What Is A Soul?

veteran said:

Here's a hint, and it's a dad-gum big one.

2 Cor 5:1-10
1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved (kataluo), we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Our "earthly house of this tabernacle" is our flesh body. If it is dissolved (demolish, destroyed), no worry, for we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, i.e., a heavenly body. Paul makes a clean distinction between an earthly flesh body and a heavenly spiritual type body, revealing they each are of two separate dimensions of existence.

But what the materialist 'dead in the ground' theory teaches, is that if our flesh body is dissolved and no more, then there's nothing left that can exist! What of those in war who's flesh bodies were actually dissolved by an explosion, literally turned into vapor? According to Apostle Paul, there exists another 'house', eternal in the heavens.

2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.

While here in the earthly dimension in our flesh bodies, "we" groan in desiring to be clothed with our house from heaven. He reveals that something inside us is not the same thing as our earthly house, nor our heavenly house. Wonder what it is? And how can it be found "naked" in that sense?

4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

Our flesh is NOT the part of us that groans, for we know the fate of our flesh is to go back to the elements of the dust where it came from, even as Paul said that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption (1 Cor.15:50).

5 Now He That hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, Who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

God has given those in Christ "the earnest of the Spirit". Is that the same "spirit" that animals are imbued with? Is that about an animating spirit which all living things have? Obviously not, otherwise all men, and even all living creatures would be "born again" of The Spirit, a requirement for only those in His Salvation.

6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

What does he mean that while we are at home in our earthly body, we are absent from the Lord? Again, Paul makes a distinction between two dimensions of existence, the earthy and the heavenly.

7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight
8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

How can we be absent from our body and be present with the Lord? Does that have something to do with Eccl.12:5-7 with our spirit going back to God Who gave it? Yes. It reveals that spirit idea in Eccl.12 is not just about the idea of animating spirit which all living creatures have.

Click to expand...

Spirit here is the breath of life as described in Genesis 2:7, not the essence of a person as teh Hebrews had no notion of dualism

9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him.
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
(KJV)

Where is it written that we all will appear before the judgment seat of Christ in flesh bodies?

Click to expand...

There is no resurrection for the flesh as described in 1 Cor 15, rather we will have a new resurrection body and we will all stand before the throne of God at Judgement.. This is written in revelation.

Lev 26:11
11 And I will set My tabernacle among you: and My soul (nephesh) shall not abhor you.
(KJV)

How is it that God Himself speaks of His Own Soul, if the idea of having a soul is only about living in a flesh body? Is GOD flesh?

Click to expand...

In this case, God is speaking about his emotions as emotions of a physical kind (ie rage) is linked to 'nephesh'.

Ps 16:10
10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption.
(KJV)

How is a soul able to go into hell in the first place, if it dies with the flesh body at flesh death?

Click to expand...

Good point, but a corpse is lowered into the grave before it is turned back into dust would be the correct interpreation rather than a disembodied essence going to a Dante's style hell. . This is obviously a link to Christ's time in the grave and the idea of 'corruption' is the decaying of the body back into dust.

Ps 9:17
17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
(KJV)

Click to expand...

Hi,
I understand the confusion, but it is more a question of definition of what a 'soul' is.

The passages that Paul were refering to is the resurrection body and so that scripture does not contradict itself, when Paul is speaking about being absent from the body and be present with the Lord is that his next waking moment will be at the resurrection with the Lord (1 cor 15).
'Soul' in scripture is the whole living person or even a corpse before it decomposes into its 'building' material, ie dust (Gen 2:7, Gen 3:19, Ecclesiates 12:7).

So the scriptures you posted (KJV) from the OT, 'hell' is translated from the Hebrew word 'sheol' which is, to the Hebrew the abode of all the dead (the Grave) and 'soul' is translated from the Hebrew word 'nephesh' which in the verses you posted simply must be understood as 'me' (the personal pronoun) as the Hebrews had no word for the whole person other than a 'nephesh'.

Here is something on soul definition:

THE PICTURE - WINDOWS Nephesh - Psyche - Soul

The important passage in Genesis 2:7 sets the scene for this 'window - word' into the nature of personhood. An individual becomes a 'nephesh' from the infusion of divine breath into moulded dust. In physical terms 'nephesh' means, 'neck', 'throat', 'gullet' and came to mean 'life', that 'vital motion' which distinguishes a living being from a corpse.

