The Tripartite Man

THE TRIPARTITE MAN

Spirit, Soul, and Body

According to Watchman Nee

I Thessalonians 5:23 "May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

The whole person comprises these three parts. Is it a matter of consequence to divide spirit and soul? How can a believer understand spiritual life if he does not know what is the extend of the realm of the spirit? Without such understanding how can he grow spiritually? To fail to distinguish between spirit and soul is fatal to spiritual maturity. Christians often account what is soulical as spiritual, and thus they remain in a soulish state and seek not what is really spiritual. How can we escape loss if we confuse what God has divided? pg 22 Watchman Nee

Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." "the joints and marrow" -- organs of motion and sensation

When the priest uses the sword to cut and completely dissect the sacrifice, nothing inside can be hidden.

Hebrews 4:13 "Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do."

Even joint and marrow are separated. In like manner the Lord Jesus uses the Word of God on His people to separate thoroughly, to pierce even to the division of the spiritual, the soulical, and the physical.

And from this it follows since soul and spirit can be divided, they must be different in nature. It is thus evident here that man is a composite of three parts. W. N.

I. BODY

A. Formed of the dust

Genesis 2:7 "And 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."

Eccl. 3:20 "All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again."

1. Fleshly, soft part of body

2. Bone, blood and flesh

3. Physical

4. Sensing the environment

B. Gives World-Consciousness

1. Comes into contact with the material world. pg 26

2. The body is where the senses dwell. pg 26

II. SPIRIT

A. From God -- "breathed into man"

1. Genesis 2:7 And 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.

Zec. 12:1 "the Lord . . . formed the spirit of man within him."

2. When the inbreathing of God entered man's body it became the spirit of man;

3. We must recognize, though, that this spirit is not God's Own life, for "the

breath of the Almighty hath given me life" (Job 33:4). It is not the

entrance of the uncreated life of God into man, neither is it that life of God

which we receive at regeneration. What we receive at new birth is God's

Own life as typified by the tree of life. But our human spirit, though

permanently existing, is void of "eternal life." Nee pg 24

B. Gives God-Consciousness

1. The spirit is that part by which we commune with God and which alone we are

able to apprehend and worship Him. pg 26

2. It is the spirit that tells us of our relationship with God. pg 26

3. God dwells in the spirit. pg 26

C. The ability of the spirit of man

1. The spirit cannot act directly on the body. It needs a medium -- the soul.

2. The spirit can subdue the body through the medium of the soul, so that it will

obey God. pg 26

3. The body through the soul can draw the spirit into loving the world. pg 26

III. SOUL

A. "man became a living soul"

1. Genesis 2:7 And 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.

2. As soon as the breath of life, which became man's spirit, came into contact

with man's body, the soul was produced. Hence the soul is the

combination of man's body and spirit. pg 23 Nee

3. When the spirit reacted with the body, the soul was produced. pg 24 Nee

The spirit of man touching the dead body produced the soul. pg 24

"For as the body without the spirit is dead," James 2:26

4. Spirit and body were completely merged in this soul. Soul and body were