What is the difference between spirit and soul? Do our English Bibles use these words interchangeably?
You'll forgive my saying it, but I am delighted to hear you struggle. When it comes to defining soul, I struggle too!
Well, there are occasions when Scripture itself uses the term 'soul' and 'spirit' almost interchangeably. Things that are said of the soul are said of the spirit and therefore people have concluded that they are two terms which appear to be different but actually mean the same thing in the end, and apply to the same thing. For myself, I think that can be generally true, but there are certain things that are said of the spirit where you could not possibly put in place the term 'soul'. 'The words I speak unto you, they are soul, they are life?' No, they are spirit, they are life. 'God is soul?' No, God is spirit. There are areas where soul and spirit are two different things. They may overlap, but I think they're not the same thing exactly. I think it's a question to be faced, what do we mean by 'soul'? That God aims to sanctify spirit, soul and body—that is so. Our bodies are not completely sanctified at the moment. God intends to complete his work. And the question of our souls likewise comes up.
And I'll give you another reason for thinking seriously about these things—not so as to argue with one another and fall out and form another denomination! But it's there to think about because, as you now know, there are evangelicals who deny the soul completely. They'll say man is a soul, not that he has a soul, and they regard the human being as being nothing but physics—non-reductionist physicalism, it's called. They believe that when the Lord comes, there will be a resurrection. There'll be a resurrection of the body, but God has the computer programme, or whatever you call it, the cell index or whatever, and can rebuild us, and is not short of potassium to do it with. But there's no soul, they say. And in our conversation with our scientist friends, in the advancing brain science now, if we meet at that level at all, we must be prepared to give a reason for the hope within us that there is a non-material part to the human being. But on this matter of soul, I recommend it to you. I make the observation that some of our thinking has been infiltrated by Greek philosophy. It was Plato that taught and used the term 'immortal soul'. You'll not find the phrase 'immortal soul' in Scripture. The soul lives on, yes. You won't find the actual phrase 'immortal soul' in Scripture, and sometimes I think we've borrowed a little bit too much from the Greek philosophers!
