Man was created as a tripartite being (1 Thes. 5:23; Heb. 4:12b). The first of man's three parts is his body. The body was formed with the dust of the ground to be man's outward organ, having physical consciousness to contact the physical world (Gen. 2:7a). All of our physical members, such as our legs, mouth, hands, and arms, are part of this outward organ.
The second of man's three parts created in Genesis 2 is man's spirit (v. 7b). Man's spirit was formed with the breath of God to be man's inward organ as God's recipient, having spiritual consciousness to contact the spiritual world (Zech. 12:1; Prov. 20:27). Proverbs 20:27 says, "The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah." Jehovah enlightens us through our spirit. If we did not have a spirit, we would not have light or anything that would enlighten us inwardly. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word used most often for the spirit is ruach. This word in Hebrew means "spirit," "breath," or "wind." But the word for spirit here in Proverbs 20:27 is not the Hebrew word ruach, but neshamah—the same word used in Genesis 2:7 for breath. Hence, according to Proverbs 20:27, the breath of life in Genesis 2:7 is the very spirit of man. God formed a spirit with the breath of life. Neshamah, the breath of life, is the source of the spirit and the element with which the human spirit was formed. The body was formed with the element of dust, and the spirit was formed with the element of the breath of life out of God. This breath of life out of God was not God's Spirit. It was not the Spirit of God, but something very close. The source of our body is the ground, but the source of our spirit is God. Our breath is nearly identical with our very being. Without breath we would die. Yet there is still a big distinction between our breath and our self. God's breath of life was not His Spirit but the very element with which God formed man's spirit.
God created man by forming two things. First, He formed the body with the element of the dust. Second, He formed man's spirit with the element of His breath of life. Thus, our spirit is very precious because our spirit is close to God. The dust is not very close to God, but our spirit is very close to God. This is why in a quiet time even the atheists have something within them that says, "What if there is a God? What will happen to me?" Some may say that they are atheists and teach others to be such. But at night, something within them says, "If there is a God, what should I do?" This something within them is the spirit of man.
A few days ago the brothers distributed one hundred seventy thousand pieces of literature in Moscow and St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad) in the Soviet Union, and they received twenty-four thousand names of people who wanted books and publications. The brothers reported that there was a burning thirst within the unbelieving Russians for the truth of the gospel and for God. They have been under atheism for more than seventy years, yet this teaching could not change their nature. No one can change their nature. They do have a part within them formed with the breath of God. This element remains with every human being. Thus, it is easy for an atheist to turn to God. The reason for this is that there is a recognizing organ—the spirit—within man.
The soul was the third part of man's being that was produced by God's creation. In contrast to the body and the spirit, the soul was not formed with a certain element. The soul was produced by the combining of the human spirit and the human body. The soul, comprising the mind, the emotion, and a free will, is man's self and has the psychological consciousness to contact the psychological world (Gen. 2:7c). A man is a soul. When Jacob and his family went down to Egypt, the Old Testament says that seventy souls went to Egypt (Exo. 1:5). In the same way, Acts 2:41 records that three thousands souls were saved on the day of Pentecost. Man is a soul, and the soul is the totality of man's body plus his spirit. When the body and spirit are put together, the total is a soul. This soul is man himself, comprising his mind, emotion, and free will. Hence, the perfect man created by God is a soul with two organs, the body as the outward organ and the spirit as the inward organ.
The first two chapters of the Old Testament give us a design of how God created the heavens and the earth and how He created man. The creation of man is God's preliminary preparation for the dispensing of Himself as the Triune God into the tripartite man according to His economy. This is the new way to study Genesis 1 and 2.