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Body, Soul and Spirit
Chapter 1: The Creation Of Man
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
I was often thwarted when I first began to teach the scriptures. The reason being an inability to explain the difference between the soul and the spirit. How does one describe something one can’t see or touch? I knew the pertinent scriptures, so I would simply quote them in response to being questioned on the subject. However, something was lacking. It was apparent that those whom I taught also did not grasp the difference. They often confused their emotions with God’s anointing. Frustrations arose because it was clear that the word of God, itself, should distinguish between these three parts of our being.
For the word of God is … sharper than any two-edged sword, … piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit….
What was missing? It seemed as if I was wielding a dull sword. Even though I knew what the Bible had to say on the subject, my understanding fell short of what I knew the Lord desired, especially when I taught on subjects relating to the Holy Spirit. To make matters worse, upon requesting help from other teachers, I surprisingly found they had essentially little more understanding than I did. My next stop was the Christian book store – not one, but many. I searched for books written on the subject of “spirit, soul and body” and related themes. From these I accumulated a great deal of information, but very little satisfaction.
One day the Lord pointed out a simple truth to me: He had taught the people through the use of word pictures (visual aids). His sermons, rich with truth for the multitudes or His disciples, were couched in a language of imagery. Parables such as the Sower and the Seed, and our call to fruitfulness in the sermon on the Vine and Branches are some examples. Each truth was presented by giving the listeners a mental picture that vividly expressed the heart of what was being taught. In a sense, they were similar to flannel-graphs, picture slides and videos that are used to teach our children. A picture can be worth a thousand words!
This was part of the answer; the use of pictures would illustrate and explain the context of my thoughts. Since information is perceived through the senses, the Holy Spirit could then use both the visual and audio faculties of the audiences to bring a greater understanding. But one question remained, what picture would say what I meant? What construct could be used to represent the spirit, soul and body? In the literature researched, the only model I had discovered was one of three concentric circles, where the innermost circle denoted the spirit and the outer circle denoted the body. This contributed little to my understanding, so it was discarded and I asked the Lord to show me a simpler model that would be more effective. The answer to that prayer is what I share with you now in this book.
We are Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
It is not uncommon to find Christians who view themselves as a duality; that is, as having two parts to their beings. This mind-set arises out of the concept of “an inner (spiritual) man” and “an outer (physical) man.” It is true there are two worlds–the spiritual and the physical; it is also true that in our inclination toward the things of God, the scriptures speak of us as being either “spiritually minded” or “fleshly minded” (Romans 8:5-8; 1 Corinthians 3:1). However, these two conflicting natures do not mean there are only two parts to our personhood.
We are, of course, made up of spirit, soul and body. Indeed, it is only as we properly understand each dimension of our beings that we can fully appropriate those spiritual provisions which are ours in Christ. To this end, the word of God is important, for as the sword of the Spirit, it will divide soul from spirit.
One of the first lessons we learn is that the Lord is interested in our total being: body, soul and spirit. Each part is to reflect the fruit of our salvation. All we are and all we do should glorify Him.
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The righteousness of Jesus is to become visible in our whole person. This is what He died for and what He expects to find in us when He returns. How do we prepare ourselves? How do we develop all components of our being without neglecting one part? What balance do we pursue between physical exercise, education and spiritual training? To begin with, consider the first recorded words of God concerning man’s creation:
… let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness ....
John 4:24 makes it clear that God is spirit. For this reason, our likeness to Him must be spiritual.
The act of creation involved two distinct steps (see Figure 1). The first step concerns our bodies.
Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground.
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After stating His intention of making man in His likeness and for the purpose of ruling the earth, the Lord God took dust from the earth, over which Adam was to have dominion. From this He fashioned a physical body, which is depicted as the bottom circle of our diagram. This action expressed the following thought: “If you are going to rule over the earth, you must be a part of it; you must be intimately identified with it.”
In summary, the first step of creation prepared a body (or clay vessel) for Adam to dwell in. Our bodies are earthly tents which we will inhabit as long as we live in this world, or until Jesus returns.
The next creative step involved spirit and life.
… and (the Lord God) breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
In this second step, God breathed life from the essence of His own being into the clay body. He did more than speak a creative word–He gave of Himself in the act!
