The Life That is Truly Life

How does the physical interface with the spiritual?

Jim Berge

For a while now I have been wondering about how the spiritual world interfaces with the physical world. Obviously, there is a point of contact between the two realms of existence, which are in their nature separate from and even opposed to each other, yet are intimately associated. Miracles happen. Thoughts turn into action. Conscience dictates physical behavior. Guilt and happiness control our outward demeanor. Physical actions accomplished with our physical bodies either lead to sin or provide eternal rewards, both constituting spiritual consequences.
Those who do not believe in an immortal soul may not care about such things, but Christians - who believe in a transcendent God and an eternal world of existence beyond what we can physically see - ought to wonder about how God's invisible world associates itself with the physical, created universe. Only then can we understand the consequences and realities behind our daily activities, actions, motives and responses.

My Questions

At what point does a spiritual conviction or reality affect the physical realm? Can a person who does not even believe in eternal things nevertheless be governed by eternal truths about spiritual reality? Are those who are strictly non- or anti-religious still governed by the spiritual laws God has set forth? The bible is clear about the existence of a “spiritual reality” and on how we ought to view it: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen in eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).
     But how does one fix his or her eyes on “what is unseen”? How do we fix our eyes on the eternal, unseen things that God is interested in? What does it mean to “fix our eyes?” Consider Hebrews 12:1-2: “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith”
     Since we obviously cannot see Jesus with out physical eyes, is the writer referring to spiritual eyes? If so, what does it mean when we are urged to avoid fixing our spiritual eyes on what is seen? Would that not require physical eyes? The point is obviously to concentrate our efforts in this life on things eternal, which cannot be seen with physical eyes, yet the very act of choosing to focus on eternal things requires a response by our fleshly bodies to obey God's commands and do with our bodies what he would have us do.
     Consider that God created the physical universe. He spoke everything into being, creating matter from nothing. This matter obeys certain physical laws, but holds mysteries which humankind cannot seem to understand. Quantum realities - the freaky and sometimes unpredictable behavior of matter and/or energy on a subatomic level - hint at some type of “force”, unquantifiable by modern science, that smacks of supernaturalism. Various realities in this physical universe of ours seem too fabulous or too complex to be described by mathematics, so many physicists default to metaphysical constructions, which explains the profusion of such books in the physics section of the bookstore.
     Is there really a metaphysical reality underlying the physical world? Do such things as quantum mechanics and gravity, the origin of the universe, the laws of physics, and the language of mathematics possess an inherently spiritual or supernatural component?
     James 2:26 says, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” If the body without the spirit is dead, then the spirit must have been a crucial component of the physical body. Is it not possible for a body to live without the spirit intact? What if a body is kept alive artificially, but the spirit is gone? Can this happen?
     Thus far, I have asked lots of questions, and now I hope to discuss some of my ideas about answers. But don't expect solid answers that have meaning in our visible, physical existence. I am struggling with this issue, and by providing these thoughts hope to provoke the minds and spirits of our readers to think with me, to struggle together with me in finding answers, to give me advice and consultation on the method God uses to bring spiritual meaning to a fallen, sin-stained world. Please respond with comments and ideas, and we can then grow together.

Training Ground

My first comment is to remind readers that life in these mortal bodies is merely a training ground for eternity. We must remember, first and foremost, that as Christians, we ought to be about the business of storing up treasures in heaven, not on earth: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). Please recognize that Jesus did not say “Work harder at storing up treasures in heaven than on earth.” He distinctly said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth”
     Once again, by virtue of our physical actions, we can store up spiritual treasures. There must be some intimate juncture between what is physical and what is spiritual. The deeds we do in these bodies have spiritual consequences, which is a very difficult concept to grasp. It helps to view these physical bodies of ours as temporary homes for the part of us which will live eternally: “I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body” (2 Peter 1:13): “but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body” (Philippians 1:24).
     These scriptures reveal the body as a temporary dwelling for the eternal, real part of us. As such, we are using them only temporarily, during our training on earth. The body is to the spirit as the uniform is to the infantryman. Our uniform while we are on earth is a “tent” of flesh and blood, which is titillated by temptation, gratified by sensuous pleasures, hurt by inflicted wounds, and soothed by comforts like chocolate, strong coffee, and a roaring fire. Our response to temptations and luxuries while we are on earth will dictate the type of eternity we will have.
     Our bodies, then, are a tent, which in biblical times was a temporary habitation. In town many people built homes of native materials. When traveling or on exodus, they lived in tents, keeping all their physical belongings with them. This is how we ought to view our lives on earth, and this is substantiated by Hebrews 11:13 and 1 Peter 2:11, which identify us as “aliens” in this world. We are only passing through.
     It is important to remember that although we are temporary inhabitants of this world, we are nevertheless required to live responsibly while here. The world will cling to any excuse to derogatorily label Christians as “anti-environment,” or “so heavenly-minded that we are of no earthly good.” Let us be out there in the world, reveling in our physical existence, enjoying the sensations, hardships, joys, tribulations, and emotions that God has given us in these fallible bodies of flesh, yet experiencing and enjoying it with an eternal perspective.

Why Do It This Way?

Even though we may eventually understand how the physical/spiritual boundary works, we may never fully comprehend the question of “Why?” Why did God create matter and energy, a physical universe governed by physical laws which cannot be broken, and then filled it with bodies of flesh which had the prerogative to sin? The ultimate question of “Why did God choose to do it this way” is far beyond the scope of this article. Perhaps we must simply be satisfied with the response that God knows what he's doing. Paul, in the book of Ephesians, offers a detailed explanation regarding God's ultimate plan. Perhaps here we can get an idea of his reasoning. He states that the reason God chose him to preach the message of grace was: “to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose” (Ephesians 3:9-10)
     Perhaps the whole reason for the creation of the universe, God's 20-billion year experiment, was merely to prove to the powers that be that he is truly God. By giving immortal souls physical bodies which can be tempted, and which can rise above temptations to a higher plane of existence, God is proving that he is worthy of love, worthy of respect and admiration, worthy to be declared as Lord of heaven and earth. By creating automatons with no free will, with bodies that cannot be influenced by either good or evil, God's character would not have been established. Sure, he would be recognized as a brilliant Creator, but not as one who is worthy of being chosen, even in the face of grave opposition, as Lord and Master of individual lives here on this mortal earth.
     We do know that the physical laws by which the universe is now governed will change. The new creation, which is coming, will no longer be subject to its bondage to decay. This implies that the trend toward greater entropy in the present universe - that is, the tendency of everything to break down, to decay, to go from more usable and more organized to less usable and less organized - will change to an incorruptible nature. The second law of thermodynamics may become obsolete. The laws that govern our existence now will become vague recollections of a darker, more sinister time when we inhabited sinful physical bodies.
     The distinctions between the physical world and the spiritual world we now experience will certainly become less obvious, or likely disappear. Our life in the new earth promised in Revelation will be the fulfillment of the hope we have in a world of perfection, where physical limitations disintegrate, where pain - emotional, physical, spiritual - are a thing of the distant past. Only after having experienced life in these disgusting mortal bodies can we truly appreciate our new immortality.
     Perhaps now we can get a glimpse at the answer to the question “Why?” Perhaps God purposely intended us to realize the stark contrast between what we have now and what will be. In the bible, much emphasis is placed on hope. Hope is one of the things which keeps us going through difficult times - hope for a time when the physical constraints and difficulties we struggle with will disappear, replaced by a more excellent existence. When those surrounded by pain and difficulty, abused but not broken, beaten but not discouraged, chose in spite of it all to serve Christ, then and only then can his worth be recognized by all, including “the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.”

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