What kind of three-part being did God create Adam to be?
God created Adam as a trichotomous, three-part being: body, soul, and spirit. The body is the temporary outer tent exercised through the five senses, while the soul and spirit are the inner, eternal aspects made in God’s image, comprising personality—mind, will, and emotions.
Les explains that when God created man in His image, it did not mean God was in the form of a man, because the triune God is Spirit. Adam was made a trichotomous being—a three-part being, not a trinity—as Thessalonians lays out: body, soul, and spirit. The body is the outer tent, the outer covering, used for the five senses, and it is temporary. Inside that temporary tent are the eternal things, and it is in this area that we are made in the image of God, not in the body. God never had a body with five senses to pattern us after, but here He did. The true person, or personality, is comprised of mind, will, and emotions.