A Bible lesson by Ivor Jefferies
1. Gen. 2:7 says that God made man with an inner- and an outer nature. How does the Bible describe these?
Read Matt. 10:28, 22:37, 1 Thess. 5:23.
2. Some religions teach that our souls existed in heaven, or in another life before we were born. What does the Bible teach?
Read Gen. 2:7, Eccl. 11:5, Isa. 42:5, Zech. 12:1, Heb. 9:27.
3. Many psychologists do not believe we have a soul, but say that our brain is responsible for all that we think and feel. What does the Bible say?
Read Deut. 6:5, 1 Cor. 2:11, Mark 7:21, Rev. 14:13.
Christians disagree on whether man consists of two parts, or three. Some say that we are body, soul and spirit (1 Thess. 5:23, Heb. 4:12), while others say the Bible uses soul and spirit interchangeably (Luke 1:46-47, John 12:27, 13:21). I lean toward the latter view, but this is not a hill I would die on.1
4. The ancient Greeks and some cults believe that your soul is the real you; what you do with your body does not matter much. What does God say?
Read 1 Cor. 6:19-20, Rom. 12:1.2
Christians typically say that Jesus died to save our souls, but it would be more biblical to say that He died to save us: the whole man, body and soul.
5. What did Jesus have to do in order to save your body and soul?
Read Heb. 10:5, 2:14, 17-18, Mark 14:34, Luke 22:44, 1 Pet. 2:24.
6. What does this mean for the way you treat your body and soul?
Read Lev. 19:28, Rom. 6:12-13, 1 Cor. 6:12-18, 9:27, 1 Tim. 4:8, 5:23, Matt. 27:5, John 19:38-42 and Prov. 4:23, 2 Cor. 4:16, 7:1, Luke 10:27.
7. What happens to your body and soul after you die?
Read Jas. 2:26, Luke 16:22-25, Acts 7:59, 8:2, 2 Cor. 5:8, Phil. 1:21-23, 3:20-21, 1 Cor. 15:42-44, 52-53.
1 Charles Spurgeon, the great English preacher of the 19th century, said that man in his fallen state has a body and soul. When a man is regenerated his spirit is created within him, so that he consists of body, soul and spirit [Charles Spurgeon, The Soul Winner (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1995), 24-5]. Another great British preacher from the 20th century, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, agreed that man has three parts, and saw an important distinction between a man's soul and his spirit [D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans: Exposition of Chapter 12—Christian Conduct [Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2000), 71]. In my view Wayne Grudem gives a good defense for why we consists of two parts and not three [Systematic Theology (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994, 2007), 472-89].
2 Note that Gen. 3:19 refers to your body as you: “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (emphasis mine).