"I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless..." (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
One of the most
neglected subjects in the discussions
about the
problems of mankind in today's world is the question of what really
comprises a human being, and why humans are different from all other
forms of life. Some groups, of course, maintain that there is no
difference, and that humans have no right to control or manage or use
animals in any way. The uniqueness of man and the value of human
life
also seems to be missed in debates over war, capital punishment,
abortion, euthanasia, cloning, infanticide, and religious
tolerance. Even our understandings of what happens to us when we
die is connected
to the concept of what a human is and what it is about our nature that
allows us to experience and comprehend spiritual things. As is
true of
all subjects, the scientific evidence and the biblical teachings have
great commonality in this question, and each discipline has something
to contribute to our understanding of our nature and uniqueness.
It is
not an easy subject, but what we would like to attempt to do in this
article is to point out some things that we hope will contribute to
growth in our understandings of this vital subject.
The reason this is a
difficult subject is because much of
what we
are talking about does not lend itself to empirical observation.
Words
like soul and spirit do not describe physical things that are easy to
measure or observe. This is a common problem in science.
Our
understandings of quantum mechanics, psychology, nuclear chemistry, and
cosmology are all complicated by the fact that it is difficult and
sometimes impossible to observe the quantities we are working with in a
physical way. Neutrinos, quarks, strings, ego, and id are things that
we have to observe indirectly. Even defining something like time
is
difficult because it is not three-dimensional and does not lend itself
to familiar methods of explanation.
Biblically we have another problem and
that is that the languages of
the Bible as well as our own language are frequently inadequate to
describe the entities that are being considered. In the Greek,
for
example, there are five different words that can be used to describe
love. The word "philadelphia" is used to describe brotherly love
and is
used in verses like Romans 12:10; 1 Thessalonians
4:9; and 1
Peter 1:22. The word "phileo" is used in reference to the
love for
a friend (see Matthew
6:5; 10:37;
and 23:6.
"Agape" is used when the love being described is an unselfish love,
ready to serve and looking for opportunity to do good (See Matthew 5:43-46;
6:24; 19:19, etc.)
This is the word used most commonly in the New Testament. The
Greek
word "eros" from 
which our word
erotic comes, is not in scripture, and
yet for many people in the world that is the only concept that comes to
mind when they hear the word love. Since in English we do not
have all
these different words to describe love, it is easy to misunderstand
what the Bible is saying about love if you do not take the time to see
what Greek word is being used for love.
There is also an economy of words used in Hebrew and Greek on many subjects the Bible discusses. In Matthew 16:25-26 for example, we read:
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?... (NIV)
The words life and soul are the same Greek word in these verses. The context of the passage makes it clear what the author is attempting to convey, but the translators face a problem when a unique concept is used that does not have language accommodation available to it. In the Old Testament there is very little information about the soul of man. Ecclesiastes 12:7 talks about the soul returning to God, and Daniel 12:2-3 mentions everlasting life, but the only clear reference to the soul and its existence after life is in 2 Samuel 12:23 where David grieves for his lost son and says "I shall go to him, but he will not return to me."
In the New Testament
there are two words in Greek that
speak of the
spirit and the soul of man--"pneuma" and "psuche". In Hebrews 4:12
there is a discussion of the dividing of soul and spirit in which both
words are used. Translators have had a hard problem with these
two
words, and different translations will use the word soul and spirit in
different applications. Some examples of this are James 2:26; Matthew 10:28;
22:37; and
Luke 12:19.
In Ephesians3:16 and Romans 7:22 the Greek word "eso" is used and is
translated "inner" man. If you read through these passages it is
usually obvious what the author intends to say, but the translators
were wrestling with a new concept, and the words chosen do not always
match the context.
Scientifically we struggle with this concept, because we are describing something that is nonphysical and does not lend itself to observation through our senses. Trying to understand time causes similar problems. Even discussions of atoms, electrons, neutrinos, and quarks poses its own set of problems, because normal observation methods do not apply. If we are going to understand the nature of the soul and how it differs from spirit and body we have to use the same methods we use when we study quantum mechanics or nuclear materials. Our understandings come from indirect methods and usually involve the examination of properties that logically fit the nature of the thing we are trying to understand.
Understanding what man is needs to be
approached by understanding
what God is and how we are created in God's image. God is a
triune
being--meaning that He has three autonomous persons making up His
being. In Genesis 1 the Hebrew word "Elohim" translated God is
plural
as in "Let US create man in OUR i
mage" (verse 26).
