The Tripartite Man The Tripartite Man

Quotes by Witness Lee






WITNESS LEE MENTIONS THE TRIPARTITE MAN



  1. Scriptural Basis

  2. The Tripartite Man Defined

  3. The Tripartite Man in Creation

  4. The Tripartite Man portrayed in the Tabernacle and the History of Israel

  5. The Tripartite Man portrayed in the Temple

  6. Life Dispensed into the Tripartite Man

  7. The Triune God United and Mingled with the Tripartite Man

  8. God’s Salvation and the Tripartite Man

  9. The Tripartite Man and the Church

  10. The Triune God marries the Tripartite Man

The Tripartite Man

WITNESS LEE MENTIONS THE TRIPARTITE MAN

Scriptural Basis:

  1. First Thessalonians 5:23 is a verse we have to pay attention to and remember: “And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Never consider that the spirit is the soul and the soul is the spirit. Some Christian teachers say the spirit and the soul are just synonyms. However, in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 they are not synonyms because there is the conjunction “and”-“spirit and soul and body.” Two conjunctions join three things. The soul is different from the body and the spirit is also different from the soul. God comes into our spirit and spreads from the spirit to the soul and eventually from the soul to the body. Then we will be wholly sanctified-spirit, soul, and body. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Our Human Spirit, 13)

  2. Secondly, we have 1 Thessalonians 5:23. We must open to the Word and read it. Don’t listen to any man’s opinion. Don’t listen to any man’s word. Come back to the Word of God and read it: “And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This verse clearly mentions that we have three parts-the spirit and the soul and the body. Two conjunctions connect three things. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Our Human Spirit, 51)

  3. It is clear that man was made in three parts: the outward body, the inward spirit, and the soul as the very being of man. This is why 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says that our whole being is composed of our spirit, soul, and body. We are a tripartite man. The soul is our being with our body as the outward organ and with our spirit as the inward organ. The soul as our being is composed of the mind, emotion, and will. This is according to the revelation of the Bible. The Bible shows us that in our soul we have our mind to think, to consider things (Psa. 13:2), we have our emotion to love and to hate (1 Sam. 18:1; 2 Sam. 5:8), to like and to dislike things (Isa. 61:10; Psa. 86:4), and we also have our will to make decisions, to make choices (Job 7:15; 6:7; 1 Chron. 22:19). These are the functions of the soul. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Lessons on Life, 12-13)

  4. According to 5:23, we are tripartite beings; that is, we have three parts: spirit, soul, and body....First Thessalonians 5:23 proves strongly that the school of dichotomy is not correct. In this verse there is a conjunction between the words spirit and soul and also between the words soul and body. This indicates that the spirit, the soul, and the body are different and distinct. (top)

    (Witness Lee, LS of 1 Thessalonians, 202)

  5. The Scriptures clearly tell us that man is of three parts, not only two. In the New Testament teachings there is a great difference between the spirit and the soul. In this regard, we must never forget 1 Thessalonians 5:23. This verse clearly adjusts the wrong concept that man is of two parts. This verse says, “And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This verse says clearly that God sanctifies us wholly, in not merely one part of our being but in all the parts, in our spirit and soul and body. In the Greek text, spirit and soul and body consists of three nouns and two occurrences of the conjunction kai, meaning and. This proves that these three nouns denote three different items. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Principles of the Experience, 78)

  6. THE THREE PARTS OF MAN—SPIRIT, SOUL, BODY

    Some passages to which we will refer are very familiar. First Thessalonians 5:23 is a verse indicating that we are tripartite, or, of three parts: the spirit, the soul, and the body. We can illustrate this by three concentric circles. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Economy of God, 52)

  7. The Bible, however, clearly shows us that man is tripartite. First Thessalonians 5:23 says, “And may your spirit and soul and body be preserved.” This word strongly points out that man has three parts-spirit, soul, and body. If only two things were referred to here, the verse would not require the conjunction “and” in two places. Since Paul used the conjunction twice, surely there are three things here. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Spread of the Gospel, 329)

  8. [It is the clear teaching of Scripture that man is tripartite (1 Thes. 5:23). Nonetheless, there are two schools of theology which have arisen on this subject. One believes, as the Bible teaches, that man is a trichotomy; that is, he is made up of spirit, soul, and body. The other school maintains that man is a dichotomy; that is, he has an outer part, the body, and an inner part, the spirit or soul. In this latter school spirit, soul, and heart are considered synonyms.] We all must give up the human teaching of dichotomy and come back to the Word of God. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Two Spirits, 109)

The Tripartite Man

The Tripartite Man Defined

  1. Spirit, Soul, and Body

    God made man as a tripartite being. First Thessalonians 5:23 says clearly that we have a spirit and soul and body. Hebrews 4:12 says that our spirit can be divided from our soul. Why did God create us in this way? Simply that we may be a wonderful person. We are wonderful because we are tripartite. Human beings are not simple. Do not consider yourself as simple. Related to the soul we have the mind, the emotions, and the will. Related to the body we have many members. Medical science takes years to study the human body and still cannot do it very well. Within our spirit we have the conscience, the intuition, and the fellowship. God created us in such a wonderful way because He wanted us to be His container. We were not made for any other purpose. Our body exists that we may be a living vessel to contain God. If we are to be such a vessel, we not only need the inward spirit, but also the outward body to enable us to live on this earth, exercising our spirit to contact God, take Him in, contain Him, and even assimilate Him. Praise the Lord that we have been made in a wonderful, tripartite way! (top)

    (Witness Lee, LS of Genesis, 129-130)

