Drew said:
Leviticus 17:11 states that the soul (nephesh) is in the blood. I cannot imagine a more forceful way to underscore the belief that the soul is intimately and inextricably bound up with the physicality of the human person. If the soul really is "in the blood", it will cease to exist when the body is destroyed.
The soul and the body are two separate parts of mankind. Jesus says it well in Matthew 10:28:
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Note that we are not to fear those who can kill the body, but we are to fear HIM which is able to destroy BOTH soul and body in hell (hades).
Notice in the following Scripture that Moses and Elias appeared with Jesus in front of the disciples, yet they were not in their bodies.
1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. 4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. 7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. 8 And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. 9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. Matthew 17:1-9
Paul describes the makeup of a man perfectly in his letter to the Thessalonicans:
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. 1 Thessalonians 5:23
Also notice that the Word of God divides soul and spirit, joint and marrow, thoughts and intent. All of these things are similar but not the same. There is a difference between the joint and the marrow. There is a difference between thoughts and intent. There is a difference between the soul and the spirit.
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. Hebrews 4:12
How many sinners of the eighteenth century are still alive today? None.
What did the Holy Spirit mean when he inspired James to write that a converted sinner's soul will be saved from death?
Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. James 5:20
Why did the Holy Spirit speak through Peter that the flesh wars against the soul if the body and soul are the same?
11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 1 Peter 2:11
When the righteous die, their bodies enter the grave until the first resurrection when Jesus returns. Where are the souls of the righteous whose bodies are in the ground, in the tomb, or in the sepulcher? They are in heaven awaiting the resurrection of their NEW bodies and are resting under the altar of Jesus Christ.
9 And when he had opened the fifth seal,
I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. Revelation 6:9-11
Note that the souls are in Heaven under the altar, but the bodies cannot be there because flesh and blood will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 1 Corinthians 15:50