Life, Breath.

1. The spirit of a man

This is the energy God gives a person, first at their birth when they begin to breathe God's air, and then this is transformed into strength, growth, activity, intelligence and character as they live and develop. When a man dies his breathing stops, and the 'spirit' or breath returns to God, his maker. All his thoughts and activity end (see Psalm 104:29; Job 33:4; Zechariah 12:1).

Man is, in the first place, an animal so he needs to do all things natural to a man. He seeks food, shelter, comfort, recreation, procreation, and all things related to his earthly existence. Man is not naturally a moral creature, so he has many wrong desires. But man is more than an animal, and in spirit he responds to God his maker, and is able to improve and become Godlike in character (see Ecclesiastes 3:21).