Wow, this is a wonderful explanation. This should be on an official LCMS RUclips Channel. I just think our church body needs to think about these things more as we better understand who we are and how we can more effectively reach those outside the church.
Good pastors encourage their people to ask questions. This is what happens when someone asks a question and the pastor's answer is "I don't know, but I'll do some digging and get back to you!" Thanks brother!
Thank you Pastor Wolfmueller. I am learning so much through your videos and teachings as I am Joyfully becoming LCMS Lutheran. So excited that this coming Palm Sunday, I will become a member at Good Shepherd Lutheran. Praise Be to God!
Beautiful description. This is one I will have to view a few times to set in. Love this! Thank you pastor, you have such a way of teaching, the Lord truly is glorified.
Thank you Pastor W for answering my question, it was very helpful! And for the break down of the theological study of scripture! It was very informative and I appreciate it!
Thank you Carl, for the question!!! This has been a question of mine for a long time! Thank you Pastor, for dissecting this for us, and for mentioning that you disagree with Luther on a couple of other points. I'm not alone, yeah! I would be interested in watching a video addressing those disagreements, unless you already have and I haven't seen it. :) God bless your Holy Saturday and Easter!
This was incredibly helpful. Your process is very interesting, but the conclusion even more so. Until now I never debated the three parts. Thank you so much!
Very nice -- I love seeing the process of what you do to research these questions. And, at the same time, now I feel a little bit guilty about all the questions I ask pastors. I didn't realize what I was putting them through. Don't forget to tip your theologians, folks!
The Linsky passage on soul and spirit from Hebrews 4 - it reminds me of how we are both saint and/vs sinner. Not finished with video yet to see where you go with this.
Great stuff like to see the behind the scenes investigation into the question with the "what does this mean" way of approaching the scriptures. Important to not impose upon the text what we want it to say but to dig in to what it actually teaches
This is terrific. Thank you for thinking so highly of us to take the time to show us HOW to find these answers ourselves. Its that old Give a man a fish vs teach a man to fish situation. In my younger days Im sure I would have preferred the fish (or the answer) but now that I'm older and a bit wiser, and have more time, I so appreciate being showed how to do it. Also, thanks for all the answer books (resources). I wonder if any of those books would be in my local library. Im going to check it out. Thanks again Pastor. Cindy S.,
This was great. I appreciate you taking all the time to do this for us. When I was a Charismatic it was that trichotomy view that was taught; and it was used (abused) for the Christian's tools in living the Christian life. I thought, at the time that the trichotomy view was sound because it seemed to reflect a trinitarian Creator. Though I didn't think this through at the time; and it may have had traces of modalistic/ Sabellanistic thoughts intertwined in the mix. As far as the Charismatics using or having on their shelves 'Foundations of Pentecostal Theology' (As I have), this is for respectability only. They have no sense of clinging to it as we Lutherans to the B.O.C. They have no problem being carried by every wind of doctrine.
@@LisaB_12204 , Charismatics have their roots in the Pentecostal church; but I think today they are a far different thing. Am I right here? My thought is that Pentecostals do have more solid doctrines (disregarding for sake of argument the right or wrongness of them). That is- they have a text, right or wrongly interpreted, that they preach. Charismatics seem to always have a "Pretext" to which they preach to itching ears. This of course is a generalization; not all are included in these sentiments.
@Steve Rentfrow_You really got me thinking about this now. Years ago, my father was explaining to me the difference between the spirit and soul by explaining God in different parts. The Father is the soul, the Son is the body and the Holy Spirit is like your heart or will. I didn't think that was bad at the time because I wasn't studying theology or really delving deeper into my beliefs as a Christian. Thinking about it now that is "Partialism". I don't think it was ever taught by anyone, but it was indirectly delt with during the Council of Nicaea.
I could just say ditto to most other comments. Thank you Pastor once again for clearing up another untruth that I somehow picked up along the way. So thankful to have prayers answered for Gods truth, taught by LCMS shepherds.
Thank you for being so diligent. My thoughts on this deep subject. To me in my thinking, I have understood 3parts. Body= our physical manifestation. Soul= our personality and intellect. Spirit which when regenerate is made Alive and brings the ability to be in contact with God. In the unregenerate is dead and has no intrinsic value or aid to the unregenerate. I thank you again for the in-depth research you did. and showing that they are not so much separated but are distinguished by the condition of the individual in their relationship to God through Jesus.
After multiple viewings the truth is becoming clearer. Thank you again for all your work. My birth church does not believe that mankind HAS a soul but that Adam BECAME a living soul when God breathed into him. Their funerals are very bleak and comfortless.
Wow! I'm saving this one! I think I'll have to watch it ten more times before I can fully grasp this! 😂 Absolutely wonderful video! Great information and perspective!
Great video! I admire your study method. Just out of curiosity, why don't you just use bible software like Logos or online concordances? Do you ever use them? If not, why not?
