"The LORD God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" Gen. 2:7."The very God of peace sanctify you wholly: and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" I Thess. 5:23 "The LORD God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" Gen. 2:7."The very God of peace sanctify you wholly: and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" I Thess. 5:23."The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" Gen. 2:7. See also I Corinthians 15:45.The soul is the seat of the emotions and appetites. Plants, animals and man have bodies; only animals and man have a soul; but only man has a spirit. The soul is that conscious life which is in man and animal. Plants have life, but it is unconscious life. There is a difference between the souls of men and the souls of animals. The animal’s soul is connected with his body, while man’s soul is connected with his spirit. The soul of an animal dies with the animal, but man’s soul never dies, for he was made a "living soul" — a soul that would never die. As stated, the soul of man is the seat of his emotions and appetites, and the following Scriptures will bring out the degrees of same: Appetites: "Thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart"Deut. 12:15.Desires: "If any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force" I Sam. 2:16.See also Deuteronomy 12:20;Psalm 107:18;Proverbs 6:30;Isaiah 29:8;I Samuel 18:1.Hates: "David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David’s soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house" II Sam. 5:8.Mourns: "His flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn" Job 14:22.Is Vexed: "The man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me" II Kings 4:27.Rejoices: "I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels"Is. 61:10.Suffers: "They said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us" Gen. 42:21. Sorrows: "He said unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch" Mark 14:34.Where does man get his soul?Pre-existence.This theory teaches that all souls that have ever been in the world, or shall ever be in the world, were created in the beginning. At time of conception, they are united with the body. This was taught by Plato, but it was never accepted by the church, as it is without Scriptural foundation.Creationism.This belief holds that after forty days of conception the soul unites with the body. Roman Catholicism proposes this. If this belief is true, then God is the creator of sinful souls.Traducianism. This is the truth which holds that both soul and body are derived from the parents. "Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth"Gen. 5:3.See also Acts 17:24-26.Spirit. Here is where man differs from all creatures. In Hebrews 12:9 God is said to be "Father of spirits." This does not mean the Father of angels, but of the spirits of men made perfect. God is never said to be the Father of souls. "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" Jas. 2:26.When a body dies, the soul departs with the spirit of man. The soul and spirit can be separated "the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged 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" Heb. 4:12.However, there is no Scriptural proof that they are ever separated. The rich man of Luke 16 goes to Hades upon death, and he has both soul and spirit with him. See also Matthew 10:28.The spirit of man is the seat of his intelligence. "What man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God" I Cor. 2:11.Animals do not possess intelligence. "Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee" Ps. 32:9.The word "spirit," both in the Hebrew and Greek, is sometimes translated as "breath," and "wind." The context determines the translation. The materialists say that the word for spirit should be "breath," and that when man dies he is gone forever. Some people say that man lost his spirit at the Fall and regains his spirit at conversion. This would make him a dual being however, and this conception has no Scriptural grounds.
I have been thinking about you lately.
