Question
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the name of our lord Jesus Christ.
My brother, I will be very happy if you can help me solve this problem. I wish that you help answer this question.” What is man made of? Body, soul, and spirit, or body and spirit? Please Help me out.
Hope to hear from you soonest.
God Bless You.
Eyanrin Sunday
Watch your walk, you may be the only bible some will ever read.
Answer
Keith Sharp
Dear Brother Eyanrin,
I am delighted to hear from you. How are the brethren in Warri? What is the situation there concerning violence? Please give the brethren my greeting.
There are some crucial words that we need to examine before we draw conclusions. Here is the fruit of my study.
First, let’s examine the word “soul.” In the Old Testament this English term primarily translates the Hebrew word “nephesh,” which is found 720 times (Robert Young, Analytical Concordance to the Bible [“Index-Lexicon to the Old Testament. 31]). “Nephesh” can refer to life (Job 12:7-10; “soul” [KJV] = “life,” [NKJV]), conscious life (Genesis 1:21-25; “creature” is from “nephesh”), breath (Job 41:21), persons (Genesis 14:21), or the inner man (Psalm 42:1-5). In the New Testament “soul” translates the Greek term “psuche,” which occurs 103 times (Ibid [Index-Lexicon to the New Testament]. 88). “Psuche” can refer to life (Luke 12:19-20), a person (Acts 2:41), or the inner part of man (synonym for “spirit”; Matthew 10:28; 3 John 2; Revelation 6:9).
Now consider the term “spirit.” This English word translates the Hebrew “ruach,” which occurs 374 times (Ibid [“Index-Lexicon to the Old Testament. 41]). “Ruach” can refer to “wind” (Genesis 8:1), the life principle (Genesis 6:17), attitude (Proverbs 16:18-19), the inner part of man (Job 32:8; Ecclesiastes 12:7; Daniel 7:15), spirit beings (1 Samuel 28:14), or the Spirit of God (Genesis 1:2). The New Testament Greek word trabnslated “spirit” is “pneuma,” which occurs 387 times (Ibid, [“Index Lexicon to the New Testament.” 86]). “Pneuma” can refer to wind (John 3:8), “breath” (2 Thessalonians 2:8), “attitudes” (Romans 12:11), “mind” (1 Corinthians 2:11), the inner man (Matthew 26:41), spirit beings (Luke 11:24; Hebrews 1:13-14), or the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14).
Twice in the New Testament (1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 4:12) the terms “soul” and “spirit” seem to be used in distinction to one another. In First Thessalonians 5:23 Paul blesses the saints in Thessalonica thus: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In Hebrews 4:12, the author proclaims, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” It seems to me that the simplest explanation of the use of the words “soul” and “spirit” in these verses is that “soul” refers to the animal life principle within man, conscious existence, and “spirit” is the term for that inward, invisible part of man made in the image of God that lives on after death.
If this is the case, as I think it is, man may be said to be a three fold being, having (1) a physical body, also called “flesh” (Job 19:26), (2) the animal, life principle, conscious existence, and (3) the inner, invisible portion of man that is the image of God. But the crucial truth that this study undoubtedly exhibits is that man has an inner, invisible part that continues to have conscious existence after death (Matthew 10:28; Ecclesiastes 12:7).
