Difference between Soul and Spirit

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Banjer51

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#1
My pastor recently alluded to the difference between Soul and Spirit being 2 different things. I'm 71 so my memory is slipping a bit but I don't recall ever seeing this before. Can anybody explain this to an old man and give me scripture references? Be blessed.
 

Lafftur

Senior Member
Apr 18, 2017
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#2
My pastor recently alluded to the difference between Soul and Spirit being 2 different things. I'm 71 so my memory is slipping a bit but I don't recall ever seeing this before. Can anybody explain this to an old man and give me scripture references? Be blessed.
Hello,

We have 3 parts…. just like God… because He created us in His image - Spirit Soul and Body.



I Thessalonians 5:23-24


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. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1Thess.5.23,1Thess.5.24&version=KJV
 

Nehemiah6

Senior Member
Jul 18, 2017
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#3
My pastor recently alluded to the difference between Soul and Spirit being 2 different things.
The soul is the immaterial part of the person, whether saved or unsaved. It is the "you" and your body is the "tabernacle" or tent housing the soul and spirit (which are connected, yet distinct from each other as shown above in 1 Thess 5:23,24).

Therefore the spirit is also immaterial but "dead" (inactive) until the New Birth. Upon conversion Holy Spirit is given as a gift to the believer, and comes to indwell his or her spirit. So it is the spirit which communicates with God in prayer through the Holy Spirit, and it is the spirit (or "the spiritual man" also called "the inner man") who comprehends spiritual things.

That is why Jesus said "You MUST be born again". It is only through the New Birth that the spirit becomes effective in the life of a person. And upon death, the soul and spirit go to be with Christ, while the body is buried awaiting the resurrection. At the resurrection, the soul and spirit are rejoined to the immortal, resurrected, and glorified bodies.
 

Lafftur

Senior Member
Apr 18, 2017
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#4
God’s Spirit = Holy Spirit (The Power of God)

God’s Soul = The Holy Father (Mind, Will, and Emotions of God)

God’s Body = The Son Jesus Christ, The Word of God made Flesh (The Physical Body of God - the visible God of the invisible God)
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
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#5
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing
soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
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#6

What Is the Soul? Is it Different from the Spirit?


Nephesh "Soul"
 
Mar 4, 2020
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#7
My pastor recently alluded to the difference between Soul and Spirit being 2 different things. I'm 71 so my memory is slipping a bit but I don't recall ever seeing this before. Can anybody explain this to an old man and give me scripture references? Be blessed.
That’s a fun one. May I suggest a word study on the words soul and spirit in the New Testament and look at how they translated them into English sometimes. Here’s a very interesting example:

Matthew 16
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

See the words “life” I bolded above? Those are the same words being used for soul in Greek. They didn’t want to translate it as one gaining/losing their soul though. I don’t know why, but that’s just the reality.

It gets more interesting than that though. The translators fiddled with the word soul and spirit a number of choice times in the New Testament. I’ll leave it to you to look more into it if you wish.
 

Webers.Home

Well-known member
May 28, 2018
5,891
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Oregon
#8
.
Souls began appearing in the Bible in the book of Genesis by the Hebrew
word nephesh (neh'-fesh) which isn't unique to human life. Its first
designation is at Gen 1:20-21 in reference to aqua creatures and winged
creatures; again at Gen 1:24 as terra creatures; viz: cattle, creepy crawlies,
and wild beasts; and again in Gen 2:7 as the human creature; and yet again
at Gen 9:10 to classify every living creature aboard Noah's ark.

* God has a soul too. (Lev 26:11, Lev 26:30, Judg 10:16, Isa 42:1,
Jer 32:41, Zech 11:8)

Soul is somewhat ambiguous but basically refers to consciousness and self
awareness e.g. Gen 3:7. It's sometimes a reference to one's heart, e.g. Gen
34:3, and to the core of one's being, e.g. Gen 27:4.

All in all, soul is just another way of referring to the part of sentient life that
we call "self" which is defined by Webster's as the union of elements (such
as body, emotions, thoughts, and sensations) that constitute the identity
and individuality of a person. Although soul is applicable to fauna life, it's
never applicable to flora life, i.e. vegetation is a non sentient form of life.

Although the human soul isn't immortal, nevertheless it's pretty rugged. The
life of one's body can be taken by any means, whereas the life of one's soul
can only be taken by its maker. (Mtt 10:28)
_
 

Pilgrimshope

Well-known member
Sep 2, 2020
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#9
My pastor recently alluded to the difference between Soul and Spirit being 2 different things. I'm 71 so my memory is slipping a bit but I don't recall ever seeing this before. Can anybody explain this to an old man and give me scripture references? Be blessed.
a living soul is what we are

“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.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2:7‬ ‭KJV‬‬

The man became a living soul. A soul has a body and a spirit ,

when I say “ my soul “ all of myself “

Save your souls , “save yourselves “

there were eight souls aboard the ark noah and his family .

“Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat. And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭27:36-37‬ ‭

276 people or 276 living souls

body and spirit equal a living soul

God made mans body and breathed the spirit of life into man , man became a living soul made in tbe image of God

Some are very kind souls , others are lost souls some are tortured souls . the soul is the whole creature
 

Nehemiah6

Senior Member
Jul 18, 2017
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#10
body and spirit equal a living soul
Not so. You are simply misunderstanding what is stated in Genesis. "A living soul" = a living PERSON. Thus "eight souls were saved by water" = eight PERSONS were saved by water".

But as the NT shows us, the person consists of (1) body, (2) soul, and (3) spirit. In fact -- from God's perspective -- the order is in reverse (spirit, soul, and body in Scripture) because it is the spirit which communicates with God.

The soul = the mind, the will, and the emotions, regardless of whether the person is saved or not. But the spirit is "dead", hence the natural man does not receive or understand the things of the Spirit. But the natural man is enabled to understand the Gospel, which is "the power of God unto salvation". And it is only after regeneration that the spirit is "quickened" (made alive) and becomes effective on a spiritual plane in the life of that person.
 

studentoftheword

Well-known member
Nov 12, 2021
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#11
Your Spirit is what connects you to God -----some call it our Inner person the Spirit resided in the center of the person ---in scripture it is used figuratively some call it the heart of the person ------

You have a heart that pumps your blood with oxygen to all parts of your body ------and you have a heart that connects you to God so you can communicate with Him ----this is your Spirit -----

2 Corinthians 4:16
Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

kardia: heart
used of the middle or central or inmost part of anything,
heart; "the affective center of our being"

Heart (2588 /kardía) is mentioned over 800 times in Scripture, but never referring to the literal physical pump that drives the blood. That is, "heart" is only used figuratively (both in the OT and NT.]

The Soul -----Is
the seat of the feelings, desires
your ----Mind ---Will and Enotions ------


So you are a Tri- part being -----you are a Spirit being ---you possess a Soul and they are housed in a physical body -----

Some use the Spirit and Soul as though they are interchangeable ---but the scripture says they are separate -------both leave the body at death ----
 
Oct 15, 2022
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#12
Per Scripture...

A Lifeform's Soul is its Genome. All Life that has Genetic information, has a Soul.

Spirit is the Power (Energy) that quickens and makes something 'alive'. It is the Electricity that makes our Hearts beat for example.

Body is that which is produced by the above two components...

John 1:14
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
 

Webers.Home

Well-known member
May 28, 2018
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#13
.
My pastor recently alluded to the difference between Soul and Spirit being 2
different things.

* See post No.8 for soul. This one is about spirit.

Gen 2:7 . .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 appears only four times in the entire Old Testament, and
all four are in the book of Genesis up to the seventh chapter-- that's it.

I think we have to concede that the breath of life goes beyond atmospheric
respiration; and more likely speaks of a mysterious power capable of
energizing normally dead things for activity. For example:

Luke 3:8 . . Begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our
father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up
children unto Abraham.

And:

Luke 19:36-40 . . And as He was now approaching, near the descent of the
Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God
joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen. And some
of the Pharisees in the multitude said to him: Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.
And He answered and said: I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will
cry out!

The breath of life in Genesis is limited to sentient forms of existence. There
is no breath of life mentioned relative to non sentient life although that
doesn't preclude the possibility because how else would created vegetation
flourish?

Man's creator has allowed him to harness a number of powers, e.g.
electricity, fire, atomic energy, steam, radio waves, light, sound, gravity,
etc, but man's creator has not yet allowed man to harness the power of life;
most likely because the power of life is supernatural, which apparently can
only be wielded by a being with supernatural capabilities. For example:

Gen 1:20 . . And God said: Let the water teem with living creatures, and
let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.

In that instance, God merely spoke and all those creatures came into
existence with life.

Gen 1:21-22 . . So God created the great creatures of the sea and every
living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their
kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind.
_
 

Lafftur

Senior Member
Apr 18, 2017
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#15
God’s Spirit = Holy Spirit (The Power of God)

God’s Soul = The Holy Father (Mind, Will, and Emotions of God)

God’s Body = The Son Jesus Christ, The Word of God made Flesh (The Physical Body of God - the visible God of the invisible God)
To elaborate.... let's look at how our spirit, soul and body interact with God's Spirit, Soul and Body.... just ponder what I'm about to say because its going to be a lot to think about...

Our physical body is equipped with 5 senses... see, hear, smell, taste and touch. Also, our physical body has a mouth that can speak and there are internal organs that also function and are interdependent on each other. Also, our physical body has muscles, has power to actually DO whatever the Mind, Will and Emotions of the person commands the Body to DO in the Physical Realm.

Likewise, our spirit is a mirror image of our physical body.... meaning our spirit has 5 senses... see, hear, smell taste and touch. Also our spirit has a mouth that can speak and our spirit has intricate parts that make up our whole spirit man. Also, our spirit man has power to actually DO whatever the Mind, Will and Emotions of the person commands the spirit man to DO in the Spirit Realm.

Our soul which consists of our mind, will and emotions needs to be RENEWED and RESTORED... this is done by God's Holy Spirit and God's Word. Our mind, will and emotions... this is where we become ONE with our Heavenly Father... in our Soul... we get to a point where we think what He thinks, we desire and choose what He would desire and choose and we feel what He feels.

We become ONE with the Holy Spirit with the Holy Spirit baptism which is when the Holy Spirit quickens our spirit and the two join together and we are able to see, hear, smell, taste and touch and speak what the Holy Spirit is seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching and speaking.

We become ONE with Christ when we physically follow Christ and walk with Him, laying our life down just as He layed His Physical Body down, and we completely rely on Him in the Physical Realm.

We are in the process of becoming ONE with God - Spirit, Soul and Body. It is absolutely AMAZING that God desires and will accomplish His Plan to make us to be just like Him. He truly wants a very unique and close relationship with each of us.... spirit, soul and body.
 

Eli1

Well-known member
Apr 5, 2022
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#16
To elaborate.... let's look at how our spirit, soul and body interact with God's Spirit, Soul and Body.... just ponder what I'm about to say because its going to be a lot to think about...

Our physical body is equipped with 5 senses... see, hear, smell, taste and touch. Also, our physical body has a mouth that can speak and there are internal organs that also function and are interdependent on each other. Also, our physical body has muscles, has power to actually DO whatever the Mind, Will and Emotions of the person commands the Body to DO in the Physical Realm.

Likewise, our spirit is a mirror image of our physical body.... meaning our spirit has 5 senses... see, hear, smell taste and touch. Also our spirit has a mouth that can speak and our spirit has intricate parts that make up our whole spirit man. Also, our spirit man has power to actually DO whatever the Mind, Will and Emotions of the person commands the spirit man to DO in the Spirit Realm.

Our soul which consists of our mind, will and emotions needs to be RENEWED and RESTORED... this is done by God's Holy Spirit and God's Word. Our mind, will and emotions... this is where we become ONE with our Heavenly Father... in our Soul... we get to a point where we think what He thinks, we desire and choose what He would desire and choose and we feel what He feels.

We become ONE with the Holy Spirit with the Holy Spirit baptism which is when the Holy Spirit quickens our spirit and the two join together and we are able to see, hear, smell, taste and touch and speak what the Holy Spirit is seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching and speaking.

We become ONE with Christ when we physically follow Christ and walk with Him, laying our life down just as He layed His Physical Body down, and we completely rely on Him in the Physical Realm.

We are in the process of becoming ONE with God - Spirit, Soul and Body. It is absolutely AMAZING that God desires and will accomplish His Plan to make us to be just like Him. He truly wants a very unique and close relationship with each of us.... spirit, soul and body.
This is the best description I’ve seen in a while.
Thank you !
 

GRACE_ambassador

Well-known member
Feb 22, 2021
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#17
My pastor recently alluded to the difference between Soul and Spirit being 2 different things. I'm 71 so my memory is slipping a bit but I don't recall ever seeing this before. Can anybody explain this to an old man and give me scripture references? Be blessed.
Precious friend, A Very Warm Welcome To Chat.

Please Be Very RICHLY Encouraged And Edified In
The LORD JESUS CHRIST, And His Word Of Truth, Rightly
Divided
(+ I and II).

Grace, Peace, And JOY!...
 

IsaiahA

Active member
Jan 24, 2023
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#18
My pastor recently alluded to the difference between Soul and Spirit being 2 different things. I'm 71 so my memory is slipping a bit but I don't recall ever seeing this before. Can anybody explain this to an old man and give me scripture references? Be blessed.
Scripture uses "soul" and "spirit" interchangeably. The biblical view of man is dichotomic.

"It is perfectly evident that the Bible uses the two words interchangeably. Notice the parallelism in Luke 1:46,47: “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.” The Scriptural formula for man is in some passages “body and soul,” Matt. 6:25; 10:28; and in others, “body and spirit,” Eccl. 12:7; I Cor. f5:3,5. Death is sometimes described as the giving up of the soul, Gen. 35:18; I Kings 17:21; Acts 15:26; and then again as the giving up of the spirit, Ps. 31:5; Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59. Moreover both “soul” and “spirit” are used to designate the immaterial element of the dead, I Pet. 3:19; Heb. 12:23; Rev. 6:9; 20:4."
Taken from Louis Berkhof Systematic Theology

The trichotomists' presentation can be dangerously misleading as some have used it in the following,

"For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present I have already pronounced judgment in the name of the Lord Jesus on the man who has done such a thing. When you are assembled, and my spirit is present with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord." (1Cor 5:3-5)

This can be construed as the 'carnal Christian' doctrine where a man may live like the devil in his soul & body here on earth and God kills him, but his spirit will be saved.
 

JaumeJ

Senior Member
Jul 2, 2011
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#19
There is a scripture making reference to separaqting spirit from soul.......
 

GRACE_ambassador

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Feb 22, 2021
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#20
There is a scripture making reference to separaqting spirit from soul.......
Heb 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.