“The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven” Part 4 (Pro 20:27-30)
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“The first man is of the earth, earthy:
the second man is the Lord from heaven” Part 4
(Pro 20:27-30)
[Study Aired October 30, 2025]
Pro 20:27 The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.
Pro 20:28 Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.
Pro 20:29 The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head.
Pro 20:30 The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.
“The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD”(Jer 18:1) explains why the first man Adam must be earthy in order to become the second man, the Lord from heaven (1Co 15:43-47). We are marred and formed in sinful flesh by God’s hand (Psa 51:5), the same hand that has determined that we are His workmanship (Eph 2:10), which will have light come out of darkness (2Co 4:6) as we go from glory to glory, via the ripping of the veil (2Co 3:18).
1Co 15:43 It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory, it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power,
1Co 15:44 It is sown a body of the soul, it is raised a body of the spirit; if there is a body of the soul, there is also of the spirit:—
1Co 15:45 Thus, also, it is written—The first man, Adam, became, a living soul, the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.
1Co 15:46 Howbeit, not first, is the body of the spirit, but that, of the soul,—afterwards, that of the spirit.
1Co 15:47 The first man, is of the ground, earthy, the second man, is, of heaven:2Co 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2Co 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
He makes it a new vessel (2Co 5:17-18, Rev 21:5) “so he made it again another vessel”, not a better marred vessel, but a brand new creation in Christ, otherwise it would be necessary to continue to know Christ after the flesh (2Co 5:16). As we know, Christ must increase and we must decrease (Joh 3:30) so we can go onto perfection on the third day (Luk 13:32) if God will permit (Heb 6:3). This is the process that is hidden from the world and explained in these words in scripture as being, “as seemed good to the potter to make it.”.
All men will be saved, in a specific order [one of two resurrections] and so we read this other “as seemed good” statement that refers to God’s elect, found in (Luk 10:21), “for so it seemed good in thy sight”.
Luk 10:21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.
Going from ‘the first earthy man to the second man the Lord from heaven’ is also expressed in these words, “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit”. With that subject in mind, we’ll look at the last few verses of Proverbs 20, which help us understand how this process of going unto perfection is being accomplished in the lives of God’s children.
Pro 20:27 The spiritH5397 of man is the candleH5216 of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.
A closer examination of this word “spiritH5397” will reveal to us how man’s spirit can only be enlightened by “the candle of the LORD” (Psa 18:28) that searches the inward parts of our belly, where judgement is taking place in the lives of God’s children that is now bringing forth rivers of living water. God’s purpose for mankind is also unfolding according to the counsel of His own will who works all things (Gen 7:11, Joh 7:38, Ecc 1:11). “The candle of the LORD” makes manifest all that is within us, turning darkness to the Light.
Psa 18:28 For thou wilt light my candleH5216: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
The living waters that break forth from the elect happen as a result of our foundations being broken up through judgement (1Pe 4:17), typified with these words, “the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened”(Gen 7:11). When judgement occurs in our lives (1Pe 4:17) our heavens are opened and the first man Adam and all the beasts of the field are drowned in a lifetime of baptisms, little and by little (Exo 23:30, Gen 7:20). In this dispensation of grace for God’s elect, those chastening and scourging experiences of our life are carefully orchestrated and accompanied with the faith of Christ and God’s love that is shed abroad in our hearts (Rom 5:5), so we can be strengthened to obediently go through this process and be witnesses of how His power accomplishes His purpose in the body of Christ (Rom 8:28).
Gen 7:20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. [the earth, earth, earth that we are completely drowned through judgement (fifteen = 5×3)]
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Eventually in God’s perfect timing, the elect will break the foundations of this world (Rev 11:15), and the word of God will fill the world as the oceans are filled with water (Hab 2:14), not to preserve humanity but rather to drown the first marred Adam with the word of God, a word that will be rejected, revealing the stubbornness of flesh that cannot obey God from the heart unless there is a miraculous change of heart, which will only happen in the lake of fire (Eze 36:26).
Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
The word will go forth from the body of Christ, those who have already had their lives judged and their foundations broken up, and those rivers of living water that come forth from the body of Christ will not return void (Isa 55:11) when all the world will be judged in the second resurrection, lake of fire, great white throne judgement (Mat 12:37, Rev 20:14-15).
