Man Is Said To Be Either Body And Soul Or Body And Spirit
Jesus tells us not to fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul, but that we should rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell .
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.
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 . Paul hasnt forgotten that the mans soul would be saved, too he simply uses the word spirit to refer to the mans entire immaterial existence.
Your Soul Is The Source Of All Your Achievement
The body apart from the spirit is dead.
Think about everything that is important in your life, and you will say, Yes, that came from my soul. Think about this in relation to the world.
Think about music: The symphony, classic rockwhere did these things come from? They came from the soul of the composer who wrote it.
Think about art: The ability to depict beauty came through the hands of the artist, but where did it come from? It came from the soul of the artist.
Then think about sports: You may say, Surely sports depends on the body. But James says, the body without the spirit is dead . Every great sports achievement has come through relentless commitment, disciplined desire, and the determination of the athlete, which is of course in the soul.
When I meet someone who is super fit, I want to say, This has come from your soul. All the work you have put into sculpting your body came from a desire in your soul. Without that desire that was in your soul, you would be a couch potato!
All that you achieve in life, everything that is achieved in the world, will arise from the life of the soul.
The New Testament Teaches Mans Endless Conscious Existence
The citation of a few New Testament verses make it clear that mans conscious existence is endless.
And the graves were opened and many bodies of the saints which slept arose .
Please notice how the Holy Spirit says that the bodies slept. Jesus said:
Our friend Lazarus sleepeth but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep . . . Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead .
Death to our Lord was never anything more than sleep. It is a figure of speech that the Bible applies, for there is never a pause in our consciousness. It was the body of Lazarus that was dead. It was his body that Martha said stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. When Jesus said plainly that Lazarus was dead, He could mean only his body, for when He added: I go, that I may awake Him out of sleep, He did this by raising the body of Lazarus from death and the grave. We read in verse forty-four: And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes. The part of Lazarus that was dead was that part of him that was bound hand and foot, and his face.
The Apostle Paul gives us a glimpse into his inner life in an experience that appears only once in all of his writings.
In Christs account of the rich man and Lazarus we have the matter summed up and settled that the soul is conscious after death. Both men died and were buried. Though their bodies were in the graves, each of them was alive and conscious. The rich man in Hell could see, hear, speak, and feel .
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Our Cooperation With Gods Saturating
How can we cooperate with Gods intention to saturate our whole being with Himself?
Exercising our spirit is the key. Not only does our spirit have the ability to contact and fellowship with God, its also the place where He lives in us. We can turn to Him in our spirit to live by His life. By means of our spirit we can also receive more of Christ each day. From this base of His operation in us, He can then spread into our soul. The more we receive Christ by exercising, or using, our spirit, the more God will have a way to spread into our soul.
We can daily exercise our spirit by , reading and even praying with Gods Word to be spiritually nourished, and obeying Him. The more we exercise our spirit, the more we allow the God of peace to continue spreading in us and saturating us. Then well be able to express God to everyone around us.
The New Testament Recovery Version has a number of other enlightening notes on 1 Thessalonians 5:23, including an important one on how God preserves our spirit, soul, and body complete. If you live in the United States, you can order a free copy of the New Testament Recovery Version here. We encourage you to read the notes and the verses they reference to gain a fuller understanding of what weve discussed in this post.
The book The Economy of God is another invaluable resource on the subject of the parts of man. You can read the details in chapters 6 and 7 in the book, which you can download for free from anywhere in the world here.
The Consciousness Of The Soul After Death
Is the soul conscious after death? This is not a new question. For centuries there have been certain religionists who have contended that the soul existed after death but that it was not conscious. Upon investigation, some of you may be surprised to know of the wide-spread belief in the teaching of the sleeping of the soul. Because of the universal interest in the whereabouts of the dead, false sects prey upon the public, claiming complete knowledge of the subject. Such groups as Jehovahs Witnesses, spiritualists and others have spread the sophistical conclusion that at death the body returns to dust and the soul becomes unconscious.
