By Arthur J Licursi

The anthropology of man is ‘the science of the structure and functions of the human body.’

Gen. 2:7 … the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground (earth), and breathed into his nostrils the breath (Heb. neshamah, spirit) of life (Heb, chai, lives); and man became a living soul (person)

The God-breathed “the spirit of man” into the clay formed body, making Adam alive… as a soul, and he became physically animated when God breathed “the breath of lives” into him. “the body without the spirit is dead…” (Jam 2:26)

He breathed the human “spirit of man” into Adam as a ‘life on loan.’ Upon death “… the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return unto God who gave it.” (Ecclesiastes 12:7 (Darby)

Thus man is uniquely tri-part; 1 Thess 5:23 … the very God of peace sanctify you wholly (completely); and I pray God your whole ‘spirit and soul and body’ be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Every believer is “In Christ” and we have Christ ‘In Our Human Spirit’ as “the fulness of the Godhead” (Col 2:9)

1 Corinthians 1:30 (NASB) But by His (God the Father’s) doing you are ‘IN Christ Jesus’… 

Colossians 3:3b (AMP) … your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ In God. 

Romans 8:9-10 … ye are not in the flesh, but In the Spirit, if so be that ‘the Spirit of God dwell IN you.’ Now if any man have not ‘the Spirit of Christ,’ he is none of his. 10 And if ‘Christ be IN you,’ the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is LIFE because of righteousness.

If I were to diagram our relationship to the Lord anatomically I would use 4 concerntric circles surrounding a core, which is the "spirit of man."    

1. The Outermost circle (above) represents Christ in whom the believer’s whole life is “hid” (Col 3:3).

Being “in Christ,” He is our ‘righteous covering,’ and saving us from judgment.

1 Corinthians 12:13 …by one Spirit are we all baptized (fully immersed) INTO (Christ’s) one body…

1 Corinthians 1:30 (NASB) But by His (the Father’s) doing you are IN Christ Jesus, who became (past tense) to us ‘wisdom’ from God, and ‘righteousness’ and ‘sanctification (holiness),’ and ‘redemption,’

• Being “In Christ” establishes our ‘positional’ status; whereby we stand before the Father sinless, “holy and blameless.” This is our standing in His grace, which is none of our doing at all; it comes to be ours simply by our believing and receiving the good news of Christ’s cross-work ‘for us.’
• Being “In Christ” righteousness, all believers are guiltless, without blame, standing in God’s love.

Ephes. 1:3-5 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing In Christ. 4For he chose us in him Before The Creation Of The World to be Holy And Blameless in his sight. In love

1. Next circle inward is our physical ‘body’ that Paul calls the “outward” man, which is dying and will die (unless raptured). It contains our being, including spirit & soul, which is “hid with Christ in God.” Col 3:3

2 Cor. 4:16 … though our outward (body) man perish, yet the inward (soul) man is renewed day by day.

1. Next circle inward is our ‘soul’ is hid within our bod… just as bone is hidden within the body.

Paul calls our soul the “inward” man in 2Cor 4:16 (above).This is our soul/self, our ego, our individual creation. Our soul consists of our mind, emotion, and will, which makes each of us unique, it’s who we are as oppose to anybody else. This is our subjective, individual, personal being. After regeneration, our soul needs to be renewed to a new “mindset” (Philip 2:5, Rom 12:2) of needing to abide in union with… Christ in our spirit.

1. Next is the “innermost” circle, our very core; it’s “the spirit of man,” where Christ is In Us as our life.

John 7:38 (AMP) He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, From his ‘INNERMOST being’ shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water.

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me…

Thus it’s needful for humans to be “in Christ” for two reasons… and in two ways.

1. Objectively – Believers are positioned “in Christ” for our salvation, saving us from judgment and God’s wrath.

Rom 5:10a (NASB) For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son...

1 Corinthians 12:13a by one Spirit are we all baptized Into One Body (Of Christ)…

1. Subjectively - We need to abide in union with Him in our spirit, personally and intimately…for our practical daily salvation from our independent, self-reliant self-soul. This changes our soul’s disposition.

