The Creation of Man — The Spiritual Man

The Creation of Man

Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” In the beginning, God formed a model of man from the dust of the earth, and then breathed the “breath of life” into his nostrils. When this breath of life came into contact with man’s body, it produced a soul. This soul is the union of the body and the spirit, so the Bible calls man a “living soul.” This “breath of life” is man’s spirit — the source of human life. For the Lord Jesus tells us, “It is the Spirit who gives life” (John 6:63). This breath of life comes from the Creator, but we must be careful not to confuse this spirit of the “breath of life” with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit and the human spirit are distinct. Romans 8:16 shows that the human spirit and the Holy Spirit are separate, not the same: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”

The word “life” in “breath of life” in the original text is “chaiyim” — a plural form. This indicates that the breath produced two kinds of life: (1) spiritual life, and (2) soulish life. That means the breath of life God breathed into man's body became the human spirit; and when that spirit came into contact with the body, it produced the soul. This is the origin of our two inner lives — spiritual and soulish. However, we must distinguish that this spirit is not God’s own divine life, but rather “the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4). It is not the uncreated life of God entering man. The spirit received here is not the same as the divine life we receive when we are born again. The life received at rebirth is God’s own life — the life represented by the tree of life. Man’s spirit is eternal, but it does not possess eternal life.

“Formed man of the dust of the ground” refers to man’s body. “Breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” refers to the spirit that comes from God. And “man became a living soul” refers to the soul — because the spirit brought the body to life, man became a living soul, a living and self-aware being. A complete man is a tripartite being — spirit, soul, and body, unified as one. According to this verse, man is made of two distinct substances: (1) spirit and (2) body. Once the spirit entered the earthen body, the soul came into being. The soul is produced from the union of spirit and body. The body was originally dead, but when the spirit of life encountered it, the third part — the soul — came forth. Without the spirit, the body is dead; with the spirit, man lives. With the spirit in the body, there is vitality — this vitality is called soul.

The phrase “he became a living soul” means not only that the union of spirit and body produced the soul, but also that, after the soul came into being, the spirit and body were both included in the soul. In other words, the soul and body became fully joined with the spirit, and the spirit and body were subsumed into the soul. In the beginning, Adam had not fallen, so his spirit and flesh did not wage war as ours do today. The three elements of his being were in complete harmony. These three were blended together, with the soul in the center as the connecting link, forming the basis of personhood, giving a man his independent existence. The soul is the sum of the spirit and the body — the essence of human identity. Therefore, once the spirit and body were united, man became a living soul. The soul is nothing other than the result of this union — it is a person’s selfhood.

Here is an imperfect analogy: putting a bit of ink into a glass of water — when ink and water mix, they become ink-water. Calling it ink is correct; calling it water is also correct. But they have now become something new — ink-water. (However, unlike the ink and water, the soul that results from the union of spirit and body becomes a distinct, indivisible element — just like the spirit and body.) In the same way, spirit and body are two distinct elements, but once they unite, their union becomes a living soul.

God regards the soul as the defining characteristic of a person, because in His creation, the hallmark of man is his soul, just as the hallmark of angels is their spirit. Man is not just a body, not just a body with breath, but a living soul. Therefore, throughout the Bible, we often see God referring to people as “souls” rather than merely “humans” — because what a person truly is depends on what their soul is. The soul represents the person and expresses their individuality. The soul is the organ of free will, where both the spirit and the body are integrated. It possesses free will; thus, it can submit to God and allow the spirit to take the lead in all things — or it can choose to suppress the spirit and exalt whatever it prefers.

These three parts — spirit, soul, and body — are like an electric lightbulb: there is electricity, a filament, and light. The body is like the filament; the spirit is like electricity; and the soul is like the light. The electricity produces the light, and the light is the result of the electricity. The filament is the physical vessel that holds the electricity and produces light. The union of spirit and body produces the soul, and the soul is the characteristic of their union. The soul is the product of both. The spirit acts as the initiator of the soul, and the body as the expression of the soul — just as electricity is the source of light, and the filament carries the light.

But we must remember: in this present life, the soul is the summary of our being; in the life to come — at resurrection — the spirit will be the summary of our being. For Scripture says, “It is sown a soulish body, it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:44). But now, since we are united with the resurrected Lord, we are able — by relying on Him — to let the spirit rule over our entire being even now. We are not united with “the first man, Adam, who became a living soul,” but with “the last Adam, who became a life-giving spirit.” That’s why this is possible.