'Nephesh' has such a variety of senses that we must make a careful definition in each particular case. Meanings overlap and are used side by side. It is easy to end up with contradictory statements about 'nephesh'. Here are some of the central statements about 'nephesh':-

• it is that vital life which is shared by both humans and animals [Gen 2:19].

• it is life that is bound up with the body, blood is the vehicle of nephesh [Dt 12:23], at death it dies [Nu 23:10] draining away with the blood, with resuscitation it 'returns'; not that it has gone anywhere.

• it can denote 'the living individual themselves' [Gen 14:21], and can replace the personal pronoun to create special emphasis [Ps 42:6], God uses it of himself [Am 6:8].

• it is strongly instinctive [animal] activity; desire, vital urge, feeling, emotion, mood [Dt 14:26].

• it is feelings and emotions of a spiritual kind; grief, pain, joy, peace, love [Ezk 27:31]; its highest expression is longing for God [Ps 25:1].

The New Testament uses the Greek 'psyche' with the sense of the Hebrew 'nephesh'. Paul's writings are significant for how rarely he uses it. The Synoptics are interesting in that one third of their usage refers to life beyond death [Mt 10:28,39; 16:25-26; Mk 8:35-37; Lk 9:24; 21:19], due to the overlap of present and future in the Kingdom of God; revolutionary in terms of its Hebrew roots.

This 'nephesh' is primarily the life of the whole person in terms of strongly instinctive [animal] activity. It reflects the glory and richness of God's gift of life to him though susceptible to death. It is not an independent substance which, as many have argued, survives death.

mikecpking said:

....

THE PICTURE - WINDOWS Nephesh - Psyche - Soul

The important passage in Genesis 2:7 sets the scene for this 'window - word' into the nature of personhood. An individual becomes a 'nephesh' from the infusion of divine breath into moulded dust. In physical terms 'nephesh' means, 'neck', 'throat', 'gullet' and came to mean 'life', that 'vital motion' which distinguishes a living being from a corpse.

'Nephesh' has such a variety of senses that we must make a careful definition in each particular case. Meanings overlap and are used side by side. It is easy to end up with contradictory statements about 'nephesh'. Here are some of the central statements about 'nephesh':-

• it is that vital life which is shared by both humans and animals [Gen 2:19].

• it is life that is bound up with the body, blood is the vehicle of nephesh [Dt 12:23], at death it dies [Nu 23:10] draining away with the blood, with resuscitation it 'returns'; not that it has gone anywhere.

• it can denote 'the living individual themselves' [Gen 14:21], and can replace the personal pronoun to create special emphasis [Ps 42:6], God uses it of himself [Am 6:8].

• it is strongly instinctive [animal] activity; desire, vital urge, feeling, emotion, mood [Dt 14:26].

• it is feelings and emotions of a spiritual kind; grief, pain, joy, peace, love [Ezk 27:31]; its highest expression is longing for God [Ps 25:1].

The New Testament uses the Greek 'psyche' with the sense of the Hebrew 'nephesh'. Paul's writings are significant for how rarely he uses it. The Synoptics are interesting in that one third of their usage refers to life beyond death [Mt 10:28,39; 16:25-26; Mk 8:35-37; Lk 9:24; 21:19], due to the overlap of present and future in the Kingdom of God; revolutionary in terms of its Hebrew roots.

This 'nephesh' is primarily the life of the whole person in terms of strongly instinctive [animal] activity. It reflects the glory and richness of God's gift of life to him though susceptible to death. It is not an independent substance which, as many have argued, survives death.

Click to expand...

Mike, I expect the above is a Quote, if it is please identify the source.

Paul said:

Mike, I expect the above is a Quote, if it is please identify the source.

Click to expand...

Hi Paul,
It is not an on line quote, rather I did a theology course 16 years ago in the UK and it is a copy of my notes during the lecture on the nature of person hood.

