We have noted that Adam was made by God, and the Hebrew word “yatsar” conveys the idea of something made from pre-existing materials. Adam was so made, according to Genesis 2, and the pre-existing material was the earth itself. But something else about Adam needs to be noted: He was created as well as made. So, what’s the difference? His being made utilized pre-existing materials, but his being created did not. An entirely different Hebrew word is used for created…“bara”. This implies that there were no pre-existing materials, but something about Adam was created, or brought into existence for him, that did not exist previously. In other words, something about Adam was created out of nothing…”ex nihilo”. And, what was that? It was Adam’s spirit. The intangible, non-physical part of his being. Genesis 2 declares that God formed, or made, “Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life, and Adam became a living soul.” The breath of life was the very life principle itself. Prior to this provision, Adam’s physical body was merely a fashioned body but devoid of animation. God added to His physical making of Adam’s body a component that was not physical yet just as real as the physical. And, we all have this same component that animates our body…our human spirit, not to be confused with God’s Holy Spirit.
Every human being as a human spirit. It’s a vital part of what makes us human and alive. Someone who may regard themselves as having no interest in spiritual matters still possesses a human spirit, whether he knows it or not or believes it or not. One cannot be human, or alive, and not possess a human spirit. When your body dies, your human spirit does not die with it, because it is not physical like your body and is not subject to the things that make the body die. Your spirit is indestructible, even though the temporary house your body, in which the spirit lives, is destructible. But you are more than your body. As long as your spirit is in your body, you are alive. James 2 says “The body without the spirit is dead.” The human spirit survives without the body, but the body cannot survive without the spirit.
One of the last utterances our Lord made as He was dying upon the Cross was, “Father, into Thy hands I commit my spirit,” and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit,” Luke 23. The Genesis 2 text makes it clear that Adam was made physically from the pre-existing material of the earth and, then, God breathed into Adam his non-physical spirit that animated his body. The two combined components of body and spirit comprise the human soul. If this is correct, it means that instead of man possessing a soul, we are a soul. Our soul is made of a physical body and a non-physical spirit. On occasion, these terms appear to be used interchangeably, and other times separately. However, we do remain fearfully and wonderfully made.
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