Expert: Rev C.Brian Ross - 12/26/2010

Question
Hi. I'm a Christian, and have been all my life. Lately, I have read about the relationship between the spirit, soul and body of a human. So far I understand, there are three main views:
1. A human is made up of a spirit, soul, and a body.
2. A human is made up of a soul and a body.
3. A human is one entity, where the soul and body are inseparable.
Which of these is most biblical sound? Or is this topic more complicated than so?

Answer
Hi Mark
This question isn’t really within the area of any expertise that I may have (it is Systematic Theology, rather than Biblical Studies!), but I found it interesting, and am willing to share some thoughts on the subject!

The first thing to say is that your final question is probably correct!  The whole topic is much more complex that mere human beings are capable of fully understanding!

I subscribe to the concept of us being dichotomic beings – i.e. composed of just two parts: the body and the spirit.  The concept of the soul as a third, and separate, element has more to do with Greek philosophy than with Biblical theology.  Indeed, within Scripture, the terms ‘spirit’ and ‘soul’ are sometimes used synonymously.  For example, in Gen. 41:8 and Ps.42:6 the same Hebrew word (a cognate of nephesh) is translated by the two different terms (the most modern translations may use totally different words to even ‘soul’ or ‘spirit’!).

In the beginning, we are told that “... the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Gen 2:7).  I’ll not go into the fine detail of the Hebrew here but, in that original language, it seems clear to me that the body (formed from the dust of the ground) had the breath of God (divine inspiration/intellect) breathed into it [two elements: body and spirit], and became a living being (this, just to confuse the issue, is also nephesh in the Hebrew language, which has no separate word for the body as an organism!).  In other words, the Bible seems to teach that we are composed of two elements – body and spirit – that, together, make a complete living being.   We could follow this through in the New Testament with the Greek language word psyche, which is usually (if not always!) translated as ‘soul’ (e.g. Rev.6:9).  In Greek, it is the word pneuma that is translated as ‘spirit’.

The one thing of which we may be certain is that in neither Testament is the word ‘soul’ (nephesh/psyche) used to refer, exclusively, to the non-physical part of the human being.
So, I would contend that your #2 is the most in accord with Biblical teaching.

I trust that the above will be of some small assistance, but I am aware that it may not be as full an answer as you might have been expecting!  It might be wise to check with an expert whose major field is that of Systematic Theology!  

Blessings
C.Brian Ross (Rev)