Darnell Wesh: As a pastor myself, as much as I couldn't live without my Bible programs (Logos, WordSearch) to do my searches, when it comes to actual study I also prefer the printed page. I want to outline anything relevant and even make notes where applicable. (btw - my class at FW was offered the opportunity to purchase Logos when it was called Gramcord. It was developed with great assistance from the professors at Trinity Seminary in IL. as well as a couple of professors at FW. When we purchased it it was in produced in DOS and therefore got it at a ridiculous price. Oh how I thank God that Windows was invented. I was never very proficient at basic computer language in order to use the DOS version.) And yes, I'm an old guy! (65). Class of '91.
Thank you, Pastor! I was looking at "Is Man 2 Parts or 3, The Church Fathers". It seems this discussion goes back to early Christianity, Augustine (among others) in the fourth century held a dichotomous view, but many like Clement of Alexandria (first/ second century) taught trichotomy.
I heard different teachings of and talked of this topic, I totally convinced that I am a spirit, I have a soul and I live in my body. It cannot talk away 1 Thessalonians 5:23 and Hebrews 4:12 and other scriptures. Pray we can be strong by grace in his Spirit in jesus' name. Amen.
If you are a spirit which is completely separate from the soul which you claim to possess, where did you come from and what are you made of? At what point did you begin living and receive your soul and and at what point did you enter your body? Do you use your soul to control your Body? and how does that work? When you die where do you (Spirit) go? When your body dies and your soul returns to God do you (Spirit) have the ability to have another soul and live in another body? More importantly than your answer to all of these questions is... Where do you find all of this in scripture? Why is none of that explained in Genesis when talking about God creating Adam and called Him a living soul after breathing life into Him? What about Eve? I just don't see it.
Excellent, I'm not Catholic but I enjoy your perspective on soul/spirit relations. I thank you for the insight on reference manuals, I'm shopping Amazon right now. A+
So "Spirit" and "Flesh" are like colors, directions or attitudes that both "Soul" and "Body" can have? Is it correct to conclude this table?: Sinning Unbeliever: * Body: Flesh * Soul: Flesh Sinning Christian: * Body: Flesh * Soul: Spirit Fallen Angel: * Body: Spirit * Soul: Flesh Resurrected Christian: * Body: Spirit * Soul: Spirit
Thank you Pastor that was very educational. I’ve got a question I’m hoping you can help to answer. As Christians how do we deal with our emotions? Many times we are advised to ignore emotions as they change based on events, one person in conversation recently said “park it and focus on spiritual attributes”. I’ve been a Christian for many years and even though I’ve had a good life emotions are my biggest battle. Can you please help me?
Not bad brother! Love your approach and your heart. I have studied this one in depth and the lord showed me that the soul is a component of the spirit . Like the hand is a component of the arm. Sins of the flesh are sins committed with the body and sins of the soul are sins committed in the mind alone. Our spirit is synonymous with our moral conscience and our soul is synonymous with our self will and the 5 senses of the body. God offers us salvation for our spirit in order to revive our conscience which will in return feed the soul but only if the will of the soul allows. So in essence our spirit or God consciences is always in subjection to our soul. And so God urges us to not be led by the soul but rather use the will of the soul to be in constant subjection to our born again moral conscience or spirit. 🙏🏼💪🏽👍🏻❤
I know this is super old and maybe not any chance you’ll see this comment, but is there confusion, do you suppose, caused by the fact that the Hebrew Nephesh is (rightly) translated “Soul” or “living thing” in English and is also a word for “breath”. And the word “Spirit” is from the Latin for “breath”. I feel like there’s sort of some confusion that is additionally caused by the Latin we keep in the language. I’ve been struggling with this consideration of how our attachment to the Latin causes additional confusion as we look for ways to keep consistency between old and New Testament. I have a better word tas an example I was thinking about the other day but it escapes me. anyway, all that to say that the Greek has this whole Pneuma vs. Psyche. I would love to do a Septuagint study to see how one vs. the other are consistently used? Could you do a follow-up video using the Septuagint?
And by the way, my daughter out at Concordia Irvine thanks you. She was struggling with her choice of topic for her paper in Dr. Oesch’s class (will pets be in heaven? Difference between the “souls” of animals and people.) and she was so happy after I pointed her to your vide. She jubilantly trotted off the the library to pore through Pieper. :-)
Dear B.W., I have a question about the Pre-Adamists. If they were celebate, does that mean God had to repeat his mistake? Not serious. Thanks for a great discussion.
God breathed the spirit into man - he made him in his image (but also it translates as phantom) - this spirit is the love/light that can never die. The soul is more like a personality - what makes up your mental/spirtual and physical form. We don't have God's soul because we don't have his form or his personality - even if we show some of the infinite traits of God's infinite and finite form.
Lenski: 2=1(Two shall become 1?). How about Body/Old Adam/New Adam? Well done and thoughtful video, but isn't this really are there 2 or 1 angels dancing on the head of a pin?
"There's been a long fight about this in church history." - "I don't know the answer." - "But don't worry, by the way, at the end of the video we'll know the answer." - Too Hilarious!!! Crazy world.