1 Corinthians 12:13b …and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Romans 5:10b (NASB)…much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His LIFE.

John 15:4 (AMP) Dwell In (union with) Me, and I will dwell In You. [LIVE IN ME, AND I WILL LIVE IN YOU.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you Abide In Me.  

Understanding our Anatomy helps us interpret the word correctly. Man’s is seen as the 3-part ‘Temple of God.’

1 Cor. 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth IN You?

1 Cor. 6:19a …know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God...

Our body = the Outer court,   our soul = Holy Place, our spirit = Holiest of All, where the Lord dwells

1 Thes. 5:23 … the very God of peace sanctify you (set you apart) wholly (completely); and I pray God your whole spirit (Zoë = is the spirit life in man) and soul (psuche = soul life) and body (bios – physical life) be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Knowing this, we might now correctly decipher which of the three (3) kinds of life are referred in the verse below?

John 12:25 (Jesus said) He that loveth his life (Greek, psuche, soul life) shall lose it; and he that hateth his life (Grk, psuche, independent soul life) in this world shall keep it unto LIFE Eternal (Gk. Zoë, spirit LIFE of Christ

1 John 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

Scripture Records the Three (3) Parts of Man as ‘Outward,’ ‘Inward’ or Inner, & ‘Innermost.”

Our “innermost” man is man’s human spirit. It is to become completed by the Indwelling “Spirit of Christ.”

John 7:38-39 (Amp) He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, From his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water. 39But He was speaking here of the Spirit, Whom those who believed (trusted, had faith) in Him were afterward to receive. For the [Holy] Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (raised to honor).

1 Cor. 15:45 … the last Adam (Christ) was made (became) a quickening (life-giving) spirit.

John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the (His) Spirit is (your) spirit.

Col. 2:10a … ye are complete in him … 2 Tim. 4:22 …Christ be (is) with thy spirit... 

1 Cor. 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is ‘one spirit.’

Col. 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of ‘this mystery’ among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 29whom we preach…

Our “outward” body-man is “perishing” & our “inward” soul-man is being “renewed daily.”

2 Cor. 4:16b though our outward (body) man perish, yet the inward (soul) man is renewed day by day.

We must have ‘proof text’ to prove what we are saying is correct. Several ‘proof texts follow each statement below.

1) The Body is the Outward- Man; by his 5-senses he has ‘physical world consciousness.’

Rom 8:11b …he that raised up Christ from the dead shall quicken (enliven) your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.   James defines death: “For as the Body Without the Spirit is Dead…” (James 2:26b)

2) The Soul is the Inward-Man – It’s the seat of man’s ‘self-consciousness.’

We have “Delight” (emotion) in Knowing the ‘Truth’ of God in our ‘Inward man’ (in our souls mind)

Romans 7:22 For I delight (rejoice) in the law of God after the inward man:

Psalm 51:6 thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

2 Cor. 7:15 his inward (soul’s) affection (an emotion) is more abundant toward you…

Note below that in Jer 31:33 (below) the words “inward parts” is REQUOTED in Hebrews (below) to be the “mind & HEART.” From these two verses we see the “inward parts” clearly defined for us.

Jeremiah 31:33 …saith the Lord, I will put my law in their ‘inward parts,’ and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Hebrews 8:10 this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

3) The “spirit of man” is his innermost ‘life’ core. This is the seat of man’s ‘spirit-consciousness’

Zech. 12:1 The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the ‘spirit of man’ within him.

Daniel 7:15a I Daniel was grieved in my Spirit In The Midst (middle) of my body,

Proverbs 20:27 The spirit of man is the candle (lamp reservoir) of the Lord, searching all the inward parts (see below, soul’s thoughts, intents) of the belly.

Ephes. 3:16b be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner (soul) man;

Hebrews 4:12 For ‘the word of God’ (which is Christ is ‘the word’ in us is “the Spirit of life in Christ”) is quick (alive), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged 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.

