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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | 1 thess. 5:23 | Bible general Archive 4 | DocTrinsograce | 196798 | ||
Hi, Brother John... Scripture uses the word "soul" and "spirit" interchangeably. For example, in John 12:27, our Lord says, "now is my soul troubled." However, in a very similar context, in the next chapter, John tells us that Jesus was "troubled in spirit" (13:21). There are a number of places where it is used in Hebrew Parallelism; e.g., Luke 1:46-47. Dead people are both spoken of as "spirits" (Hebrew 12:23; 1 Peter 3:19) and "souls" (Revelation 6:9; 20:4). At death, Scripture says either that the "soul" departs or the "spirit" departs (cf Genesis 35:18; 1 Kings 17:21; Isaiah 53:12; Psalm 31:5; Luke 23:46; Ecclesiastes 12:7; John 19:30; Acts 7:59; etc.). The Bible says that the "soul" can sin or the "spirit" can sin (cf 1 Peter 1:22; Revelation 18:14; 2 Corinthians 7:1; 7:34; etc.). Indeed, everything that the soul is said to do, the spirit is also said to do and vice versa. This includes thinking, feeling, choosing, and worshiping. In Jewish thinking human beings are not bipartite or tripartite creatures. Dividing of the various components is such a difficult thing, that no human can untangle the parts or even find the dividing lines. (Hence the surgical imagery of Hebrews 4:12.) Just as today we'd not be able to find the dividing line between our minds and our bodies. The trichotomy of man was an idea introduced by the Greeks -- Aristotle in particular. (Not that it isn't "true" -- only that it has its origins from extra-Biblical sources.) Later Gnostic thinking liked this idea, as they deemed that pure reason was higher, more noble, and distinct from baser attributes. Even later, Augustine argued that the image of God's triune nature was reflected in a triune nature of man. The Roman Church still holds to this perspective, although with a bit of a Gnostic twist. Even our language reflects some of our opinions regarding the components of a man. The ancient Hebrew thought of the heart the same way the average American thinks of the brain. The modern man does not expect to cut into a brain and find the real person. In the same way, the Hebrew would not have expected to cut into a heart and reveal the real person. Yet both understand that a blob of tissue exists, but both tend to think of it as somehow containing a person's essence. This is a deep and complex subject. It has been discussed by theologians and philosophers for multiple millenia. The Scripture tells us things that we could not have known by introspection. However, it does not entirely settle all of the questions. What we can say definitively, though, is that man is a being who thinks, feels, acts, and communicates. Furthermore, we know that the soul/spirit can be separated from the body in death, but that that is an abnormal state -- one that won't exist when God restores creation, for every soul/spirit will be joined with their resurrected body. Anyway, I'm not arguing. I can't, because I find myself unsettled on the issue -- sometimes persuaded in one direction and other times persuaded in another. Sometimes I simply fall back on my Jewish presuppositions, avoiding the drawing lines altogether! :-) In Him, Doc |
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2 | 1 thess. 5:23 | Bible general Archive 4 | stjohn | 196803 | ||
Hi Doc, You said in your post, "I'm not arguing" Well Brother; I sure cant see even a, hint of an argument! We are in total agreement! Scripture pants a fuzzy line at best, between the two! :-) I can see now that perhaps my post was too terse, that was pretty much what I was trying to say. Anyway thanks for the info, Doc, it does add a good deal to my understanding of the two, i,e. I don't really understand! :-) God bless John |
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