THE UNDIVIDABLE DIVISION

Chapter two

 

The following questions concerning soul and spirit are often asked. These questions along with their brief biblical answers are designed to help you and inspire further study into the subject matter under discussion.

IS SPIRIT OR SOUL JUST A "BREATH" AS SOME WOULD INDICATE?

"Spirit" and "breath" are shown as two separate things in Job.34:14. Try substituting the word "breath" in place of "spirit" in Ro.2:29; Heb.12:23; 2Cor.7:1; 1Cor.15:5; Mk.2:8; Gal. 6:18 etc. Likewise try substituting the word "breath" in the place of "spirit" in Psa.19:7; 106:15; Lk.12:19; 1Ths.5:23; 2Ptr.2:8. Man’s spirit has intelligence---1Cor.2:11; 1Jn.4:1-3. Breath most certainly does not. Most people have the intelligence to believe there is more than just breath involved here.

WHERE IS PHYSICAL DEATH SHOWN AS A SEPARATION OF THE SPIRIT FROM THE BODY?

See Gen.3:19; Eccl.8:8; 12:7. "Giving up the ghost" is another term. See Gen.25:8; 35:29; Jb.14:10; Ac.5:10; Jas.2:26. It is the spirit that gave natural life to the body—Jas.2:26; Jn.3:5,6; Lk.8:55; Gen.35:18; Jb.34:14+; Jb.10:11,12.

TO WHAT PLACE DID THE DEPARTED SPIRITS GO?

In Gen.35:29 and 49:29 they were gathered unto their people. See also 1Sam.28:19. Jacob believed he would go down into sheol unto his son in mourning—Gen.37:35. He did not mean the natural grave as Jacob believed his son had been literally devoured by a beast.

David said he also was going to be with his departed child upon his own death. "But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him , but he shall not return to me" (2Sam.12:23) and would then "dwell in the house of the Lord [sheol at that time] forever." [ "olam"…for an undisclosed, or indefinite age or period of time] Psa.23:6. Generally speaking, all human spirits in the Old testament times went to "sheol". This place of the abode of the dead was also translated as hell, the grave, the pit.

In the New Testament, the word for the abode of the unregenerate dead is hades. Sheol is the same as hades—Psa.16:10; Ac.2:27. The "grave" was merely the resting place for dead physical bodies. The Old Testament conditions beyond the grave were at that time, not yet fully revealed by the holy Spirit. Christ’s coming brought this into light and revelation—2Tim.1:10. All that was formerly generally known was that the grave was a place where former activities of life ceased. There was no distinction between the abode of the righteous and unrighteous but before He set captives free, Christ depicted hades as two abodes—Lk.16:19-31.

IS THE SPIRIT AND SOUL IN A CONSCIOUS STATE AFTER DEATH?

Lk.15:19-31 portrays at least one obscure truth…whether it be a parable or not. The souls [spiritual bodies with conscious minds] of the physically departed are shown as talking, hearing, feeling, remembering etc. In another passage figurative of hell, Jonah prayed and cried out from the belly of hell and God heard him—Jn.2:2.

Look at such scriptures as Psa.55:14; Isa.14:9,10; Deut.32:22; Ezk.32:21 and 37:ll. David’s soul would have to be alive and conscious to "bless the Lord forevermore." Psa.115:18. Saul also believed in life following physical death—1Sam.28:15-20. David and Saul saw a conscious afterlife even before they died.

The others were personalities that were certainly not unaware of themselves or their conscious state of existence. They do not seem to have a lack of any sensory awareness at all—Psa.139:7,8.

We see in Matt.10:28 the soul being depicted as being alive in hell. Alive in the sense of personal awareness and consciousness. In Matt.17:3; Lk.9:30, Moses and Elijah whose bodies were long dead were depicted in a state of consciousness.

See also 1Sam.chptr.28. In Heb.12:1 the faithful dead are now witnesses or spectators. The same word for witnesses is used in Ac.1:8.

If we have the son and the Spirit of the Son, do not we then obviously share the same conscious life that He has? If we have the mind and Spirit of Christ, do we not also have the same age enduring, everlasting eternally conscious spirit-soul substance as He? Would not our spirit-soul be eternal in its make up and ever conscious in the same manner as His? See such scriptures as Jb.33:29,30; Psa. 22:26; 2Cor.5:6-8; Phil.1:21-24; 3:20; Rev.6:9-11. Even in the natural realm of natural life, though our bodies sleep (sleep being the parallel to death in scripture-Jn.11:11-13) we are still conscious…able to think, dream, talk, and even walk in our sleep. Why would Jesus liken the human spirit’s state in death like unto natural sleep if these things were not synonymous in the spiritual realm?

