Copyright 2024 by Joan Berry
Abstract
The following essay is brief, but informative paper to discuss the difference between soul and spirit, false teachings, and the doctrine of the Trinity. To some, the subjects are unfathomable, and to others, they are at best confusing. By much study of the Bible and prayer, theologians such as Grudem, Mcgrath, and others have helped us, who are in Christ, gain a better understanding. One thing that confuses us is false teaching. Just about the time you and your spirit connect and you begin to ‘get’ it, someone who has his/her own opinion without any Bible study or commitment to the Savior, tries to plant the seed of unbelief. This paper will begin with the four most common fallacies about soul and spirit so the reader can compare them with the Word of God. The sources for this paper are Bibles, Systematic Theology, Torah, and Apologetics listed in the Bibliography.
Fallacy
Fallacy1. A human is a spirit with a body wrapped around it.
Fallacy 2, Soul sleep.
Fallacy 3. Praying for the dead.
Fallacy 4. Spirit and soul are the same thing.
Fallacy 1
Following are verses that tell us that we are created in the image of God therefore, we are made with a spirit and a soul as well. That we are a “Spirit” is not a biblical teaching. However, we are a soul.
God created mankind in His image and we know that God is Spirit. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and truth.” (John 4.24).
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
So God created mankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1.26-27).
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5.23).
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4.12).
The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. (I Corinthians 2.14).
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Romans 8.16).
Our lives are in the hands of God and when that time comes to be with God, our mortality is over, ”. . .and the dust returns to the ground and the Spirit returns to God who gave it.” (Ecc. 12.7).
Fallacy 2: Soul Sleep
Soul sleeping is another fallacy that is not a biblical teaching. In the following biblical verses, you will learn that at death the soul goes directly to God. ‘Presence’ with God means just that–not being elsewhere. Sleep/sleeping are normally synonyms for death. However, in some portions of the Scriptures, those words are interchangeable. (Example: Ecc. 12.7. and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it). The words soul and spirit are also interchangeable in other scriptures.
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.
We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. (II Cor. 5.8).
I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far. ( Philippians 1.23).
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me paradise.” (Luke 23.29).
Fallacy 3: Praying for the dead
Praying for the dead in Christ is not a biblical teaching. At death, the soul returns to God who gave it to us. (Matt. 10.28). Those in Christ are already with God.
Fallacy 4: Spirit and soul are the same thing
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5.23). From the beginning, as recorded in Genesis 1.26-27, God created humans in His image. As we have an almighty God, it stands to reason that we, too, are composed of body, soul, and spirit. God breathed the breath of life into man and he became a living being — a soul.
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matt. 10.28).
“Hearing the word ‘soul’ clearly must refer to that part of the person that exists after death” (Grudem 1994). Here, we are told that the soul is eternal. Once the soul is created, it never ceases to exist. Humans have a spirit but at its core is a soul. The soul is who we are, the essence of our humanity (Grudem 1994). People are referred to as souls in the Scriptures: Exodus 31.14, Proverbs 11.30, and Psalms 16. 9-10, Ezekiel 18.4, 1 Peter 1.22 and 2.25, Acts 2.41, and Rev. 18.13.
The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. (Deuteronomy 30:6).
Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you (James 1:21).
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. (1 Cor. 2.4).
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”(John 4:24).
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12).
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your Matthews (22:37).
Or The Lord our God is one Lord; or The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; or The Lord is our God, the Lord alone Deuteronomy (6:4).
So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.”(1 Corinthians 8:4).
A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one (Galatians 3:20).
For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, (1 Timothy 2.5).
Below is the best symbol for the Trinity we are aware of (GotQuestions.org),
But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed, these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping (2 Peter 2
Bibliography
All Bible Verses used are from Life Application Study Bible NIV(2005) and BibleGateway.org
BibleGateway.org ( 2008). HarperCollins Christian Publisher, https:/www.biblegateway.com/login/
Got Questions Ministries. (2002-2024). https://www.gotquestions.org/.
Grudem, Wayne. (1994). Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Bible Doctrine: Grand Rapids MI. Zondervan Publisher.
Life Application Study Bible NIV(2005) New International Version: Grand Rapids MI
Tyndale House Publisher and Zondervan.
New King James Version Study Bible (2nd Edition). Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. H., Hause, H. W., Editors: Nashville TN. Thomas Nelson.
The Torah: A Modern Commentary. (2005, 2006). W. Gunther Plaut, General Editor: New York NY. Union for Reform Judaism.
The Apologetics study Bible: Christian Standard Bible (2017). Ted Cabol, General Editor. Nashville TN: Harmon Bible