THE SPIRIT AND THE SOUL

"For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Heb 4:12).

Devotion 4 of 15

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

The distinction between the spirit and the soul cannot be made thoroughly in the realm of academics. Often the words are used in very similar ways. "But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night THY SOUL (psuche) shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" (Lk 12:20). "But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of THE SOUL (psuche)" (Heb 10:39). "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: THE SPIRIT (pneuma) indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matt 26:41). "And HER SPIRIT (pneuma) came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat" (Lk 8:55).

In each of these cases, the point being made is that man is more than what can be seen. There is a part of us that transcends the bodily senses. That unseen part, when separated from the body, inducts death. As it is written, "For as the body without the spirit (pneuma) is dead . . . " (James 2:26). Sometimes that unseen part, separated from the body at death, is called the "soul" (Matt 10:28; Heb 6:19). Sometimes it is called the "spirit" (Job 32:8; Luke 23:46).

In a poignant expression of Mary's response to the news she would bear the Savior, Luke speaks of her inner person. He employs both "soul" and "spirit" in a Hebraism, using the words interchangeably. "And Mary said, My soul (psuche) doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit (pneuma) hath rejoiced in God my Savior" (Luke 1:46-47).

Raising the dead

The Scriptural accounts of the raising of two dead bodies will serve to again illustrate the general use of these two words. When the mighty prophet Elijah raised the son of the widow of Zarephath, the "soul" was depicted as returning into the lad's body. "And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this CHILD'S SOUL (nephesh) come into him again. And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and THE SOUL (nephesh) of the child came into him again, and he revived" (1 Kings 17:21-22).

When Jesus raised Jairus' daughter to life, her "spirit" is said to have returned to her body. "And HER SPIRIT (pneuma) returned, and she rose immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat" (Luke 8:55). In both cases, the unseen part of the human constitution is meant. The words "soul" and "spirit" were not used in the most precise sense, as they are elsewhere.

PRAYER POINT: Father, through Jesus, strengthen me with might by Your Spirit in the inner man, so Christ may dwell in my heart by faith.

-- TOMORROW: COME HIGHER! --