Note that there are men conscious in heaven even before the great tribulation and the coming of the Lord—1Cor.9:13; Rev.5:3; Rev.5:8-10, 13; 12:12; 15:2-4; 17:14; 19:1,10,l4; Matt.5:12; Zec.3:7. Jesus would not have preached to the spirits in sheol if they were asleep, unconscious or none existent—1Ptr.3:18,19; 4:6; Jer.31:25. How can the "whole creation" be said to be earnestly expecting, intensely longing and travailing together in pain together until now if most of the past creatures are dead physically, oblivious to feeling or consciousness in anycapacity until some future resurrection? Ro.8:19-23. In relation to the spirits in sheol "When He ascended upon high, He led captivity captive and gave fits unto men." Eph.4:18. He gave them gifts of eternal life that they might continue in spiritual life from that point on "according to God in the spriit."1Prtr.4:6. There is a family of God’s children now in heaven as well as on earth (Eph.3:15) risen with Christ (Eph.2:5,6), not unto eternal (age enduring) death or sleep but rather unto eternal, age lasting and beyond, conscious life in Him.

DO THE WORDS "SLEEP", "SLEPT", "FELL ASLEEP" MEAN UNCONSCIOUSNESS OR NON-EXISTENCE?

There are various meanings of death in scripture but none refer to the unconscious sleep of the soul and/or the spirit of man. There are some scriptures used by some to support the idea that all the dead are unconscious and/or are in limbo or some interim state of non-existence until resurrection. In the case of Psa.115:17, simply read this in context with the scriptures on either side of this. For Eccl.9:5,10, also read in the whole context…"under the sun" obviously means "in this world", pertaining to our natural, physical earthly life and existence. Psa.102:26 says, "They [the work of the natural hands] shall perish [in or out from this real of natural life], but thou [as a created spiritual body and eternally existing being] shalt endure." Psa.102:26; 116:8,9.

"Death" is not total annihilation. Death is only a separation between two realms---not the eternal extinction of God created spirits or personalities—Isa.59:1,2; 2Cor.5:8; Jn.11:23,26; Phil.1:21-23.

"Destroy", "destruction", "perish", "consume" etc. do not in any way indicate annihilation. Try substituting the true meaning of the word "annihilate" for "destroyed" or "destruction" in scriptures such as Psa.78:45; Jb.19:10; 21:17; Isa.34:2; Jer.17:8; Heb.2:14. It becomes nonsense. Therefore, scripture such as 2Ths.1:9 are hardly speaking of the concept of ‘putting out of existence.’ These words and those Hebrew and Greek words from which they are translated have numerous meanings including "loosed", "dissolved", "severed". "broken", "demolished", "abolished", "wasted", "marred" etc. The idea has nothing to do with total extinction---but rather ruin and loss of well being—Hos.13:9,10. Jesus said, "Destroy this temple [body] and in three days I will raise it up." Jn.2:19. Is that utter extinction or annihilation in any sense?

"Perished" is not annihilation either. Rather, it means "ruin" or "rendered unfit for intended use." The wine bottles perished but their substance did not cease to exist –Matt.9:16,17; Lk.15:17; Nu.17:12; 2Ptr.3:6. The earth and heavens shall perish but only in the sense of changing—Heb.1:10-12. In Matt.10: and 15:24, the original word for "perish" is a word meaning "lost". "Consumed" is the same idea. You cannot sensibly substitute "annihilate" in the following examples: 1Sam.27:1; Psa.6:7; Psa.31:10; Gal.5:15.

All this leads us to another thought. Can man be put away from the presence of an omnipresent God and still not be in a state of annihilation or non-existence? The answer is yes. See Gen.4:16; Psa.138:8. Truth reveals that sin separates—Isa.59:2; Hos.5:6. It does not irradicate nor annihilate God’s created spiritual souls. What kind of loving Father would eternally exterminate and destroy, or as the majority believe, eternally punish his own offspring? We have shown that all which is in the first "death", is the ultimate form of interim separation from God—Ezk.18:4; Ro.6:23. The wages of any sin is neither annihilation nor eternal damnation as judgment or punishment. The wages of sin is death (Ro.6:23), death that in the natural world brings eventual physical death and in the spiritual world, void of the saving grace of God, separates ones spirit and soul from that quality of eternal life through Christ.

It is only the sin and death that holds the spirits of men in bondage that is destined to be annihilated once and for all in order that God may become "all in all." 1Cor.15:25-28. Just as assuredly as Jesus died for all men, so assuredly will the divine impartation of His life draw all men back unto Himself, literally abolishing all death through the power of His resurrection life—1Cor.15:21-28; Jn.12:32; Ro.5:14-21; Col.1:27.

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Yes, dearly beloved, whenever the silver cord shall be loosed, or the golden bowl or the pitcher shall be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern [and the whole circulatory system of the natural body ceases to function], "then shall the dust [the natural elements of man’s body] return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." Eccl.12:6,7.

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"There is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. Great men are not always wise:neither do the aged understand judgment." Jb.32:8,9

The regenerate spirit of man is always God conscious.

The unregenerate spirit of man is always self conscious.

The regenerate soul is always God conscious.

The unregenerate soul is always self conscious.

The body is sense or world conscious.

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Ross McKay

 

*For further information in relation to the foregoing subject be sure to also read "The Spirit Within".