The Difference Between Spirit and Soul [Spirituality & Religion]

We have both spirit and soul. [b]Both[/b] are imperishable. They are part of every human being, that lasts eternally after the body experiences death. Simply put, without your soul, you wouldn’t be alive.

The words "soul" and "spirit" are found throughout the Bible, each occurring hundreds of times in the Old and New Testaments. The Hebrew word translated "soul" means a breathing creature, one in which life is present, whether physical life or mental life. The Greek word in the New Testament is similar. In its most basic sense, the word "soul" means "life," either physical or eternal. Jesus asks what it profits a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul, referring to his eternal life (Matthew 16:26). Both Old and New Testaments reiterate that we are to love God completely, with the whole "soul" which refers to everything that is in us that makes us alive (Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Mark 12:30). Whenever the word "soul" is used, it can refer to the whole person, whether physically alive or in the afterlife.

The word "spirit" is used to denote something different in Scripture, although both the Hebrew and Greek words translated "spirit" also have the concept of breath or wind at their roots. We understand the difference by looking at the context of the verses that refer to the spirit of man. Unlike the soul, which is alive both physically and eternally, the spirit can be either alive, as in the case of believers, (1 Peter 3:18), or dead as unbelievers are (Colossians 2:13; Ephesians 2:4-5). The spiritual part of believers in Jesus Christ is that which responds to the things that come from the Spirit of God, understanding and discerning them spiritually. The spiritually dead perceive the things of the Spirit to be "foolishness" because, in his spiritually dead conditions, he does not have the ability to discern the things of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:12-14). The spirit is that part of us that is enabled by God to know and worship Him, the part of humanity that "connects" with God, who Himself is Spirit (John 4:24).

While the two words are often used interchangeably, the primary distinction between soul and spirit in man is that the soul is the animate life, or the seat of the senses, desires, affections, and appetites. The spirit is that part of us that connects, or refuses to connect, to God. Our spirits relate to His Spirit, either accepting His promptings and conviction, thereby proving that we belong to Him (Romans 8:16) or resisting Him and proving that we do not have spiritual life (Acts 7:51).

The phrase "breath of life" comes originally from a verse in Genesis describing the creation of man. "The Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature" (Genesis 2:7). The breath of life was what turned man from a lifeless collection of matter into a living creature. In other words, man was unfeeling and unliving, and God breathed into his nostrils, and he became a thinking, feeling creature.
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[c=#BF0000]Genesis 2:7 - “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.”[/c][/b]

Hebrews 9:27 makes it clear that a person lives only one time in this world. It teaches, "it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment." Only two options exist for the soul's existence after this life: eternity in heaven with the Lord (John 3:16) or eternally apart from the Lord (Matthew 25:46). Contrary to belief, the choice to follow Christ, is [u]not[/u] done by believers out of fear, but voluntarily, out of great love and thankfulness to our Creator, for all He has done for us. There is no fear in perfect love, and that is what God’s love, person, and plan of salvation is...perfect! Without Him, none could ever experience heaven, nor see loved ones again.

But what about the beginning of life? Have souls existed from eternity past, reinhabiting new bodies or life forms in a repeated cycle of life? The Bible teaches in Psalm 139:13 that, "you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb." Though this Psalm is poetic in nature, the focus is on the origin of the soul in the mother's womb. In addition, Genesis 1—2 reveals the creation of human life, along with the creation of their souls, by God (Genesis 2:7). By God —- not evolution. We either believe what God said, as a perfect, sinless, person, or what man says, with his limited thinking. Man cannot even save his own soul, let alone figure life out. Yet he arrogantly and foolishly, sometimes thinks he’s smarter and wiser than God. His understanding is futile against the wisdom of God, to say the least. He once tried to build a tower to reach heaven. The Tower of Babel. Genesis 10:10. We see how that worked.

Though some people believed in reincarnation during the time of Jesus, He denied He was a reincarnated being, and told them that physically, we live and die, only once.

Reincarnation is not biblical. In the end, God will create a new heavens, new earth, and new heavenly Jerusalem where His people will dwell with Him forever (Revelation 21—22). Only in that sense will humans return to earth again, this time to live in eternal joy with the Creator God.