Isa 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Mat 12:37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
It is through God’s judgement of our flesh that we are drawn out of many waters. He troubles our hearts with much tribulation/darkness (Act 14:22) in order to bring us to cease from sinning (2Pe 2:14). Now we are learning obedience by the things we suffer, following Christ’s example by his power and might so that we can be obedient unto death, even the death of a cross (How we are drawn out of many waters Php 2:7-8, Gal 2:20, 1Jn 4:17).
Just to make clear that this use of the word “spirit” in this verse has everything to do with judgement, we’ll look at these following verses and the context in which the word “spirit” is being used. Notice the same language being used to describe what happens when God uses man’s spirit [from God] as a candle in the following verses (Gen 2:7, 2Sa 22:13-18, Psa 18:13-16, Job 4:8-9).
H5397 spirit neshâmâh nesh-aw-maw’
From H5395 (“to blow away; destroy”); a puff, that is, wind, angry or vital breath, divine inspiration, intellect or (concretely) an animal: – blast, (that) breath (-eth), inspiration, soul, spirit.BDB Definition:
1) breath, spirit
1a) breath (of God)
1b) breath (of man)
1c) every breathing thing
1d) spirit (of man)
Part of Speech: noun feminine
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from H5395Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breathH5397(From H5395; a puff, that is, wind, angry or vital breath, divine inspiration, intellect or (concretely) an animal : –blast (that) breath(-eth) inspiration soul spirit) of life; and man became a living soul. [marred in the hand of the Potter]
1Co 15:43 It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory, it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power,
1Co 15:44 It is sown a body of the soul, it is raised a body of the spirit; if there is a body of the soul, there is also of the spirit:—
1Co 15:45 Thus, also, it is written—The first man, Adam, became, a living soul, the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.
1Co 15:46 Howbeit, not first, is the body of the spirit, but that, of the soul,—afterwards, that of the spirit.
1Co 15:47 The first man, is of the ground, earthy, the second man, is, of heaven:2Sa 22:13 Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.
2Sa 22:14 The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.
2Sa 22:15 And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them.
2Sa 22:16 And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blastH5397 of the breath of his nostrils. [we discover in God’s time that we are beasts marred in the hand of the Potter, created that way with that spirit from God that cannot do the right thing (Ecc 3:18)]
2Sa 22:17 He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;(Joh 6:44, Psa 107:29-30)
2Sa 22:18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me.(Rom 7:24-25)Psa 18:13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
Psa 18:14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
Psa 18:15 Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blastH5397 of the breath of thy nostrils. [we discover in God’s time that we are beasts, that are marred in the hand of the Potter (Ecc 3:18)]
Psa 18:16 He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.(Joh 6:44, Psa 107:29-30)Job 4:8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.
Job 4:9 By the blastH5397 of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.
The spirit of man is clearly given to us of God. God is sovereign over all that He is working in each man’s life and gives us and uses “the candle of the LORD” to bring to light “all the inward parts of the belly”, the darkness within man that must be ‘consumed’.
That spirit that God has given us ‘goes in a way that seems right to us and leads to death’, which is how God works with the first man Adam who is naturally set on a course of spiritual self destruction (Ecc 1:11, Pro 14:12, Pro 16:25, adding to the equation that mankind does not know the way, we also have Satan who is the god of this world who has deceived all the world. What chance does all flesh have of doing the right thing without God? Answer: None 2Co 4:4).
Pro 20:28 Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.
Our hope of glory is that the king, Jesus Christ (Col 1:27), is preserving our kingship through mercy and truth within us (Psa 89:14-15, Rom 2:4, Joh 8:32-36), and his throne which we are seated on, in heaven (Gen 41:40, Eph 2:6-7), is being upholden by mercy as we go through this life learning how ‘mercy triumphs over judgement’ (Mat 5:7, Jas 2:13).
Psa 89:14 Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.
Psa 89:15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.Joh 8:35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. (Gen 49:26)Mat 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Jas 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. (Rev 12:5, Rev 2:27, Mat 25:24)
Binding mercy and truth on our hearts (Pro 3:3-4) is something that only God can accomplish within us as we are delivered from our Adamic nature, by being given power to cleave unto Christ and the crown of life that has been promised to all those who are granted to do so in this age (Rev 3:11, Jos 23:8, Rev 11:3, Joh 18:9).
Pro 3:3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
Pro 3:4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.Rev 3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Jos 23:8 But cleave unto the LORD your God, as ye have done unto this day.
