To further aid us in understanding dying and death, we must discern the functions of the three parts of man and how their interaction was originally designed by the Creator. To the unbeliever or to the immature believer, these distinctions are hard to understand or comprehend. We are not accustomed to thinking of ourselves as a triune being, nor do we discern what the different aspects and inputs each part of our being has upon the other. Therefore, it would be helpful here to say more of the attributes of man’s tri-unity to clearly understand how they relate to God; what was their function as designed by God; and how do they interact with each other.

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, 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.

To our soul, as has been said, we attribute our mind, emotions, and will. We were created a soul-centered creature with the spirit and body acting as inputs, and also carrying out the will of our soul. Just as the Father is seen in Scripture as the Person to whom the Son and the Spirit acquiesce, the soul was meant to be in control of man’s actions. It was to take in information from his body and spirit, and process that information by means of his thoughts. He then was to form ideas, opinions, emotional responses, and possible courses of action to what he perceives from these inputs. Finally, he comes to a moment of decision, and with an act of his will he begins to work out the ideas, thoughts, and emotions he has formed within himself. Outwardly he expresses, creates, and works out, through his body, by the power of his spirit, all that he has decided to do. It is with our souls that we are also to love, worship, and obey the Creator. It is the wellspring of our devotion to Him. All real worship must begin in our soul, or it is meaningless to God.

1 Cor 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

1 Cor 15:27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.

John 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

Rom 2:15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

Deut 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Deut 26:16 This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

Matt 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

To the body we attribute the five senses of seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling. From these we receive our physical inputs from the material world. These senses, which operate through our bodies, send their signals to the physical brain of man, and from there they become part of the thought process of our soul. As we have already said, the soul was meant to process these sensory inputs and evaluate them along with the higher inputs of man’s spirit. If, by our will, we decide that some course of action is required, then that is communicated back through the brain, and by the system of nerves and muscles which cause our limbs to move and work, the will is carried out. With our  tongues, vocal cords, mouths, hands, and facial expressions we commune with other people. With our eyes and ears we receive their communications to us. Jesus was sent to earth with a literal body to reveal or to communicate God to us, and allow us to relate and to have fellowship with God—even as we know and have fellowship with humans through our bodies. Often, as we view the lifeless body of a departed loved one, we have great sorrow, knowing that the real person is no longer living in that body. However, it was through that body that we knew them and could express our love to them and they to us. The body was an integral part of their being, and therefore we love, treasure, and honor that body even in death. Also through the body we were meant to express our love to God, to worship, praise, and obey Him. Although God is an innately spiritual being, He still receives our physical displays of devotion. Indeed, much of our worship would be empty without the deeds of the body.

Mt 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

1 Cor 12:14 For the body is not one member, but many.
15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?

James 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

John 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

John 14:8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Phil 1:22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.
23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

Deut 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

1 Tim 2:8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

Psa 18:49 Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.

Luke 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Jam 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

To the spirit we attribute the life force or the energy of life—just as the Holy Spirit is the mover, the creative force, the miraculous power of all that God does. The Bible declares that “the body without the spirit is dead”; so when God created man from the dust of the ground, it was not until God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life”—the pneuma, or the spirit—that man became a living soul. From the spirit we also receive our input from the spiritual world, be it God or other spirits. It is through the spirit by which we know and understand concepts that are on a higher plane— spiritual realities that cannot be grasped or understood naturally. It is to the spirit that we attribute what many call our sixth sense, our spiritual awareness, our God consciousness, or our conscience. Just as the body sends physical inputs to man’s soul to be evaluated, so the spirit sends signals from the unseen world. These spiritual inputs are then processed along with the natural inputs, in making decisions and influencing actions to be taken. It is through the spirit that we have fellowship and communicate with God and other spiritual beings. Through the spirit we gain insights into other people, sensing their true values, feelings, and motives; and likewise, they can sense things about us. Along with our body and soul, it was also through the spirit that we were meant to love, worship, and obey God. God is not impressed by the mere display of our emotions, or just outward religious acts. He must be worshipped “in spirit and in truth.”

Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Gen 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.

Dan 5:11 There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;
12 Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation.

Rom 2:15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

1 Cor 5:3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,

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

Now this is the way the tri-unity of man was made to operate, after the pattern of his Creator; and like his Creator, man would have lived forever in this state. From the Scriptures we realize however, that there was only one man and one woman who ever experienced life as it should have been; and that was only for a period of time that is unknown in length, but probably was very short. In the Garden, God and man were united as a Father and his son. Adam communed and had fellowship with God. Man received spiritual insight from his Creator, and God nourished and replenished him. Man’s spirit was constantly revitalized and recharged, being in union with the omnipotence of God. Much like a rechargeable battery that must be occasionally reenergized by being linked to an energy source, so our lives were meant to be forever rejuvenated by our communion with the Power Source of the universe. In this Garden God also supplied every natural resource that man could use for his benefit. Foods that would sustain man’s physical life and health, even the Tree of Life that would have given to man’s body immortality. Along with the natural foods for the body, God supplied intellectual food for man’s soul. The trees, which we will later study in more detail, provided man with all the knowledge of the universe, and were an inexhaustible resource to stimulate the inner man. Such was the state of man as he was designed by God—a perfect man, in a perfect world, in perfect communion with his God. But, as we will later see, this blissful state would soon come to and end.

Luke 3:38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

Job 10:12 Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.

Isa 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

Gen 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Psa 104:13 He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.
14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;
15 And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.

Prov 3:13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

Prov 8:10 Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.
11 For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.
12 I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.