The course is handled by

www.workshop.org.uk

mikecpking said:

Spirit here is the breath of life as described in Genesis 2:7, not the essence of a person as teh Hebrews had no notion of dualism
There is no resurrection for the flesh as described in 1 Cor 15, rather we will have a new resurrection body and we will all stand before the throne of God at Judgement.. This is written in revelation.
In this case, God is speaking about his emotions as emotions of a physical kind (ie rage) is linked to 'nephesh'.
Good point, but a corpse is lowered into the grave before it is turned back into dust would be the correct interpreation rather than a disembodied essence going to a Dante's style hell. . This is obviously a link to Christ's time in the grave and the idea of 'corruption' is the decaying of the body back into dust.
The passages that Paul were refering to is the resurrection body and so that scripture does not contradict itself, when Paul is speaking about being absent from the body and be present with the Lord is that his next waking moment will be at the resurrection with the Lord (1 cor 15).
'Soul' in scripture is the whole living person or even a corpse before it decomposes into its 'building' material, ie dust (Gen 2:7, Gen 3:19, Ecclesiates 12:7).
So the scriptures you posted (KJV) from the OT, 'hell' is translated from the Hebrew word 'sheol' which is, to the Hebrew the abode of all the dead (the Grave) and 'soul' is translated from the Hebrew word 'nephesh' which in the verses you posted simply must be understood as 'me' (the personal pronoun) as the Hebrews had no word for the whole person other than a 'nephesh'.
Here is something on soul definition:
This 'nephesh' is primarily the life of the whole person in terms of strongly instinctive [animal] activity. It reflects the glory and richness of God's gift of life to him though susceptible to death. It is not an independent substance which, as many have argued, survives death.

Click to expand...

Hello mikecpking. I am in delight about the grasp and concision of your summary. When understood, it resolves many complex and thorny issues related to resurrection from the dead. Our resurrection, exanastasin, out from among the dead ones, precedes that of Israel, and as you say it is in a "resurrection" body. More accurately, the new creation of 2Cor 5:17, " Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." And the next place for us, the Body of Christ, will be at the dais of Christ to receive our rewards (2Cor 5:10) among the heavenly host. The rest of the faithful dead will be resurrected to nephesh life, not immortality, and the Day of the Lord begins. Those who are of the former resurrection, the faithful dead who received not the promise, shall live for the thousand-year eon in Jerusalem under the rule of the Twelve, who also will have been resurrected to life eonion.
Thank you for the effort to clarify an issue that is war-torn and misunderstood by the ecclesia at large. I ask that you post more frequently for our benefit.
fivesense

1 Pet 3:18-20
18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19 By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
(KJV)

1 Pet 4:5-6
5 Who shall give account to Him That is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
(KJV)


Matt 27:51-53
51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
(KJV)

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul
For the word of God ........ it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit,
for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain
and bodies and souls of men.
And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded

Martin W. said:

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul
For the word of God ........ it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit,
for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain
and bodies and souls of men.
And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded

Click to expand...

I bring this to you, having not looked up where these passage are, by knowledge of correct dividing, I would jump to the conclusion that these are from the Circumcision letters or the Lord speaking to His Jewish disciples. Tell me I'm wrong. Paul never mentions the soul outside of the present earthly body, and never ties it in with resurrection. It is of the earth and remains there, in a body, or ceases to exist. The Jew has much to concern himself when it comes to the seat of emotion,sensation and thought, the soul. In a fleshly body, the soul is critical to experiencing the life of God. What is known through the senses needs no faith to operate, because it is apparent. The coming earthly kingdom will require properly operating soul-life to accord with the Lords activities. The life is in the soul. Our resurrected bodies will be bloodless, vivified, immortalized and changed into His likeness. We will have no blood. It cannot exist in the spirit realm, where we will be. Those on the earth, the resurrected of Israel, will have their souls returned and be "born-again" at the former resurrection, as the Land of Promise becomes a reality in His presence.
fivesense
fivesense

Martin W. said:

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.

Click to expand...

From Matt 10:28. This verse is used sometimes to 'prove the existence of immortal souls, but the rest of the verse states, "but fear him that can destroy both body and soul in hell (grave)"
Jesus was teaching that if anyone is martyred for his sake, they will not have the shadowy existence of rephaim in sheol, but a full existence after death) As I mentioned earlier, a 'nephhesh' can also mean corpe and will be until the body is decomposed into dust.