Hi. You forgot the heart mentioned 4 times in the OT. Proverbs 24:12 even uses it in conjunction with the soul and it renders 2 different meanings. The word heart is super interesting it is a feminine form only 4 times translated from the masculine one that is defined as heart of man. But this one rendering is only 4 times and is feminine. It adds one Hebrew letter. At first I thought it was because it was plural but that’s not the case because two uses of it are singular. Check it out I it seems there is justification for the heart of God In man that is very different from the soul, flesh or body.
Can you also analyze the word heart since that word also is used to describe the inner man in the bible. I think the jews puts the heart as the center piece and that body, soul and spirit are just different angels, or other views to describe a human. Ps. 51:10, Matt 6:21, Matt 15:9, Jer 17:9... Just to complete this excellent video. / Greetings from Sweden.
The word "heart" as used in the bible refers to our INDIVIDUAL EGOs! Test it in all the scriptures you find the word "heart"! i even jokingly acronymize it as ... Easing God Out!
my view is that when God created the body of man, he breathed his spirit into him, and he became a living soul. not sure if there are any dead souls tho. so a spirit is what gives life to dead matter. and body+spirit = soul. not always a good fit with the translation, but it is how i try to delineate them.
@Mr reptile 2 fair enough; but how do you define a "soul"? The Bible translations we have seem to not make much, if any, distinction between them. Is the soul a composition of spirit and ..... is there something else other than the body which would make a distinction between the terms spirit and soul? Can a soul exist outside of a body? If it can, what makes spirit different than soul?
@Mr reptile 2 so there are 3 occurrences in the KJV that combine; heart, mind, soul; and 2 of them also include strength. strongs 2588 (kardia, heart) really doesnt clear up the differences; kind of muddys them all together. strongs 1271 (dianoia, mind) seems to suggest that this is meant as spirit, an active force for thought and feeling. strongs 5590 (psyche, soul) also translated as heart and mind and breath ... not much clarity in that term. strongs 2479 (ischys, strength) capacity to do; ability, force, strength, might. Most people I have come across define the heart as the seat of emotions; the mind as the seat of logic and reason; the soul as .... well as the Mr Bryan puts it; there is no concise definition. The Hebrew, stongs 5315 (nephesh) is first translated in the KJV as soul with reference to Adam. But the use of the word itself is used in context of Gen1:20 - every living creature is a soul. As in Ex 1:5; 70 nephesh came out of the loins of Jacob - this is of course a direct relationship to Stephens account in Acts 7:14, that employs the use of 5590 (psyche). Even tho the number of souls is off by a few. Matt 10:28 suggests that soul can exist apart from body; but that both can ultimately be destroyed. 1Thes. 5:23 uses the terms spirit, soul, and body; which might suggest a three part distinction ... Strongs 4151(pneuma, spirit), but that entry really doesnt clear up the matter. spirit is a soul that leaves the body; a spirit is a soul. We know that Jesus spoke of the bosom of Abraham .... about dead people that were having conversations: Luke 16. Bosom is a body part, and can be a colloquial term. Whereever they went after dying, Abraham was there also; and Abraham had a bodily form at least; enough of a form to have a bosom ... of course there is no mention of them being souls or spirits; but they are separated from their bodies of flesh. The spirit is that part within the soul that connects to God; but which may also just be the soul, but may be different from the soul - but not different enough to be really different from a soul. Soul is the inner man - the inner man that can be destroyed apparently? But then what is the destruction of the soul? Is it the destruction of the spirit? Do we say that the inner man cannot be destroyed, but, then have it not really be destroyed? I am the soul, but I live in a physical body. I actually agree with that concept :) But to try to justify it based on Biblical proof is sorely lacking. Adam became a living soul ... a soul can be destroyed ... what is a dead soul? And does a dead soul have a spiritless body laying about that needs to be disposed of?
@Mr reptile 2 I see what you are going for; but I would caution trying to relate mind and brain as "terms that could be used either way". Mind is to brain as Spirit is to soul .... but mind is not an association of brain in the ancient customs. Mind is more associated to the physical heart. The google provides a better resource then I would be able to coherently put together: "In biblical Hebrew, the heart is where we feel feelings and think thoughts. In fact, ancient Israelites didn't even have a word for “brain” that we know of." "Lev/Heart as reflected in the Jewish prayer known as the Shema: home of your intellect, emotions, and discernment and decision-making" So heart and mind are reflections of the same concept; the brain is usually just the place where migraines reside :) A person can pick your brain; and not mean a literal picking of your literal brain ... but the metaphor has to be based in some sense of meaning. As the term is not expressed in the Bible, then it is a modern analogy that relies on nonbiblical sources for "support". The Bible is touted as the only source for actual religious terminology thought. Breath is considered a spirit; because it tends to be a vital component of living in general - everything that has life, has breath. The absense of breath is the absense of the animation of body. If something takes the your breath away; it is effecting the spirit. Soul, is more related to the overall function of the body; the need for stuff that isnt just breath. If something moves you to your soul, your whole body is effected, think of what is deemed as a "Holy Roller". So yes, they do similar things, but the distinction is not always that clear within the Bible :) It might have been in the ancient past that there was some real discernment between the actual usage of them; but that distinction has literally been lost to the sands of time.
