be our offering for our sin. In this way we can have the power to live through our God-filled Spirit rather than allowing our sinful nature to rule our lives. 

8:5 Those who live according to his or her sinful nature permit their thinking to be ruled by their actions and emotions, but those who live in accordance with his or her new Spirit have their thinking ruled from their Spirit. Thinking controlled by the body leads to death, but thinking controlled by the Spirit leads to real life and peace. Sinful-thinking persons do things against God, never allowing Him to be involved in their thinking. There is no way for a sinful nature to please God. 

8:9 Those of you who have submitted to God filling your spirit with His goodness belong to Christ. It is as if your body is dead because of sin, but your spirit has become one with the Soul of God and is now his perfect Spirit in you. The God who made your spirit a God-filled Spirit is the same God who raised Jesus from His physical death and is living in you. This same God will help your mortal body to live through your new Spirit. 

8:12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have a great debt, not to our sinful bodies because that leads to death, but to the Spirit which brings to us real life. Those who accept this debt are considered to be sons and daughters of God. 

8:15 Your new Spirit helps you not to fear because it is like you are a child of the Spirit which is God. It is like having an affectionate, caring Father that we can go to at any time and say, "I love you, Father." The Soul of God completely takes over our spirit and makes us a part of Him as a son or daughter is to their father or mother. Furthermore, just as children inherit from their parents, we spiritually inherit from our God as Christ inherited. We share the communion or living with God, but we also share in the suffering of Jesus as a part of the world. 

8:18 The little suffering that we do while living in this world is as nothing compared to the wonderful things that we will someday inherit. We wait with some impatience to be set free from the sin of this creation and all the problems that are a part of this physical world in order to be brought into the wonderful inherited freedom set up for the children of God. 

8:23 All of God's human children wait with great hope for the formal adoption as heavenly sons and daughters. It is through this hope that we are saved, but hope for something that we already have is not hope at all; it is when we hope for something of which we do not have that we must patiently wait. 

8:26 As we hope and wait patiently, our Spirit works with the weakness of our body. Since we are weak we pray, but we don't even know what words to say when we pray; however, we are blessed because our God-filled Spirit guides our minds with words that we never knew we could think. God, who searches our thoughts and feelings, knows what is in His own mind and then works through our spirit interceding for those persons who are faithful. All this is done according to God's will (the determination of God as to what our future should be). 

8:28 We know that whatever happens to us God is working through His goodness for persons who love Him and are allowing Him to work according to His plan of salvation.

      8:29 The plan works like this: 

(1) For all of us whom He knew should be saved, He gives the power to have the Spirit of God invade each of his or her spirits; just as His Son became this Spirit on His resurrection (Spirit taken back to God), it, therefore, has a prominent place in our beings. 

(2) Those whom He gives the power to have the Spirit invade his or her spirit, He allows them to work for Him. 

(3) Those whom He allows to work for Him, He declares them to be in right relations with Him. 

(4) Those in right relations with Him He allows them to share in the wonder of His divine existence. 

8:31 The result summed up is this: If God is on our side, it makes no difference who or what is against us. Since God even gave His own Son to the world (this physical life,) He will surely give us all spiritual things.  Don't worry about persons of this world condemning you.  God, in the Spirit, does not condemn. Snce He loved us so much that He would have His Son suffer in this world right along with us, it only follows that He will give us all of our Spiritual desires (everything we need to complete His will in our lives).

For further study using my biblical interpretations, please see here.

Conclusions

There are two worlds for which we must account if we are to be Godly and satisfy our spirit—the physical and the spiritual/Spiritual. God, through the words of the scripture writers in the message of Jesus, makes it clear that we are physical beings not Spiritual; however, God as a Spirit invades our spirit helping us survive in this world.