Such statements as the following are but a few of the distortions and perversions of the Holy Scriptures that have to do with the soul after death. At death, it is not the body but the soul which dies.The interim from death until the soul is resurrected is one of unconsciousness.Even the apostles were unconscious for centuries. These assertions are being made by the advocates of the teachings of Russell and Rutherford, but they are the views of the men themselves, imposed upon the Holy Scriptures. These ideas were read into the Bible, but were never in the mind of the inspired writers.
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Healing Bible Verses For Troubled Thoughts
There are constant worries about our futures and regrets of our past which keep our minds in turmoil. These mayhems within our soul paralyze both our capacity to handle each situation and our ability to see the good side in every difficulty. Thus, we got trapped into restless thinking making our problems even more problematic. Our minds and hearts are the battlefields of the enemy. He will want to make you feel the uneasiness of your worries. Your thoughts will remind you over and over about your failures and the heavy burdens you carry each day. They will tell you that you are incapable and its more than you can handle. However, all these thoughts are lies trying to paralyze you from doing what God wants you to do be free from the burden of needing to worry.
The Lord gave us ways and means to be free from this state of distress through different healing bible verses so we can enjoy the peace of living in the midst of our anxieties.
What Is A Spiritual Definition Of Soulmate
What is a Soulmate? Soulmates are people in our lives whom we connect with on a deep level. As the name implies, soulmates are primarily friends of the soul. Spiritually, soulmates usually play a major role in your development. It is possible for soulmates to be platonic, romantic and/or sexual in nature.
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What Does The Bible Teach About The Nature Of The Soul
The Biblical authors used two words currently translated as soul: nephesh in the Old Testament and psuche in the New Testament. These Hebrew and Greek words are used to describe many characteristics of animals and humans other than their soulish nature, so for the most part, they typically dont tell us much about the nature of the soul. There are, however, two places in the New Testament where the word psuche does seem to be describing our dual nature as soulish creatures:
Matthew 10:28And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
In these two passages, a clear distinction is drawn between the body and the soul. In the Matthew passage, although the word for soul can be translated in a number of ways, the most reasonable inference here is Pauls use of the word to describe our dual nature as physical beings with immaterial, everlasting, souls. These souls cannot be destroyed by the death of the body. Paul calls the soul our house made by God as soon as we are away from the body we are at home with the Lord. We can learn a lot from these passages describing the clear disembodied life of the soul . Here is a quick summary of what the Bible teaches about the nature of our souls:
Souls Are Active
Animals Have Souls Too But Only Humans Have Spirits
Some trichotomists argue that both humans and animals have souls, and that the presence of a spirit is what makes us different from animals.
Why this doesnt support trichotomy:
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 shouldnt 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.
We dont have to label a part distinct from our souls and bodies in order to be different from animals. Our souls and bodies relate to God in ways animals never can. What makes us different from animals is the spiritual abilities that God has given to both our bodies and souls .
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The Formula For A Living Soul
Body + Breath of Life = Living Soul
If you have a look at the original languages the Bible was written in, terms sometimes translated as soul actually meant life or person. Two examples come to mind:
In Hebrew, the term nephesh and in Greek, psuche are both translated as soul in the Bible. However, they can also be translated as life or person.
Looking at the original Hebrew and Greek as well as the various uses of these terms helps us get to a more comprehensive view of who we are as humans.
It turns out soul may not even be the best-fitting modern translation of the original language because of the connotations of immortality and mysticism linked to the word soul.
In Hebrew, the way to say Let me live is Let my soul live. See how the use of soul here ties into a persons overall existence?
Now take a look at the more drawn-out phrase, that my soul may bless you before I die. It actually means that I may bless you.
The use of the word soul is speaking to someones complete identity. The Bible uses these terms as a way of closely identifying with an individualits not referring to a separate entity, life force, or energy.
