The Soul... Part 2
In The Soul Part 1 we looked at what the soul is, and focused on the fundamental verse Genesis 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".
From this it is clearly seen that man does not HAVE a soul, but that man IS a soul. Two different components (dust and breath) combine to form a new entity (the soul); the physical body becomes a soul when a life force is breathed into it. Therefore, every living human being is a soul.
The traditional view of a soul, however, is that it is an invisible non-physical force which contains our personality and reasoning ability - our "real self". This "real self" supposedly does not ever die and is contained inside our body and released at the point of physical death. Most religions would suggest that it then goes on to either some form of heaven or hell (or purgatory to wait a bit longer). It's interesting that the one common factor with almost every religion and philosophy is a belief that all human beings possess the inherent ability to survive death. This belief is based on the idea that we have an indestructible soul and that the "real self" cannot be destroyed. In other words, many believe there is a part of ourselves which survives and lives on after the body finally succumbs to death.
This idea is reinforced everywhere in society from fictional characters in the movies to spiritual gurus; from the local friendly psychic to Casper the friendly ghost. Think of all the stories you've read or heard about long lost relatives speaking from the dead. Literary classics are full of such scenes, e.g. "MacBeth", "Wuthering Heights" and "A Christmas Carol" to name but a few. This thinking is everywhere, but wherever it came from, this thinking certainly did not come from the Bible. The message which comes across is that, regardless of your religious viewpoint, every human being carries on in some way after the body has died. That no matter what decisions we have made in our earthly life, our "real self" goes on to survive in other pastures.
However, Scripture teaches us something very different.
Consider the following verses regarding death:
"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." (Ecclesiastes 12:7)
"Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust" (Psalm 104:29 see also Job 34:14,15)
The question of what constitutes death has been debated by doctors and scientists (and plenty of others) for centuries. The Bible does not supply the answer for every biological question, but from the verses above, we can confidently say one thing: death is a return.
The Scriptures tell us that, at death, the body returns to the dust and the spirit returns to God. When a person dies, and we bury or cremate them, their body breaks down and literally becomes part of the dust of the earth in some way. So here we see one facet of the return. The dust from which man is made returns to the dust when he dies.
Likewise, the breath of life which was given to Adam (Genesis 2:7) and is also given to us returns to God who gave it in the first place. Here, the breath becomes separated from the body, and death takes place.
Think about what happens when a person is dying and you can see that the Bible is right about this. When administering first aid to an unconscious person, the first thing one must attend to is the person's airway. Regardless of how weak or strong their pulse might be, if they cannot breathe, they cannot live. So, putting it simply: when a person dies, the physical body returns to the ground, their breath returns to God, and thus the soul then ceases to exist.
Remember that the soul is not something we have, but something we become after the body of dust is invoked with the breath of life. When the person dies, the body returns to the dust, the breath returns to God, and the unit known as the soul becomes no more.
At this point, life stops. In every conceivable way, life, and all that goes with it, ceases completely upon death:
"In death there is no remembrance of thee" (Psalm 6:5)
"In the grave who shall give Thee thanks?" (Psalm 6:5)
"There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave whither thou goest" (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
"The grave cannot praise Thee; death can not celebrate Thee" (Isaiah 38:18)
For further study on this particular aspect, here's a few verses to get you started. Genesis 6:3; Job 7:21; 10:9; 17:16; 20:11; 21:25,26; Psalm 7:5; 30:9; Ecclesiastes 3:19- 21; Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2.
If there's one point that really needs to be made, however, it is this: that our future existence relies totally, thoroughly and utterly ON THE LORD, and not at all on ourselves. We will not live after our death if He does not resurrect us.
A common misconception is that when a Christian dies, he or she goes to be with the Lord forever. But the Bible says Christians (or anybody else) do not instantly go to heaven at the point of death. Rather, they die and remain dead until they are resurrected by the power of God.
In the terms of Scripture, they are said to be "asleep", as if waiting to be woken up.
"So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David." "For David is not yet ascended into the heavens." (1 Kings 2:10; Acts 2:34).
"When [Stephen] had said this, he fell asleep. And Saul was consenting unto his death" (Acts 7:60; 8:1).
Think about what John 11 tells us about the Lord's friend, Lazarus. "After that He saith unto [the disciples], `Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of SLEEP'... but they thought He had spoken of taking rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, `Lazarus is DEAD'." Shortly after this He commanded Lazarus to walk out of his grave, and this he did. Lazarus was asleep, but the power of the Lord woke him up. (John 11:1-44)
There are some rather pertinent points to come out of this story:
(a) There is no mention of Lazarus' personality or immortal ghostly soul floating around somewhere.
(b) There is no mention of Lazarus having gone to heaven.
(c) If Lazarus had gone straight to heaven upon death, enjoying the presence of God, it would have been nothing short of cruel and pointless to bring him back from such a state.
(d) Martha did not think he had gone to heaven, either. "Jesus said unto her, `Thy brother shall rise again'. Martha said unto Him, `I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.'" Note the need for resurrection; this fact cannot be emphasised too many times.
Resurrection is the believer's only hope of everlasting life. We are absolutely helpless on our own, and we depend entirely on God's power to resurrect us. We do not and can not do this by our own power. 1 Corinthians 15 is all about resurrection, and is one of the longest chapters in the New Testament. What, then, is the point of talking so much about being raised from the dead if we aren't really and thoroughly dead in the first place? Resurrection by the power of the Lord alone is fundamental to the way that God deals with mankind. No wonder David prayed, "Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death". (Psalm 13:3)
It's not popular. It may not even be very comforting for some people, but the Bible demonstrates clearly that LIFE AFTER DEATH IS CONDITIONAL, not automatic. We are not told these things so that we will be disappointed or feel let down; rather, they are there to help us grasp the wonder and glory of what the Lord has in store for us.
"As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." (1 Corinthians 15:22)
Continued in Part 3 - Elijah, Enoch and Jonah
See also: The Soul Part 1
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