Soul and Spirit

[whirlwind]

SOUL AND SPIRIT


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.

The "breath of life" is our spirit, the spirit of our soul. The intellect, thinking, choosing, part of our soul/body. A body, not our physical body, that exists, but...doesn't live.

• 1 Thessalonians 4:17 Then we which are alive, and remain, shall be caught up together with them in clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

The "air" we meet the Lord in is...our spiritual body, not in the atmosphere. It is the same "breath of life" that God breathed into man. The breath of life, spirit, that quickens our soul, so that we are spiritually alive.

• Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, all souls are Mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

All souls are His. But, our spirits are ours. It is our spirits that make our life choices. We decide if our soul is among the spiritually living or the spiritually dead.

• Isaiah 42:1 Behold My Servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put My spirit upon Him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles
  
  1 Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
  
  1 Thessalonians 5:23 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.
  
  Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged 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.

We see that our body, spirit and soul are different...and can be separated. At the end of this age that separation will take place. Those of us physically alive will change "in the twinkling of an eye." Our flesh bodies are gone. Then, the souls with living spirits are with Him. The souls with spirits that did not choose Him....are the dead. The soul is His but they are the walking dead for their spirit is not quickened, is not living. There will be living souls and dead souls....both in incorruptible bodies but only the living are considered immortal. On them "the second death hath no power." [Revelation 20:6]

Revelation 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

 

[Vic C.]

Actually, that's not bad. :yes Yes, we meet the Lord "in the spirit". That is why I refer to that event as the resurrection/transformation instead of rapture.


I believe you got one thing backwards though:

All souls are His. But, our spirits are ours. It is our spirits that make our life choices. We decide if our soul is among the spiritually living or the spiritually dead.

The soul is the very essence of our life. It's in our blood; it's our life force, so to speak. It is our very being. You said so yourself when you quoted Genesis 2:7. :yes We are living souls. or living beings.

Lets look at this:

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


Now, who does the spirit belong to? ;)

 

[stovebolts]

The spirit [nÿshamah, “spirit, breathâ€Â] of a man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the inner depths of his heart. :yes Proverbs 20:27

YLT puts it like this.
Proverbs 20:27 The breath of man is a lamp of Jehovah, Searching all the inner parts of the heart.

I have pondered this verse many times in conjunction with spirit in Eccl 12:7 (ruwach, resemblance of breath, spirit) and Gen 2:7 breath, (nÿshamah, “breathâ€Â), aka spirit in Proverbs 20:27.

Take a look at Job 32:8 and let me know what you can make of it.

Job 32:8 But <'aken> there is a spirit <ruwach> in man <'enowsh>: and the inspiration <n@shamah> of the Almighty <Shadday> giveth them understanding <biyn>.

In this verse, ruwach (resemblance of breath) is translated as spirit while nÿshamah (breath) has been translated as inspiration...

YLT puts it like this.
Job 32:8 Surely a spirit is in man, And the breath of the Mighty One Doth cause them to understand.

Dont' stone me, but what happens if we read Job 32:8 like this...

Surely, the spirit (resemblance of breath (ruwach)) in in man, and the breath (nÿshamah) of the Mighty One Doth cause them to understand.

 

[whirlwind]

Actually, that's not bad. :yes Yes, we meet the Lord "in the spirit". That is why I refer to that event as the resurrection/transformation instead of rapture.


I believe you got one thing backwards though:

All souls are His. But, our spirits are ours. It is our spirits that make our life choices. We decide if our soul is among the spiritually living or the spiritually dead.

The soul is the very essence of our life. It's in our blood; it's our life force, so to speak. It is our very being. You said so yourself when you quoted Genesis 2:7. :yes We are living souls. or living beings.

Lets look at this:

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


Now, who does the spirit belong to? ;)

Us. We own our choices. The spirit does return as part of our soul...and He judges the choices we make. The soul exists until the end of the millennium. During that time the soul is either of the living or it is considered..."the dead." Still a soul, still existing but without the spirit of life.

 

[whirlwind]

The spirit [nÿshamah, “spirit, breathâ€Â] of a man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the inner depths of his heart. :yes Proverbs 20:27

YLT puts it like this.
Proverbs 20:27 The breath of man is a lamp of Jehovah, Searching all the inner parts of the heart.

I have pondered this verse many times in conjunction with spirit in Eccl 12:7 (ruwach, resemblance of breath, spirit) and Gen 2:7 breath, (nÿshamah, “breathâ€Â), aka spirit in Proverbs 20:27.

Take a look at Job 32:8 and let me know what you can make of it.

