I was raised in a pentecostal home. Back then, and I still think they hold to it, they thought me the view call trichotomy- which sees man as a unified being of three parts these are soul, spirit and body. But again, years later, I discovered the reformed faith and found out the view called Dichotomy- which sees man as a unified being of two parts the soul/spirit and the body. And again years later I found out that there is another view which focuses on the unity -psychosomatic unity- which is a modified version of Dichotomy. And finally I reached the monistic view which speaks of man as a being only. All other parts are just the points of perspective. So which one do you think is write and why?
ANTHROPOLOGY- MONISM, DICHOTOMY OR TRICHOTOMY?
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I go by what the Bible says. It is clear that man is spirit, soul and body. While we function as one being, each part of us has its own role to play. The Bible says,
1 Thessalonians 5:23
"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
God does not waste words. The spirit is not the soul.
We are created in God's image, in spite of the fall that has corrupted the human race. God is Spirit, so fundamentally we are spirit beings also. The soul is the organ of expression, as we see in Mary's song : (Luke 1: 46 & 47)
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!"
The purpose of the soul is to express what is in the spirit of the individual.
When Adam "died", it was his spirit man. Death is not the end of existence, obviously enough. Adam could still think, feel and make decisions. That allows to us to see the main functions of the soul. Adam's body lived for nearly 1,000 years, so death was not physical. So we can see that it was the spirit of the man that died. Death is not the end of existence. It is separation from God.
Does this matter? Indeed it does. Since it is the spirit of man that dies, it is also the part of us that God makes alive when we are born again. Our soul does not immediately change - that is a process. But the spirit becomes alive to God. It is the place where God/Jesus dwells in the Person of His Holy Spirit. John 14:23
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
God is Spirit. Lord Jesus has a glorified body so His presence is for us in the Holy Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:17)
Not understanding this truth leads to all kinds of confusion. The main issue is whether or not a believer can lose his salvation. If people knew the distinction between soul and spirit, there would be no confusion. As I said, the part of us that is born again is the spirit. That cannot be reversed. Eternal life is just that, eternal. What can be lost is the salvation of the soul. Since this is the "goal of our faith" (1 Peter 1:9), we should see this as a priority.
This post is long enough. I'm happy to discuss this further.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Gen 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 soul.
Mat 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Mat 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Rev 6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.
Job 32:8 But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
Pro 20:27 The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.
Ecc 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
Ecc 3:21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
People are flesh, soul, and spirit.
In the flesh dwells no good thing which the sin resides in the flesh.
An angel cannot be redeemed because they are one component.
When they sinned they tainted their whole being with nowhere to put off the flesh.
If a person is saved they put off the flesh and the soul is preserved.
All spirits go back to God who gave them regardless of how the person acted on earth.
No person retains the spirit in the afterlife.
A saint when with Jesus will be their soul and a glorified body which is the same for a man and a woman.
Which a man and woman are equal in the Lord.
And they will be like the angels which angels have no gender.
Lev 16:8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
Lev 16:9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.
Lev 16:10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.
Lev 16:21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
Lev 16:22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.
The flesh is like a scapegoat that when put off carries away all the sins of a saint.
It is because of the flesh we can be condemned if we do not accept the truth.
But it is because of the flesh we can be saved because we can put off the flesh with the sins and the soul is saved.
A person that dies in their sins cannot be saved for they are not in the flesh so they have nowhere to put off the sin.
They are soul which their entire being is corrupted like the fallen angels.
Many of your comments have no biblical basis. They amount to opinions with little value.
Tall_Timbers
Well-known member
Body, soul, and spirit. We are made in the image of God. Our current body is mortal and will pass away. Our Spirit will live eternally, whether our future holds heaven or the lake of fire. Our soul is our person, who we are, the sum of our experiences in this life and into forever.
Trichotomy seems to work for me. The body is what allows us to live on earth. The soul is what survives death. The spirit is what connects us to God. God told Adan not to eat of the tree because that day you eat of it you shall surely die (perhaps more accurately, dying you shall die).
The physical body did not die that day nor did the soul. What did die was our connection to God that is regenerated when one becomes a Christian.
The physical body did not die that day nor did the soul. What did die was our connection to God that is regenerated when one becomes a Christian.
2p
Let me start quoting some of the things I respectfully disagree.
"The spirit is not the soul." I disagree not with what this statement denote but in what it connotes. The idea that the spirit is something(non specific thing or person ) by itself rather than a word describing some kind of Phenomenon from some perspective.
"The purpose of the soul is to express what is in the spirit of the individual." but what about other verses like Job. 7:11, Isaiah 26:9
"When Adam "died", it was his spirit man" this interpretation and the following arguments betrays the context and the author intention. It is better to understand it in terms of God's Judgement. (I'm Happy to explain more.)
"Death is not the end of existence, obviously enough" this is not a biblical Idea. because according to the bible death is the end of existence. check out this verse. "Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 10 "Psalm 146:4 Genesis 3:19 Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 Psalm 115:17 Job 7:9-10 Ezekiel 18:4, 20
for now these are enough we can discuss along the way.
this almost the same as greek Stoic philosophy. I believe you should check your bible. It is different from the one you present.
would you mind going deeper?
Heb_4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
There is an awful lot to consider in this verse. However, the difficulty in differentiating between soul and spirit is compared with joints and marrow. How far this can be compared is a question.
If joints are comparable to the soul, we might see a mechanical structure that provides motion with the joints. The soul as cited in Hades retains perception, recognition, cognition, and some sensation. These might be seen as that which allows us to navigate as well. If the spirit is comparable to the marrow, we can see with the marrow the source of the cells that make up our blood. This might be seen as a circulating vitality.
The Greeks were mystified by pneuma as breath is taken in cold and is exhaled warm. They speculated that there was some internal vitality sometimes called "fire" that was associated with breathing.
Rom_8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
That Christians have a spirit or a restored spirit seems the case. It may be this lack that prevents the lost from having eternal life.
Heb_4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
There is an awful lot to consider in this verse. However, the difficulty in differentiating between soul and spirit is compared with joints and marrow. How far this can be compared is a question.
If joints are comparable to the soul, we might see a mechanical structure that provides motion with the joints. The soul as cited in Hades retains perception, recognition, cognition, and some sensation. These might be seen as that which allows us to navigate as well. If the spirit is comparable to the marrow, we can see with the marrow the source of the cells that make up our blood. This might be seen as a circulating vitality.
The Greeks were mystified by pneuma as breath is taken in cold and is exhaled warm. They speculated that there was some internal vitality sometimes called "fire" that was associated with breathing.
Rom_8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
That Christians have a spirit or a restored spirit seems the case. It may be this lack that prevents the lost from having eternal life.
I think You are reading between the Lines. The analogy is that the word of God is sharper than a sword in that it addresses the current situation of the recipient of the letter. As we all Know there is no link between joint and marrow, yet the writer tells as that the word of God penetrates more than and dividing asunder more than a sword. this should be taken to mean the last phrase "is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart". let me give you a hint here. thoughts and intent are also words that can be seen as soul and spirit or joint and marrow. but when seeing it in the back drop of judgement and with Mat.10:28 and Num.19:11 you can see that the writer is speaking more on fearing God and obeying his word rather than spirit or soul and so on.