I Thessalonians 5:23 “...May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Theologians have debated the difference between the soul and the spirit for centuries.  Therefore, it is a very difficult subject upon which to draw a conclusion. 

     The deceased are mentioned both as soul and as spirit (See I Kings 17:21; Acts 2:27 and compare with Matthew 27:50; Hebrews 12:23).  Thus, sometimes the soul and spirit are used interchangeably.  The threefold nature of man is confusing to many.  Hopefully the following will demonstrate the difference between them.

 

1) “SPIRIT” (Greek - Pneuma) is the life-principle in man.  It is the divine breath that gives life.  It is the “Inward Man” (II Corinthians 4:16), that thinks, feels, wills, decides, and lives.  It is the part of us that relates to worship and divine communion with our Creator.

 

2) “SOUL” (Greek - Psuche) is our personal identity.  It includes all those things that make a particular person: our life, our mind, our affections, our emotions, our whole life.  It is our personality and our inner nature.  Thus, the soul is our living being ( I Corinthians 15:45)

 

3) “BODY” (Greek - Soma) is our fleshly material part of our being, to which life is given by the spirit, and which with the spirit becomes a living soul.  The part of us that shall return to the ground and become dust (Ecclesiastes 12:7).

 

       To illustrate further, may we consider the human eye.  It consist of three basic parts for the layman: 

   1) Pupil, it is black            -  spirit

   2) Iris, it is colored            -   soul

   3) Eyeball, it is white         -    body

     However, it is still the eye, with at least these three parts.  We use the eye and do not worry about the nitty-gritty of it.  Someone once said, concerning the Bible’s deep doctrines. “In the Bible, the main things are the plain things, and the plain things are the main things”.  In other  words,  the things that God wants us to really grasp are made very plain.  Accept these and go on with life.  Don’t get hung-up on the things which don’t really matter (Losing sleep over the soul and spirit differences, etc.).

 

The Bible teaches plainly that to become a Christian one must:

 

 1) Believe In Jesus As Savior (Acts 16:31)   2) Repent Of Sins (Acts 17:30)

 3) Confess Christ Audibly (Acts 8:37)  4) Be Baptized In Water (Acts 2:38)

 5) Live A  Christian Life (Acts 14:22)  6) Stay Active in the Church (Acts 2:47)

 

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