Job 32:8 But <'aken> there is a spirit <ruwach> in man <'enowsh>: and the inspiration <n@shamah> of the Almighty <Shadday> giveth them understanding <biyn>.

In this verse, ruwach (resemblance of breath) is translated as spirit while nÿshamah (breath) has been translated as inspiration...

YLT puts it like this.
Job 32:8 Surely a spirit is in man, And the breath of the Mighty One Doth cause them to understand.

Dont' stone me, but what happens if we read Job 32:8 like this...

Surely, the spirit (resemblance of breath (ruwach)) in in man, and the breath (nÿshamah) of the Mighty One Doth cause them to understand.

No stones being cast here. In His elect He "doth cause them to understand." He calls and they answer. But, in those of free will it is their spirit that must choose (or so I believe).

 

[Vic C.]

Lets look at this:

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

Now, who does the spirit belong to? ;)

Us. We own our choices. The spirit does return as part of our soul...and He judges the choices we make. The soul exists until the end of the millennium. During that time the soul is either of the living or it is considered..."the dead." Still a soul, still existing but without the spirit of life.

Heh? Never mind.

Anyway, I just caught your siggy!

~ You don't have a soul...You are a soul...You have a body ~ C.S. Lewis

I agree with that 100%! :amen Try not to add to the simple words of C.S. ;)

 

[whirlwind]

The blood of Christ is...the new testament. He is the Word.

• Matthew 26:28 For this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

His body, the Words, the blood of Christ are the spirit, His Spirit, that He pours on our spirit....

• Proverbs 1:23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out My spirit unto you, I will make known My words unto you.
  
  Isaiah 59:21 As for Me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and My words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.
  
  John 3:34 For He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him.
  
  John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
  
  Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Does this mean that our living soul, which we are when we are born in this flesh life, must receive His Spirit, knowledge of His Word, to be a living spiritual soul?

 

[Ret]

First...appreciate the wonderful text about 'My Spirit' and My Words'.

Does this mean that our living soul, which we are when we are born in this flesh life, must receive His Spirit, knowledge of His Word, to be a living spiritual soul?

• 1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. KJV

:amen ....WW....that is the way I have been given to see this truth! ...

 

[whirlwind]

First...appreciate the wonderful text about 'My Spirit' and My Words'.

Does this mean that our living soul, which we are when we are born in this flesh life, must receive His Spirit, knowledge of His Word, to be a living spiritual soul?

• 1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. KJV

:amen ....WW....that is the way I have been given to see this truth! ...

As have I. :yes

To live, truly live...one must receive His Spirit, be "In Christ" to "be made alive."

And...we find His Spirit in His Words, as He tells us in the previous quotes. They, Words and Spirit, are synonymous. Together...they are life!

• John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

 

[Joe67]

Col 3:1-4
:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. KJV

Joe

 

[nadab]

For many, there is confusion of the Scriptural meanings of soul and spirit. It is necessary to understand what the Bible really teaches about the soul and spirit rather than what the churches say it teaches. Too, because of inconsistent rendering of certain Hebrew and Greek words concerning soul and spirit in many Bibles, there is confusion as to their meanings.

For example, the word "spirit" comes from the Hebrew word ru´ach and the Greek pneu´ma, which comes from pne´o, meaning “breathe or blow". These have basic meaning of “breath†but have extended meanings beyond that basic sense. They can also mean wind, as at John 3:8 and Genesis 8:1; the vital force in living creatures, as at Genesis 6:17; one’s spirit as at Genesis 41:8 concerning Pharaoh and 45:27 concerning Jacob; spirit persons , including God and his angelic creatures as at 2 Chronicles 18:20; and God’s active force, or holy spirit as at Genesis 1:2. All these meanings have something in common: They all refer to that which is invisible to human sight and which gives evidence of force in motion. Such invisible force is capable of producing visible effects.

On the other hand, the soul is us a person, with all our life, and is sometimes translated as "life" by some Bibles, such as at Matthew 16:25, in which the King James Bible renders it as: "For whosoever will save his life (Greek psy·khe´ ) shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life (Greek psy·khe´ ) for my sake shall find it." Yet at verse 26, it renders the Greek word psy·khe´ as "soul", saying: "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul ?" Thus, there is an inconsistency here regarding the rendering of the Greek word psy·khe´. The Greek word for "life" is zoe, as at Matthew 7:14 and 18:8.

