Body, Soul, Spirit – The Human Trinity.

A short study on the body, soul, spirit, flesh, heart.

The Body:

OT Hebrew 5315 “nephesh” (neh’-fesh); 419 times

from 5314; properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental):

NT Greek 4982-3 “Soma”  Corporeal or physical. Can be used literally or figuratively.

The Flesh:

Flesh: Original Greek Word: σάρξ, σαρκός, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: sarx
Phonetic Spelling: (sarx)
Definition: flesh
Usage: flesh, body, human nature, materiality; kindred.

probably from the base of 4563; flesh (as stripped of the skin), i.e. (strictly) the meat of an animal (as food), or (by extension) the body (as opposed to the soul [or spirit], or as the symbol of what is external, or as the means of kindred), or (by implication) human nature (with its frailties [physically or morally] and passions), or (specifically) a human being (as such):

The Soul:
Greek: psuché: breath, the soul

Original Word: ψυχή, ῆς, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: psuché
Phonetic Spelling: (psoo-khay’)
Definition: breath, the soul
Usage: (a) the vital breath, breath of life, (b) the human soul, (c) the soul as the seat of affections and will, (d) the self, (e) a human person, an individual.

Animus or animating principle or part; animal life; self-preserving; intellectual, emotional; heart,

The Heart:

Hebrew Leb; will, intellect, feelings, center of being.

Ex 25:2

Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.

Jer 17:9-10

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

Original Word: καρδία, ας, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: kardia
Phonetic Spelling: (kar-dee’-ah)
Definition: heart
Usage: lit: the heart; mind, character, inner self, will, intention, center.

Mark 12:30-31

Rom 10:8-10

8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

The spirit:

4151 pneuma (pnyoo’-mah);

from 4154; a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, demon, or (divine) God, Christ’s spirit, the Holy Spirit:

KJV– ghost, life, spirit (-ual, -ually), mind. Compare 5590.

Webster:

Temper, humor, disposition of mind, personality, individuality.

The Unorthodox view

The Soul:
The soul is man’s human nature, or psyche. This is what identifies us as humans. It would equate with the “heart” or center, and therefore would be the “inner man” in the above illustration, rather than the spirit. Since Jer. 17:9 says it is “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked,” it therefore qualifies as that which is “corruptible“ (by sin). For this reason I do not believe it is what is “clothed upon with our house which is from heaven.” (2 Cor. 5:2), or our heavenly body.

The Body

Since flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom, neither can it be what is clothed upon. I would place it in the outer man position rather than the soul, which is the inner man or center of man’s being. It is what is visible to the world. Our mind, feelings, thoughts and emotions are only made visible to the world by the words that come out of our mouths.

The Flesh

I think the flesh is a combination of body and soul: the body being, literally a piece of flesh; the soul, figuratively speaking, a piece of flesh. Both are wholly given over to the satisfaction and preservation of one another, .

The Spirit

We’re not talking about the Holy Spirit, but rather our human spirit, which is the element of our triune being that God the Holy Spirit bears witness to (Rom. 8:16) This would be the outermost man in the illustration. While the body and the soul identify us as humans, the spirit is what gives us our individual personality. It is the invisible aura surrounding us that goes with us everywhere, and actually precedes us. Since Eccl. 12:7 says, upon the death of the body, “the spirit shall return unto God who gave it,” I believe this is what is clothed upon with our house which is from heaven.

Some may contend that this is the same as teaching soul sleep, but that is unfounded, as I believe the soul of the believer dies with the body, and the spirit returns to God.

Does this mean anyone in the body of Christ is presently in heaven? No, I don’t believe so, because it says in 1 Tim. 6:16 that no man but the Lord himself is dwelling in that light.

If our earthly bodies are not what goes to heaven, what happens to them?

As far as I’m concerned, this is an academic question. But for academic purposes, here’s what I think: I believe they either vanish, turn into dust and return to the earth as Eccl. 12:7 says, or maybe they remain here and are inhabited by an evil spirit that tells people who are left behind a lie, viz. that they can be saved by grace. (2 Thess 2:11)