  2. In message ten we pointed out that man is tripartite: he has a spirit, soul, and body. The spirit is our innermost part, the body is our outermost part, and the soul, the main part of our being, stands between them. (top)

    (Witness Lee, LS of Genesis, 177)

  3. It is clear that man was made in three parts: the outward body, the inward spirit, and the soul as the very being of man. This is why 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says that our whole being is composed of our spirit, soul, and body. We are a tripartite man. The soul is our being with our body as the outward organ and with our spirit as the inward organ. The soul as our being is composed of the mind, emotion, and will. This is according to the revelation of the Bible. The Bible shows us that in our soul we have our mind to think, to consider things (Psa. 13:2), we have our emotion to love and to hate (1 Sam. 18:1; 2 Sam. 5:8), to like and to dislike things (Isa. 61:10; Psa. 86:4), and we also have our will to make decisions, to make choices (Job 7:15; 6:7; 1 Chron. 22:19). These are the functions of the soul. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Lessons on Life, 12-13)

  4. The soul is the most intricate and complicated part of our being. As tripartite creatures, we have a body, a soul, and a spirit. Although our body has many members and is difficult to take care of, it is not as perplexing to us as our soul is. The simplest part of our being is our spirit. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Experience of Christ, 23-24)

  5. When the body and the spirit were combined together, the soul of man was produced (Gen. 2:7). The soul is our self, our very person. When we walk, we use our body. When we think, we use our mind, a part of our soul (Psa. 13:2). When we pray to God from the depths of our being, we exercise our spirit. Thus, man is a soul with two organs-the body and the spirit. Hence, he is tripartite, having a body, a soul, and a spirit. The worldly teachers, both in China and in the West, teach people that man has only the outward part, the physical body, and the inward part, the soul. The outward part, man’s body, is the physical part and is visible. The inward part, man’s soul, is the psychological part and is invisible. To these teachers man has only two parts. But according to the Bible, man has three parts (1 Thes. 5:23; Heb. 4:12b). (top)

    (Witness Lee, Central Line, 63)

  6. According to the Bible, a person is a soul because his being, his man, is in his soul. The Bible reveals that man is a tripartite being, composed of the spirit within, the body without, and the soul between the spirit and the body. The soul is the being, for a person’s personality is in his soul. In other words, human life is in the soul. The body is an organ to contact the outward world, and the spirit is an organ to contact the spiritual world. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Spirit and the Body, 93-94)

  7. THE TRIUNE GOD AS THE SPIRIT SATURATING THE TRIPARTITE MAN
    1. TRIPARTITE MAN

    [Not only is God triune; man is tripartite. We human beings are spirit, soul, and body. We were created in this way, so that we could be organically grafted to God, and so that the two spirits, His and ours, could be joined together.]

      1. Body and Soul and Spirit

    [Man, as we have often pointed out, can be represented by three concentric circles. The outer ring corresponds to our physical body, the part of us that has substance and can be seen and touched. Besides this part, we have a soul, represented by the middle ring. This is the psychological part of us, enabling us to think, to love or hate, and to make decisions. The soul, then, consists of the mind, the emotion, and the will. The innermost ring, the deepest part of man, is the spirit. You may not be clear about the human spirit, but one part of it, the conscience, you are familiar with. The conscience is deeper than the mind, emotion, and will.] (top)

    (Witness Lee, Two Spirits, 162-163)

  8. V. THE RECOVERY OF THE DIVINE REVELATION CONCERNING THE BELIEVERS

    The fifth item in the Lord’s recovery is the recovery of the divine revelation concerning the believers.

    1. A. The Believers Being Tripartite Beings of Spirit, Soul, and Body

    The believers are tripartite beings of spirit, soul, and body (1 Thes. 5:23). (top)

    (Witness Lee, Brief Presentation, 22)

The Tripartite Man

The Tripartite Man in Creation

  1. Genesis 2:7 shows us how God created man in three parts. First, God formed man’s body from the dust of the ground. Then He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. The first material used in the creation of man was the dust, and the second item was the breath of life. God used the dust to form a body, and He used the breath of life to form a spirit within the body. Then, when the spirit within the body mingled with the body, a living soul as a third item came into being. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Principles of the Experience, 78)

  2. We have been created by God as a tripartite man. As we have seen, 1 Thessalonians 5:23 and Hebrews 4:12b are the most basic verses in the Bible concerning man’s three parts. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Spirit with our Spirit, 63)

  3. We were constituted firstly with the dust outwardly and secondly with the breath of God inwardly. The outward frame is man’s body, and the inward breath of life has become man’s spirit. Man’s body and man’spirit came together to produce a living soul (Gen. 2:7).... A human being is a soul with two organs. The outward organ is the body; the inward organ is our spirit, which is the breath of life. Thus, in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 we are told that a whole man is composed of spirit, soul, and body. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Spirit with our Spirit, 71)

  4. In His creation of man God produced a spirit for man. According to Genesis 2:7, the issue of God’s breathing the breath of life into man’s body of dust was that man became a living soul. Thus, man is a tripartite being of body, soul, and spirit. Man’s body is his outer frame, his spirit is his inmost organ, and his soul is his inner being, his person. In the New Testament Paul said, “And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thes. 5:23), confirming that man is tripartite. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Organic Union, 17)

  5. OUTLINE
    1. Concerning man:
      1. Created by God as a tripartite man-Gen. 2:7:
        1. With a body formed with the dust of the ground, as man’s outer frame.
        2. With a spirit produced of the breath of God (the same Hebrew word for “breath” in Genesis 2:7 is translated into “spirit” in Proverbs 20:27), as man’s inmost organ.
        3. With a soul, the issue of God’s breath breathed into the nostrils of the body formed of dust, as man’s inner being (person).
    (top)

    (Witness Lee, Spirit with our Spirit, 8)

  6. B. Concerning Man
    1. Created by God as a Tripartite Man

    It is very meaningful that God is triune and man is tripartite. God is in three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—and we men are tripartite, in three parts—the spirit, the soul, and the body. Man was created by God as a tripartite man (Gen. 2:7).