At Ezekiel 18:4, it says that "all souls (Hebrew ne´phesh) are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die."(King James Bible) Thus, the soul ' dies ' and is not immortal. We can be a "dead soul", as shown at Leviticus 21:11, which says: "And he should not come to any dead soul."(Literally, “souls of one dead.†Hebrew, naph·shoth´, plural, followed by meth, “deadâ€Â)

When The Jewish Publication Society of America issued a new translation of the Torah, or first five books of the Bible, the editor-in-chief, H. M. Orlinsky of Hebrew Union College, stated that the word “soul†had been virtually eliminated from this translation because, “the Hebrew word in question here is ‘Nefesh.’†He added: “ The Bible does not say we have a soul. ‘Nefesh’ is the person himself, his need for food, the very blood in his veins, his being.â€Â-The New York Times, October 12, 1962.

The difficulty lies in the fact that the meanings popularly attached to the English word “soul†stem primarily, not from the Hebrew or Christian Greek Scriptures, commonly called the Old and New Testament, but from ancient Greek philosophy, actually pagan religious thought. Greek philosopher Plato, for example, quotes Socrates as saying: “The soul, . . . if it departs pure, dragging with it nothing of the body, . . . goes away into that which is like itself, into the invisible, divine, immortal, and wise, and when it arrives there it is happy, freed from error and folly and fear . . . and all the other human ills, and . . . lives in truth through all after time with the gods.â€Â-Phaedo, 80, D, E; 81, A.

The New Catholic Encyclopedia says: “Nepes [ne´phesh] is a term of far greater extension than our ‘soul,’ signifying life (Ex 21.23; Dt 19.21) and its various vital manifestations: breathing (Gn 35.18; Jb 41.13[21]), blood [Gn 9.4; Dt 12.23; Ps 140(141).8], desire (2 Sm 3.21; Prv 23.2). The soul in the O[ld] T[estament] means not a part of man, but the whole man-man as a living being. Similarly, in the N[ew] T[estament] it signifies human life: the life of an individual, conscious subject (Mt 2.20; 6.25; Lk 12.22-23; 14.26; Jn 10.11, 15, 17; 13.37).â€Â-1967, Vol. XIII, p. 467. Thus, the "soul" is anyone as a person, with all their desires, not having immortality, for Jeremiah 2:34 speaks of the "blood marks of the souls of the poor innocents". Hence, the soul has blood flowing through it.

Closely connected, the "spirit" of a person can be his life force, the very principal of life. The account of the creation of man states that God formed man from the dust of the ground and proceeded to “blow [form of na·phach´] into his nostrils the breath [form of nesha·mah´] of life, and the man came to be a living soul [ne´phesh].†(Ge 2:7) Ne´phesh may be translated literally as “a breather,†that is, “a breathing creature,†either human or animal. Nesha·mah´ is, in fact, used to mean “breathing thing [or creature]†and as such is used as a virtual synonym of ne´phesh, “soul", such as at Deuteronomy 20:16 and Joshua 11:11.

The record at Genesis 2:7 uses nesha·mah´ in describing God’s causing Adam’s body to have life so that the man "came to be a living soul.†Other texts, however, show that more was involved than simple breathing of air, that is, more than the mere introduction of air into the lungs and its expulsion therefrom.

Thus, at Genesis 7:22, in describing the destruction of human and animal life outside the ark at the time of the Flood, we read: “Everything in which the breath [form of nesha·mah´] of the force [or, “spirit†(ru´ach)] of life was active in its nostrils, namely, all that were on the dry ground, died.†Nesha·mah´, “breath,†is thus directly associated or linked with ru´ach, which here describes the spirit, or life-force, that is active in all living creatures-human and animal souls, just as electricity is the life-force of objects such as fans, refrigerators, etc.

Because breathing is so inseparably connected with life, nesha·mah´ and ru´ach are used in clear parallel in various texts. Job voiced his determination to avoid unrighteousness “while my breath [form of nesha·mah´] is yet whole within me, and the spirit [weru´ach] of God is in my nostrils.†(Job 27:3) Elihu said: “If that one’s spirit [form of ru´ach] and breath [form of nesha·mah´] he [God] gathers to himself, all flesh will expire [that is, “breathe outâ€Â] together, and earthling man himself will return to the very dust.†(Job 34:14, 15)

Similarly, Psalm 104:29 says of earth’s creatures, human and animal: “If you [God] take away their spirit (Hebrew form of ´ach), they expire, and back to their dust they go.†At Isaiah 42:5, our Creator, Jehovah God is spoken of as “the One laying out the earth and its produce, the One giving breath [form of nesha·mah´] to the people on it, and spirit [weru´ach] to those walking in it.†The breath (nesha·mah´) sustains their existence; the spirit (ru´ach) energizes and is the life-force that enables man to be an animated creature, to move, walk, be actively alive, just as electricity is an invisible life-force for any electrical appliance.