Now a closer look at the soul of man: There are (3) Three faculties of the soul –

1) The Mind - Intellect is part of the soul

Psalm 13:2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul…

Psa 139:14 …I am fearfully and wonderfully made… that my soul knoweth right well.

Proverbs 2:10 … wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;

Proverbs 19:2 … that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.

Proverbs 24:14 So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul…

Lament. 3:20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.

2) The Will - is part of the soul, for setting, deciding, choosing and refusing

Job 7:15 So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life.

Job 6:7 The things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat.

1 Chron. 22:19s Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God…

3) Emotion - is a function of the soul; feeling, desire joying, grieving, loving & hating

             Desire is a function of the soul – is the burning in man driving his willful choices.

Deut. 14:26b … whatsoever thy soul desirest…

1 Samuel 20:4 Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desirest, I will even do it for thee.

       Love is a function of the soul.

1 Samuel 18:1 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

Psalm 42:1 … As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

Song 1:7 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth…

Hatred is a function of the soul.

2 Samuel 5:8 And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David's soul…

Psalm 107:18 Their soul abhorreth …

Joy is a function of the soul.

Psalm 86:4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

Isaiah 61:10a I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God…

Grief is a function of the soul.

Judges 10:16 The Lord said …his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.

1Sam 30:6 ...David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved…

There are (3) Three Faculties of “the spirit of man” as the organ of our spiritual relationship with Him

Zechariah. 12:1 The Lord, which 1) stretcheth forth the heavens, and 2) layeth the foundation of the earth, and 3) formeth ‘the spirit of man’ within him.” 

1) The “spirit of man” Possesses a ‘Conscience’ (Gk. sundenesis, a co-perception)

Rom 9:1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost;

1 Timothy 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

Psalm 34:18 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

2) The ‘Spirit of Man’ Has Capacity For Fellowship, Communion and Intimacy in union with Christ’s Spirit.

John 4:24 God is a Spirit…they that worship him must worship him in spirit (their spirit) and in truth.

1 Cor. 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is ‘one spirit’ (One with His Spirit).

Romans 1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve (I minister) with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;

Romans 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter (the Law).

Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness (fellowships) with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

Ephes. 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit (spirit)…

Luke 1:47 … my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

3) The Intuition is the spontaneous ‘sense knowing’ (Gk. “eido”) that was born into our spirit when we are regenerated by “the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” Then we may ‘come to ‘know’ Him experientially.

1Jn 5:20 we know (eido, intuitively) that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, (so) that we may know Him (ginosko, experientially) that is true, and we are in him … in his Son Jesus Christ.

The definitions of the word “know” come from various Greek words in the N.T. of the Bible are several. Here now I am addressing one in particular, the word “know,” as the Greek word “eido,” or “oida,” which means “to see, or perceive innately, by any of the ‘senses’ (Louw & Nida Greek Lexicon).

This definition applies to both physical ‘sense knowing (i.e., sight, smell, etc.)’ and also spiritual ‘sense knowing.’

1 Cor. 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of (Gk., ek, out from) God; (so) that we might know (“eido”, know intuitively) the things that are freely given to us of (from) God.

1 Cor. 2:11 For what man knoweth (“eido”, knows intuitively) the things of a man, save (except) the spirit of man …

Mark 2:8 … immediately when Jesus ‘perceived in his spirit’ …

Acts 18:5 … Paul was pressed (compelled) in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.

1John 2:20 … ye have an unction (anointing) from the Holy One, and ye know (Gk. eido) all things.

1John 2:27 the anointing which ye have received of him (Christ) abideth (dwells) IN you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things…

Rom 8:16 (AMP) The Spirit Himself [thus] testifies together with our own spirit, [assuring us] that we are children of God.

Every Christian should have and enjoy an innermost assurance and confidence that they are a literal, love, child of God.

Eph 3:12 In whom (Christ) we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith (faithfulness) of him.