What is the soul?
Common thinking suggests that it is the part of a person that lives
forever. Most people believe that it is our souls that will go on to
Heaven or into punishment. This idea is much engrained within us.
It’s one of those “simple” topics that we all mastered so long
ago that it needs no review. In fact, with the phrase “heart, soul,
and mind” used so often in Christendom on T-shirts and bracelets
it’s truly no wonder that we have overlooked the true meaning. Many
of the most important things in life are right at our fingertips
everyday and are taken for granted, so why would the topic of the soul
be any different?
This study became an
interest to me when I realized for the first time how significant it
was that Jesus, the Son of God, said that one command stood alone as
the greatest commandment of all. In all of life, there is nothing more
important than loving God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. Well,
I knew what this phrase meant – at least I thought I did. Thankfully
I started looking to make sure. My first quest was to uncover how to
love God with the heart. The answer is two parts: first, keep God in
His proper place of being first in our lives; and second, keep our
heart free from the pollutions of the lust of the eyes, the lusts of
the flesh and the pride of life that would steal away our desire from
service to God. Of course there is more that could be elaborated upon,
but this is the essence of loving God with our heart.
The next portion I
investigated was how to love God with the mind. Quickly Philippians
4:8 provided the framework for an answer. Of course, this aspect of
the Great Commandment takes tremendous discipline. It is much, much
easier said than done.
With these two
portions answered, I realized immediately that I had no idea how to
actively employ efforts into loving God with the soul. My
understanding of the soul was identical with common thinking – that
the soul lives forever. But if Jesus said this was part of the
greatest commandment, there had to be more to it. Our Lord didn’t
choose his words lightly, and He didn’t haphazardly throw these
three concepts together. There had to be something about the soul that
relates to this life, and it had to be something we can actively
control.
Already I was amazed
and shaken with the study of heart and mind. There was so much more to
apply to life within these two aspects of the great commandment than I
had ever considered. Then, in the quest of uncovering how to love God
with my soul, I realized something even more disturbing: my working
definition of the soul had no true Biblical basis.Maybe you are like I was and need to know more about the soul.
The purpose of
article is to find a working definition for the soul.
Already, in the
first article in this series, we have discussed that the concepts of
“heart, soul, and mind” cannot share the same meaning. Heart
and mind have been
somewhat defined in the first article and briefly discussed again
here. We also discovered in the first article a different spectrum of
words that pertain to the soul: body, soul, and spirit (1 Thes. 5:23).
Again, these words cannot share the same definition.
Let’s define body.
The Hebrew word for
body is chay.
Strong defines it as “alive, raw (flesh), plant or animal, literally
or figuratively.” It is used in 450 verses. Here are some familiar
Old Testament passages that contain this meaning:
King David’s
statement about his first son with Bathsheba
2 Samuel 12:22 “And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious
to me, that the child may live?”
King
Solomon’s famous episode with the two disputing women
1 Kings 3:25 “And the king said, Divide the living
child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.”
The Greek word for
body is zōē.
Strong defines it as
“life, vitality, of animals or plants”. It is used in 126 verses.
Familiar New Testament passages include:
Luke 12:15 “And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of
covetousness: for a man's life
consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”
James 4:14 “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For
what is your life?
It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then
vanisheth away.”
John 6:53 “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his
blood, ye have no life
in you.”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is
eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
As seen in these
passages, body
refers to being alive or dead. It relates to our physical bodies and
our lifespan. Occasionally, as noted in Romans 6:23, descriptor words
change this to include the spiritual aspects (eternal
life, book of life, tree
of life, etc.). Even in these instances, the meaning of being
alive or not is seen.
Now, let’s define spirit.
The Hebrew word for
spirit is rûach.
Strong defines it as
“wind, breath, life of a rational being including its expressions
and functions.” It is used 348 verses. Old Testament passages using
this word include:
Genesis 1:2 “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness
was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit
of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
Ecclesiastes
3:21 “Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit
of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?”
Ecclesiastes
12:7 “Then shall the dust
return to the earth as it was: and the spirit
shall return unto God who gave it.”
The Greek word for
spirit ispneuma.