@Mr reptile 2 As long as your fine with the way you believe ... i got no real complaints :) Base your personal beliefs how ever you want. Trust God and let Him iron out the details in the end.
might want to check out what the apostle Paul has to say about it in 1 Thess 5:23. {BTW this passage came from God the Holy Spirit (or should He be called the Holy Soul?)
In Genesis 2:7 the Bible teaches that Man is a soul, that is an embodied breath of God. In Job 32:8, the words: spirit, breath of God, are interchangeable synonyms, for the human mind. Created in the image of God, Man is triune unity of body, spirit, and word, language is a function of the human spirit. The Bible teaches that death is a disembodied existence in state of sleep in sheol, we become embodied again at resurrection.
Every MSL Pastor has been adamant about It being God doing good through us and we are incapable of doing good of ourselves. This only strengthened my trichotomist point of view. Dichotomy to me is separation from God, is the result of blasphemy. God's spirit in me, that which will come under one head, is why I can accept forgiveness; I am capable of receiving redemption because of His image we are made in, the name he knew and loved from the foundation. We are distinctly three.
If souls were so indistinct from the spirit then I wouldn't know the point of the Great commission. And without trichotomist approach we are too close to the gnostic duality even with your (legitimately) brilliant diagram.
Bible teaches in Gen 2:7 that Man is the embodied breath of Life. In the Bible 'spirit' and 'breath of Life' are used interchangeably, they are synonyms as in Job 32:8. Hebrew word for breath of Life is neshamah H5397, the word for 'spirit' is 'ruach' H7307. In Hebrew there is no direct equivalent for the English word 'mind', the mind in Hebrew is 'spirit', 'soul', 'heart', 'breath of Life', all these words are synonyms for our human nature, they describe who we essentially are as humans, created in the image of triune God we also have triune nature, Man is triune unity of body word spirit.
The soul is not a thing, the soul is a person. God breathed into man the breath of life and man became a living soul. A soul is a person. You are a soul which is the animal plus God's breath.
Understand I think all this happens instantly at conception but here is how I feel. The soul is an animal like soul or the mind like that of an ape. Able to highly function but not human. The spirit is something extra created for us that plugs into the soul and completes it making it a rational soul. The two are one at that point. Only the Word could separate them again. So the rational soul compiled of animal soul and the divine spark from God which we call spirit is what goes to heaven. So I am a trichotomist for a split second then a functional dichotomist for every point after that. But technically I believe they are separate ontologically but functionally one.
Man has a 3 fold nature. We are a Spirit, that lives in an earthly vessel (human body) and have a Soul(the individual you). The Human body was created to house more than one spirit. It was meant for us and the Holy Spirit. But when we sin we let demons in to take residence in the Earthly vessel that was assigned to us. The only way to get rid of them is when we ask for God's intervention. The term selling your Soul means you decide to let yourself become a slave for a price. When we die our spirit goes to where it came from and that's God. It gives an account of what our Soul has done. The Holy Spirit is the one that marks us as one of God's Own. And our name will be written in the Book of Life to spend all eternity with God. Blessed be.......
Thanks for showing us the work process. Maybe you should republish a shorter video. May I suggest that you make a copy where you only do the drawing and talking? This is not for me, I really enjoyed the lengthy version. But I suspect that there are some gen-z (x, y..?) post-modernial millennials out there who like it short and sweet. Thank you.
Gentle Tellef A. Granas. I respectfully disagree. When the Holy Spirit changes the heart of someone they hunger for truth and they won't notice how long it takes to hear it.
I'm a youngin and I had no problem with the length of the video. It is not uncommon for the youths to "binge watch" large amounts of media in a single sitting. Giving people the opportunity to binge on a bunch of solid doctrine like this can be beneficial.
1st Commandments are about sin against God. Soul sins. Remaining 7 are sin against humans. “Body” sins. (Also sins against God who created/owns all humans.
Oh, how wrong the ''erasmian'' pronunciation of the beautiful greek language is!!! The word ψυχή is pronounced ''pseehee'' (as ''i'' in the word ''it'' and ''is'') for more than 2000 years, as we pronounce it today. The word πνεύμα is pronounced ''pnevma'' (''e'' as in the word ''they''. Erasmus was a failure anyway.
Wow, this is a wonderful explanation. This should be on an official LCMS RUclips Channel. I just think our church body needs to think about these things more as we better understand who we are and how we can more effectively reach those outside the church.
Good pastors encourage their people to ask questions. This is what happens when someone asks a question and the pastor's answer is "I don't know, but I'll do some digging and get back to you!" Thanks brother!
Thank you Pastor Wolfmueller. I am learning so much through your videos and teachings as I am Joyfully becoming LCMS Lutheran. So excited that this coming Palm Sunday, I will become a member at Good Shepherd Lutheran. Praise Be to God!
Excellent video. Your joy and passion for theology shines through. Thank you very much.
Beautiful description. This is one I will have to view a few times to set in. Love this! Thank you pastor, you have such a way of teaching, the Lord truly is glorified.
This has fried my brain. After third listen and copying out word for word it’s becoming more clear. Thank you PsBWm for your challenging messages.
This is one of the best videos I've seen from you, which is saying a lot!
