CHAPTER 2: THE HUMAN HARDWARE

In Chapter One we saw how we are fearfully and wonderfully made...and how the process of speaking and hearing...in the physical, natural realm...is a syngergistic process of receiving and transmitting information. In the physical we have vocal folds, respiratory system, teeth, lips, gums, tongue, soft palate, pharyngeal cavity, nasal cavity...all coordinated to transmit sound. In the physical we also have the ear (receiver of sound). The ear is composed of the outer, middle and inner ear. The ear consists of many intricate parts that has a part in the receiving of the transmitted sound. The ear consists of: the pinna/aurical (bilateral on each side of the noggin)...that catches the transmitted sound waves. The ear canal then directs the sound to the tympanic memebrane (eardrum) that becomes the entrance into the middle ear that takes sound wave energy and changes it into mechanical energy. The 3 bones system attaches to the inner ear/cochlea...and translates the mechanical energy into hydrolic wave motion that altenates waves of fluid around the cochlea, that snaps tiny hair structures and turns the hydro energy into electrical energy. The track around the cochlea is attuned to certain frequencies of sound that is transferred to the brain (control central) via the VIII Cranial Nerve (acoustic nerve) turning that sound into neural energy. In the brain, the sound is then deciphered...decoded...analyzed and either stored for future reference or responded to via the speech mechanisms. This physical process is going on constantly...handling multiple messages and can be one on one or one to an auditorium filled with other receiver/transmitters.

UNDERSTANDING THE HARDWARE

In the natural there are physical things that breaks down the communication process...and in the spiritual...there are things that breaks down our Divine link. We need to understand the hardware that God has given us , for the communication process in the physical and the spiritual.

PURPOSE OF THE HARDWARE

God uses the human hardware to: (1) Communicate with us (2) Allows us to communicate with Him (3) Allows us to communicate His Word to others. We begin to SPEAK words not taught by human wisdom..but those taught by the Spirit...combining (1) Spiritual thoughts (2) Spiritual words. (I Corninthians 2:13)

CLAY VESSELS

God chooses to use the human...clay...flesh...fallible speech and hearing mechanisms...to speak to us...and for us to communicate with Him and to others. WHY???? I don't know. I don't even know why Jesus loves me. I don't grasp and comprehend why He allowed Himself to be hung on the cross in my place as a substitue for my sins...becoming the satisfaction (propitiation) for God.

UNDERSTAND/DON'T UNDERSTAND

I found out a long time ago...that my understanding or not understanding is not the criteria for truth. Just because I don't understand something, does not negate the validity of something. Before I had an inkling of an idea how the speech and hearing process worked...that did not stop me from speaking and hearing. I really don't have a clue as to how electricity works...or how a computer works...or how a telephone works...but that does not stop me from using them in my daily life. I can't see the air that I breath...but that does not stop me from inhaling and exhaling.

GODISNOWHERE

If you take some time and look at the letters GODISNOWHERE...you will either decode this phrase as GOD IS NO WHERE....or you will decode the phrase as GOD IS NOW HERE. Same phrase...different interpretation...it all depends on how you look at it. So it is with spiritual matters. If you look at them from a totally physical point of view...you will miss the spiritual implications.

HUMAN/SPIRITUAL HARDARE

At the first of this chapter...there was a diagram of the breakdown of man/woman/humans. This is an important concept to understanding the mystery of the communication process with God.

"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit, soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (I Thessalonians 5:23)

This verse reveals the breakdown of man/woman/humans. We are not just a body walking around aimlessly. We are not just a soul that is ruled and shaped by the nurtured/innate training and emotion. There is a third component that we often ignore..or lump into the soul category. That third element is the spirit (little s versus big S). The big S is the Holy Spirit...the little s is the human spirit. We will delve deeper in to this in the next chapter.

THE KOINE' FACTOR

God's heartbeat is communication. In the Greek language there is a word that describes God's heartbeat...KOINE'. This word means COMMON. The New Testament is written in the KOINE' language versus the CLASSICAL Greek language. It was the language of the common man. The word koine' is a root for other words such as communication, communion. It is the word KOINONIA...which means fellowship or sharing life around a common purpose.

THE WORD

"In the beginning was the WORD/JESUS...and the WORD/JESUS was with God...and the WORD/JESUS was God. He/THE WORD/JESUS was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by HIM/THE WORD/JESUS and apart from HIM/THE WORD/JESUS nothing came into being that has come into being. In HIM/THE WORD/JESUS was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it...and the WORD/JESUS became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld HIS/THE WORD/JESUS' glory...glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:1-5, 14)

The mystery..revealed...is that the Holy Spirit interacts with the human spirit. Jesus...the Word...God...became flesh and dwelt among us...came down to our level...for the purpose of communicating the Good news...by word...and by action.

See ya next chapter.