Strong defines it as “current of air, figuratively the spirit, the
rational soul, the mental disposition.” It appears in 350 New
Testament verses, a few of which are:
·Matthew
5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
·Matthew
26:41 “Watch and pray, that ye
enter not into temptation: the spirit
indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
·Romans
8:6 “For to be carnally minded
is death; but to be spiritually
minded is life and peace.”
Notice the
difference between the concept of spirit and body. This is again
apparent in John 6:63:
·John
6:63 “It is the spirit that
quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto
you, they are spirit,
and they are life.”
Here, Jesus is
saying that His words are alive on both the spiritual and physical
plains. It is easy to see the difference between body and spirit. But
spirit, as seen in the passages from Ecclesiastes, is actually by
definition what many wrongly consider to be the definition of the
soul. Using the rules of logic, spirit and soul cannot have the same
meaning.
Let’s find verses
that use the word soul.
The Hebrew word for
soul is nephesh.
Strong defines it as “a breathing creature, animal. Used widely:
beast, body, creature, any appetite, lust, pleasure.” It is used in
682 Old Testament verses, including:
·Describing
the state of Samuel’s mother Hannah before she conceived
1 Samuel 1:10 “And she was in bitterness of soul,
and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.”
·Psalms
42:1 “…As the hart [deer]
panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul
after thee, O God.”
The Greek word for
soul is psuchē.
Strong defines it as
“breath, spirit, relating to animal aspect of life only.” It is
used 94 times in the NT. Several verses include:
·Luke
12:19-20 “And I will say to my
soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years;
take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. (20) But God said unto him,
Thou fool, this night thy soul
shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which
thou hast provided?”
·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.”
·Matthew
10:39 “He that findeth his life
shall lose it: and he that loseth his life
for my sake shall find it.”
·Matthew
26:38 “Then saith he unto
them, My soul is
exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with
me.”
·1
John 3:16 “Hereby perceive we
the love of God, because he laid down his life
for us: and we ought to lay down our lives
for the brethren.”
·Regarding
the life of Gaius
3 John 1:2-3 “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper
and be in health, even as thy soul
prospereth. (3) For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and
testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the
truth.”
·Hebrews
4:12 “For the word of God is
quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged 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.”
Notice that even the
New Testament definition of soul
separates it from spirit by
stating it relates to animal life only. Also notice that with both Old
Testament and New Testament uses that soul can involve passions and
emotions (Hannah’s and Jesus’ states of sorrow). John makes
it clear that a soul can thrive even without physical health (3 John
1:2). Interestingly, it is because of the good word given to John
regarding Gaius that John in turn states Gaius’ soul prospers
(3 John 1:3).
The parable of the
rich man in Luke 12 and the statement of Jesus in Matthew 10:28 that
man can kill the body but not the soul both appear on the surface to
relate to the spirit. By understanding that the word used in these
instances only applies to the animal nature, and not the spirit
itself, we gain more insight to the soul. The rich man was going to
consume his abundance in selfish living instead of in living for God
and continuing to work to benefit others. Just as Paul knew of
Gaius’ healthy soul by hearing of his actions, the reputation of our
actions and lifestyle continues on after our death.
With all of these
words defined, we can now put together a working definition for soul.
Soul cannot mean the same thing as heart, mind, body, or spirit. The
concept of body is easily understood. The definition of spirit is actually the same as what many mistakenly
consider to be the soul. The
soul of a person, then, is not related directly to flesh and blood,
and is not the spirit that will return to God who gave it. We see
examples of it containing emotions and passions. We see it described
as prospering when a person is actively living for God, and it is
clear that others can know the state of our soul by our example.
To summarize, the
soul is the physical energy of life, including emotions and actions.
It is not our flesh, but what we do while in our flesh. We have the
ability to direct it at will. It contains our habits, both good and
bad. It is made up of our victories and our defeats. Our soul’s
state of well-being, as related to serving God or serving ourselves,
is evident in how we spend our time, our money, our talents, and our
energy. Our soul, in short, is the sum total of the way we spend our
life.
The next article in
this series will take this working definition of the soul and apply it
to everyday life, so we can know how to “love God” with our souls.
Question:
In your last article you mentioned Paul’s struggle as being the
struggle that every Christian has. Could it be the case that Paul is
describing his condition and consequently his struggle before he
became a Christian?
