“The Gospel sets human beings in the context of creation. The opening lines say that ‘all things came into being’ through God’s Word (1:3). People exist because of this creative activity of God. The basic term for a human being is anthropos or person (2:25; 9:1; 17:6). And to be a person is to share in flesh or sarx (17:2). Flesh is the means for human procreation (1:13), it is limited and cannot generate relationships with God (3:6), and it is also subject to death. But flesh is not inherently evil; it belongs to the creation. People also have a heart, which is linked to the emotions (14:1; 16:6), to the will and intentions (13:2), and to understanding (12:40). And people have a psyche, which is sometimes translated ‘soul,’ but better understood as ‘self.’ The psyche gives a person life, consciousness, and emotion (12:27), but it is not immortal. John does not work with a dualistic view of human beings, which distinguishes the mortal flesh from an immortal soul. To die means laying down one’s psyche (10:18; 12:25; 13:37), just as it means giving up one’s flesh (6:51). The whole person includes flesh, heart, and self (psyche).”
(Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John’s Gospel, p. 55)
When a person dies he or she dies in totality, as a whole, not just in body, as a part.
”People do not have life in themselves. They must receive life from an outside source. The idea that human beings are created in this way means that they have an inescapable need for the life that comes from God.”
(Ibid., p. 56)
Without that life, which comes from God, a person doesn’t have immortality and will perish.
