Genesis 1:1 & 26-27, and Genesis 2:7:
Created: When YHVH God created [bara] man,
Formed: He formed [yatsar] man of the dust of the ground; and
Breathed: breathed (naphach) into his nostrils the breath (nshamah) of life (chay); and
Became: the man became [H1961 haya] a living [chay] soul (nephesh).
Hayah: To exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass.
"The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7).
Jesus said:
"The Spirit [pneuma - G4151]
breathes [pneo - G4154]
where He desires,
and you hear His voice [phone - G5456],
but you do not know from where He comes, and where He goes;
so is everyone who is born [gennáō]
of the Spirit." (John 3:8).
"That which is born [gennáō] of the flesh (body) is flesh,
and that which is born [gennáō] of the Spirit is spirit.
Do not be amazed that I said to you,
'You must all be born from above.'" (John 3:6-7).
God alone possesses life [zoe] in Himself (John 1:4 & John 5:26). The life [zoe] that is in Him is eternal life [zoe aionios].
-- "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath (spirit) of life; and man became a living [zao/chay] soul [nephesh]." * -- Genesis 2:7.
* The Hebrew word can also be translated as living being, as in the NETfree translation of the word.
The Bible tells us that all flesh died in the flood because ever since the fall of Adam, the breath (spirit) of life [zoe] which is in the flesh does not remain in the flesh eternally - and that which is born of the flesh, is flesh:
Genesis 6:17
"And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath (spirit) of life [zoe], from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die."
So what happens to the human spirit when the body dies?
"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was:
and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."
(Ecclesiastes 12:7 - Solomon).
When Jesus raised a young girl from the dead, the gospel of Luke tells us that:
"her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat." (Luke 8:55).
When a human being is born into the world (born of the flesh), we have the breath of life, which is of God (all life is of God) - but that life is not eternal life unless we are born of the Spirit of God.
We receive eternal life IN CHRIST when we are born of the Spirit.
Soul:
The New Testament uses the Greek word psychḗ (or psuche) interchangeably in reference to the life, mind, and soul of humans who are alive | living [zao]: The mind/thoughts/emotions/soul of humans = the life (psychḗ) that exists with the living [zao] person whose body is not lifeless, not dead,
Born of the flesh:
"And Jacob begat [gennao] Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ." -- Matthew 1:16.
Note: Jesus the Messiah did not need to be be "born again". He was born of God from the first, the beginning. He was not gennao (begotten) of a human father:
"Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived [gennao] in her is of the Holy Ghost." -- Matthew 1:20.
Gennao can refer to a human life which is conceived, as well as to a human life which is born.
Whether conceived or born, what takes place is not a (dead) human life being "regenerated or resurrected or quickened": it's conceived or born from the first, the beginning:
Born of the Spirit:
"Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a man is born [gennáō] from the first [anothen], he cannot see the kingdom of God. Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born [gennáō] from the first [anothen]." -- John 3:3 & 6-7.
ano-then:
ano: Strongs Greek Dictionary G507: adverb from 473; upward or on the top:--above, brim, high, up.
anothen: Strongs Greek Dictionary G509: From above; by analogy, from the first; by implication, anew:--from above, again, from the beginning (very first), the top.
VERSES WHERE anothen MEANS "FROM THE FIRST, THE BEGINNING"
"It seemed good to me also, following all things accurately from the very first [anothen], to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus" -- Luke 1:3
"My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews; Which knew me from the beginning [anothen], if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee." -- Acts 26:4-5
"But now, after that all of you have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn all of you again to the weak and beggarly elements, unto which all of you desire again [anothen - from the beginning] to be in bondage?" -- Galatians 4:9.
A VERSE WHERE [anothen] MEANS "FROM THE TOP"
Matthew 27:51 (parallel Mark 15:38):
"And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top [anothen] to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent." -- Matthew 27:51.
A VERSE WHERE [anothen] MEANS "FROM ABOVE"
"He that comes from above [anothen] is above [epano] all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaks of the earth: he that comes from heaven is above [epano] all." -- John 3:31.
epano: Strongs Greek G1883: up above, i.e. over or on (of place, amount, rank, etc.):--above, more than, (up-)on, over.
We are born once of the flesh (the natural body), and once of the Spirit. Jesus was saying that unless we are born anew, from the first, the beginning, and from above, we cannot perceive or experience the Kingdom of God.
Peter wrote:
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth [anagennáō] into a living (záō) hope THROUGH the resurrection (anástasis) of Jesus Christ from the dead." (1 Peter 1:3).
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All flesh died in the flood because ever since the fall of Adam, the breath (spirit) of life [zoe] which is in the flesh does not remain in the flesh eternally - and that which is born of the flesh, is flesh:
Genesis 6:17
"And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath (spirit) of life [zoe], from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die."
So what happens to the human spirit when the body dies?
"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was:
and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."
(Ecclesiastes 12:7 - Solomon).
* The new birth is not talking about a so-called "spiritual regeneration" of a so-called 'dead' or non-existent human spirit".
* Being "BORN again" does not imply that a 'dead' or non-existent human spirit is being quickened to life:
- it's talking about the life (ZOE, of the Spirit) of Christ coming to live in the one who is born again of the Spirit, placing us in Christ and giving us eternal life:
"When the Messiah, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3:4).
Stripped of the faulty interpretations of man-made theologies, in the New Testament quickening is always referring to the quickening of the body that died / the dead body.
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