Of all the creations of God in the earth, only man was created a spirit being. The Bible shows us that God made man in His own image and after His likeness (Genesis 1:26). He made us in His image to look like Him, and in His likeness to function like Him. We’re not like animals: dogs, cats, horses, monkeys, and baboons. We’re spirit beings.

 

The account of creation in the Book of Genesis shows how all animals and plants came into being by God’s Word. But in the creation of man, two important words are noticed. The first is the word, “created” in Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him…” Then in Genesis 2:7, the Bible says, “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” (Genesis 2:7).

 

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These two expressions, “created” and “formed,” are sometimes used interchangeably by people, but they’re different. The difference isn’t mere semantics, but in the description of God’s original purpose: His plan and vision for man. When God “created” man in His image and in His likeness, no one could see the created man, because this had to do with the human spirit. Though no one could see him (the created man), God knew him, for he was in God.

 

Then, the Bible says God formed man from the dust of the ground, referring to man’s physical body. After He formed man, He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. That was when He introduced the spirit-man He had created into the physical body that He formed, and man became a living soul. That’s what makes him different from all the other animals. You’re primarily a spirit, and not a physical body; and the real food for the human spirit is the Word of God.

 

Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, “…Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). The development of the human spirit is only through the Word. You’re built through the Word and sustained through the Word. 1 Peter 2:2 says, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.”