What is a Soul?

I think that all of you have some sort of electric appliances in your home.  For example, you may have more than ten: television sets, radios, computers, clocks, lamps, and rice cookers.  But there is one electrical item which you won’t find in any home.  What is it?  My wife asked me this question, and I couldn’t answer it.  Because there are many people here at church, I think at least one person could answer this question.  Yes, it’s an electric chair.  I don’t think that any one of you has an electric chair at home.

I don’t think that you’d want to think about your death.  If possible, you’d want to live a happy life every day.  But if Christ’s coming is delayed, then death will surely come to us.

This morning I want you think of your death from the two words found in the Bible.  They are “soul” and “spirit.”

The Hebrew Old Testament calls the soul “nephesh.”  This word is found 754 times in the Old Testament, and it is translated as soul 312 times in NKJV.  One theologian said that the word nephesh has 45 different meanings.  So the word is widely interpreted in many ways.   

Now, what does the word nephesh mean?  First of all, it refers to the entire being, man as a whole. 

Genesis12:5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people (nephesh) whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.

The word “people” found in the verse is nephesh, or soul.  In the days of the Old Testament, people were called souls.  They are not equipped with their flesh.  They are not two different substances.  They are not cut off each other.  The whole human being is the soul. 

Secondly, nephesh not only refers to human beings but also to many other living creatures. 

Gen.1:20 Then God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures (nephesh), and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens."

1:21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing (nephesh) that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

1:24 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature (nephesh) according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind"; and it was so.

1:30 "Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life (nephesh), I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so.

Creatures of the sea, beasts of the earth, cattle, creeping creatures; all moving creatures are called “living nephesh,” living souls.  Racoons, chickens, condors, pigs, cows are all living souls.  Souls are not invisible entities.  They breathe from the mouth, see, feel, and move in search for something to eat.  The Bible calls these ordinary creatures “souls.” 

Thirdly, nephesh refers to creatures with blood. 

Lev.17:14 "for it is the life (nephesh) of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, 'You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life (nephesh) of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.'

The word “life” in verse 14 is nephesh in Hebrew which means soul.  So the soul and blood are one, and cannot be differentiated.  All creatures with blood are called souls.  They are not invisible spiritual living creature. 

Fourthly, nephesh refers to a man who sins and dies. 

Ez.18:20 "The soul (nephesh) who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

A soul sins and dies.  The soul is responsible for what he sees, hears, thinks, and acts.  The soul is never saved for good, while the body is punished.

Fifthly, nephesh is the centre of emotional activities in man. 

Ps.35:9 And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord; It shall rejoice in His salvation.

84:2 My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

A soul expresses our feelings.  Our soul is a place where we rejoice, express our sadness and where we pray.

Thus, the soul is unlike the air which you can’t see, but is the whole essence of a man or an animal who sees, hears, thinks, feels, and acts. 

Then, what about the spirit?  What is the spirit?  When a man dies, what will happen to his spirit? 

First, the spirit is breath.

Job33:4 The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

The word spirit and breath are synonymous.  Their meanings are very similar. If you want to distinguish their differences, you might say that a breath is calm, peaceful, physical breathing, while the spirit is the more active and dynamic breathing.  So what God breathed into the nostrils of Adam was the breath of God.

2:7 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 being.

Second, the spirit is life.

Isaiah38:16 O Lord, by these things men live; And in all these things is the life of my spirit; So You will restore me and make me live.

This was the prayer of Hezekiah when he suffered from his disease.  The spirit is the power of God which restores us and makes us live.

But when the spirit departs us, we will die.

Job34:14 If He should set His heart on it, If He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath,

34:15 All flesh would perish together, And man would return to dust.

Eccl.12:7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.

There are two items to clarify.  One of them is that man depends 100% upon God’s spirit.  When His spirit is withdrawn, man cannot live.  The other is when he dies, whether he may be evil or godly, the spirit returns to God. His destiny is decided not when he dies but when the Lord comes back at the end of the world. 

Ps.146:4 His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish.

Here it says “his plans perish.”  But this is not a correct translation.  The Seventh-day Adventist Dictionary says that his thoughts perish.  KJV, the LXX (Septuagint) and the Vulgate support it.  When a man dies, his thoughts completely perish.

Spirit is not only found in man but also in all creatures. 

Gen.7:15 And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath (spirit) of life.

7:22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died.

Eccl.3:19 For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath (spirit); man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity.

3:20 All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust.

Ps.104:29 You hide Your face, they (Leviathan: sea creature) are troubled; You take away their breath (spirit), they die and return to their dust.

Beasts of the earth and creatures in the sea all have spirits like man, and the spirits return to God when they die.  Their souls die away, their flesh returns to dust, and their thoughts perish.  Our entire being will disappear from the earth.  This is what the Old Testament speaks about death.

Now what lesson can we learn from this study?  It is humility.  We ought to humbly accept that we will just return to the earth.  We need to accept that we have life just because the spirit from God abides with us, but when the spirit returns to Him we will lose our existence.  Our thoughts will perish completely.  In the past Satan tempted Eve by saying the following.

 

Gen.3:4 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.

3:5 "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Satan said Eve, “You will not surely die whatever you may do.”  He said, “You will become clever like God even if you do something against Him.”  But that was not true.  She did not become clever, but the earth was cursed, her good relationship with her husband was broken, she bore children with pain, she found food with pain, and she died with pain.  Human beings cannot become clever like God.  If they try to be like God, they will fall into the same trap. 

Eternal like is not automatically given to us.  It is given with a condition.  That is to believe in Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour and to follow Him.  Without this condition we will be dust for good.  We will lose our spirit permanently.  Our thoughts will be lost for good.  Reuniting with our families will never happen.  We will never enjoy communion with our God.  Our present life as well as our eternal life depends upon Him. It is because we have the spirit from God that we have life. It is because Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins that we have a promise of eternal life.  It is not by our own strength but God’s that we can live now and for ever more.  Let us humbly accept this truth and give thanks to the Lord.

When I was in the Philippines, I had the privilege of visiting a prison in Muntinlupa City.  It was 60 years ago, on January, 1946, that 14 Japanese soldiers were executed.  6 of them believed in Christ and were baptised.  Before the execution they prayed for their country.  They prayed for their families.  They prayed for their executioners.  One of those soldiers was Shuichi Nakamura.  As he stood on the platform, he refused to wear a blindfold.  He said to Dr Nelson, the president of Philippine Union College, “Thank you for your help. I am very happy to have faith in Jesus and to be ready to go back to His place. Thank you,” and shook his hands with him.  Dr Nelson said to him, “Good night.  See you again in the next morning.”  Mr Nakamura said, “See you again in the day of the second coming.” 

Mr Nakamura returned to dust, and his spirit returned to God.  His soul left this world.  His thoughts perished for now.  But he has the promise of resurrection at the second coming of Jesus.  Why?  Because he believed in Jesus.  He believed that God would give him a new spirit.  He humbly believed in salvation of Jesus.

Isaiah57:15 For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

The Lord dwells within those who have a contrite and humble spirit, and He sustains their lives.  Let us accept our weakness and humbly follow the ways of the Lord.  We will return to dust someday, and our spirits will return to Him.  But let us trust in the power of the Spirit of the Lord who will raise us from the dead. And let us humbly follow Him daily.