Is there a difference between...

There are a lot of differing among Christians on this. In the OT, Hebrew words for soul and spirit are often used interchangeably, so many believe there is no difference. They are often used in parallel form as well, which means they are the same thing.

Sometimes the word "soul" is used for meaning "life" or emotions. In at least one OT passage, souls are ascribed to animals.

I believe that we are a soul/spirit/mind/body unity and I tend to equate soul and spirit as the same thing, unless one is using "soul" for life or emotions. I think that man has a tendency to want to divide up what God has made whole. We are clearly material and immaterial beings -- how can we divide up the immaterial part of ourselves? I think it's impossible to know this.

If I had time, I would post more, but here are some links on this:
http://www.gotquestions.org/body-soul-spirit.html

http://www.gotquestions.org/soul-spirit.html

http://www.raptureready.com/faq/faq100.html

I would be careful of anything written on this topic by Watchman Nee who often asserted beliefs going beyond the Bible.

 

Mat 22:37 He said to him, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart , with all your soul , and with all your mind .

This verse would indicate the three are separate. Marcia is correct as far as spirit and soul being interchangeable in part of Scripture, unless you were equating heart with spirit. For believers now, Spirit would be the Holy Spirit, or Comforter who indwells us after we are saved.

 

Equating the soul with the spirit is the teaching of those who espouse natural evolution (often called incorrectly "Darwinian evolution). They are not used interchangeably anywhere in Scriptures in the original languages, but they are used interchangeably in some translations of Scriptures.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

 

There is actually a great teaching on this subject (not by me) on my website if anyone is interested. Email or send me a private message if you want a link.

This series was quite life changing for me, and I tell a bit of the story on the site.

 

The extremes would be:

-there is no division at all b/t body, soul, and spirit. This seems to run counter to Jesus' words.
-there is a complete separation of body, soul, and spirit. This can lead one into a bunch of unbiblical ideas, not to mentioncompartmentalization of God and His control of one's life.

I see it in between...distinct aspects of one's self, but intertwined interrelated with one another. Even the spirit...when one is unsaved, the "deadness" of one's spirit permeates one's being. When that spirit is quickened by the Holy Spirit, then that "life" changes us through and through.

Just my $0.0005 (after taxes).

 

The body without the spirit is dead. The spirit is what goes back to God at death (the spirit of all mankind as it turns out). When spirit and body are joined the person becomes "a living soul".

As Ezek 18 points out "The soul that sins shall die".

There is no text in all of scripture stating that we have an "immortal soul".

 

1.HOW DID WE GET HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Genesis 2:7
"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
Answer: God made us from dust in the beginning...

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2. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A PERSON DIES?

Ecclesiastes 12:7
" Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."

Answer: The body turns to dust again, and the spirit goes back to God who gave it. The spirit of every person who dies- whether righteous or wicked- returns to God at death.

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3. WHAT IS THE 'SPIRIT' THAT RETURNS TO GOD AT DEATH?

James 2:26
"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."
Job 27:3
"All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils."

Answer: The spirit that returns to God at death is the breath of life. Nowhere in all of God's Bible does the 'spirit' have any life, wisdom, or feeling after a person dies. It is the "breath of life" and nothing more.

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4. WHAT IS A "SOUL"?

Genesis 2:7
" And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

Answer: A soul is a living being. A soul is always a combination of two things: body plus breath. A soul cannot exist unless body and breath are combined. God's word teaches that we are souls.

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5.DO SOULS DIE?

Ezekiel 18:20
" The soul that sinneth, it shall die. "
Revelation 16:3
"Every living soul died in the sea."

Answer: According to God's Word, souls do die! We are souls, and souls die. Man is mortal (Job 4:17). Only God is immortal (I Timothy 6:15,16). The concept of an undying, immortal soul goes against the Bible, which teaches that souls are subject to death.

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Mat 22:37 He said to him, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart , with all your soul , and with all your mind .


Hebrew poetry.