      1. With a Body Formed with the Dust of the Ground, as Man’s Outer Frame

    Genesis 2:7 says that the Lord formed man of the dust of the ground. Our body is our outer frame formed with the dust of the ground.

      1. With a Spirit Produced of the Breath of God
        (the Same Hebrew Word for “Breath” in Genesis 2:7 is Translated into “Spirit” in Proverbs 20:27), as Man’s Inmost Organ

    Man was created by God with a spirit produced of the breath of God, as man’s inmost organ. I use the word produced here because the origin of our spirit is the breath of life. The Hebrew word for “breath” in Genesis 2:7 and for “spirit” in Proverbs 20:27 is not ruach but neshamah. Proverbs 20:27 says, “The spirit [neshamah] of man is the lamp of Jehovah” (ASV). Our body is the frame and this frame has an organ, our spirit. This is the highest organ within us and is mainly for us to contact God. John 4:24 says that God is Spirit and they who worship Him must worship in spirit. We must worship God in our spirit as an organ to contact Him.

      1. With a Soul, the Issue of God’s Breath Breathed into the Nostrils of the Body Formed of Dust, as Man’s Inner Being (Person) (top)

    (Witness Lee, Spirit with our Spirit, 12-13)

  7. OUTLINE
    1. We being created by God a tripartite being-1 Thes. 5:23; Heb. 4:12b:
      1. With a body formed of the dust, as our outward frame-Gen. 2:7a.
      2. With a spirit produced of God’s breath, as our intrinsic organ, ranked with the heavens and the earth-Gen. 2:7b; Zech. 12:1b; Isa. 42:5.
      3. With a soul, the issue of our spirit being added to our body, as our self in between our body and our spirit-Gen. 2:7c; Luke 9:23-25. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Spirit with our Spirit, 59)

  8. b. Man Created in Three Parts-Body, Soul, and Spirit

    Man as the center in God’s creation was created in three parts-body, soul, and spirit (Gen. 2:7). Because man is so crucial in God’s creation, he corresponds to God. God is triune and man is tripartite. The Third of the Triune God is the Spirit, and the third part of the tripartite man is also the spirit. These two spirits correspond with each other, communicate with each other, and are mingled with each other to be one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). (top)

    (Witness Lee, Church Life, 75)

  9. As we go on to Genesis 2, we see that the man created by God is tripartite. He has a body, made from the dust of the ground; he has a spirit, the issue of the breath of God; and he has a soul (v. 7). (top)

    (Witness Lee, LS of Psalms, 270)

  10. F. Man Being Tripartite
    1. A Body, Formed with the Dust of the Ground, to Be Man’s Outward Organ

    Man was created as a tripartite being (1 Thes. 5:23; Heb. 4:12b). The first of man’s three parts is his body. The body was formed with the dust of the ground to be man’s outward organ, having physical consciousness to contact the physical world (Gen. 2:7a). All of our physical members, such as our legs, mouth, hands, and arms, are part of this outward organ.

    1. A Spirit, Formed with the Breath of God, to Be Man’s Inward Organ as God’s Recipient

    The second of man’s three parts created in Genesis 2 is man’s spirit (v. 7b). Man’s spirit was formed with the breath of God to be man’s inward organ as God’s recipient, having spiritual consciousness to contact the spiritual world (Zech. 12:1; Prov. 20:27). Proverbs 20:27 says, “The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah.” Jehovah enlightens us through our spirit. If we did not have a spirit, we would not have light or anything that would enlighten us inwardly. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word used most often for the spirit is ruach. This word in Hebrew means “spirit,” “breath,” or “wind.” But the word for spirit here in Proverbs 20:27 is not the Hebrew word ruach, but neshamah-the same word used in Genesis 2:7 for breath. Hence, according to Proverbs 20:27, the breath of life in Genesis 2:7 is the very spirit of man. God formed a spirit with the breath of life. Neshamah, the breath of life, is the source of the spirit and the element with which the human spirit was formed. The body was formed with the element of dust, and the spirit was formed with the element of the breath of life out of God. This breath of life out of God was not God’s Spirit. It was not the Spirit of God, but something very close. The source of our body is the ground, but the source of our spirit is God. Our breath is nearly identical with our very being. Without breath we would die. Yet there is still a big distinction between our breath and our self. God’s breath of life was not His Spirit but the very element with which God formed man’s spirit.

    God created man by forming two things. First, He formed the body with the element of the dust. Second, He formed man’s spirit with the element of His breath of life. Thus, our spirit is very precious because our spirit is close to God. The dust is not very close to God, but our spirit is very close to God. This is why in a quiet time even the atheists have something within them that says, “What if there is a God? What will happen to me?” Some may say that they are atheists and teach others to be such. But at night, something within them says, “If there is a God, what should I do?” This something within them is the spirit of man.

    A few days ago the brothers distributed one hundred seventy thousand pieces of literature in Moscow and St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad) in the Soviet Union, and they received twenty-four thousand names of people who wanted books and publications. The brothers reported that there was a burning thirst within the unbelieving Russians for the truth of the gospel and for God. They have been under atheism for more than seventy years, yet this teaching could not change their nature. No one can change their nature. They do have a part within them formed with the breath of God. This element remains with every human being. Thus, it is easy for an atheist to turn to God. The reason for this is that there is a recognizing organ-the spirit-within man.

