What is the difference between our soul and our spirit?

Answer 1

Good question I'd say they are the same thing, but I guess your spirit possibly resides in your soul.

Answer 2

The spirit is the intangible part of the soul. The soul, however, is both body and spirit. Evidence for this is in the Book of Genesis. God created Adam's body from the dust of the earth, but He breathed the breath of life into it, and then, the Scripture says, "man became a living soul." (Genesis 2:7) This verse would indicate that the soul is a combination of the spirit, the true person, which controls this elaborate suit called the body.

Answer 3

Well, this is a tough one. It sort of depends on whether you believe the Bible is true, and then it actually differs by which translation you read. But, I understand the soul to be that part of a person that is their life force. It doesn't necessarily die when the body dies, but it can be destroyed by the creator. Spirit, on the other hand, is a bit harder to explain, I think of it more as a person's emotional state. For example, you can have a broken spirit, but that can change and you can have a joyful spirit at another time. The soul doesn't change. Hope that helps. You can check out different translations of the Bible at www.biblegateway.com.

Answer 4

You have heard the term in a time of a disaster 20 Souls were lost. Or when a ship sinks 2,000 souls were lost when... The spirit and the body united are a soul. When the Spirit leaves the body the soul is lost... Jim

Answer 5

Soul and spirit are the same thing, though some believe the soul is your eternal being which will move on after you die, and your spirit is more like your personality. Some ppl use it as an expression: "She has spirit." It can also be explained that your spirit is your emotional compass, while your soul is your reasoning compass.

Answer 6

I know many will disagree about this , but James 2;26 and Job 27;3 describe the spirit as keeping the body alive, just like needing air to breathe. the soul is described as the creature itself or its life. in Genesis, Adam became a soul after God breathed life into him. the animals r also called souls, Genesis 1 :21 and 24
Then in Ecclesisates 3;18 -21 it talks about man and beast both having the same spirit so that when one dies , they all return to the dust.now Ecclesiastes 12;7 then says that when man dies his spirit returns to the creator, but it doesn't say soul. Jesus even said before he died that he entrusted his spirit with his father. the easist answer to this is that the spirit is like electricity, it makes living creatures come alive , while they themselves r souls. i hope this helps and not confuses

Answer 7

The word translated 'soul' in the hebrew text (nephesh) means 'breath life'. It is the life and breath of someone. Even animals have this. Kai Nephesh = living soul.

Spirit is ruach. Although many translate this also as wind and hence breath, it is different because it is actually spirit. It is a part that cannot be seen, tasted, touched, smelt or heard by the physical senses.

When God created Adam he formed his body from the dust of the ground. Breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and created spirit in him.

When Adam fell, he lost that spirit and Jesus Christ came to restore it for those who choose to have it again.

There is a whole lot more to this but I am trying to keep it breif.

Answer 8

Both, of course, are terms taken from religion, so it isn't a question that can be given a definite answer. But I think the soul is generally thought of as containing the full imprint of personality, while the spirit is pure energy/being and is more consistent with the substance and quality of the creator. It's a great question! Can't wait to see what others write.

Answer 9

Hebrew and Greek terms for:

Soul means breather, Spirit means breath

Jehovah, breathed (spirit) into Adam, who became a living soul (breather)

1.If man has a soul – Why does Gen 2:7 say that man became a soul? (1 Cor 15:45)
Difference in being an elephant and having an elephant

1a.Why do many modern translations translate the Hebrew word for soul into being,
if the soul is something separate and distinct from the person? Gen 2:7 NIV

2.If man’s soul is immortal – Why does Ez. 18:4, 20 say it can die? (Acts 3:23)

2a.Why does Jesus say it can be destroyed? (Matt. 10:28)

3.If a man’s soul lives on after death – Why do man’s thoughts perish at death?
(Ps. 146:4; Eccl. 9:5,10)

3a.If a man’s soul lives on after death – Why did Jesus liken death to sleep?
(John 11:11-14; Acts 7:60)

3b.If a man’s soul lives on after death – Where is King David?
(Acts 2:29, 34; John 3:13)

4.What happens to a man’s soul when his spirit returns to God?
(Ps. 146:4; Eccl 12:7; Ps 104:29)

5.Why does the “New Encyclopedia Britannica” say that the Hebrew and Greek word for soul really means animated beings both human and non human. So Animals are souls (Breathers). (Gen. 1:20, 21, 24, 25; Lev 24:17, 18)

“The Hebrew term for ‘soul’ (nefesh, that which breathes) was used by Moses . . . , signifying an ‘animated being’ and applicable equally to nonhuman beings. . . . New Testament usage of psyche (‘soul’) was comparable to nefesh.”—The New Encyclopædia Britannica (1976), Macropædia, Vol. 15, p. 152.

6.Why does the “New Catholic Encyclopedia” state that the word soul never means a soul as distinct from the body or the individual person.

“There is no dichotomy [division] of body and soul in the O[ld] T[estament]. The Israelite saw things concretely, in their totality, and thus he considered men as persons and not as composites. The term nepeš [ne´phesh], though translated by our word soul, never means soul as distinct from the body or the individual person. . . . The term [psy•khe´] is the N[ew] T[estament] word corresponding with nepeš. It can mean the principle of life, life itself, or the living being.”—New Catholic Encyclopedia (1967), Vol. XIII, pp. 449, 450.

7.Please note “Immortality of the soul is a Greek notion formed in ancient mystery cults and elaborated by the philosopher Plato.” —Presbyterian Life, May 1, 1970, p. 35.

8.What was the original lie? (Gen 3:4) “You will not die.” if you disobey God.
The immortality of the soul concept says “You will not die if you disobey God.
Your immortal soul lives on someplace.”

So in reality the immortal soul idea is a teaching of Plato and not Jesus (#2a & 7)

The soul is the person, the individual being who breaths, thinks, eats and dies. (#1a & 2)

For a soul/person to live again God must resurrect that person (soul) to life again. (Acts 24:15)

Answer 10

A soul is flesh. Just as when Noah came out of the Ark. God told them that they can now use flesh as food. He said their soul you can eat but their blood I ask back.That is where things became kosher for the Jews. No joke.
The spirit is the life force in us. Like a battery in a car. Neither workes on its own.