Is our spirit and soul, the same thing? Many are confused on this, lately. [Spirituality & Religion]
Scripture clearly teaches that God created human beings with three parts—a spirit, soul, and body—and their corresponding functions. Man was intended to experience a close relationship with God, and therefore, He created us as a unity of both material (physical) and immaterial (spiritual) aspects (Ecclesiastes 12:7, Matthew 10:28, 1 Corinthians 5:5, 2 Corinthians 4:16; 7:1, James 2:26).
1 Thessalonians 5:23 “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
OUR BODY
Our body, of course, allows us to interact with the physical world and the things in it, through our five senses.
When we accept Jesus as our Savior, his Holy Spirit comes to live within us:
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
Then when we die, our body lies in the grave, until the resurrection of them, when Jesus comes back:
John 5:28-29 “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”
OUR SOUL
So what about our soul? Our soul is basically who we are—our mind, our emotion, and our will.
Deuteronomy 6:5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Matthew 16:26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
Luke 1:46-47 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
OUR SPIRIT
The function of our spirit, on the other hand, is to contact and receive God, Himself. Once we receive the Lord into our spirit by believing in Him, we can live our human lives in continuous contact with the Lord by using our spirit.
Our Spirit Returns to God:
And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12:7
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” Psalm 14:1
John 14:1-3 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
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It seems that when we are alive and breathing we are a living soul and when we die, no longer have the breathe of life in us, we become a dead soul
The Creation of Man
4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. 6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
We become a dead body, not soul. Many verses state that our soul and spirit live on. They are eternal. Here’s one: And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12:7 Jesus was also proof of that, when he resurrected from the grave. Death had no grip on Him. He conquered it. @GJOFJ3
Notice the verse in the Bible where Jesus and the thief on the cross are carrying on a conversation, and the thief tells Jesus he believes that Jesus is the Savior of the world. He asks Jesus to forgive him, and to remember him when Jesus dies. Jesus, in turn, said to the thief, ”Today, you shall be with Me in Paradise.” He didn’t say after the resurrection. He said as soon as that thief died, his soul would be with Jesus in Paradise. @GJOFJ3
@LadyGrace but Jesus didn't go to paradise that day. Jesus was in the tomb 3 days and 3 nights. The punctuation was added by the translators. I believe Jesus said "Truly I say to you today, you shall be with Me in Paradise."
Yes, notice in scripture that Jesus immediately went to Paradise. Sheol/hades was a realm with two divisions—a place of blessing and a place of judgment (Matthew 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27–31). The abodes of the saved and the lost are both generally called “hades” in the Bible. The abode of the saved is also called “Abraham’s bosom” (KJV) or “Abraham’s side” (NIV) in Luke 16:22 and “paradise” in Luke 23:43. The abodes of the saved and the lost are separated by a “great chasm” (Luke 16:26). When Jesus died, He went to the blessed side of sheol and, from there, took the believers with Him to heaven (Ephesians 4:8–10). @GJOFJ3
@LadyGrace well that takes a lot of adding things to scriptures. The rich man and Lazerus was a parable. Do you really believe you will watch your unsaved friends and relatives be tormented for eternity? If you go directly to heaven or hell what then is the purpose of the resurrection and great throne judgment?
Please, let’s discuss without accusations. How could I be adding to scripture, when scripture backs up what I copied from scripture? Yes, the story of the rich man and Lazarus is an illustration given so that we would know there’s no such thing as reincarnation and a few other things; that there is a place called Hell and there is a heaven. Also to note that once you go to either one, you’re there to stay.
Of course we won’t watch or even know who went to hell. It wouldn’t be heaven, if that was the case.
Without getting into tons of scripture, there are two separate holding places people can go to when they die. BOTH are in two of the different compartments in Hades. There are actually five compartments in Hades. It’s really not fair to only have time to briefly get into this. It takes deep study before conclusions can be made by the reader. I can’t do it justice with half an answer, but....
Sheol/hades was a realm with two divisions—a place of blessing and a place of judgment (Matthew 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27–31). The abodes of the saved and the lost are both generally called “hades” in the Bible. The abode of the saved is also called “Abraham’s bosom” (KJV) or “Abraham’s side” in Luke 16:22 and “paradise” in Luke 23:43. The abode of the unsaved is called “hell” (KJV) or “Hades” in Luke 16:23. The abodes of the saved and the lost are separated by a “great chasm” (Luke 16:26). When Jesus died, He went to the blessed side of sheol and, from there, took the believers with Him to heaven (Ephesians 4:8–10). The judgment side of sheol/hades has remained unchanged. All unbelieving dead go there awaiting their final judgment in the future. Did Jesus go to sheol/hades? Yes, according to Ephesians 4:8–10 and 1 Peter 3:18–20.
Some of the confusion has arisen from such passages as Psalm 16:10–11 as translated in the King James Version: “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. . . . Thou wilt show me the path of life.” “Hell” is not a correct translation in this verse. A correct reading would be “the grave” or “sheol.” Jesus said to the thief beside Him, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43); He did not say, “I will see you in hell.” Jesus’ body was in the tomb; His soul/spirit went to be with the blessed in sheol/hades. Unfortunately, in many versions of the Bible, translators are not consistent, or correct, in how they translate the Hebrew and Greek words for “sheol,” “hades,” and “hell.”
LATER, our bodies will join our spirit and the unsaved will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgement, and the believers at the Judgement Seat of Christ, Bema Seat. @GJOFJ3