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NASB | 1 Thessalonians 5:23 ¶ Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Thessalonians 5:23 ¶ Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [that is, separate you from profane and vulgar things, make you pure and whole and undamaged--consecrated to Him--set apart for His purpose]; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete and [be found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
Bible Question (short): What do YOU think, fellow Berian? |
Question (full): Hi Nicodemus, Thanks for your input, brother. Although I greatly respect Charles C. Ryrie (I, too, have one of the study Bibles), I believe we need to excercise caution when refering to the study notes. Yes, Ryrie does make the statement: "5:23-24 spirit and soul and body should NOT be understood as defining the parts of man, but as representing the whole man." (1 Thess. 5:23) (emphasis mine) My question is, upon what evidence does he base his conclusion? Please don't misunderstand me. I have nothing against Ryrie. What I don't understand is - what has happened to critical thought in the 'Christian community'? Many questions on this forum are answered with 'copy and paste' answers out of one study Bible or another. And, while I agree that a good study Bible is a fine supplement to understanding scripture, I don't believe that it's commentary ever carries the divine inspiration we have in the Word of God. I believe that the scripture we have is our sole source for God's revelation to men. Yes, I believe that God, in His grace, has 'illumined' scripture down through the ages through various Christians. But I view their contributions as supplementary, not substitutionary. All that being said, the Greek DOES make a distinction in these two passages between spirit and soul as you have noted, the spirit (pneuma) and the soul (psuche). Ryrie says that he feels that a destinction SHOULDN'T be made, Nelson's says that a distinction is IMPLIED, and the Scofield says they ARE divisible and distinguished (in certain cases). It seems our 'theologians' are not in agreement. So, brother, what do YOU think? I can read my Ryrie, Nelson, Scofield, NIV Study, Matthew Henry, etc. for myself. But what do YOU think? I would appreciate LIVE interaction with fellow brothers and sisters on these issues. One last disclaimer (humor me). I am just as guilty. The web address that I posted does have a 'theologian's' interpretation there. I understand and accept that that is what it is. I'm just curious as to what other 'live' Christians may think? In Christ, Bill Mc |