This word denotes a wide variety of different concepts. A spirit is usually defined in today languages as a disembodied being. It is often misused to denote the soul beings. In the ancient times the distinction was very clear : SOUL was the mediator between SPIRIT and MATTER. Man was viewed as a triune being, because he possesses a physical body and an eternal spirit connected for the duration of a lifetime by "soul." The psyche of the Greeks and the nephesh ("breath of life") of the Hebrews both prove this connection. In our times, the relationship between the three of them show some inconsistency since many philosophers taught that the soul emerged from the body or leaves the body at the point of death. In view of such inconsistency in non-Biblical writings, it is essential to let the Scriptures speak for themselves.
After God formed man out of dust from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, "the man came to be a living being. Man was distinct from the animal creation, because he became a living being, while the animals came to be living creatures. The difference between one to the other is simple. Man alone was created "in God image." He was created with the moral qualities like those of God, with power and wisdom far superior to the animals; hence he could have in subjection all the lower forms of creature live. Man's organism was more complex, as well as more versatile, than that of the animals. Likewise, man had, but lost, the prospect of eternal life; this is never stated with regard to the creatures lower than man.
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
Keep this understanding in mind, my dear followers, we will continue with this topic in my next publication...
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