Joh 18:9 That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none.
It is God’s throne within His children that is being upholden by mercy, a mercy and love so great that it transforms us from our former conversation into citizens of heaven (God’s mercy Rom 5:10, Rom 12:2, Php 3:20), and now we are as good soldiers and ambassadors for Christ (Isa 16:5, 2Ti 2:3).
Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Isa 16:5 And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.
His merciful ways are being fulfilled in the body of Christ who will show the same mercy to the rest of the world one day, having been upholden first, and blessed to be preserved through the truth (Psa 37:27-32) that judges us through Christ who is the King who upholds the kings and priests we are becoming, “Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none” (Heb 4:16).
Psa 37:27 Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.
Psa 37:28 For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; (Heb 13:5) they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
Psa 37:29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.
Psa 37:30 The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.
Psa 37:31 The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
Psa 37:32 The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Pro 20:29 The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head.
We all start off knowing Christ after the flesh, or as ‘young men in our strength’, even if we are physically senior in age. Physical age has no bearing on spiritual maturity, which is what is being typified in this proverb.
The “glory of young men is their strength” is one of the categories found in these verses where Paul writes, “I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one” (1Jn 2:11-17). We are indeed overcoming the wicked one, but that does not mean that we have obtained (Php 3:12-14), or even that we are mature sons who now no longer know Christ after the flesh. All of these stages in our walk in the Lord reveal that there is a process that we all must go through to come to a point where we become a more a mature son, typified by this part of the verse, “and the beauty of old men is the gray head”.
The “beauty of old men is the gray headH7872” is typical of the more mature Christian, and again has nothing to do with physical age or having gray hair, but rather having matured so that we no longer know Christ after the flesh (Lev 19:32, Pro 16:31), as we did in our spiritual youth being yet carnal babes in Christ (2Co 5:16).
Lev 19:32 Thou shalt rise up before the hoary headH7872, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.
Pro 16:31 The hoary headH7872 is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.
Gray hair is a symbol that speaks of spiritual maturity in the one who is being led by the Lord as their head (Rev 1:14) [Christ who is our head (Col 1:18, 1Co 11:3)] as we’re glorified in those things that He does through us, no longer taking glory for any of it (1Co 4:7, Rom 3:27, Php 2:12-13). We are more prone to think above what is written when we are young in the faith (1Co 4:6), however God is faithful and merciful toward the elect, and will deliver us from ourselves and bring us unto maturity in Him (Php 1:6), by little and little (Exo 23:30), through judgement (Isa 30:18).
1Co 4:7 For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
Php 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Exo 23:30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.
Isa 30:18 And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
Pro 20:30 The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the bellyH990.
The evil within us is conquered by the stripes that are inflicted on the inward parts of the belly, the belly being the place of the womb which is typical of the church where the manchild is being formed through much tribulation ,“stripes the inward parts of the belly”.
H990 belly beṭen beh’-ten
From an unused root probably meaning to be hollow; the belly, especially the womb; also the bosom or body of anything: – belly, body, + as they be born, + within, womb.
We cease from sinning when we suffer and it takes these stripes to bring about that change in each member of the body of Christ (1Pe 4:1, Heb 12:6). The good news is that Christ took those stripes upon himself as our high priest so that we can be comforted with the comfort that He can bring us in our darkest hour. Our trials are therefore for each other and will serve to make us more effective in ministering to one another as a joint that supplies in love (Isa 53:4-5, 1Pe 2:24, 1Jn 4:17, Eph 4:16). “The bluenessH2250 of the wound” symbolizes for us that this is a work of grace in the lives of God’s elect that requires the holy spirit to accomplish this “cleansing away evil”(Joh 8:36).
Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripesH2250 we are healed.H2250 chabbûrâh chăbûrâh
From H2266; properly bound (with stripes), that is, a weal (or black and blue mark itself): – blueness, bruise, hurt, stripe, wound.Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
The first and last verse of our study today explain to us how the Lord is going to do away with the Adamic nature within us [the natural first man Adam who is marred in the hand of the potter]…
Pro 20:27 The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.
Pro 20:30 The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.
…and as we have seen it is through His judgements that our loving Father will receive us, providing a way to escape the “law in my members” so that we can endure to the end through Jesus Christ (Pro 20:27, Pro 20:30, Rom 7:24-25).
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.