Article of the month of June 2008
"Artificial, Natural and Supernatural or Spiritual"
by Dr. John Williams


It is important to understand the differences between the 'Artificial' (designed and created by man), 'Natural' (designed and created by God), and 'Supernatural or Spiritual' (which is the exclusive realm arena or territory of God, his characteristic or nature). It is good to have a clear idea about the differences between these three basic kinds of things in the universe.
 

# Artificial Natural Supernatural or Spiritual
1. Something designed and made by man with some substance from the planet earth  Something designed and made by God as living creatures or as natural environment Something that exists and controls the natural world and everything in it
2. It is subject to damage, loss, destruction or becoming outdated, non-functional or non-existent It is self sustaining and self regulating but can be subject to sickness, accident or even natural catastrophe It is something eternal, indestructible and everlasting
3. Generally it is tangible, visible and operational as designed and made until it is damaged in some way or destroyed Generally it is living with the ability to move in some way, nourish itself, grow and self perpetuate Generally it is invisible, intangible, immortal, incomprehensible but can be spiritually discerned through spiritual eyes when enlightened, spiritual ears when it operates, understood through spiritual enlightening or tasted spiritually or felt by a spiritual touch
4. Gives worldly or physical pleasure, comfort, utility, protection or entertainment Serves as food or prey, provides something valuable or used as a cleansing agent or develops or grows in to a valuable substance Provides supernatural protection, supernatural provisions, executes justice and judgment on this planet earth or violation of natural laws or instigates immoral behavior
5. Produced by human intelligence, creativity through hand by skill, tool or a machine  Created by God’s, design, idea and wisdom Created by God, with no boundary whatsoever in terms of length, width, height or depth which is beyond human comprehension or understanding, and this area or arena not only serves as the dwelling place of God but also to fulfill his long term plans to create heaven, hell, new Jerusalem and to serve as an abode for the angelic beings etc. The vastness of the heaven, which is the abode of God, where there is a galaxy of stars and innumerable and immeasurable planets suspended in the air and the distance from the earth and between them are described only in terms of light miles which portrays the infinite nature of heaven where God and angelic beings generally abide with the ability to monitor and visit earth.
6. Eg. A car, an appliance, a piece of furniture Eg. An animal, physical man, food, fish, a tree, a mountain, a river Eg. God, Angels, Devils, Spiritual man

It is interesting to note that man is "supernaturally natural" and God is "naturally supernatural", because both of them have access to the natural and the supernatural realms. Several things about man is not scientifically explained even by the doctors who treats the patients either medically or surgically. When a person dies in a hospital the doctors say that the person is clinically dead meaning that he has no vital signs of life.

The bible clearly states that man is constituted by a physical body, a soul and a spirit. The spirit of man is the counter part of God or the life giving energy. The soul consists of three components which are the will, the mind and the emotion. Nobody can dispute this explanation about man. The person may not know the word 'soul' but going by this definition no body can disagree with this explanation or description of the third component of a human being namely the soul which consists of these three components. According to the Bible when a person dies the body perishes and returns back to the earth from where it came but, the soul and the spirit which are intricately intertwined and leave the body when it dies, and has everlasting existence, either in the hell created for the devils or in heaven which is the abode of God, to be with him for ever and ever, enjoying the presence of God and enjoying the treasures of heaven. There is no other logical or acceptable explanation given by any scientist about the human being who according to the Bible was created in the image and the likeness of God.

God who is immortal, invisible, almighty, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent has created man according to the account given in the Bible in Genesis I as follows. God took some cosmic dust in his hand and formed a man out of it, and breathed into his nostril his spirit when he became a living soul. It is further mentioned in the same chapter that God created man in his own image and after his likeness, in order to love and to be loved by him in return, and to have fellowship with him and he with God. God has created man even above the angels which are ministering spirits with some extraordinary or supernatural characteristics which a man in human form does not have but will have when he puts on the immortality when Christ returns, in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, when he will be able to have a spiritual body and be able to disappear in one place and appear in another place during the millennium which is the thousand year rule of Christ, on this earth along with the saints of God whose names are written in the Golden Book, and will be checked by the angels as each person enters heaven after death through the pearly gate, in New Jerusalem a city built by God for the saints to dwell and to rule and reign this earth along with him for one thousand years after 6000 years from the time of creation of this world.

In conclusion, it is important to point out a few verses from the bible which say, that a fool said in his heart "There is no God". Further the Bible says that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. There is a difference between godly wisdom and man's wisdom. The bible also says that man's wisdom is God's foolishness. In order to illustrate the foolishness of man, Jesus during his ministry gave a very striking illustration. He that builds a house on the sand is a fool because when the floods come the house will be washed away whereas God compared the wise man to some one who build a house upon the rock because when the winds come and the waves toss against the house, it will stand on the firm ground and will not fall. This is compared to a wise man that builds his life upon the firm foundation of the word of God which is compared to a solid rock. Just to contrast the vast difference between God who is infinite and is the creator and the man who is finite and is perishable while God is eternal and everlasting. Therefore it is important to note that man made artificial things which may seem very attractive to a man is far inferior to the things created by God naturally. We are naturally created beings and so also all the creatures, the plant and the animal kingdoms in its present form with all the extraordinary capabilities which they have, they are endowed with, they can discern God, fellowship with him, worship him, praise him, love him, serve him, and are even endowed with several Godly or spiritual attributes which to a worldly natural man will be incomprehensible because he tries to understand and interpret all those godly attributes which develop in man only with his finite mind and is limited to the worldly wisdom only. In conclusion, it is important to make this vital distinction between man made artificial things, the God created natural things and the spiritual things which cannot be discerned physically, understood intellectually but can be experienced or discerned spiritually. This area is vast, infinite, immeasurable, intellectually incomprehensible, and this is God's domain, which can be experienced spiritually and one can be born into it spiritually and dwell in it, while we are still on this earth in a physical form, and experience & enjoy spiritually all the heavenly joy, peace and pleasures that God has in stored for his children in this earth, and of course, after the physical death or the return of Christ, which ever occurs earlier all those who have been saved by the precious blood of Lord Jesus Christ can enter into heaven literally and live in the presence of God for ever and ever!!!
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