What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul

Click to expand...

'Soul' here should be understood as 'life' (psuche) then it makes sense

For the word of God ........ it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit,

Click to expand...

Retoric on Paul's part. The word of God can penetrate and permeate through the entire person, but I have yet to see bone and marrow split up by the word of God literally!

for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Click to expand...

Life, again.

I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain
and bodies and souls of men.
And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded

Click to expand...

Rev 6:9
This can be compared to Genesis 4:10. As I mentioned earlier, literally, the soul is (in) the blood (DT 12:23). These martyrs had been slain, but they were told to rest until the events were complete. You have to remember this was picture language and how does a disembodied soul get to wear clothing, unless this definition of soul was a complete living person.

mikecpking said:

From Matt 10:28. This verse is used sometimes to 'prove the existence of immortal souls, but the rest of the verse states, "but fear him that can destroy both body and soul in hell (grave)"

Click to expand...

No, the word for "hell" used there is geena, from Hebrew about the valley of Hinnom. It is used for the "lake of fire" event, which the abode of hell goes into (Rev.20:14-15).

The valley of Hinnom was a place near Jerusalem where pagan idolaters caused Judah to sacrifice their children in fire to false gods like Molech (Jer.32). Isaiah 30:33 about Tophet is in the valley of Hinnom. It is most definitely being used for the "lake of fire" event, not a hole in the ground.

Matt.10:28 is the idea of not fearing men on this earth than can kill the flesh body but not the soul. But fear God Who can destroy both the resurrection body and soul in the "lake of fire" at the end of Christ's future thousand years reign. That's the "second death", the one which those of the "resurrection of damnation" are subject to.

mikecpking said:

These martyrs had been slain, but they were told to rest until the events were complete. You have to remember this was picture language and how does a disembodied soul get to wear clothing, unless this definition of soul was a complete living person.

Click to expand...

The souls under the altar is figurative, but that's not the point. It is figurative WHILE revealing a Biblical truth, that being the existence of the soul after flesh death, which confirms the same interpretation of Matt.10:28, and 2 Cor.5 by Paul.

We shouldn't confuse the heavenly state with the flesh bodies we have today, because Apostle Paul also stated firmly that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither does corruptionn inherit incorruption (1 Cor.15:50).

Trying to say the soul is only possible with a flesh body existence is actually a hidden denial of the resurrection to a "spiritual body" that Apostle Paul also taught, a body of incorruption, not a body of flesh corruption. That "spiritual body" just so happens to look like flesh, feels like flesh, etc., but it is not a flesh type body as our flesh bodies today. This is why our Lord Jesus in Matt.22:30 said those of the resurrection don't marry nor given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in Heaven. With that, our Lord Jesus sealed the type of existence the resurrection is, an angelic type heavenly dimension existence.

mikecpking said:

Retoric on Paul's part. The word of God can penetrate and permeate through the entire person, but I have yet to see bone and marrow split up by the word of God literally!

Click to expand...

Something that I have always considered this passage to refer to is the division of what transpires in the mind. The soul finds its demands met by the power of reasoning and emotion, urging us to action. The faculty to think properly is so damaged by dying and selfishness that confusion over what is or isn't reality, especially in spiritual matters, needs to be sorted out and brought to light, in order to "clean house", so to speak. But the potency and life within God's word when it is ingested is able to "cut" through the junk, and present truth to our minds more potently when supplied with grace. It is a dividing of false and artificial thinking from what is reality in the heavens. That it is "able" to divide, rather than the perfected sense, does divide, leads me to believe that it accords with grace and is not automatic.
fivesense

veteran said:

No, the word for "hell" used there is geena, from Hebrew about the valley of Hinnom. It is used for the "lake of fire" event, which the abode of hell goes into (Rev.20:14-15).

The valley of Hinnom was a place near Jerusalem where pagan idolaters caused Judah to sacrifice their children in fire to false gods like Molech (Jer.32). Isaiah 30:33 about Tophet is in the valley of Hinnom. It is most definitely being used for the "lake of fire" event, not a hole in the ground.

