Is there a difference between our spirit and soul?
The first thing that needs to be done is to define our terms.
The Hebrew word for soul is nephesh. The Greek word is Psyche. Several
words are used to define it. It means breath, self, life, person. It is the
immaterial real you. In Genesis 2:7 it says God breathed into the nostrils the
breath of life and man became a nephesh, a living being or soul. The soul of
man is the living breath of God. When we use phrases like, I put my heart and soul
into this or that, what we mean is we gave it our all. The real us cannot
be seen with the naked eye, but we reveal who we are by what we say and do. We
can also define soul as the seat of our emotions, desires, appetites, and choices.
Our will is derived from our soul. This is the innate component that makes us
in the image of God. Let me make this clear: we do not have a soul, we are
souls. Our physical body houses our soul. The Lord designed us that way. Our
bodies are animate because the soul empowers it. At death the body will decay,
but the soul lives on forever – with or without God.
The Hebrew and Greek words of Spirit are Ruach and Pneuma
respectively. Both mean breath, wind, and spirit. How the spirit relates to
man, it seems almost identical to that of the soul. Is there a difference between
the spirit and the soul or are these terms synonyms? Admittedly the scripture seems
to use the words interchangeably. But here are some differences to acknowledge.
1) Christians have the Spirit of God, but we are not spirits. The Bible tells
us God is Spirit (John 4:24). God the Father does not have a physical body
although throughout scripture physical attributes are used to describe Him[i].
2) Our soul / life is what God saves when we repent and believe the gospel.
The Holy Spirit who is God (third member of the Trinity) bears
witness with our spirit that we are the children of God (Romans 8:16). It is with
our spirit that we have and develop an intimate relationship with God through the
Holy Spirit. When we submit to the Spirit of God, that is what the Bible calls
being Spiritual or being Spirit led. When we do not submit to the Holy Spirit,
we are operating in what the Word says is the flesh which is sin.
Again, the soul is the inward faculty that makes us who we
are. The spirit of man is that immaterial part of us that allows us to connect
with God through the Holy Spirit that resides in us. It’s clear that our soul
and spirit work together to do God’s will. From our soul comes our mind (our
thinking / intellect), our desires, will (decision making and choices), and
emotions. When we submit all of that to the will of God, we are walking in the
Spirit of God. That equates to holiness and sanctification.
An unbeliever cannot do this. Why? Because although they have
life (i.e. soul), they are spiritually dead (Eph 2:1; Col 2:13). They are
disconnected from God due to unforgiven sin and unbelief. They do not have the
Spirit of God in them. They have physical life, but they need a re-birth in
order to have spiritual life (John 3:3). We can only connect with the Godhead through
the Holy Spirit.
Concluding, because of sin, man’s soul / life has been
severed from God. Unredeemed sinners are zombies because of the disconnect from
their Creator. In order to get your soul reconciled to God you must repent of
sin and believe the gospel today! When one does that, they are eternally saved,
and their whole being, soul, spirit and body belong to Jesus who purchased it with
His blood (1 Corinthians 6:20).
P.S.:
“What will profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his
soul? Or what can man give in exchange for his soul” (Matthew 16:26)?
As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death
of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from
your evil ways (Ezekiel 33:11)!
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