Man was created by God in three parts (Gen. 1:26; 1 Thes. 5:23). Man’s body made of dust is his outward shell, his framework (Gen. 2:7a). Medical doctors tell us that the study of the human body is endless.
Second, man was created with a spirit, not made but produced of the breath of the life of God breathed into the nostrils of man (Gen. 2:7b; Prov. 20:27). This is not the life of God but only the breath of the life of God. This is proven by Proverbs 20:27, which says, “The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah” (lit.). The word spirit here is the same Hebrew word for breath in Genesis 2:7. Thus, the breath of life breathed into man in Genesis 2:7 became man’s spirit.
Man’s body was formed of the dust of the ground; then God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life. Outwardly, man has a body of dust, and inwardly, his spirit was produced of the breath of God. When these two were put together, the soul was produced. The soul was the issue of the combination of the breath of God with the body of dust (Gen. 2:7c). The soul is neither dusty nor spiritual. The Greek word for soul is psuche, from which comes the word psychology. Our soul is the psychological part of our being.
The spirit of man is the innermost part of man as the reality of man, highly ranked with the heavens and the earth in God’s creation (Zech. 12:1). If you do not live by the spirit, but live by the soul or by the body, you are not a real man. Man’s reality is his spirit.
Man’s spirit is the inner organ of man for him to contact God, to receive God, and to contain God for God’s expression in man (John 4:24). To do anything, we need the proper organ. To see, we need eyes. To smell, we need a nose. We also have a particular organ to contact God. That organ is our human spirit. If we deny our mind and turn to our inner being, we can sense God. But if we remain in our mind and try to figure out where God is, we will not be able to sense Him. There is God, but we must use the proper organ to sense Him. The spirit of man is not only for contacting and receiving God but also for containing God that God may be expressed through man.
The spirit of man is the lamp of God to contact, receive, and contain God as the light for God to shine through man (Prov. 20:27). A lamp needs oil. Then it gives light. The lamp itself has no light. The light comes from the oil burning in the lamp. The oil is God the Spirit, and our spirit is a lamp. God the Spirit is the oil that burns into light to shine within us.
The soul of man is the inner part of man as the person of man in between man’s spirit and man’s body. The soul was meant to be under man’s spirit as its subordinate to carry out the desires and purposes of the spirit of man. Furthermore, the soul was meant to be above man’s body as its master to direct the move and activity of the body of man. Thus, according to the order of God’s creation, the spirit is the “boss,” whereas the soul is the body’s direct “boss.” The body should be the servant. The soul as a person has two organs. The inner organ is the spirit; the outer organ is the body. Yet the spirit is the “boss” of the soul.