Is there a bible verse that distinguishes between one's spirit and one's soul?

Question

I asked the question "What's the difference between soul and spirit?", and I got some answers. But who made this distinction?

From the Bible, how is it known that the spirit and soul aren't the same thing?

Answer 1

great answer above from MacGuyver, the Word will help you discern the difference. I'll say that soul is what all animals have, natural instincts, self preservation, sexual drive, etc. But spirit is unique to humans, it is their awareness that they are eternal beings meant for worship. Plants have a body, animals have body and soul, humans have body, soul and spirit. Hope that helps.

Genesis 34:3
His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke kindly to the young woman.

Genesis 35:18
And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin.

The soul is with us on earth but leaves when we die.

Genesis 45:27
But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.

Spirit is with us on earth and continues with us after we die.

Matthew 5:3
“ Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

There is our spirit, demon spirit and Holy Spirit. We are not to commune with demon spirits and we are to lay down our own spirit for the sake of being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Answer 2

Some 'scientific' FACTS from the bible. * Bats are birds: Lev 11: 13-19, Deut 14: 11-20 * Thinking happens in the 'heart': Heb 4: 12 * Emotions come from the kidneys: Psalm 73:21 * How to treat illnesses: Apply oil and pray: James: 14,15 * A star can identify a house by hovering over it: Matthew 2:9 * The earth stops rotating around the Sun: Joshua 10:12 Always remember that "Ideas Rule The World," so choose your ideas carefully.

Answer 3

It is sometimes used interchangeably. Psalm 42:12 refers to the inner life, psychological or spiritual states of the human person.

In Job 30:25, the word refers to the source of emotion. In the NT the soul is often equated with the total person (Romans 13:1). See also Matthew 10:28. Ec. 12:7 mentions that
"their souls have returned to God." Either way, both exist after death.

Also check Numbers 14:24.

Answer 4

1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit (pneuma) and soul (psuchē) and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

pneuma - The vital spirit or life, the principle of life residing in man. The breath breathed by God into man and again returning to God, the spiritual entity in man. The spirit is that part that can live independently of the body (Christ [Mat_27:50, He gave up the spirit when He died.

psuchē - Soul, that immaterial part of man held in common with animals. One's understanding of this word's relationship to related terms is contingent upon his position regarding biblical anthropology. Dichotomists view man as consisting of two parts (or substances), material and immaterial, with spirit and soul denoting the immaterial and bearing only a functional and not a metaphysical difference. Trichotomists also view man as consisting of two parts (or substances), but with spirit and soul representing in some contexts a real subdivision of the immaterial.

Specifically the soul as the sentient principle, the seat of the senses, desires, affections, appetites, passions, the lower aspect of one's nature.

Answer 5

Matthew 10;28 Matthew 22;36-40 mark 8;34-38 it is of no value to gain the whole world but to lose your soul we are to love God with our whole being heart mind and soul people cannot destroy your soul.........spiritual gifts from the holy spirit spiritual gift build up the body of Christ eph.4;11-13 Romans12;3-8 god expects us to use are gifts teacher healing talking in tongues understanding tongues Hebrews 2;4 God distributes spiritual gifts according to his will.. luv dad

Answer 6

The Word of GOD is Sharper than a Two-Edged Sword, Dividing Asunder the Soul and the Spirit.

Stay in the Word and the Word will make you Spiritual, and you will Ascend above your Soul, which is Mostly Carnal (Worldly).

Answer 7

--JUST A BRIEF explanation on my part:
The soul is simply the individual, animal, fish, bird or anything that is a breather of air!
--(Genesis 1:20-21) “. . .And God went on to say: “Let the waters swarm forth a swarm of living souls and let flying creatures fly over the earth upon the face of the expanse of the heavens.” 21 And God proceeded to create the great sea monsters and every living soul that moves about, which the waters swarmed . . .”

--(Genesis 2:7) “. . .And Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul. . .”
(belief of soul being immortal is not in the Bible)
--(Ezekiel 18:4) “. . .Look! All the souls—to me they belong. As the soul of the father so likewise the soul of the son—to me they belong. The soul that is sinning—it itself will die.”
--The Spirit can refer to God , angels, holy spirit
----It can also be the wind!

