Spirit and Soul and Body, Part II
2021-12-26
What is the difference between the spirit, the soul, and the body? What are these things?
First, the body is obviously the physical part of the human. It is often said to be the world-conscious part of us. It has the five senses, and with it, we can communicate with others.
It is commonly said that the soul is the self-conscious part of us, while the spirit is the God-conscious part of us. Generally, looking at the scriptures that mention these words, this appraisal seems to be true.
The Soul
The soul is clearly distinct from the body in this saying: “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 10:28).
When the body dies by whatever means, the soul continues to exist. However, God can destroy both the body and the soul. The soul goes to hell like the body; a person in hell is conscious of the torment.
The soul is where emotions and emotional pain occurs. In Gethsemane, Jesus recounts His pain: “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me” (Matthew 26:38).
Other examples include Mary’s pain because of her Son, as she was to witness her Son’s Passion (Luke 2:35) and the fear that came upon all during the days of the early church (Acts 2:43).
When someone is talking to oneself, they would call themselves “soul”: ”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” (Luke 12:19).
The soul is what makes you, you.
The Spirit
The Spirit is the God-conscious aspect of us. Often in the Scriptures, the spirit is tied to our relationship with God. This is because “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).
It is our spirit that offers worship to the Lord: “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3).
The Holy Spirit and our own spirit together tell us that we are born again into the family of God: “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16).
By our spirit, we are connected to the Lord: “But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:17).
We will look at the spiritual vs. the carnal next, and some of the implications of this.