Man is a Tripartite being. We are a soul with a body. We are a soul with a spirit. The spirit and soul are eternal. The body ages, dies and goes back to dust. At the Resurrection, the corruptible body is raised incorruptible and reunited with the soul and spirit. The soul and spirit never separate. They both live together for eternity. 
The soul is the personality of the natural man and the spiritual man. The soul is the real you, the real me. The soul comprises the intellect, the imagination, the will, the conscience, the sub-conscience, and the emotions.
The body is the cloak of the soul in this life. The spirit is the cloak of the soul in eternity. When we see a ghost, we are seeing a soul cloaked in its spirit, without a body.
We know that the soul is more than just the brain with its chemicals and electrical currents. The soul is able to communicate, think, understand and feel beyond death. This is proven by all the people who have testified about their Near Death Experiences.
So, why are we made up of three parts? To answer that we must look at a few of the threes in the Bible.
The first ‘three’, of course, is God. God shows up through the pages of Scripture as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Theologians tell us these three are one. Just like you are one. Just like I am one. I know that some people think differently about you, and sometimes about me. Let them think what they will, we both know that we are one. One personality with a body, a soul, and a spirit.
John says, “God is a Spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth. John 4:24 NASB
Jesus taught us that He and His Father are one. The name Jesus means ‘Jehovah (of the Old Testament) has become salvation’. Emmanuel means ‘God with us’. Paul said Jesus was God manifested in the flesh. Jesus assured his disciples that when He went away, His Father would send another comforter, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would be in them as a well of living water, springing up into everlasting life. This comforter would lead, guide and convict them as to what is right and true. They had only to wait in prayer until they were endued with this power.
There are three heavens. The third is where Paul was caught up to, and is where God’s throne is. The second is where the stars and planets are located, and the first is the atmosphere around earth that enables man to live.
The plans for the Tabernacle, which Moses built for the Hebrews, was given to him on Mt. Sinai. Scripture later says these plans were patterned after the Tabernacle in Heaven.
The Tabernacle of Moses had three parts. The Court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies.
The first part was where the priests could offer sacrifices for the sins of the people. The Holy Place was where the priest could offer incense on the Altar of Incense. He also renewed the bread on the table and trimmed the wicks on the candlestick. The Holy of Holies was where the High Priest went once a year on the Day of Atonement (At-One-Ment).
In the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant, with two golden Cherubims watching over it. Inside the Ark was Aaron’s rod that budded, a portion of Manna, and a copy of the Law.
Paul later spoke of these in the book of Hebrews, and John makes reference to them in the book of Revelation.
The Holy of Holies, with the Ark of the Covenant, was symbolic of God’s Throne in the third Heaven. The Cherubims were symbolic of those surrounding God in Heaven. The Holy Place was symbolic of where we as mortals can enter with our prayers and sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, while meditating on the Word of God. The incense on the altar symbolizes the prayers being offered. The Outer Court was symbolic of man in his carnal state offering confession of his sins. The Bread of the Golden Table was the Word of God that gives life and light to the soul of man. The light in the lamp was the Holy Spirit that never loses its light giving power.
Three has been said to be a ‘complete’ number. The beginning, the middle and the end. The atom has three parts (electron, neutron and proton), used to create land, sea and air (matter, time and space). Animals were created to live on the land, in the water and in the air. We have need of food, water and air. Energy comes in the form of protein, carbohydrates and fat. Water is made up of 3 parts (two parts hydrogen, one part oxygen) and the air primarily consists of 3 parts (78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, .93% argon.).
There are 66 (3 x 22) Books in the bible. 39 (3 x 13) in the Old Testament, 27 (3 x 9) in the New Testament. There are 31,173 (3 x 10,391) Verses in the Bible. 23,214 (3 x 7738) in the O.T. and 7959 (3 x 2653) in the N.T.
Within the Bible itself we find many appearances of the number 3. There were 333 prophecies concerning the coming of Jesus Christ into the world. Jesus Christ was crucified at the age of 33, after a ministry that lasted 3 years. He spent nine (3 x 3) hours on the cross, with 3 of those hours in darkness. He was buried for 3 days and 3 nights, and resurrected on the 3rd day. In fact, the word three is mentioned in the Bible 543 (3 x 181) times! The universe and the Bible have their Creator’s trademark stamped all over them.
Body, soul, and spirit, three parts of one human being. See, there is more to things than what first greets the eye.
When Jesus was in the wilderness on a 40 day fast, he was tempted three times by the devil. The three temptations appealed to the three areas of weakness in man.
Consider the following scriptures about Satan and his powers in this world.
John said, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.” I John 2:16 NASB
The Devil offered Jesus the Kingdoms of this world, if He would only fall down and worship him. The devil was very forward in saying that these ‘kingdoms’ were his to give. “And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.” And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.” Luke 4:5,6 NASB
Jesus said, “I will not speak with you much longer, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no hold on me.” John 14:30 NASB
“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44
“And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” Luke 10:18 ESB
“and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one;” Matthew 13:38 NASB
“so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” II Corinthians 2:11 NASB
“in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” II Corinthians 4:4 NASB
“No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” II Corinthians 11:14 NASB
“in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” Ephesians 2:2 NASB
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12 NASB
“Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 NASB
“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” ” But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” I Peter 5:8,9 NASB
“And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” Revelation 12:9
We are body, soul, and spirit. Our body is corrupt, dying and going back to dust from where it came. Our soul is carnal and desires the three areas of life that Satan offered Jesus. Power, Greed, and Pleasure at the expense of others. Our spirit is made in the likeness of God’s Spirit and desires the things of the spiritual world.
There is another force in this world that leads men to do wrong in various degrees of evil.
There is a battle for the ‘soul’ of man for good and evil.
To be continued…