Matt.10:28 is the idea of not fearing men on this earth than can kill the flesh body but not the soul. But fear God Who can destroy both the resurrection body and soul in the "lake of fire" at the end of Christ's future thousand years reign. That's the "second death", the one which those of the "resurrection of damnation" are subject to.

Click to expand...

Verse 14 is a metonymy, it is speaking of those in 13 who were the dead, and the "unperceived" or hades/sheol, where they "existed" prior to resurrection. Hell and the grave are decriptive terms, not literal places. The whole of death and the unperceived, or sheol, is formed of this group. With their consignment to the condemnation in the Lake of Fire, all that pertains to hades and death, and the reason for its existence, is consumed.

fivesense

fivesense said:

Verse 14 is a metonymy, it is speaking of those in 13 who were the dead, and the "unperceived" or hades/sheol, where they "existed" prior to resurrection. Hell and the grave are decriptive terms, not literal places. The whole of death and the unperceived, or sheol, is formed of this group. With their consignment to the condemnation in the Lake of Fire, all that pertains to hades and death, and the reason for its existence, is consumed.

fivesense

Click to expand...

I agree with the part that the "lake of fire" of Rev.20:14 is a one time destruction of death, the abode of hell, and the wicked. But I will not go against God's Word about a place of separation in the heavenly where the rebellious angels wait in chains called hell.


This is about the destruction of the cherub Satan in that lake of fire...

Ezek 28:18-19
18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.
(KJV)

Gregory Eugene said:

What is the view in this thread on the Holy Spirit and the difference between that and the spirit God already gave you to "become a soul"

also while we're at it, the bible gives many references to an individual existing as an individual after death, how do you reconcile your beliefs to this?

Click to expand...

#1 Spirits....all sorts

I don't think you're going to get a clear answer on that one. You've got a lot of buzz words in your question.
If you read the posts above, there is no clear understanding of a difference between the human spirit, the human soul, the Holy Spirit and whiskey. For my part, here is what I've learned.

A bottle of Johnny Walker and a human being are really quite similar.
The bottle is the container for the spirits within. In the same way, the physical body or soul, is the container for the human spirit within.

Unlike the hooch, however, more than one spirit can inhabit a human soul. In the case of a Christian, it is generally accepted that the Holy Spirit co-habits the physical body during life. This spiritual co-habitation is also said to be the guarantee of eternal life and resurrection.

One therefore does not become a soul, one IS a soul. The soul is the whole package, the whole nine yards, the whole enchalada so to speak. The Holy Spirit can also indwell the body (as well as a lot of unclean spirits, demons and various toxic habits).

It is debateable whether the Holy Spirit can indwell a living body at the same time as an unclean spirit or a demon(and there is a big difference between unclean spirits and demons). You can find a lot of disagreement in that regard as well as lots of teachings and ideology to support both sides of that argument. Scripture quotations will fly through the air like confetti at a parade and few will admit to the truthfulness of testimony on this troubling subject.

#2 the afterlife......or lack of it

Biblically speaking, a person may OR MAY NOT exist as an individual after death depending upon the relationship they had with Christ in life.

The general tone or warning issued by Jesus is that at death the body and all physical trappings are shed, leaving only the human spirit. The warning is that if a man is not spiritually reborn, even his spirit will be destroyed. It is destroyed to the point where even the identity or 'self' is lost.

It is generally observed that diseases such as Alzheimer's, which rob a man of his mind, are a horrendous prelude to death. If you've ever watched the process work its way through a loved one, you'll understand the horror of it. Imagine that on a scale so insidious that even the spiritual sense of self is absorbed away after death and you'll have the gist of an idea of what hellish destiny awaits the unsaved.

The words spirit and soul are interconnected, for life cannot exist one without the other. The word "spirit" comes from the Hebrew word ru´ach and the Greek pneu´ma, which comes from pne´o, meaning to “breathe or blow". The Hebrew and Greek words for spirit have the basic meaning of “breath” but have extended meanings beyond that basic sense. They can also mean wind, as at John 3:8; the vital force in living creatures, as at Psalms 146:4; one’s spirit, as at Genesis 6:3; spirit persons, as at Psalms 104:4 and John 4:24, including God and his angelic creatures; and God’s active force, or holy spirit, as at Psalms 51:11. 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.

