The Creation of the Three Parts of Man
Genesis 2:7
Jehovah God formed man with the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.
1 Thessalonians 5:23
And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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 Crystallization-Study of the Epistle to the Romans (Msgs. 1-17),160-161, by Witness Lee.
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