Thank you Pastor W for answering my question, it was very helpful! And for the break down of the theological study of scripture! It was very informative and I appreciate it!
Thank you Carl, for the question!!! This has been a question of mine for a long time! Thank you Pastor, for dissecting this for us, and for mentioning that you disagree with Luther on a couple of other points. I'm not alone, yeah! I would be interested in watching a video addressing those disagreements, unless you already have and I haven't seen it. :) God bless your Holy Saturday and Easter!
Thank you and bless you, Pastor Wolfmueller for being a blessing in my life.
This was incredibly helpful. Your process is very interesting, but the conclusion even more so.
Until now I never debated the three parts. Thank you so much!
I really enjoyed how you broke down the process. I even have a couple of those books, and am now adding a few more to my wishlist.
Very nice -- I love seeing the process of what you do to research these questions. And, at the same time, now I feel a little bit guilty about all the questions I ask pastors. I didn't realize what I was putting them through.
Don't forget to tip your theologians, folks!
The Linsky passage on soul and spirit from Hebrews 4 - it reminds me of how we are both saint and/vs sinner. Not finished with video yet to see where you go with this.
That was awesome, thank you for showing us how to do it.
Great stuff like to see the behind the scenes investigation into the question with the "what does this mean" way of approaching the scriptures. Important to not impose upon the text what we want it to say but to dig in to what it actually teaches
This is terrific. Thank you for thinking so highly of us to take the time to show us HOW to find these answers ourselves. Its that old Give a man a fish vs teach a man to fish situation. In my younger days Im sure I would have preferred the fish (or the answer) but now that I'm older and a bit wiser, and have more time, I so appreciate being showed how to do it. Also, thanks for all the answer books (resources). I wonder if any of those books would be in my local library. Im going to check it out. Thanks again Pastor. Cindy S.,
This was great. I appreciate you taking all the time to do this for us.
When I was a Charismatic it was that trichotomy view that was taught; and it was used (abused) for the Christian's tools in living the Christian life. I thought, at the time that the trichotomy view was sound because it seemed to reflect a trinitarian Creator. Though I didn't think this through at the time; and it may have had traces of modalistic/ Sabellanistic thoughts intertwined in the mix.
As far as the Charismatics using or having on their shelves 'Foundations of Pentecostal Theology' (As I have), this is for respectability only. They have no sense of clinging to it as we Lutherans to the B.O.C. They have no problem being carried by every wind of doctrine.
Gentle Steve Rentfrow. Amen to your comments. I am a survivor of Pentecostal teaching too. Your observations about the BOC are spot on.
@@LisaB_12204 ,
Charismatics have their roots in the Pentecostal church; but I think today they are a far different thing. Am I right here? My thought is that Pentecostals do have more solid doctrines (disregarding for sake of argument the right or wrongness of them). That is- they have a text, right or wrongly interpreted, that they preach. Charismatics seem to always have a "Pretext" to which they preach to itching ears. This of course is a generalization; not all are included in these sentiments.
Wow you guys are GENTLE bro.
@Steve Rentfrow_You really got me thinking about this now. Years ago, my father was explaining to me the difference between the spirit and soul by explaining God in different parts. The Father is the soul, the Son is the body and the Holy Spirit is like your heart or will. I didn't think that was bad at the time because I wasn't studying theology or really delving deeper into my beliefs as a Christian. Thinking about it now that is "Partialism". I don't think it was ever taught by anyone, but it was indirectly delt with during the Council of Nicaea.
I could just say ditto to most other comments. Thank you Pastor once again for clearing up another untruth that I somehow picked up along the way. So thankful to have prayers answered for Gods truth, taught by LCMS shepherds.
Thank you for being so diligent. My thoughts on this deep subject.
To me in my thinking, I have understood 3parts. Body= our physical manifestation. Soul= our personality and intellect. Spirit which when regenerate is made Alive and brings the ability to be in contact with God. In the unregenerate is dead and has no intrinsic value or aid to the unregenerate.
I thank you again for the in-depth research you did. and showing that they are not so much separated but are distinguished by the condition of the individual in their relationship to God through Jesus.
After multiple viewings the truth is becoming clearer. Thank you again for all your work. My birth church does not believe that mankind HAS a soul but that Adam
BECAME a living soul when God breathed into him. Their funerals are very bleak and comfortless.
A really great an helpful video Pastor!
Wow! I'm saving this one! I think I'll have to watch it ten more times before I can fully grasp this! 😂 Absolutely wonderful video! Great information and perspective!
this passage is very interesting; Ecclesiastes 12:7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
Thank you !!! Awesome video!!
Great video! I admire your study method. Just out of curiosity, why don't you just use bible software like Logos or online concordances? Do you ever use them? If not, why not?
Rev. Wolfmueller has mentioned logos on table talk radio. I suspect he learned the analog way, so he has continued that way.
Books are better!
