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QUESTION

What is the spirit and what is the soul?

INTRODUCTION

The human being consists of spirit, soul and body.

1.Thessalonians 5:23  that the God of peace himself might sanctify you wholly; and your whole spirit and soul and body might be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. [direct translation]

The words "spirit"  and "soul" have various possible meanings:

The word "spirit" is from the Greek word  pneuma which originally meant 'a current of air', e.g. breath or breeze; so it came to be used for spirit, e.g. the rational soul,  or mental disposition, or angel, or demon, or the Holy Spirit, or ghost, life etc.
The word "soul" is from the Greek word psuche which meant 'breath' and was also used figuratively for the inner being and also the whole person.

The word "body" is from the Greek word so'ma which meant the physical body of humans or animals or the body of planets or a society etc.. In 1.Thessalonians 5:23 it obviously refers to the human body..

ANSWER

Since there is an overlap in the possible meanings of the words "soul" and "spirit". The most suitable meanings have to be decided from the contexts in which they are used. In 1.Thessalonians 5:23 the words spirit, soul and body obviously refer to three distinctly different things. So in this context the spirit is not the same as the soul. Also the body is distinct from the soul. So in this passage the word 'soul' cannot be referring to the body, or the spirit or whole person. It must then refer to the inner being.

THE INNER BEING

2.Corinthians 4:18  Whilst we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporary; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 5:1 Because we know that if our earthly dwelling, this tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.  2 because we groan in this dwelling, earnestly desiring to be covered with our dwelling which is from heaven:  3 So then, being dressed, we will not happen to be exposed.  4 For we that are in this tent do groan, being burdened: not because we wish to be stripped, but covered over, that life might swallow up mortality. 5 Now God, who has fashioned us for this, has also given unto us the down payment of the Spirit. 6 Consequently we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are away from being at home with the Lord: 7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)  8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be away from being at home in the body, and to be at home with the Lord.  9 We labour for this, that, whether at home or away from home, we might be well pleasing to him. [direct translation]

Our body is not the real us. Whilst on earth we 'are at home in the body'. We live in our body. Paul calls it an 'earthly dwelling' and a 'tent'. The body, the part of us that is seen, will be dissolved. It is only temporary earthly dwelling place. The part of us that is not seen, the inner person, is eternal. It survives physical death. However the Christian's inner self will not be left naked. Similarly Peter spoke of his death as: i) a removal of the tent in which he dwelt and ii) the departureof his real inner self from this life.

1.Peter 1:13  for this reason, I consider it to be right to arouse you, by reminding you of them as long as I am in this tent,  14 knowing that the removal of my tent is to happen suddenly, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. 15 In addition I will strive so that after my departure you will always be actively recollecting them. [direct translation]

FLESH AND BLOOD

In the well known passage on the resurrection of the dead, Paul points out the physical body does not enter heaven.

1.Corinthians 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption.

So flesh and blood does not enter the next life but the inner being does. So the inner being, that is the 'soul' in 1.Thessalonians 5:23, is not physical in essence but spirit. However the 'soul' is not the same as the 'spirit'.

THE SPIRIT [still with reference to 1.Thessalonians 5:23]

The Spirit is self evidently spirit in essence. The spirit and the soul are different and can be differentiated by the word of God.

Hebrews 4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart

How then is it different from the soul since both are spirit in essence? This is the difficult part and I give you, from the scriptures, my understanding of the answer to the question "What is the spirit ... ?"

Since the 'soul' is the inner man, the 'spirit' must be something other than the inner man unless we adopt the philosophy that humans have a split personality, one personality being the "sinful nature"[FOOTNOTE] and the other being the "spiritual nature". This to me conflicts with the scriptures quoted above showing that they are distinct.  [1.Thessalonians 5:23 and Hebrews 4:12]

The scriptures tell us:-

  1. God gives every being life
    Acts 17:25  ... He {i.e. God} is giving to everyone life, and breath, and all things. [direct translation]

  2. The Lord Jesus - The Word - is the means by which this is brought about.
    John 1:1  The Word was in the beginning, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same [person] was in the beginning with God. 3 All things come into being through him; and not even one thing which has come into being, came into being without him. 4 Life was in him and this life was the light of human beings. [direct translation]

    John 1:9   This was the true Light, which is lighting up every human being that is coming into the world.  [direct translation]

  3. We are sustained, kept physically alive, by the spirit from God.
    James 2:26  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.

  4. When the spirit leaves us our body is dead.
    Ecclesiasties 12:7  Then will the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit* will return to God who gave it.. * [Hebrew RUWACH is equivalent to the Greek pneuma]

SUMMARY

The question was "What is the spirit and what is the soul?"

  1. The words 'spirit' and 'soul' have various meanings. The context must considered in deciding the most appropriate meaning.
  2. The meanings given here are of the words 'spirit' and 'soul'  as used in 1.Thessalonians 5:23 and Hebrews 4:12
  3. 'Spirit' and 'soul' are different from each other though both are spirit in essence.
  4. The 'soul' is the inner being which survives the death of the body.
  5. The 'spirit' is God's life sustaining spirit. When this leaves us our body is dead.

FOOTNOTE RETURN  
"SINFUL NATURE"

In several places the NIV mistranslates the Greek word sarx by 'sinful nature'. This the translators imposing their theology on the translation. For example in Romans chapter 8, the NIV more than once translates sarx by 'sinful nature.' The word sarx simply means: flesh or physical body and figuratively, physical desires. The AV translates it correctly  by the word 'flesh'. The apostle Paul is not suggesting we have two personalities in conflict, a spiritual nature and a sinful nature. He is advising us not to let physical desires dominate our lives but rather let our lives be led by the spirit. The spiritual must control the physical, not the other way round.

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