Another way to look at this is that humans do not have a soul but are a soul .
Five Reasons Why Your Soul Matters
Colin Smith
When our children were very young, we spoke about the soul like this: I have a soul. My soul is inside me. I cant see it, but it lasts forever.
Jim Packer says that your soul is your conscious personal self, the I that knows itself as me. Your soul is the identity that makes you who you really are. It is the seat of your memory, and your feelings, and your imagination, and your convictions, and your desires, and your affections.
In , Jesus says our soul has great value. Do you know why this is? Here are five reasons why your soul matters more than anything else you have.
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Paul Appears To Make A Distinction Between His Spirit And His Mind
When Paul says, If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful , isnt he implying that his mind does something different from his spirit? And doesnt this support the trichotomists argument that our mind and our thinking are part of our souls, not our spirit?
Why this doesnt support trichotomy:
When Paul says, My spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful, he means he does not understand the what he is praying. He implies that there is a nonphysical component to his being, a spirit within him that can pray to God. But nothing in this verse suggests that he regards his spirit as different from his soul. This misunderstanding only makes sense if we assume that mind is part of the soula trichotomist claim that, as we noted above, is very difficult to substantiate from Scripture. Paul probably could have just as easily said, My soul prays but my mind is unfruitful. Theres a nonphysical element to our existence that can function apart from our conscious awareness of it, but that doesnt mean we can distinguish between soul and spirit.
Scriptures For Those Crushed In Spirit
Christians dont only need healing from physical and emotional anguish. There is also great spiritual angst that we need to heal from. The enemy will always try to deceive us by calling us through our sins. He will repeat over and over again the mistakes we have committed in the past. Our own flaws, they will use as bullets to destroy us. Mans common reaction to sin is to hide it and grieve over it. This is not the guilt that God wants us to feel whenever we sin. He demands that we repent after the guilt of our sins. This is the only way we can heal from our wickedness because the forgiveness through the blood of Christ and His stripes is what we ultimately need to heal spiritually.
The following healing Bible verses remind us of Gods unending compassion towards His people and His forgiveness for those who sinned against Him. He does not only give healing but also He gives strength to those who are weak may it be emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
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What Does Oh My Soul Mean
How strange that David repeats for us to bless God with our souls over and over again. How do we do that?
According to Dawn Hill, For David to say, Bless the Lord O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name, is to praise God completely and with the whole heart. This is not only an emotive expression outwardly nor is this merely an emotionally charged experience, but this includes praising God inwardly.
In other words, praise God with your entire being.
Can A Person Have Two Soulmates
You can have more than one soulmate. You will meet many soulmates in your current lifetime, says Brown. You only have one twin flame. Whenever you meet someone with whom you have a strong connection, the theory suggests that theres a high chance that they could be a part of your wider soul family.
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What Does The Bible Say About Soul Mates
What does the Bible say about soul mates?
Here are 5 reasons I believe the idea of a soul mate is not biblical.
1. The Term Soul Mate Means Something Very Different than the Biblical Idea of The One
Many people may be surprised to hear me say that I do not believe a soul mate is a biblical idea because I have so many teachings about the one. But if you really read and watch the content Ive made about the idea of the one, you will see that Im using this term the one to mean something very different than what is commonly meant by the term soul mate.
When Ephesians 1:11 says, . . . having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will . . ., the phrase all things includes marriages.
None of this means your choices dont matter. My point is simply that God has a plan for your future marriage because God always has a plan for everything.
For more on the idea of the one as explained through a biblical lens, you can read What Does the Bible Say About The One?
2. No One Completes a Soul Except Jesus
People say that a soul mate is someone who completes you. They say if you marry someone who is not your soul mate, you will have a bad relationship. The term soul mate also means that there is just one other person in the universe that can complete your soul. These ideas associated with the term soul mate are not biblical.
4. Your Soul Will Be the Same Soul in Heaven, But You Wont Be Married in Heaven