We recognize that the Spirit of God is not air. Consequently, what happened was more than placing oxygen into Adam’s lungs. God is spirit, and He breathed the properties of His life and nature into the vessel of clay. If Adam was to represent the Lord in ruling the earth, he must partake of the Lord’s nature. The breath of God was the Holy Spirit, who brought both spiritual and physical life into Adam. God did not breathe into any of the animals He had created since they only received natural life at their creation. Nor did He breathe into the woman, for she was taken out of Adam who already possessed the life of God These words of Job sum up this creative step:
The Spirit of God made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
(Job 33:4)
The spiritual life imparted to Adam is depicted by the circle labeled “spirit” (Figure 1). He possessed physical life because of the air he breathed. This life was sustained from the physical environment he ruled over. However, his spiritual life came from the union he had with God in the Holy Spirit. This “spirit-life” is the source of all that is required to make man into God’s likeness. Only by it could Adam fulfill the commission given to him. As long as the Holy Spirit remained in the spirit of Adam, he was immortal, being sustained by life from above. The supernatural qualities of divine life from the Spirit of God mingled with the physical properties of the earth were blended together in the creation of a new being. Man became a “living soul”; he was a soul, he had a spirit and he had a body. He was a living soul because of the life properties of his spirit.
Adam was commissioned to rule over the earth for the Lord. To this end he was made from both the substance of God and the substance of the earth. He was intimately identified with both realms. This dual set of properties will be with all who have been born of the Spirit until the Lord Jesus returns and they receive new, immortal bodies like His own.
W.E. Vine’s An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words defines the constituent parts of man as follows:
The spirit may be recognized as the life principle bestowed on man by God, the soul as the resulting life constituted in the individual, the body being the material organism animated by soul and spirit (p. 54, Vol. IV).
Vine further states that “spirit and soul can be distinguished but not separated in fact.” In other words, a human soul without a spirit has no meaning. Whether on earth, in hell, or in the presence of God, one’s soul and spirit are always united. Together they are, in fact, what comprises a person; the body is merely a vehicle or house in which they dwell. The soul-spirit combination is an immortal being; it will always exist.
The two words used in scripture to define spirit, Hebrew (Ruach) and Greek (Pneuma), are also used at times to mean “breath.” Air (or oxygen) is the basis of body (or physical) life, just as spirit is the basis of soul life. Oxygen is made available to the various parts of our bodies through the blood stream. Thus, the life of the flesh is in the blood because of the oxygen we breathe.
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.
We will never “lose” our spirits, but we do lose our breath when we physically die. We are mortal in a physiological (or body) sense of the word. We will always exist in a psychological (or soul) sense because of our spirit. However, we live spiritually only if our spirit contains the Spirit of God. This is what constitutes eternal life; separation from God is the ultimate and most awful form of death. Spiritual death is a state of existence by a conscious being who is separated from the life of God.
Figure 2 illustrates the mortal and immortal aspects of our being. That we are a soul is substantiated by numerous scriptures. A sinner’s salvation is always referred to as the salvation of his soul. He has become alive in his spirit; as a being, he is a redeemed soul.
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For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
… but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
… he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death…
… the first man Adam, became a living soul…
… but we are … of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.
We are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made. God foreknew us, spirit, soul and body while we were still in our mother’s womb. He made us so that we can embrace His purpose and glorify Him. We have been made for Him and nothing less will satisfy the deep longing within us, a longing inherent in our spirit.
Having defined the three primary constituent parts of our person, let us next briefly examine the role of our faculties which are anointed by the Holy Spirit to bring us into a deep, personal relationship with our Creator. This process is more than acquiring mental concepts or hidden knowledge. It is achieving an experiential reality of intimately knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, Lord and Friend. How does the Holy Spirit accomplish this wonderful work?
In succeeding chapters the graphic model of body, soul and spirit, in concert with text, addresses pertinent subjects such as: how God communicates with man, waging spiritual warfare, the spirit of revelation, putting on the image of God, grace versus law, spiritual gifts and ministries, etc.
We will discover that the One who created and redeemed us is the most important Person and emphasis in our life and ministry! He is the center and source of all truth.
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