    1. A Soul Being Produced by the Combination of the Human Spirit and the Human Body

    The soul was the third part of man’s being that was produced by God’s creation. In contrast to the body and the spirit, the soul was not formed with a certain element. The soul was produced by the combining of the human spirit and the human body. The soul, comprising the mind, the emotion, and a free will, is man’s self and has the psychological consciousness to contact the psychological world (Gen. 2:7c). A man is a soul. When Jacob and his family went down to Egypt, the Old Testament says that seventy souls went to Egypt (Exo. 1:5). In the same way, Acts 2:41 records that three thousands souls were saved on the day of Pentecost. Man is a soul, and the soul is the totality of man’s body plus his spirit. When the body and spirit are put together, the total is a soul. This soul is man himself, comprising his mind, emotion, and free will. Hence, the perfect man created by God is a soul with two organs, the body as the outward organ and the spirit as the inward organ. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Central Line, 54-56)

  11. GOD’S CREATION OF MAN IN HIS IMAGE AND ACCORDING TO HIS LIKENESS AS A TRIPARTITE VESSEL

    The second crucial point in God’s creation of man is that man was created with three parts (Gen. 2:7). Hence, man is tripartite. Man’s body was formed of dust, and his spirit was formed of the breath of God. The breath of life out from God was not God’s being, but it was close to God’s being. The breath that came out of God formed man’s spirit. This is proven by comparing Genesis 2:7 with Proverbs 20:27. In both verses the Hebrew word neshamah is used, indicating that the breath of life out from God became man’s spirit.

    The body is physical, but the spirit is not physical. In the study of medicine, medical doctors study mainly our physical body. But man has not only a physical part but also a metaphysical part-his spirit. The word metaphysics, in its popular usage, refers to the study of matters that transcend material reality. The spirit of man is above material reality, and thus it is very difficult for people to understand. The study of the spirit is more difficult than the study of medicine. If the medical doctors were to ask me about the body, I could not say very much. But if I were to ask them about the spirit, I do not think that they could answer me very well. Medical doctors know about the human body, but many of them do not know or even believe that man has a spirit.

    The body is the outward organ of man, having physical consciousness to contact the physical world (Gen. 2:7a). The spirit is our inward organ not only to contact God but also to be the recipient of God (2:7b). It is like our stomach, which is a receiver of food and is also the place where our food remains until it is digested. Our spirit is for us to contact God, to receive God, and to retain God...

    The body is our outward organ, and the spirit is our inward organ. Yet neither of these two organs is our person, our self. Our person, our self, is our soul. The soul was not formed of any element. The soul was brought forth by the combination of the two organs, the body and the spirit. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Central Line, 61)

The Tripartite Man

The Tripartite Man portrayed in the Tabernacle and the History of Israel

  1. Finally, Hebrews 4:12 indicates that we are tripartite beings, beings of three parts: the body, the soul, and the spirit. The body corresponds to the outer court and to Egypt. The soul corresponds to the Holy Place and to the wilderness. All the soulish Christians are wandering in the wilderness of their soul. No doubt, they are seeking the Lord, but they take a roundabout way. All the time they are going round and round in the wilderness, in the Holy Place, in the soul. They love the Lord, seek the Lord, and enjoy the Lord as the manna from heaven, yet they are in their soul and do not have the rest. As long as you are wandering, going round and round in your soul, you will not have the rest.

    You may be better than the Christians who are in Egypt. They enjoy Christ merely as their Redeemer, the Passover Lamb, yet they are still in Egypt, in the world. They are still very much in the flesh, in the body. You are better than that. You gave up Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, and experienced an aspect of Christ’s death. Furthermore, you love the Lord, seek the Lord, and are going on for the Lord. Yes, you are marching on, but you are marching round and round. All the time you are in your soulish life, in your soul. You have not entered into the spirit, which corresponds to the Holy of Holies and to the good land of Canaan. When you enter into the spirit, you are in the Holy of Holies where the ark is, that is, where Christ is. When you enter into the spirit, you are also in the good land, which is Christ Himself. Since the divine Spirit is in the human spirit, when you touch the human spirit, you touch the divine Spirit, who is Christ Himself.

    Therefore, we have these three things with three parts: the tabernacle having three parts, the history of Israel having three parts, and our being having three parts. All these parts correspond to one another. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Centrality, 46)

The Tripartite Man

The Tripartite Man portrayed in the Temple

  1. The Scriptures point out that we too are the temple (1 Cor. 3:16). We as tripartite beings are also composed of three parts-the body, the soul, and the spirit. But in which part of our being does the Triune God dwell? II Timothy 4:22 states clearly that the Lord is in our spirit. Our spirit is the very Holiest of all. The typology of the Old Testament temple presents a very clear picture. Christ and God’s presence are in the Holiest of all. Today this type of the temple of God is fulfilled in us. We are of three parts: our body corresponds to the outer court, our soul to the holy place, and our human spirit to the Holiest of all, which is the very residence of Christ and God’s presence. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Economy of God, 29)

  2. We are told in 1 Corinthians 3 that we are the temple of God. God’s temple according to the Old Testament is portrayed in three parts: the first is the outer court, the second is the holy place, and the third is the holiest of all, the Most Holy place...we as tripartite beings are also composed of three parts-the body, the soul, and the spirit... 2 Timothy states clearly that the Lord is in our spirit. Our spirit is the very Holiest of all...this is the very residence of Christ and God’s presence. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Parts of Man, 28)