*** bh p. 208 - p. 211 “Soul” and “Spirit”—What Do These Terms Really Mean? ***

WHEN you hear the terms “soul” and “spirit,” what comes to your mind? Many believe that these words mean something invisible and immortal that exists inside us. They think that at death this invisible part of a human leaves the body and lives on. Since this belief is so widespread, many are surprised to learn that it is not at all what the Bible teaches. What, then, is the soul, and what is the spirit, according to God’s Word?
-***SOUL” AS USED IN THE BIBLE
--First, consider the soul. You may remember that the Bible was originally written mainly in Hebrew and Greek. When writing about the soul, the Bible writers used the Hebrew word ne′phesh or the Greek word psy·khe′. These two words occur well over 800 times in the Scriptures, and the New World Translation consistently renders them “soul.” When you examine the way “soul” or “souls” is used in the Bible, it becomes evident that this word basically refers to (1) people, (2) animals, or (3) the life that a person or an animal enjoys. Let us consider some scriptures that present these three different senses.
--People. “In Noah’s days . . . a few people, that is, eight souls, were carried safely through the water.” (1 Peter 3:20) Here the word “souls” clearly stands for people—Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives. Exodus 16:16 mentions instructions given to the Israelites regarding the gathering of manna. They were told: “Pick up some of it . . . according to the number of the souls that each of you has in his tent.” So the amount of manna that was gathered was based upon the number of people in each family. Some other Biblical examples of the application of “soul” or “souls” to a person or to people are found at Genesis 46:18; Joshua 11:11; Acts 27:37; and Romans 13:1.
--Animals. In the Bible’s creation account, we read: “God went on to say: ‘Let the waters swarm forth a swarm of living souls and let flying creatures fly over the earth upon the face of the expanse of the heavens.’ And God went on to say: ‘Let the earth put forth living souls according to their kinds, domestic animal and moving animal and wild beast of the earth according to its kind.’ And it came to be so.” (Genesis 1:20, 24) In this passage, fish, domestic animals, and wild beasts are all referred to by the same word—“souls.” Birds and other animals are called souls at Genesis 9:10; Leviticus 11:46; and Numbers 31:28.
**Life as a person. Sometimes the word “soul” means one’s life as a person. Jehovah told Moses: “All the men who were hunting for your soul are dead.” (Exodus 4:19) What were Moses’ enemies hunting for? They were seeking to take Moses’ life. Earlier, while Rachel was giving birth to her son Benjamin, “her soul was going out (because she died).” (Genesis 35:16-19) At that moment, Rachel lost her life. Consider also Jesus’ words: “I am the fine shepherd; the fine shepherd surrenders his soul in behalf of the sheep.” (John 10:11) Jesus gave his soul, or life, in behalf of mankind. In these Bible passages, the word “soul” clearly refers to life as a person. You will find more examples of this sense of “soul” at 1 Kings 17:17-23; Matthew 10:39; John 15:13; and Acts 20:10.
--A further study of God’s Word will show you that nowhere in the entire Bible are the terms “immortal” or “everlasting” linked with the word “soul.” Instead, the Scriptures state that a soul is mortal, meaning that it dies. (Ezekiel 18:4, 20) Therefore, the Bible calls someone who has died simply a “dead soul.”—Leviticus 21:11.
***THE “SPIRIT” IDENTIFIED
--Let us now consider the Bible’s use of the term “spirit.” Some people think that “spirit” is just another word for “soul.” However, that is not the case. The Bible makes clear that “spirit” and “soul” refer to two different things. How do they differ?
--Bible writers used the Hebrew word ru′ach or the Greek word pneu′ma when writing about the “spirit.” The Scriptures themselves indicate the meaning of those words. For instance, Psalm 104:29 states: “If you [Jehovah] take away their spirit [ru′ach], they expire, and back to their dust they go.” And James 2:26 notes that “the body without spirit [pneu′ma] is dead.” In these verses, then, “spirit” refers to that which gives life to a body. Without spirit, the body is dead. Therefore, in the Bible the word ru′ach is translated not only as “spirit” but also as “force,” or life-force. For example, concerning the Flood in Noah’s day, God said: “I am bringing the deluge of waters upon the earth to bring to ruin all flesh in which the force [ru′ach] of life is active from under the heavens.” (Genesis 6:17; 7:15, 22) “Spirit” thus refers to an invisible force (the spark of life) that animates all living creatures.
--The soul and the spirit are not the same. The body needs the spirit in much the same way as a radio needs electricity—in order to function. To illustrate this further, think of a portable radio. When you put batteries in a portable radio and turn it on, the electricity stored in the batteries brings the radio to life, so to speak. Without batteries, however, the radio is dead. So is another kind of radio when it is unplugged from an electric outlet. Similarly, the spirit is the force that brings our body to life. Also, like electricity, the spirit has no feeling and cannot think. It is an impersonal force. But without that spirit, or life-force, our bodies “expire, and back to their dust they go,” as the psalmist stated.
--Speaking about man’s death, Ecclesiastes 12:7 states: “The dust [of his body] returns to the earth just as it happened to be and the spirit itself returns to the true God who gave it.” When the spirit, or life-force, leaves the body, the body dies and returns to where it came from—the earth. Comparably, the life-force returns to where it came from—God. (Job 34:14, 15; Psalm 36:9) This does not mean that the life-force actually travels to heaven. Rather, it means that for someone who dies, any hope of future life rests with Jehovah God. His life is in God’s hands, so to speak. Only by God’s power can the spirit, or life-force, be given back so that a person may live again.
--How comforting it is to know that this is exactly what God will do for all of those resting in “the memorial tombs”! (John 5:28, 29) At the time of the resurrection, Jehovah will form a new body for a person sleeping in death and bring it to life by putting spirit, or life-force, in it. What a joyful day that will be!"