The soul is us as a person, with all our desires, with blood traveling through it's veins (Jer 2:34), craves to eat (Deut 12:20), put to death for eating blood (Lev 17:10), blood was used as atonement for souls (Lev 17:11), destroyed for failing to observe the sabbath under the Mosaic Law (Lev 23:30). The Hebrew word for soul is ne´phesh, and in Greek, psy·khe´ . The connotations that the English “soul” commonly carries in the minds of most persons are not in agreement with the meaning of the Hebrew and Greek words as used by the inspired Bible writers. This fact has steadily gained wider acknowledgment. Back in 1897, in the Journal of Biblical Literature (Vol. XVI, p. 30), Professor C. A. Briggs, as a result of detailed analysis of the use of ne´phesh, observed: “Soul in English usage at the present time conveys usually a very different meaning from [ne´phesh] in Hebrew, and it is easy for the incautious reader to misinterpret.”

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).”-1967, Vol. XIII, p. 467.

The record at Genesis 2:7 uses nesha·mah´ in describing God’s causing Adam’s body to have life so that the man became “a living soul.” Here at Genesis 2:7, the expression "breath of life" (Hebrew, nish·math´ [from nesha·mah´] chai·yim´), that God placed within Adam, ' blowing ' this within his nostrils, literally means the life-force of man or animal. Just as electricity causes an electrical appliance to function, so likewise does the "breath of life". Adam was a "dead soul" until God brought him to life by the "breath of life" or life-force.

At Genesis 6:17, God said that he was going "to bring to ruin all flesh in which the force of life (Literally, “in which the active force (spirit) of life [is].” Hebrew, ’asher-boh´ ru´ach chai·yim´) is active from under the heavens." Thus, during the global deluge, in which “all flesh (human and animal) in which the active force” was, these died because their “breath of life” left them. They died, just as the electrical current is turned off of an appliance and it stops. God said that “everything that is in the earth will expire.” Hence, every person or animal outside the ark, died. Referring back to Genesis 7:21, 22, it says that “all flesh that was moving upon the earth expired....Everything in which the breath of the force of life ( Hebrew, asher nish·math´ ruach) was active in its nostrils, namely, all that were on the dry ground, died.”

“The breath of life” (Hebrew, ru´ach chai·yim´) refers to more than just breath or air moving into the lungs. God evidently provided Adam with both the spirit (Hebrew, ru´ach, Greek, pneu´ma; Latin, spi´ri·tum ) or spark of life and the breath needed to keep him alive. Now Adam began to have life as a person, to express personality traits, and by his speech and actions he could reveal that he was higher than the animals, that he was a “son of God,” made in His likeness and image.(Gen 1:27; Luke 3:38)

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 27:3-5) 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 out”] 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 [form of ru´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 [form of ru´ach], to those walking in it.” The breath (nesha·mah´) sustains our 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.

Therefore, if one’s spirit or life-force (“breath of life”) is lost, he then dies. Parents pass on this life-force to their children, for only life can “beget” life. Thus, the soul is not immortal, for it dies when its life-force leaves and is now a “dead soul”.(Lev 21:11, literally “souls of one being dead”, Hebrew, naph·shoth´, plural, followed by meth, “dead”; )

A soul is a spirit with a physical body. The body is dead without the spirit, but the spirit lives on after death of the body. This fact can be seen easily with a Bible version with proper translation and use of soul and spirit.

We are made perfect by our faith in Jesus Christ. The Old Testament saints and righteous people who died before Jesus came to earth, they did not get to know Jesus and the gospel, until Jesus was revealed. When Jesus was revealed, then they (the spirits of the righteous) were made perfect by their faith in Jesus. These spirits of righteous men made perfect live in heaven (see Hebrews 11:39-40).

After Jesus was crucified, Jesus preached to those who were dead, he preached to the spirits in prison, the spirits of those who had died before (see1 Peter 3:18-19, and 1 Peter 4:5-6) .

You see, Jesus came to earth and taught those on earth. Then Jesus descended to the spirits in prison, and he then ascended higher than all the heavens. Jesus filled the whole universe (see Ephesians 4:10).

These scriptures show people have spirits, and how our spirits live on, and how Jesus filled the whole universe.