Darnell Wesh: As a pastor myself, as much as I couldn't live without my Bible programs (Logos, WordSearch) to do my searches, when it comes to actual study I also prefer the printed page. I want to outline anything relevant and even make notes where applicable. (btw - my class at FW was offered the opportunity to purchase Logos when it was called Gramcord. It was developed with great assistance from the professors at Trinity Seminary in IL. as well as a couple of professors at FW. When we purchased it it was in produced in DOS and therefore got it at a ridiculous price. Oh how I thank God that Windows was invented. I was never very proficient at basic computer language in order to use the DOS version.) And yes, I'm an old guy! (65). Class of '91.
Well done!
Thank you, Pastor! I was looking at "Is Man 2 Parts or 3, The Church Fathers". It seems this discussion goes back to early Christianity, Augustine (among others) in the fourth century held a dichotomous view, but many like Clement of Alexandria (first/ second century) taught trichotomy.
I heard different teachings of and talked of this topic, I totally convinced that I am a
spirit, I have a soul and I live in my body. It cannot talk away 1 Thessalonians 5:23 and Hebrews 4:12
and other scriptures.
Pray we can be strong by grace in his Spirit in jesus' name. Amen.
If you are a spirit which is completely separate from the soul which you claim to possess, where did you come from and what are you made of? At what point did you begin living and receive your soul and and at what point did you enter your body? Do you use your soul to control your Body? and how does that work? When you die where do you (Spirit) go? When your body dies and your soul returns to God do you (Spirit) have the ability to have another soul and live in another body? More importantly than your answer to all of these questions is... Where do you find all of this in scripture? Why is none of that explained in Genesis when talking about God creating Adam and called Him a living soul after breathing life into Him? What about Eve? I just don't see it.
Excellent, I'm not Catholic but I enjoy your perspective on soul/spirit relations. I thank you for the insight on reference manuals, I'm shopping Amazon right now. A+
He’s not Catholic. He’s confessional Lutheran.
If I could give 1 Million likes I would. Praise God. God Bless
Thank you
So "Spirit" and "Flesh" are like colors, directions or attitudes that both "Soul" and "Body" can have? Is it correct to conclude this table?:
Sinning Unbeliever:
* Body: Flesh
* Soul: Flesh
Sinning Christian:
* Body: Flesh
* Soul: Spirit
Fallen Angel:
* Body: Spirit
* Soul: Flesh
Resurrected Christian:
* Body: Spirit
* Soul: Spirit
Thank you very big Help GOD bless all 🙏🌷
Hey Pastor, is it possible to Schmid's book in hard cover?
I second this. I could see this book getting a lot of use, and hardcover would stand up to that better over time.
There are old copies on Amazon. I have my grandfathers' hardcover copy!
Thank you Pastor that was very educational. I’ve got a question I’m hoping you can help to answer. As Christians how do we deal with our emotions? Many times we are advised to ignore emotions as they change based on events, one person in conversation recently said “park it and focus on spiritual attributes”. I’ve been a Christian for many years and even though I’ve had a good life emotions are my biggest battle. Can you please help me?
What about Luther‘s Explanation of the Magnificat from 1519? I guess that’s trichotomy. Or is he kind of agreeing with Lenski?
Not bad brother! Love your approach and your heart. I have studied this one in depth and the lord showed me that the soul is a component of the spirit . Like the hand is a component of the arm. Sins of the flesh are sins committed with the body and sins of the soul are sins committed in the mind alone. Our spirit is synonymous with our moral conscience and our soul is synonymous with our self will and the 5 senses of the body. God offers us salvation for our spirit in order to revive our conscience which will in return feed the soul but only if the will of the soul allows. So in essence our spirit or God consciences is always in subjection to our soul. And so God urges us to not be led by the soul but rather use the will of the soul to be in constant subjection to our born again moral conscience or spirit. 🙏🏼💪🏽👍🏻❤
What does it mean, “The Lord showed me”? Are you speaking outside of scripture?
I know this is super old and maybe not any chance you’ll see this comment, but is there confusion, do you suppose, caused by the fact that the Hebrew Nephesh is (rightly) translated “Soul” or “living thing” in English and is also a word for “breath”. And the word “Spirit” is from the Latin for “breath”. I feel like there’s sort of some confusion that is additionally caused by the Latin we keep in the language. I’ve been struggling with this consideration of how our attachment to the Latin causes additional confusion as we look for ways to keep consistency between old and New Testament. I have a better word tas an example I was thinking about the other day but it escapes me. anyway, all that to say that the Greek has this whole Pneuma vs. Psyche. I would love to do a Septuagint study to see how one vs. the other are consistently used? Could you do a follow-up video using the Septuagint?
And by the way, my daughter out at Concordia Irvine thanks you. She was struggling with her choice of topic for her paper in Dr. Oesch’s class (will pets be in heaven? Difference between the “souls” of animals and people.) and she was so happy after I pointed her to your vide. She jubilantly trotted off the the library to pore through Pieper. :-)
Have you look at Revere Franklin Weidner on this? He appears to be Tri not Di
Dear B.W., I have a question about the Pre-Adamists. If they were celebate, does that mean God had to repeat his mistake?
Not serious. Thanks for a great discussion.