The Tripartite Man

Life Dispensed into the Tripartite Man

  1. How does the Triune God-the Father, the Son, and the Spirit-work Himself into the tripartite man of spirit, soul, and body? First, Christ enters into our spirit and makes our spirit alive. At this time our soul is still dead because of sin. Next, if we set our mind on the spirit continually, the Spirit will enter into our mind, so that our mind will be filled with the Spirit and will become the divine life. In this way, not only our spirit will have life; our mind also will have life. Finally, He who raised Christ from among the dead will give life to our mortal body through the Spirit of resurrection, who dwells in us, so that we will have life also in our body. First, there is life in the spirit. Then there is life in our soul. Finally, there is life for our body. This is how the Triune God dispenses Himself into the tripartite man. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Deeper Study, 62-63)

  2. Through Him, the divine dispensing is continually transmitted into us, sanctifying our whole being-spirit, soul, and body-making us holy, full of the divine element to live out an excelling living. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Deeper Study, 124)

  3. The Bible reveals that, as human beings, we are tripartite. This means that we have a spirit, a soul, and a body. In Romans 8 we see that first our spirit becomes life through regeneration. Then if we are faithful to set our mind on our spirit, our mind will also become life. This will open the door and prepare the way for the Spirit to give life to our mortal bodies. As a result, our bodies will receive the divine life. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Divine Trinity, 212)

  4. Romans 8:10 says that our spirit is life; verse 6 says that our mind can be life; verse 11 goes onto say that this very life can be dispensed into our mortal body. This is the Triune God dispensing Himself as life into our whole being-the spirit, the mind, and the body. He gives life to our mortal body through His Spirit who indwells us. The entire Divine Trinity-the Father, the Son, and the Spirit-function together to dispense Himself as life into our being. This is the dispensing function of the Triune God to dispense Himself as life into His believers.

    In these verses we can see the Triune God dispensing Himself into the tripartite man. First, He dispenses Himself into our spirit, and then from our spirit into our mind. If we set our mind upon the spirit, the life in the spirit will get into our mind. To set the mind on the spirit is life. Eventually, even the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God, God Himself, dwells in us to spread His life, to give His life, to our mortal body. This dispensing function issues in the sense of life. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Lessons on Life, 95-96)

  5. Romans 8 reveals the divine life dispensed into the three parts of man. Verse 2a speaks of the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Verse 6b says that the mind set on the spirit is life. Verse 10 says that if Christ is in us, the body is dead but the spirit is life. Then verse 11 says that the Spirit of the One who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to our mortal body through His Spirit who indwells us. Thus, verse 2 speaks of the divine life, verse 10 says that our spirit is life, verse 6 says our mind can be life, and verse 11 says that even our body may be given life. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Lessons on Life, 102)

  6. The consummated Spirit is also the indwelling Spirit. In Romans 8:9 and 11 Paul speaks of the Spirit indwelling the believers. Verse 9 speaks of the Spirit of God dwelling in us, and verse 11 goes on to say, “If the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.” As the Spirit indwells us, He is active to impart life to us. The indwelling Spirit imparts the divine life into our tripartite being (vv. 10, 6, 11). The purpose of the Spirit’s indwelling is to impart, to dispense, life, which is actually God Himself, into the three parts of our being. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Incarnation, 31)

  7. Our experience of the dispensing of the Divine Trinity begins with regeneration in our spirit. Regeneration makes our spirit life (Rom. 8:10). Next, our experience continues by our setting our mind on the spirit; this makes the mind in our soul life (Rom. 8:6b). Then, by the indwelling Spirit we put to death the practices of the body, making our mortal body also life (Rom. 8:13, 11). Furthermore, we walk only according to the spirit (Rom. 8:4). In this way our whole being will be saturated by the Spirit, and we will fully experience the dispensing of the Divine Trinity in our tripartite being. We will daily experience the increase of the Triune God in us. This is the growth in life, which continues until we are mature in life. At that time we will enjoy all the blessings of God’s presence. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Economy and Dispensing, 23-24)

  8. This One is now in us to dwell in us to do a wonderful work. The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from among the dead dwells in us to make our spirit life (8:10b), to make our mind life (8:6b), and to give life to our mortal body (8:11b). The first thing He does is to make our spirit life. When Christ is in us, our spirit is life. Before Christ came into us, our spirit was dead. Now that Christ is in us, however, our spirit is not only living but life. This wonderful One who is so all-inclusive as the Spirit of life, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, Christ Himself, and the Spirit of the resurrecting One, who is the Triune God, dwells in us firstly to make our dead spirit life. This is regeneration.

    Following this, this indwelling Spirit makes our mind life. The mind set on the spirit is life. This is the renewing of our mind, which is transformation. To make our spirit life is to regenerate us. To make our mind life is to renew our mind and to transform us.

    In addition, such a wonderful One dwells in us to give life to our mortal body. This is not the outward healing but the inward life impartation. Day after day the divine life is spreading into our body until that day when our body will be redeemed (8:23) and transfigured (Phil. 3:21). (top)

    (Witness Lee, NT Economy, 134)

  9. III. THE IMPARTING OF LIFE TO EVERY PART OF OUR BEING

    [In 8:1-11 we see that, after having passed through the various processes, the Triune God became a life-giving Spirit, the Spirit who gives life. In verse 11 Paul clearly says that the One who raised Christ from among the dead gives life to our mortal bodies “through His Spirit Who indwells you.” This Spirit now dwells in our spirit.]

    1. Our Spirit Being Life

    [As the life-giving Spirit, the processed Triune God dwells in us to give us life in a threefold way. The first aspect of this giving of life is found in verse 10: “And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is life because of righteousness.” This verse says that if Christ is in us, our spirit is life. Christ here is the very Triune God who has become the indwelling Spirit.

