The Tripartite Nature of Man

Table of Contents
i. God is Tripartite……………………………………………………………………….
a. Father………………………………………………………………………………
b. Son…………………………………………………………………………………
c. Holy Spirit………………………………………………………………………….
ii. Man is Made in God’s Image………………………………………………………….
a. Body………………………………………………………………………………
b. Soul…………………………………………………………………………………
c. Spirit………………………………………………………………………………...
iii. Arguments for the Tripartite nature of Man……………………………………………
iv. Arguments for the Duality of Man……………………………………………………...
v. Arguments for the Unity of Man……………………………………………………….
vi. Eschatological implications of the Tripartite nature of Man…………………………...
vii. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...
Man is distinct than the other animals in that he is the image of God. As God is tripartite – Father,
Son and Holy Spirit-, so also man is in three parts – Body, Soul and Spirit. Using this example,
discuss in depth both the material and the immaterial composition of human nature and their
eschatological implication. Give biblical passages to support your arguments.
The tripartite nature of God
The tripartite nature of God is a discussion that has apparently drawn much debate and
disagreement among the Christian body itself and furthermore, between Christianity and other
faiths. It led to the constitution of the great church councils to debate and formulate an orthodox
position about God’s comprehensive nature against the heretical teachings that abounded during
the early stages of the church’s establishment and expansion. It is sufficient to say that the Bible
abundantly reveals to us God manifesting Himself to mankind in a tripartite manner as the Father,
Son and the Holy Spirit.
God as the Father
God as the Son
God as the Holy Spirit

The tripartite nature of Man
It is interesting to notice that when God created man, He made him in His image. Being
found in the image of God, man thus partakes of God’s tripartite nature too. On this premise, this
essay attempts to highlight this tripartite nature of God being mirrored in man.
Man is body
The Bible clearly documents in the book of Genesis 2:7 that when God made man, He took
the dust from the ground and formed man from it. Thus, the body was fashioned from physical,
tangible elements of the earth and is therefore the physical component of the tripartite nature of
man.
Some people argue that man is a physical being only. There is a great danger of any man
thinking thus of himself. In his desire to satisfy the needs of the body there is the tendency on
man’s part to lose sight of the fact that he is immortal. There have been persons who have lived
all of their lives either in ignorance or willful neglect of a life after death, but upon their death-bed
they suddenly realized that they were more than physical beings (Bible.org, 2018).
There is an idea also that prevails largely today that man consists of only two component
parts: namely, body and spirit. In the thinking of the writer this view appears to be one that might
create confusion in the minds of any Christians. While soul and spirit are so closely related that it
is sometimes difficult to distinguish accurately between them, there seems to be only one logical
conclusion: namely, that “soul” and “spirit” are not the same. The Bible does make a distinction
(Bible.org, 2018).
Man is a triune being because he is created in the image of God. “God said, let us make
man in Our image” (Genesis 1:26). We know that God is a Trinity. The Holy Trinity is clearly set
forth in the Apostle Paul’s benediction that closed his Second Corinthian Epistle: “The grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.
Amen” (2 Corinthians 13:14). Our Lord Himself said, in what we call “The Great Commission”:
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19). Created in the image of God, man is likewise a trinity.
He has a spiritual nature that is separate and distinct from the body in which it dwells (Bible.org,
2018).
The two following passages from the Bible clearly establish the fact that man is a triune
being composed of spirit, soul, and body: I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be
preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23). 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 (body), and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12)
Inasmuch as other faiths and sects maintain that man has no soul, the Bible indicates
strongly that man was created a trinity of spirit, soul, and body even as the eternal God is Himself
a trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The trinity of man is an essential part of the image
relationship between him and God. For this reason, life is not ultimately physical and the body is
not the whole man.
And we might add that neither the body in itself, nor the soul in itself, nor the spirit in itself
makes up the whole man, but he is “spirit and soul and body.” This must be seriously considered
and definitely agreed to before we can comprehend with any accuracy the subject of life after death.
In this opening chapter we shall confine our material to the spirit and the soul inasmuch as the
body will be considered in succeeding chapters on the resurrection

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Table of Contents

ii. Man is Made in God’s Image………………………………………………………….

iii. Arguments for the Tripartite nature of Man……………………………………………

iv. Arguments for the Duality of Man……………………………………………………...

v. Arguments for the Unity of Man……………………………………………………….

vi. Eschatological implications of the Tripartite nature of Man…………………………...

eschatological implication. Give biblical passages to support your arguments.

The tripartite nature of God

Son and the Holy Spirit.

God as the Father

God as the Son

God as the Holy Spirit

and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12)

not the whole man.

body will be considered in succeeding chapters on the resurrection

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