Dividing Soul And Spirit

Biblegems #77

Question: What is the difference in Scripture between “soul” and “spirit,” and does the “soul” die?

Technically, the word “soul” in the Bible refers to the self-aware life force that allows the physical nature of man to function. Genesis 2:7 describes how God formed Adam from the same elements that were in the soil, but that Adam was nothing more than an intricate clay model—until God breathed life into him. That action turned the clay model into a conscious being (“soul”) in physical form. The soul is what makes the body come to life.

Gen. 2:7 …the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (“soul”—KJV).

It would even be somewhat inaccurate to describe man as a body with a soul in it, because the soul and body were designed for each other permanently. They were designed to function together and never be separated. When the two are separated, the body dies:

         Matt. 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Therfore, “death” is not a ceasing to exist, but rather a change in condition. Both the body and the soul can be “destroyed” in hell, where the word “destroyed” (Gk. “apolesai”) means to be “lost,” not annihilated. The idea is that both body and soul have entered a form of existence from which there is no return.

In the same way, when a believer dies the body and soul are separated until the resurrection, at which time the body is raised imperishable:

         1 Cor. 15:42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable

The “soul” gives us self-awareness and emotional responses, such as Jesus experienced in Gethsemane:

John 12:27  “Now my heart (Gk. “psuche”—“soul”) is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.

Human beings (souls) are spirit as well as body and soul, however. “Spirit” (Heb. “ruach;” Gk. “pneuma”) is what distinguishes humanity from the rest of the huge varieties of created, conscious, earthly life. Dogs and birds and fish are all forms of conscious life, and all are capable of varying levels of emotional responses, such as fear or desire. But only humanity has spirit.

Mankind is fashioned for existence in the spiritual realm. We are designed to live with God and to have interchange with other spirit-beings, such as angels and, of course, God Himself:

         John 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.

Jesus, as a sinless man, functioned in this spiritual capacity with perfection:

         Mark 2:8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things?

As with the soul, when the spirit and body are separated death occurs. When Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from death, her restored spirit re-animated her body and soul:

         Luke 8:55 Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.

Death is the result of sin and not part of God’s original design for man. Death is being cut off from God, our source of life, because of sin, and results in an un-natural separation of body, soul and spirit. Jesus came to restore us to God, and to a life that is imperishable:

1 Th. 5:23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Made In God's Image

Biblegems #10

Gen. 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…” Gen. 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

What did God intend for us to understand “image” to mean, both here and throughout Scripture?

It is not insignificant that these first three uses of the word “image” in the Bible are followed by a nearly parallel passage in 5:3: Adam “had a son in his own likeness, in his own image.” In other words: like father, like son. They are identical in kind (human) and similar in likeness (sharing similarities in appearance, personality, etc).

In its simplest context, without adding later NT theology, Genesis is telling us that Adam (lit., “of the earth”) is a physical, limited facsimile of God. Human beings are physical and limited in nature, whereas God is unlimited and spirit in nature (Jn. 4:24). Human beings are created, whereas God is uncreated. Man is like God but not God. Adam’s son was born like Adam, but not Adam.

This is precisely what the Hebrew words for “image” (selem) and “likeness” (demuth) indicate. Selem is the word used of carved images, such as statues and idols (1 Sam. 6:5; 2 Ki. 11:18), and demuth indicates an exact model, pattern or representation of something (2 Ki. 16:10). So, like God, we have a spirit, but we are not solely Spirit, as He is. Possessing a spirit enables us to relate to God on a spiritual level (1 Cor. 6:11), but being one with Him does not make us identical to Him.

The New Testament brings a greater depth of revelation: When Jesus took on human nature (Phil.2:7), the Scripture is clear that He was “made” (not created) in human likeness. For example, all marine life was created at once, brought into existence where none had previously existed (Gen. 1:21), but He “made” the atmosphere by separating the watery substance of the primal earth into two bodies (Gen. 1:7).

Likewise, the pre-existing Jesus (Jn. 1:1ff) was “made” in human likeness. He was formed and patterned after Adam, the first perfect “image” of God. “So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit” (1Cor. 15:45). As a human being, Jesus was made in the image of Adam, who was made in the image of God.

As God in human form, Jesus stands apart from the rest of God’s image bearers as the only One who can give life. We can only receive that life and so become children of God (1 John 3:1). But even that high privilege does not make us divine, for we are always heirs—recipients—of the promise that is granted to us by His grace. Jesus alone is the “author and perfector of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). We will always be in His debt and subject to Him. Even as we reign with Him in eternity, it will not be on His throne, but at His right and left hand (Mk. 10:40). What an honor to be among those in God’s masterful creation who bear His image! But it is an honor granted, not earned, and therefore one that should keep us in a state of perpetual humility and gratitude.

References: 1. (Vernon O. Elmore. Butler, Trent C. Editor.. "Entry for 'IMAGE OF GOD'". "Holman Bible Dictionary".
 . 1991.) 2. Henry M. Morris. The Genesis Record, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michgan. Copyright, 1976. 3. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, Moody Press, Chicago, Ill. Copyright 1980.