    Because this Christ is in us, our spirit is life, for as the life-giving Spirit, Christ dwells in our spirit, and His indwelling makes our spirit life. This is the first aspect of the giving of life revealed in Romans 8.]

    1. Our Soul Becoming Life

    [The second aspect is found in verse 6: “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.” The mind is the leading part of our soul. As such, it represents our soul. This means that when the mind becomes life, our soul becomes life. First our spirit is life, and then our soul also becomes life.]

    [In whatever we do and say, we must be sure that our mind is on our spirit. When our mind is off our spirit, we are like an electrical appliance which has been disconnected. If we sense that our mind is not on our spirit, we should stop and call on the name of the Lord Jesus. Many of us can testify that after simply calling on the name of the Lord Jesus, we had the sense deep within that, once again, our mind was on our spirit. Although this is simple matter, it is very serious.]

    1. Life Imparted to Our Mortal Bodies

    [Finally, life is imparted to our mortal bodies. According to verse 11, He who raised Christ Jesus from among the dead gives life to our mortal bodies through the indwelling Spirit.]

    [If we allow the indwelling Spirit to make His home in our being, this indwelling Spirit will saturate our dying, mortal body with resurrection life. Our mortal body will be enlivened, quickened, and healed with the divine life.]

    [Therefore, life is imparted to us in a threefold way: Our spirit becomes life, our mind becomes life, and life is imparted to our mortal bodies. For this reason we can say that, according to Romans 8, the Triune God is dispensed into the tripartite man and gives life to man’s spirit, soul, and body.] (top)

    (Witness Lee, Two Spirits, 163-165)

  10. [We all need to see the vision of the dispensing of the life of the Triune God into the three parts of our being. If we see this divine vision, our natural concept of ethics and morality will be shattered. We need to say to the Lord, “Lord, I thank You. Since You came into me, my spirit has become life. Now if I set my mind on my spirit, my mind also will be life. O Lord, how I praise You! Through Your indwelling Spirit, Your zoe (Greek, God’s divine life) life can be dispensed even into my mortal body. Lord, I worship You for this, I enjoy this, and I am one with You in this dispensation.” This is the dispensation of the life of the Triune God into the tripartite man. Through such a dispensing the Triune God becomes one with the tripartite man, and the tripartite man becomes one with the Triune God. It is through this dispensation of the divine life that we become sons of God. Furthermore, it is by this dispensation that we are transformed and conformed to the image of Christ. This is the Christian life and the church life.]

    SUMMARY

    Romans eight reveals the Triune God dispensing Himself into the tripartite man. The Triune God as the Spirit enters into man’s spirit making it life. As the mind is set on the spirit, the mind becomes life and eventually life is given even to our mortal bodies. Thus, the Triune God as the Spirit fully saturates the tripartite man, making God and man fully one. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Two Spirits, 165-166)

  11. Finally, let us look at the living and service of this organism. The living of this organism is the corporate and organic living of the Body of Christ (Rom. 12:5). All the members live together by taking Christ as life (Col. 3:3-4a), and all care for one another (1 Cor. 12:25-27). This kind of living is also an organic living produced by the union and mingling of the Triune God with the tripartite man (Rom. 8:2-13). We are men of three parts. Through the law of the Spirit of life, we were first enlivened in our spirit by the Spirit of Christ. Next, we are enlivened in the mind of our soul by the spreading Spirit of God. Lastly, we are enlivened in our mortal body by the indwelling Spirit of God. We are first made alive in the spirit by Christ the Spirit of life, resulting in our spirit being life. This Spirit then continues to spread outward from our spirit to our mind, making our mind life also. This Spirit continues to spread outward to our bodies so that our bodies also have the life of God. For this reason, we have to set our mind on the spirit, walk according to the spirit, and put to death the practices of the body through the indwelling Spirit of God. This is the living of the tripartite man mingled with the Triune God. He is the Dweller, and we are His dwelling. He and we are mingled as one. We live together to become the organic Body of Christ. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Mysteries, 70)

  12. Today, this law of the Spirit of life in us is tremendous, for this law is just the Triune God Himself. What Romans 8:2-13 talks about is actually this law. Verse 2 tells us in plain words that the law of the Spirit of life has freed us. After this it talks about the processed Triune God working Himself into us, the tripartite man. First, He enters into our spirit to make our spirit life (v. 10). Next, He saturates our mind, so that our mind also becomes life (v. 6). Finally, He permeates our bodies from the soul to which our mind belongs, giving life to our mortal bodies (v. 11). (top)

    (Witness Lee, Mysteries, 79)

  13. SAVED BY THE DISPENSING OF THE TRIUNE GOD INTO OUR TRIPARTITE BEING

    Another crucial point of God’s saving in the life of Christ is the dispensing of the processed Triune God into our tripartite being. This is clearly unveiled in Romans 8:5-13. This divine dispensing saturates us in our tripartite being-spirit, soul, and body-making every part alive, and saves us from death in all the three parts. (top)

    (Witness Lee, To be Saved, 21)

The Tripartite Man

The Triune God United and Mingled with the Tripartite Man

  1. To Unite and Mingle the Triune God with the Tripartite Man

    In His full ministry in the first stage of His incarnation, Christ also united and mingled the Triune God with the tripartite man. The Triune God is mysterious, and the tripartite man is difficult to understand. If we simply say that Christ united and mingled God with man, this is easy. However, according to the new language of the new culture in the divine and mystical realm, we need to say that Christ united and mingled the Triune God with the tripartite man. Concerning the Triune God, the Father is the source, the Son is the expression, and the Spirit is the entering in. Concerning the tripartite man, the spirit is the innermost part, the soul is in the middle, and the body is on the outside. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Co-worker, 16)

  2. A Mingling of the Triune God with the Tripartite Man

    We have been redeemed, regenerated, and now we are being transformed. We are also on the way to being glorified. Our spirit has been regenerated, our troublesome soul is being transformed, and our poor body is awaiting transfiguration.

    In the New Jerusalem the Triune God is fully mingled with the redeemed, regenerated, transformed, and glorified tripartite man. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Basic Revelation, 135)

  3. THE TRIUNE GOD BEING FULLY MINGLED WITH THE TRIPARTITE MAN

    Finally, I must tell you the story of this Body of Christ. Simply speaking, it is the story of the Triune God mingling as one with us, the chosen and predestinated ones. Long before time began, in eternity past before all things were created, God by His eternal foreknowledge selected us and also marked us out. Then in time the Holy Spirit came to work, to seek us and regenerate us. This regeneration is the beginning of the mingling between the Triune God and us, and it is also the first step of the Triune God being life to us after coming into us. This happens in our spirit. From then on, if we cooperate with Him, love Him, and fellowship with Him, He will have the opportunity to spread outward from our spirit to our soul so that our mind can be renewed and transformed. This indwelling Spirit is like a dove, gradually and gently occupying and saturating us. He also will spread from our soul to our body to give life to our mortal bodies (Rom. 8:11). In this way, the Triune God and we, the tripartite men, will be completely mingled as one. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Thorough View, 16-17)

  4. First, we must abide in Christ. To abide in Christ is to remain all the time in our spirit. As tripartite beings, we have a body, a soul, and a spirit (1 Thes. 5:23). The place where we should remain is the spirit. If we stay in our thoughts or our temperament, we remain in our soul. Christ is not in our soul but in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22). At other times, we may remain in our body by engaging in sports or fighting with one another. But what we should do is remain always in our spirit. When we remain in the spirit, we abide in Christ, and Christ has the ground to abide in us to carry out His divine dispensing in us (John 15:4-5). (top)

    (Witness Lee, Economy and Dispensing, 53)

  5. Through the Son’s redemption, we become God’s inheritance (Eph. 1:7, 11). The word inheritance indicates that something of God Himself has been wrought into our being. Otherwise, we, the natural man, can never be God’s inheritance. We were just a heap of dust, and as such we had no value. But since Christ’s redemption has imparted something of God into our being, we have something of God Himself within us. The redemption of Christ has worked something of God into our tripartite being through the dispensing of the divine life and element into us. Some divine “gold” has been imparted into our spirit. Something precious has been spreading into our soul. Eventually, the glory of the divine person will permeate our entire body. Then our whole being will become precious. This will make us an inheritance, something precious for God to inherit. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Economy and Dispensing, 78-79)

The Tripartite Man

God’s Salvation and the Tripartite Man

  1. At the time we are saved, we are regenerated in our spirit. After that, we need to be transformed mostly in our soul. At times this spreading from the spirit to the soul influences our body. Sometimes we overcome our physical weaknesses by realizing the divine life in our body, as mentioned in Romans 8:11. Then when the Lord comes back, our whole body will be transfigured, transformed from the old creation into the new creation to be a body of glory. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Principles of the Experience, 172)

  2. Here we see that Christ has been made wisdom to us from God as three vital matters in God’s salvation: righteousness (for our past), by which we have been justified by God so that we may be reborn in our spirit to receive the divine life; sanctification (for our present), by which we are being sanctified in our soul with His divine life; and redemption (for our future), that is, the redemption of our body (Rom. 8:23), by which we shall be transfigured in our body with His divine life to have His glorious likeness (Phil. 3:21). (top)

    (Witness Lee, Divine Trinity, 266)

  3. This is the Triune God dispensing Himself into the tripartite man. Man is of three parts the human spirit, the human soul, and the human body. As believers our spirit has been regenerated, and our soul with its leading part, the mind, is now under renewing which is our transformation. The day will come when our body will be transfigured, conformed to the body of His glory. This will be the redemption of our body. Our regeneration has already been accomplished, our transformation is an ongoing process, and our transfiguration, the redemption of our body, will be accomplished at Christ’s coming back. This all-inclusive One as the consummation of the Triune God is working the Triune God into our three parts into our spirit, into our soul, and into our body. This is the Triune God working Himself into the tripartite man by His divine dispensing. (top)

    (Witness Lee, NT Economy, 134-135)

  4. We are tripartite men composed of spirit, soul, and body (1 Thes. 5:23). At the time of our regeneration, God entered into our spirit, and immediately our spirit was renewed. Now our soul also needs to be renewed in every part. Titus 3:5 says, “Not out of works in righteousness which we did but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit.” Through regeneration our spirit was renewed, but our soul was not renewed by regeneration. Thus, after regeneration the Spirit continues to renew us by saturating our soul.

