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NASB | James 2:26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | James 2:26 For just as the [human] body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works [of obedience] is also dead. |
Bible Question: I have always been taught that the spirit is what makes the difference between life and death and the soul is the part that lives forever in either heaven or hell after death. Is there somewhere in the Bible where this is spelled out more clearly than in I Thes. 5:23? I understand that we worship in spirit, but doesn't the Bible say that all flesh worships God? Doesn't that mean animals because they are his creation? |
Bible Answer: Contrary to the popular teaching, the soul does not live on after a person dies. According to the Bible, what happens at death is the reverse of what happened at creation. Genesis 2:7 tells us how we were created: God made man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man BECAME a living SOUL. What is the soul? According to the Bible, a soul is a living being. The Bible does NOT teach that God placed a soul in man, but that, in equation form: body plus breath equals living soul (or living being). Can the soul die? Indeed. See Ez 18:4. Who only has immortality? 1 Timothy 6:15, 16 tells us that God is the only One who is not subject to death. The Bible only uses immortal to describe who God is - never to describe who we are. Immortality is a gift that God will give us. According to Paul, in Romans 2:7, we are SEEKING FOR IMMORTALITY. Job tells us that we are MORTAL (Job 4:17). 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 tells us that God's people will receive immortality at the resurrection at Jesus' Second Coming. What happens at death? Ecclesiastes 12:7: "Then shall the dust retutn to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." The Bible does not teach that the soul returns to God. The Bible mentions "soul" 1800 times and never once uses the expression "immortal soul". For Bible-believing Christians, the great hope is the resurrection at Jesus' second coming. Are humans conscious at death? How much do they know? nOT AT ALL! See Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6. Does the thought process continue after death? According to Psalm 146:4, no. What is the spirit that returns to God? See James 2:26; Job 27:3; Job 33:4. The Spirit and the breath are the same throughout scripture. When a person dies, it is God's life-giving power, His breath, that returns. The psalmist David states: "His breath (spirit) goeth forth (Ps 146:4). It is not some conscious entity - not some immortal soul. The Hebrew word for breath throughout scripture is RUACH, which means "AIR, WIND, OR SPIRIT." At death, the spirit or breath returns to God. Can the dead worship God? See Psalm 115:17 and Psalm 6:5. Since the "dead know not anything" (Eccles 9:5) and "in the grave there is no remembrance of you" (Ps 6:5), it is only logical that "the dead praise not the Lord" (Ps 115:17). The Bible compares death to a sleep more than 50 times. See John 11:11-14. When we are asleep soundly, we are not aware of time passing at all. We are at rest - complete rest. Jesus has the keys of hell and of death (Revelation 1:18). When He returns, the dead in Christ will be resurrected, and we which are alive and remain will be caught up tother with them in the air to meet the Lord(1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17). You would do well to study diligently this topic for yourself, comparing scripture with scripture, and allowing the Bible ti interpret itself. Please visit www.discoveronline.org for Bible studies on this and all the major and commonly misunderstood themes of the Bible. A word of caution: Just because a person supplies Bible texts, that doens't necessarily mean that his stance is in accordance in scripture. So, I encourage you to study for yourself. God bless. |