God breathed the spirit into man - he made him in his image (but also it translates as phantom) - this spirit is the love/light that can never die. The soul is more like a personality - what makes up your mental/spirtual and physical form. We don't have God's soul because we don't have his form or his personality - even if we show some of the infinite traits of God's infinite and finite form.
Mind, body, spirit = person
We are made in God's image, thats why we have a mind, body, and spirit...yet we are only one person.
Lenski: 2=1(Two shall become 1?). How about Body/Old Adam/New Adam? Well done and thoughtful video, but isn't this really are there 2 or 1 angels dancing on the head of a pin?
Thanks for the anatomy lesson. So much to learn about B/S. 😂 . Splendid lesson.
"There's been a long fight about this in church history." - "I don't know the answer." - "But don't worry, by the way, at the end of the video we'll know the answer." - Too Hilarious!!! Crazy world.
Hi. You forgot the heart mentioned 4 times in the OT. Proverbs 24:12 even uses it in conjunction with the soul and it renders 2 different meanings. The word heart is super interesting it is a feminine form only 4 times translated from the masculine one that is defined as heart of man. But this one rendering is only 4 times and is feminine. It adds one Hebrew letter. At first I thought it was because it was plural but that’s not the case because two uses of it are singular. Check it out I it seems there is justification for the heart of God In man that is very different from the soul, flesh or body.
Thank you, man.
Good stuff however the internet has these books for free some prefer books, however some prefer the speed of the books on a computer.
Can you also analyze the word heart since that word also is used to describe the inner man in the bible. I think the jews puts the heart as the center piece and that body, soul and spirit are just different angels, or other views to describe a human. Ps. 51:10, Matt 6:21, Matt 15:9, Jer 17:9... Just to complete this excellent video. / Greetings from Sweden.
The word "heart" as used in the bible refers to our INDIVIDUAL EGOs!
Test it in all the scriptures you find the word "heart"!
i even jokingly acronymize it as ... Easing God Out!
my view is that when God created the body of man, he breathed his spirit into him, and he became a living soul. not sure if there are any dead souls tho. so a spirit is what gives life to dead matter. and body+spirit = soul. not always a good fit with the translation, but it is how i try to delineate them.
@Mr reptile 2 fair enough; but how do you define a "soul"? The Bible translations we have seem to not make much, if any, distinction between them.
Is the soul a composition of spirit and ..... is there something else other than the body which would make a distinction between the terms spirit and soul?
Can a soul exist outside of a body?
If it can, what makes spirit different than soul?
@Mr reptile 2 so there are 3 occurrences in the KJV that combine; heart, mind, soul; and 2 of them also include strength.
strongs 2588 (kardia, heart) really doesnt clear up the differences; kind of muddys them all together.
strongs 1271 (dianoia, mind) seems to suggest that this is meant as spirit, an active force for thought and feeling.
strongs 5590 (psyche, soul) also translated as heart and mind and breath ... not much clarity in that term.
strongs 2479 (ischys, strength) capacity to do; ability, force, strength, might.
Most people I have come across define the heart as the seat of emotions; the mind as the seat of logic and reason; the soul as .... well as the Mr Bryan puts it; there is no concise definition.
The Hebrew, stongs 5315 (nephesh) is first translated in the KJV as soul with reference to Adam. But the use of the word itself is used in context of Gen1:20 - every living creature is a soul. As in Ex 1:5; 70 nephesh came out of the loins of Jacob - this is of course a direct relationship to Stephens account in Acts 7:14, that employs the use of 5590 (psyche). Even tho the number of souls is off by a few.
Matt 10:28 suggests that soul can exist apart from body; but that both can ultimately be destroyed.
1Thes. 5:23 uses the terms spirit, soul, and body; which might suggest a three part distinction ... Strongs 4151(pneuma, spirit), but that entry really doesnt clear up the matter. spirit is a soul that leaves the body; a spirit is a soul.
We know that Jesus spoke of the bosom of Abraham .... about dead people that were having conversations: Luke 16. Bosom is a body part, and can be a colloquial term. Whereever they went after dying, Abraham was there also; and Abraham had a bodily form at least; enough of a form to have a bosom ... of course there is no mention of them being souls or spirits; but they are separated from their bodies of flesh.
The spirit is that part within the soul that connects to God; but which may also just be the soul, but may be different from the soul - but not different enough to be really different from a soul.
Soul is the inner man - the inner man that can be destroyed apparently? But then what is the destruction of the soul? Is it the destruction of the spirit? Do we say that the inner man cannot be destroyed, but, then have it not really be destroyed?
I am the soul, but I live in a physical body. I actually agree with that concept :) But to try to justify it based on Biblical proof is sorely lacking. Adam became a living soul ... a soul can be destroyed ... what is a dead soul? And does a dead soul have a spiritless body laying about that needs to be disposed of?
@Mr reptile 2 I see what you are going for; but I would caution trying to relate mind and brain as "terms that could be used either way".
Mind is to brain as Spirit is to soul .... but mind is not an association of brain in the ancient customs. Mind is more associated to the physical heart. The google provides a better resource then I would be able to coherently put together:
"In biblical Hebrew, the heart is where we feel feelings and think thoughts. In fact, ancient Israelites didn't even have a word for “brain” that we know of."