    According to Ephesians 1:13, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit as the sealing ink. When a seal that is wet with ink is placed on a piece of paper, the wet ink saturates the paper. In the same way the Holy Spirit as the sealing ink saturates and permeates our soul. To saturate is to fill or soak deeply, and to permeate is to spread throughout a certain thing. Saturation is vertical, and permeation is horizontal. From the day we were regenerated God imparted Himself into us as life embodied in Christ. At the same time, He put His Spirit within us as a living seal. From that day the sealing Spirit has been saturating and permeating. First, the Spirit saturates and permeates our soul, including our mind, emotion, and will. Eventually, this saturating Spirit of life will reach our mortal body that our body may have life (Rom. 8:11). This saturation and permeation will continue within us “unto the redemption of the acquired possession’’ (Eph. 1:14), that is, until the redemption of our body (Rom. 8:23). (top)

    (Witness Lee, Central Line, 270)

  5. The Tripartite Man Regenerated by God-the Human Element

    The second item of the elements of the Body of Christ is the tripartite man regenerated by God as the human element (1 Cor. 1:2a). Each one of us who was saved and belongs to the Body of Christ possesses these two elements or constituents, that is, the divine constituent and the human constituent. Moreover, we human beings regenerated by God have three parts: the spirit, the soul, and the body. First, God comes into our spirit to regenerate it (John 3:5-6; Titus 3:5); then, He spreads into our soul that it may be renewed and transformed (Rom. 12:2a; Eph. 4:23; 2 Cor. 3:18); and finally, He saturates our body that it may be transfigured and glorified (Phil 3:21; Rom. 8:30). Thus, our tripartite being and the Triune God are fully mingled as one (Eph. 4:4-6). (top)

    (Witness Lee, Thorough View, 27)

  6. The believers have been sanctified positionally by the blood of Christ (Heb. 13:12) and are being sanctified dispositionally by the Spirit (Rom. 15:16; 6:19, 22), that they may be renewed, transformed in their soul (Rom. 12:2a; 2 Cor. 3:18), conformed to the image of the firstborn Son of God (Rom. 8:29), and glorified (redeemed) in their body (Rom. 8:23) in the glory of the processed Triune God (Rom. 8:30, 17-18). Although the believers have been regenerated in their spirit, their soul and body remain old. Thus, the believers need to be renewed, transformed in their soul, conformed to the image of the firstborn Son of God, and glorified in their body in the glory of the processed Triune God. The believers are tripartite beings composed of spirit, soul, and body. First, their spirit is regenerated, then their soul is transformed, and finally, their body will be glorified. Thus the believers’ whole being will be saturated with God’s splendid life. God’s life is a life of splendor, and that splendor is the glory of the divine life. When we are permeated, saturated, and soaked with the splendor of the divine life, we will be in glory. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Brief Presentation, 24)

The Tripartite Man

The Tripartite Man and the Church

  1. [Romans] Chapter 12 deals with three things for the realization of the proper church life: the body, the mind, which is the main part of the soul, and the spirit. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Economy of God, 172)

  2. The Body of Christ is the mingling of the Triune God with the tripartite man. It is the Triune God mingled with the believers. This simple definition is the conclusion of my study of Paul’s writings in his fourteen Epistles. God’s new creation work is nothing but to dispense Himself into us, His chosen people, to mingle Himself in His divine element with our human element, making divinity and humanity one. He lived on this earth for thirty-three and a half years as the model, the example, of the divine mingling. The man Jesus was the mingling of God with man. He was God, and He was also man; He was a God-man. Even the term God-man does not express the notion of mingling adequately. While Jesus was working and walking on this earth, He was the mingling of the Triune God with the tripartite man. That was Christ; and this Christ today has been enlarged, has been increased. This increase is the church. The church is the mingling of the Triune God with us, the tripartite man. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Central Line, 300)

The Tripartite Man

The Triune God marries the Tripartite Man

  1. Thus, at the conclusion of the Bible is the consummation of the processed Triune God, while the wife is the aggregate and consummation of all the redeemed, regenerated, transformed, and glorified tripartite men. Hallelujah! The Triune God marries the tripartite man. Here is an eternal couple expressing the Triune God for eternity. The tripartite man in eternity will be enjoying this rich Triune God. (top)

    (Witness Lee, Basic Revelation, 111)

The Tripartite Man

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Witness Lee. Basic Lessons on Life. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1993.

Witness Lee. Basic Principles of the Experience of Life. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry,1999.

Witness Lee. The Basic Revelation in the Holy Scriptures. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1984.

Witness Lee. A Brief Presentation of the Lord’s Recovery. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1990.

Witness Lee. The Central Line of the Divine Revelation. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1991.

Witness Lee. The Centrality and Universality of Christ. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1994.

Witness Lee. A Deeper Study of the Divine Dispensing. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1990.

Witness Lee. The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1983.

Witness Lee. The Economy of God. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1968.

Witness Lee. The Economy and Dispensing of God. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1990.

Witness Lee. The Experience of Christ. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1978.

Witness Lee. God’s New Testament Economy. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1986.

Witness Lee. How to be a Co-worker and an Elder and How to fulfill their Obligations. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1996.

Witness Lee. Incarnation, Inclusion, and Intensification. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1996.

Witness Lee. A Lesson Book-Level 3-Two Spirits-The Divine Spirit and the Human Spirit. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1990.

Witness Lee. Life-Study of First Thessalonians. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1982.

Witness Lee. Life-Study of Genesis Vol. 1. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1997.

Witness Lee. Life-Study of the Psalms Vol. 1. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1993.

Witness Lee. Messages in Preparation for the Spread of the Gospel. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1989.

Witness Lee. The Mysteries in God’s New Testament Economy. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1990.

Witness Lee. The Organic Union in God’s Relationship with Man. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1993.

Witness Lee. Our Human Spirit. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1984.

Witness Lee. The Parts of Man. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1969.

Witness Lee. The Practice of the Church Life according to the God-ordained Way. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1992.

Witness Lee. The Spirit and the Body. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1976.

Witness Lee. The Spirit with our Spirit. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1993.

Witness Lee. A Thorough View of the Body of Christ. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1990.

Witness Lee. To be Saved in the Life of Christ as revealed in Romans. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1990.

The Tripartite Man

Main
Scriptural Basis
Historical Perspective
The Definition of the Three Parts of Man
The Functions of the Three Parts of Man
God's Salvation
Realizing the Body Life