The tripartite man was created with a spirit to be the receiver and container of the divine life (Gen. 2:7; Prov. 20:27). Genesis 2:7 says that when God created man. He breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life. This breath of life became man's spirit. In Proverbs 20:27, the word for spirit is the Hebrew word neshamah, the same word used in Genesis 2:7 for breath. The breath of life mentioned in Genesis 2:7 is the very spirit of man. Proverbs 20:27 says that the spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord. When we exercised our spirit to believe in the Lord, the compound Spirit immediately entered into us. After receiving Him, we contain Him as the Spirit of life.
When I first began to travel in the United States in 1963, I spoke on the human spirit wherever I went. Many people told me that they had never heard of such a thing before. The verses I would give them to substantiate my speaking were John 4:24, John 3:6, and Romans 8:16. In each of these verses, the two spirits—the divine Spirit and the human spirit—are mentioned. As I read these verses to them, many people were enlightened. In those days, I was perhaps the only person in the United States who was speaking about the human spirit. Today, however, many people have picked up the truth of the human spirit and are speaking about it.
Our human spirit is like our stomach. Our physical stomach is a receiver and container for our daily food. Every day we receive food through our mouth. Our mouth is the opening for our stomach, and our stomach is the container for the food that we take in. While the stomach contains the food, it also digests and assimilates it. Eventually, whatever the stomach assimilates is distributed to the cells. Our spirit is our spiritual stomach. Every day we must eat spiritually. The Lord Jesus said that He was eatable (John 6:35, 51, 57) and that we need to come to Him and drink (John 7:37). By eating and drinking, we receive the Triune God as our spiritual food.
The spirit of man was created to receive the Spirit of life for regeneration (John 3:6b). When we first receive the compound Spirit, who is the consummated Triune God, He regenerates us.
From the time of our regeneration, we contain the Lord Spirit as life (2 Tim. 4:22; 2 Cor. 3:18). We contain the Spirit of life; thus, we can gain life continually.