In Acts 17:29
the term "Godhead" is used to indicate the nature of God. In John 1:1-3
and Colossians
1:15-18, Jesus is identified as the creator. Statements like
"Go ye
now therefore baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and
the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19) further emphasize this triune nature of
God. If we are created in the image of God, there logically must
be
more to us than what we can see with our naked eyes.
The first part of what composes a human is the physical body. In Genesis 2:7 we are told that God formed the body of man from the dust of the earth. The word used for the process of forming man's body is the Hebrew word "yatshir" and is not a miraculous creation, but a molding or forming as a potter might mold or form clay. In Genesis 2:19 the same description is used in the same way to describe the formation of animals. Jesus talked about man getting a new body in heaven where there is no corruption (Matthew 6:19-21), and in 1 Corinthians 15:42-55, there is a description of our physical bodies being changed into something that is not corruptible.
The second part of what composes a
human is spirit. The best
definition of spirit is "life force." In the Old Testament the Hebrew
word "nephish" is used in the second part of Genesis 2:7.
This word is also used in reference to animals (see Job 41:21)
and was understood to be a gi
ft from God that
was special. Nephish is
translated breath, but whether someone is breathing or not is not
essential to having life force. Many living things do not have
lungs,
but still have life force. A person can have their breathing
stopped in
a surgery and yet still have life force. This is not something
you can
hold in your hand or observe, and it is also not something peculiar to
man.
The third part of what composes a human is soul. The soul is what is created in the image of God. The soul is what makes us uniquely human. Genesis 1:26-27 uses the word "bara" to describe this unique and miraculous creation of God and man is identified as special and unique in His creation. It is the soul that is the inner man of Romans 7:22 and Ephesians 3:16. It is the soul that bears witness with God's Holy Spirit that we are children of God in Romans 8:16. It is the soul that is separated from the life force in Hebrews 4:12.
When humans die they
give up two things--their soul and
their
spirit. The soul returns to God (Ecclesiastes 12:7)
and the spirit leaves the body. When Jesus died on the cross he
gave up
his life force, but since Christ was God He did not give up His soul as
we do. We are created in God's image, but we are not God.
An analogy
that might be useful here is that if you own a car, you have an object
that has three integral components. It has a body, which consists
of
the engine, wheels, etc. It also has a kind of life force--which
is the
gasoline. The car actually would work with just these two.
You could
tie the steering wheel all the way over, start it and throw it in gear
and it would run in circles--perhaps for a long time. For the car
to be
able to function as it was planned however, there has to be a driver. A
human body can be kept alive by mechanical processes, but if the soul
has left the body and the life force behind, it will never do what it
was designed to do. This is, of course, the dilemma facing modern
medicine today.
There is strong evidence for all three of these components of man. The body is easy to understand, but the life force is harder. We struggle with how the brain is involved in life force, and what things we feel the life force involves. The heart can be cut out of a human body and it will continue to beat, but that certainly would not be considered by most to still possess the life force. While the life force is mysterious in some ways, it is undeniable in both man and in other forms of life. The soul of man is seen in what man does. Man's capacity to worship, his creative ability in art and music, his concept of self, his capacity for language (not speech), his ability to feel guilt and sympathy, to practice altruism, to express an agape type of love, and many other characteristics are functions of man's spiritual nature. Retarded people do these things and smart animals do not. Animals raised as humans do not do these things. The genome may be 99% the same between us and some of our animal friends, but the difference in what we do and how we do it is massive. All of this is evidence of man's soul and his unique creation in the image of God.
The notion of man being created in the image of God, and having three components has huge implications for many of the issues of our day. If man is a special creation of God with a unique soul, then human life is infinitely precious. The life force of all living things is of value and needs to be cared for and protected, but man's special nature means that special treatment should be given to all humans to allow the expression of our spiritual nature as well as our life force and our physical well being. Denying man as being special results in massive human tragedy and suffering. Religions that do not respect the uniqueness of man violate a fundamental mandate of how special man is. Questions of euthanasia, abortion, disease, pain control, conception, and countless other issues are all dramatically impacted by what we understand humans to be. It is important that Christians stand for the value of all humans, and that we teach our children and every human in the world that they have value and purpose in existing. We need to love and care for one another. If "God so loved the world [mankind] that He sent His only begotten Son.," should we not have that same love and concern for all humans? If we recognize the nature of all of God's children as special creations in His image, it will be a good beginning to addressing the ills of our day.
Back to Contents Does God Exist?, MayJun06.