Answer:
The passage under consideration is found in Romans 7:15, 19-20. Paul
writes,
“For
what I am doing I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do
not practice; but what I hate, that I do.”
“For
the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to
do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no
longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.”
The
view set forth in our previous article took the position that Paul was
describing his condition and struggle as a child of God. Basically we
set forth the concept that the Bible teaches that Christians sin. John
for example writes,
“If
we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not
us.” (I John 2:8)
This
verse describes the truth that even if redeemed, we still err. In
fact, John emphasizes that if we do not think that we do, we are
deceived. Our article attempted to connect John’s general statement
to Paul’s specific discussion of the struggle. We see the verses of
Romans 7 as Paul discussing the war that exists between the Spirit and
flesh. As such it is a part of every Christian’s life that will
continue until our ultimate redemption.
The
idea that the passage in Romans 7 is not a discussion of our present
struggle but rather one that existed before we became Christians is
not a new view. Many people have been influenced by this view and have
the idea that once becoming a Christian we live above sin. Take for
example the way people view the word “saint”. When this word is
used it brings to mind those who have risen to some mystical position
in life where sin never rears its ugly head. The concept of a higher
victorious life centering on an experience of victory over indwelling
sin is a common description of what it means to be a Christian. The
problem is first theological in that it is not biblical. Secondly,
according to the scriptures those who take this view are deceived, and
thirdly, it is a detriment to our evangelistic efforts. Many who
believe that a Christian must live above sin are reluctant to obey the
Gospel realizing that it is a goal far too lofty for them to reach.
The
fundamental passage to this discussion is that of Romans chapters 6
through 8. The pivotal point is the specific description of the
intense struggle with sin as depicted in Romans 7:14-25. As we read
this section, all of us can identify with it. As Paul describes the
struggle note the descriptive phrases. He says he is sold under sin
(v.14). He lacks understanding of his own actions (v. 15). He desires
to live correctly, but in the end sins anyway (v. 15-16, 18). He
speaks of sin’s ability to control his actions. When the battle
rages he notes it is between his body (with its passions) and his
mind. Even when he knows what to do he feels powerless to do it.
Finally, in conclusion, he describes himself as a wretched man in
desperate need of the salvation offered by Jesus.
Does
this describe your life? It certainly does mine. The problem with this
passage stems from what most see as the Christian life and what Paul
describes as his life in Christ. Many read the above description and
reach the conclusion that surely this cannot be a Christian! Thus we
reason that Paul must be describing his life as a Jew before being
converted.
However,
the biblical data does not support this meaning of this passage. In
fact the Bible, when rightly divided, teaches that Paul was describing
his present experience as a child of God. Rather, it is Paul speaking
of a Christian’s struggle with sin. It also becomes evident that it
is not a description of defeat but of the process of slaying the old
man and putting on the new man! The goal of sanctification is
Christ-likeness and it is not won without the battle. Our struggle
with sin is a sign that sanctification is occurring. It is when we
cease the struggle that we should become concerned.
We
now turn our attention to the scriptures to show that the above view
is in harmony with them.
The
first point we note is that in Romans 7, Paul uses the present tense.
It did not say he used to struggle but rather that the struggle is
presently raging. At the time of the writing Paul was a Christian, and
his use of the present tense indicates the struggle he was undergoing.
Galatians
5:17 teaches the same thing. Here we read,
“For the desires of the flesh are
against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the
flesh, for they are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the
things you want to do.”
Note
again he is writing to Christians. He is describing once again the
struggle that they undergo.
The
final argument we set forth is found in Philippians chapter 3.
Beginning in verse 3, Paul describes his life before Christ as one in
which he was blameless touching the law. In fact he boasted in his
flesh and listed all of the accolades and accomplishments he later saw
as rubbish. Paul, before his conversion, did not sense his
unrighteousness. In fact he felt that he was on good ground and in
good standing before God. Romans 7 could not be a description of how
he felt about his life before Christ. He felt just the opposite as
this passage shows. Later in Philippians, Paul states that he knows he
has not attained to perfection, nor has he apprehended it yet but he
says he presses on! Thus these passages along with the others show
that Romans 7 is a description of the battle that all saints must
fight.
In
Romans 7:14-25 Paul is describing the normal Christian life. We all
struggle but remember Christ is the victory!
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