Simply Soul

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By itself, the phrase “your spirit and soul and body” is inconclusive. Other passages of Scripture pile up synonyms for emphasis, and that could be what Paul is doing here. For example, Jesus says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). Is Jesus indicating that the soul is different from the mind or the heart? This problem is even greater in Mark 12:30: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” When we look at the usage of the biblical words translated “soul” (Hebrew “ nephesh” and Greek “ psychē”) and “spirit” (Hebrew “ rûach” and Greek “ pneuma”), it appears that they are sometimes used interchangeably. Paul does not fear death, for he says, “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (Philippians 1:23). He contrasts that with remaining in this life, which he calls “to remain in the flesh” (Philippians 1:24). In fact, he says, “We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8), indicating a confidence that if he were to die physically his spirit would go into the Lord’s presence and there enjoy fellowship with the Lord at once.

The question of whether an animal has a “soul” simply depends on how we define soul. If we define “soul” to mean “the intellect, emotions, and will,” then we will have to conclude that at least the higher animals have a soul. But if we define our “soul” as the immaterial element of our nature that relates to God (Psalm 103:1, Luke 1:46, and so on) and lives forever (Revelation 6:9), then animals don’t have a soul. The fact that the Hebrew word nephesh, “soul,” is sometimes used of animals (Genesis 1:21 and 9:4) shows that the word can sometimes simply mean “life.” That doesn’t mean that animals have the same kind of soul as man. The Bible says our spirits are alive in Christ However, man is also sometimes said to be “body and spirit.” Paul wants the Corinthian church to deliver a sinful brother to Satan “for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1 Corinthians 5:5). Paul hasn’t forgotten that the man’s soul would be saved, too; he simply uses the word “spirit” to refer to the man’s entire immaterial existence. These categories seem to suggest that there are non-Christians who are “of the flesh,” “unspiritual” Christians who follow the desires of their souls, and more mature Christians who follow the desires of their spirits. Doesn’t this suggest that soul and spirit are different? We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” —2 Corinthians 5:8 Learn more in Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology online course. First: Can we be sure that humans have souls?Thessalonians 5:23 appears to suggest there are three parts to every person: “May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Similarly, James says that “the body apart from the spirit is dead” (James 2:26), but mentions nothing about a separate soul. And when Paul speaks of growth in personal holiness, he approves the woman who is concerned with “how to be holy in body and spirit” (1 Corinthians 7:34), and he suggests that this covers the whole of the person’s life. He’s even more explicit in 2 Corinthians 7:1: “let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, and make holiness perfect in the fear of God.” Cleansing ourselves from defilement of the “soul” or of the “spirit” covers the whole immaterial side of our existence (see also Romans 8:10, 1 Corinthians 5:3, and Colossians 2:5). 4. The “soul” can sin or the “spirit” can sin. Since dichotomy and trichotomy are more common views in the evangelical church today, let’s look at each one in detail. This is the most-widely held scholarly view on the soul and spirit. Later, we’ll look in more detail at the reasons why many scholars believe spirit and soul are synonymous. One part: the body But I am hard-pressed from both directions , having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.” —Philippians 1:23–24

If we hold to a view of dichotomy that upholds the overall unity of man, it will be much easier to avoid the error of depreciating the value of our intellects, emotions, or physical bodies. We don’t have to think of our bodies as inherently evil or unimportant. There is a continual interaction between our body and our spirit, and they affect each other: “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones” (Proverbs 17:22). Soul” and “spirit” are both general terms to describe the immaterial side of people, and it’s difficult to see any real distinction between their use in Scripture.In John 12:27, Jesus says, “Now is my soul troubled,” whereas in a very similar context in the next chapter John says that Jesus was “troubled in spirit” (John 13:21). Similarly, we read Mary’s words in Luke 1:46–47: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” This seems to be an example of Hebrew parallelism—a poetic device that repeats the same idea using synonymous words. Paul certainly distinguishes a person who is “natural” ( psychikos, “soul-ish”) from one that is “spiritual” ( pneumatikos, “spiritual”) in 1 Corinthians 2:14–3:4. But in this context “spiritual” seems to mean “influenced by the Holy Spirit,” since the entire passage is talking about the work of the Holy Spirit in revealing truth to believers. But the passage doesn’t imply that Christians have a spirit and non-Christians don’t, or that the spirit of a Christian is alive and the spirit of a non-Christian isn’t. Paul isn’t talking about different parts of man at all, but about being influenced by the Holy Spirit. Paul appears to make a distinction between his spirit and his mind When Stephen was dying, he knew he would immediately pass into the presence of the Lord, for he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59). Christians have a “spiritual perception” or inner awareness of the presence of God experienced in worship and in prayer. At this deep inward level we can also at times feel spiritually troubled, or depressed, or perhaps have a sense of the presence of hostile demonic forces. Often this perception is distinct from our conscious, rational thought processes. As we discussed above, Paul realizes that at times his spirit prays but his mind does not understand (1 Corinthians 14:14). The Bible seems to suggest that both the soul and the spirit can sin, which could be because they are the same thing. 5. The soul can do everything the spirit can, and the spirit can do everything the soul can.

he fact that “All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit” (Proverbs 16:2) implies that it is possible for our spirits to be wrong in God’s sight. We certainly have spiritual abilities that make us different from animals: we are able to relate to God in worship and prayer, and we enjoy spiritual life in fellowship with God who is spirit. But we shouldn’t assume that we have a distinct element called “spirit” that allows us to do this. We can use our minds we can love God, read and understand his words, and believe his Word to be true. Our souls can worship God and rejoice in him. Our bodies will also be resurrected and live with God forever. Clearly, the Bible makes a distinction between our physical bodies and a soul or spirit. Now let’s look at why dichotomists believe the Bible considers the soul and spirit to be the same thing. 5 reasons the soul and spirit are synonymousVerses such as 1 Peter 1:22 and Revelation 18:14 seem to imply that our souls can sin. Those who hold to trichotomy will usually agree that the “soul” can sin since they think that the soul includes the intellect, the emotions, and the will. to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect . . .” —Hebrews 12:23 Here the word “soul” clearly refers to the part of a person that exists after death. It cannot mean “person” or “life,” for it would not make sense to speak of those who “kill the body but cannot kill the person,” or who “kill the body but cannot kill the life,” unless there is some aspect of the person that lives on after the body is dead. Furthermore, when Jesus talks about “soul and body” he seems to be clearly talking about the entire person even though he does not mention “spirit” as a separate component. The word “soul” seems to stand for the entire nonphysical part of man. A “haughty spirit” goes before a fall (Proverbs 16:18), and it is possible for sinful people to be “proud in spirit” (Ecclesiastes 7:8). This view is called monism. According to monism, the scriptural terms soul and spirit are just other expressions for the “person” himself, or for the person’s “life.” Most evangelical theologians don’t hold this view because so many scriptural texts seem to affirm that our souls or spirits live on after our bodies die: