The word soul has various meanings in Scripture.
(Every Bible word must be defined by its context.) Sometimes soul refers to
biological life in general. In this sense, the Hebrew word translated soul (nephesh) is used for animals (Ge.
1:20-24). But animals are never said to have a soul like man has a soul.
Sometimes soul refers to the whole man (Ge. 2:7; Le. 17:12). Often, though, it
refers to the immaterial part of man that exists beyond death.
The Soul Is the Immaterial Part of Man that
Exists after Death
O.T. examples of the soul as an immaterial part of the man are seen in Ge.
35:18 and 1 Ki. 17:21-22. In Ge. 35:18, Rachel's soul departed when she died.
In 1 Ki. 17:21-22, the boy's soul departed when he died and returned when he
was raised from the dead. In the N.T., the word “soul” is also used to describe
a spiritual part of man distinct from his body (Mt. 10:28; 1 Th. 5:23; Re.
6:9).
The Characteristics of the Soul
The soul thinks (Ge. 49:6); it can
sin (Le. 4:2); it can love God and keep His commandments (De. 6:5; 10:12;
11:13); it can meditate upon God's words (De. 11:18); it can love a friend (1
Sa. 18:1-3); it can trust in God (Ps. 57:1; 63:1); it can be chastened with
fasting (Ps. 69:10). The soul is particularly associated with man's feelings
and desires. The soul can be hungry (Is. 29:8), can experience romantic love
and friendship (Ge. 34:3; 1 Sa. 18:1-3), can be discouraged because of
difficulty (Nu. 21:4). The soul can be “anguished” (Ge. 42:21), “dried out”
(Nu. 11:6), “grieved” (Ju. 10:16; Job 30:25), “cast down” (Ps. 43:5). The soul
can “lust” (De. 12:15), “long” (De. 12:20), and “thirst for God” (Ps. 42:2).
What is the Difference between Soul and Spirit?
The “soul” is used in close
association with the “spirit”. Job was anguished in spirit and soul (Job 7:11).
So in some cases the “soul” might be a synonym for the “spirit”, but the N.T.
makes a plain distinction between the two. It says that man has both a soul and
a spirit (1 Th. 5:23), and the soul can be divided from the spirit (He. 4:12).
It appears from Hebrews 4:12 that the the spirit can be conceived of as “inside”
the soul as the marrow is inside the joints or bones. The soul is the “outer
part” of the inner, immaterial man. As we have seen, the soul is the part of
man that relates to the world. It lusts, hungers, loves, joys, fears, sorrows.
It is emotional and affected by the environment and therefore unstable. The
spirit of man is also affected by emotions (2 Co. 2:13), but the spirit of man
is the deepest part of man; it is that which communes with God. The spirit is
where the Lord dwells in the believer and where He communes with us (Ro. 8:16;
1 Co. 6:17; 2 Ti. 4:22). It is with the spirit that we seek God (Is. 26:9). It
is by the spirit that we search the heart (Ps. 77:6). The spirit is the candle
of the Lord that searches all the inward parts, which would include the heart
and soul (Pr. 20:27). The spirit is the wellspring of man's being. “We may use
the illustration of three concentric circles: The outer circle refers to our body. Our body is our outer part
containing our five senses with which we contact all the things of the
physical, material realm. The middle
circle refers to our soul. Our soul is our inner part containing our mind,
emotion and will with which we contact all the things of the psychological
realm. The inner circle refers to our
spirit. Our spirit is our innermost part with which we contact God and
substantiate all the things of the spiritual realm” (Tom Smith, What Is the Difference between the Soul and
Spirit of Man? holdingtotruth.com).
There are
two important applications to this teaching. First, God intends for man to walk
in the spirit so that man's spirit, surrendered to God's Spirit, controls his
soul and body. The heart and the soul affect the spirit (Pr. 15:13), but the
spirit should control the heart and the soul. See Ps. 42:5; Pr. 23:19. Consider
the example of Mary's praise (Lk. 1:46-47). It could be said that Mary's
rejoicing spirit moved her soul to praise God. “Mary lived and acted in her
spirit, which directed her soul” (“What
Is the Difference between the Soul and the Spirit?” Bibles for America,
Feb. 2, 2014). Second, the Word of God can cut through man's being, through the
turmoil of the soul, to bring peace by His presence in the spirit (2 Ti. 4:22).
It also
appears that soul and spirit point to a major difference
between the natural body and the resurrection body. The natural body is largely
soulish, whereas the resurrection body is spiritual (1 Co. 15:45). This means
that the resurrection body is totally oriented to the spirit. The natural body
has a spirit within the soul, but the spirit is often overwhelmed by and controlled
by the soul. The resurrection body will be oriented in an entirely different
manner so as to be completely dominated by the spiritual realm.
