One way that the Bible can be used to make a distinction between the different parts of a man is to look at the three "kinds" of life that God created in the beginning.

 Genesis 1:11-12 - "And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itse[f; upon the earth; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind; and God saw that it was good. "  

The first order in the creation of life was plant life. This "kind" of life is body only. Despite some people's belief that plants react to speech, plant life was not created with a soul or a spirit. The Greek word that refers to the life of the body or the flesh is sarx. A man who lives his life by the passions and leading of his body is described in the new testament as sarkikos or a carnal man. This is a man who is unwilling or unable to deny his flesh the preeminence to rule over him. He has no more value to the kingdom of God than a branch of the vine that bears no fruit. Jesus said that he is fit for the fire. (John 15:6 - "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. ")  

Genesis 1:24-25 - "And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind; and God saw that it was good." 

The second order of life that God created was the living creatures in the sea, on the land, and in the air. This "kind" of life is animal life and is comprised of a soul and a body. The word that is translated as "creatures" is the Hebrew word neohesh, and it is also translated as "self, mind, will, heart and soul." If you have ever owned a dog or cat, you know that, unlike a plant, they have a living soul. They have their own distinct self- life or personality. They have a mind of their own, a will of their own, and emotions of their own. They can have their feelings hurt and they can even dream. These abilities distinguish animal life from plant life. Plants are singular in nature because they are body only; animals are dualistic because they have a soul and a body.

The Greek word that is translated "soul" in the new testament is the word psuche. It is also translated "mind, will, emotions, and self- life." A man who lives his life by the desires of his soul is described as psuchikos, which is a natural or a soul man.

The natural man draws his life from his living soul. He lives in the vanity of his own mind (Ephesians 4:17 - "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind. ")

His mind, his will and his emotions rule his life. Everything that he does is based on what he thinks, what he wants, and what he feels. He lives his life as an animal. This is the state of fallen man before he is born again. Un- fortunately, it is also the state of many Christians who have not learned to separate their spirit from their soul.

The final order of creation is that of mankind. This "kind" of creation is after God's kind. We were created in the image and the likeness of God. What is it about man that qualifies him to be described as after God's kind? God is a spirit (John 4:24). Man is a spirit. Mankind was created with a soul like an animal and he has a body like a plant, but he also has a spirit like God. God is triune and so is man.

Notice that in the same breath that God proclaimed that he would make man in his own image and likeness, He proclaimed that man would have dominion over the rest of creation. Mankind is the only class of God's creation that has a spirit and he is also the only one that has been given dominion. The point is that the spirit of man has been commissioned by God to take dominion over all of the living creatures (souls) and all of the flesh that is on the earth. This is the order of authority that is established by the order of creation. God must rule over a man's spirit; a man's spirit must rule over his soul; and man's soul must rule over his body. The Greek word that is translated in the new testament as "spirit" is the word pneuma. It is translated breath, wind or spirit. The Greek word pneumatikos is translated spiritual or a spiritual man. This is a man who is led or ruled by his spirit.

A born-again Christian has spirit life, soul life and body life. De- pending upon which of these three is ruling his life, he can be either pneumatikos (spiritual), psuchikos (natural) or sarkikos (carnal). It all depends on the source of the man's life.