Part 1 - Understanding Man’s Quandary

This Article is part of a multi-part Study Series called The Mystery of Man & His Search.

For most of mankind there is an inner sense that something is obviously missing. Deep within everybody knows it and mostly unconsciously tries to fill the void with many things and pursuits. Yet, it’s a void that seems it can’t be filled.

Without thinking about it, most humans try to find what is missing in their life;

  • by their pursuit of and preoccupation with endless activities, going from this to that.
  • Most pursuing physical pleasures and the acquisition of more and more “things.”
  • Others give themselves to more and more education, hoping to find the answer.
  • Some pursue gross sin to gratify the basest desires of their flesh.
  • Others turn to false mystical eastern religions or ‘drug trips’ that never satisfy their innermost yearning.
  • But most just deny the inner longing and simply plod along merely trying to hold life together.

There may not be anything terribly wrong with some of these pursuits, but none of these satisfies a person’s inner longing needing to be satisfied. The fact is that these are all dead ends, and as we proceed, we’ll see why that is true.

The fact is that there is a God-given inner yearning for satisfaction that is inborn to every human. That inner yearning is like a tune that cannot be forgotten. It comes again and again – the sense that there must be something more to be found in life. Perhaps as you relax, trying to sleep, there’s a gnawing sense of dissatisfaction that returns – a sense that something is missing.

We may search out and try out so many things in the course of our lives, only to find they do not satisfy our deepest longing. Actually, that’s okay because virtually all of us will go wrong for some time in order to become convinced that nothing in and of this world offers real inner satisfaction. Yet, the fact is that seeking to quench and satisfy this yearning within is the driving force within every person. It is that inner desire that propels us on, unknowingly, from the time of our human birth. In the course of our lifetime, we may be led down many empty and blind alleys before we find the truth of the real source for real satisfaction.

Thus, most people have some basic questions needing to be answered.

  • What is man?
  • Why Man? What is his first purpose?
  • From where does this inner sense of ‘something missing’ come and how can it be satisfied?

So, to himself man is a mystery in the universe. Of all the creatures on earth only man is so driven by this inner yearning. Animals live instinctually, but man has this deeper awareness of his emptiness and it drives him on into whatever direction.

Although we know more about man now than ever before, his DNA, RNA, the human genome, cell structure, the working of the brain, bodily organs, and computer technology and A.I., but most still do not admit to or understand man’s innermost need. For most, man’s life on earth remains a mystery.

Most philosophers, psychologists, and theologians realize that man is not so simple. He is regarded as an entity with a dual nature, being both physical and metaphysical – both biological and psychological. So, many pursue these realms scientifically. What they’ve found is pretty much the extent of the common understanding of the fundamental make-up of man. Still, in the light of this degree of understanding man in and of himself remains powerless to quench his sense of inner emptiness.

So, let’s now examine the Biblical understanding of man’s tri-part make-up; being physical in body and also metaphysical, consisting of man as a ‘soul’ being and also having “the spirit of man” within his being.

  • By our body, we possess “world consciousness.”
  • By our soul, we are a unique ‘individual self.’ We can communicate thoughts, have feelings, and make willful self-conscious” decisions.
  • It is by our SPIRIT OF MAN (Zech. 12:1) that we are “GOD-CONSCIOUS.” – for God is a Spirit being. It is by our “spirit of man” that we can …HEAR (or sense) the “Spirit of God” and actually RECEIVE the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus” into us… and thereby come to KNOW GOD … personally, intimately.

“The spirit of man [that organ with the human, which proceeds immediately from God] is the lamp [light] of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts [the soul]. (Proverbs 20:27 (Amplified Bible)