"Lev/Heart as reflected in the Jewish prayer known as the Shema: home of your intellect, emotions, and discernment and decision-making"
So heart and mind are reflections of the same concept; the brain is usually just the place where migraines reside :)
A person can pick your brain; and not mean a literal picking of your literal brain ... but the metaphor has to be based in some sense of meaning. As the term is not expressed in the Bible, then it is a modern analogy that relies on nonbiblical sources for "support". The Bible is touted as the only source for actual religious terminology thought.
Breath is considered a spirit; because it tends to be a vital component of living in general - everything that has life, has breath. The absense of breath is the absense of the animation of body. If something takes the your breath away; it is effecting the spirit.
Soul, is more related to the overall function of the body; the need for stuff that isnt just breath. If something moves you to your soul, your whole body is effected, think of what is deemed as a "Holy Roller".
So yes, they do similar things, but the distinction is not always that clear within the Bible :) It might have been in the ancient past that there was some real discernment between the actual usage of them; but that distinction has literally been lost to the sands of time.
@Mr reptile 2 As long as your fine with the way you believe ... i got no real complaints :) Base your personal beliefs how ever you want. Trust God and let Him iron out the details in the end.
might want to check out what the apostle Paul has to say about it in 1 Thess 5:23. {BTW this passage came from God the Holy Spirit (or should He be called the Holy Soul?)
In Genesis 2:7 the Bible teaches that Man is a soul, that is an embodied breath of God.
In Job 32:8, the words: spirit, breath of God, are interchangeable synonyms, for the human mind.
Created in the image of God, Man is triune unity of body, spirit, and word, language is a function of the human spirit.
The Bible teaches that death is a disembodied existence in state of sleep in sheol, we become embodied again at resurrection.
What are the other two disagreements with Luther?
Forgot
soul and spirit are the same thing, Scripture uses them interchangeably
Wait ✋ what about "ghost," Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost? Soul, Spirit and Ghost
The commentary on Heb. 4:12 can’t be right, for if the spirit is dead in sins and trespasses (and it is), then how can it be the source for life?
I wouldn't be a trichotomist either if that first definition was what trichotomy is.
Every MSL Pastor has been adamant about It being God doing good through us and we are incapable of doing good of ourselves. This only strengthened my trichotomist point of view. Dichotomy to me is separation from God, is the result of blasphemy. God's spirit in me, that which will come under one head, is why I can accept forgiveness; I am capable of receiving redemption because of His image we are made in, the name he knew and loved from the foundation. We are distinctly three.
If souls were so indistinct from the spirit then I wouldn't know the point of the Great commission. And without trichotomist approach we are too close to the gnostic duality even with your (legitimately) brilliant diagram.
Soul goes on after the body dies. Spirt is the Souls connection to the Divine Source aka God.
Bible teaches in Gen 2:7 that Man is the embodied breath of Life. In the Bible 'spirit' and 'breath of Life' are used interchangeably, they are synonyms as in Job 32:8. Hebrew word for breath of Life is neshamah H5397, the word for 'spirit' is 'ruach' H7307.
In Hebrew there is no direct equivalent for the English word 'mind', the mind in Hebrew is 'spirit', 'soul', 'heart', 'breath of Life', all these words are synonyms for our human nature, they describe who we essentially are as humans, created in the image of triune God we also have triune nature, Man is triune unity of body word spirit.
What are the other two things you disagree with Luther about?
I can't remember!
The soul is not a thing, the soul is a person. God breathed into man the breath of life and man became a living soul. A soul is a person. You are a soul which is the animal plus God's breath.
Understand I think all this happens instantly at conception but here is how I feel. The soul is an animal like soul or the mind like that of an ape. Able to highly function but not human. The spirit is something extra created for us that plugs into the soul and completes it making it a rational soul. The two are one at that point. Only the Word could separate them again. So the rational soul compiled of animal soul and the divine spark from God which we call spirit is what goes to heaven.
So I am a trichotomist for a split second then a functional dichotomist for every point after that.
But technically I believe they are separate ontologically but functionally one.
1st Thessalonians 5:23
Man has a 3 fold nature. We are a Spirit, that lives in an earthly vessel (human body) and have a Soul(the individual you). The Human body was created to house more than one spirit. It was meant for us and the Holy Spirit. But when we sin we let demons in to take residence in the Earthly vessel that was assigned to us. The only way to get rid of them is when we ask for God's intervention.
The term selling your Soul means you decide to let yourself become a slave for a price. When we die our spirit goes to where it came from and that's God. It gives an account of what our Soul has done. The Holy Spirit is the one that marks us as one of God's Own. And our name will be written in the Book of Life to spend all eternity with God. Blessed be.......
Thanks for showing us the work process. Maybe you should republish a shorter video. May I suggest that you make a copy where you only do the drawing and talking?
This is not for me, I really enjoyed the lengthy version. But I suspect that there are some gen-z (x, y..?) post-modernial millennials out there who like it short and sweet.
Thank you.
Gentle Tellef A. Granas. I respectfully disagree. When the Holy Spirit changes the heart of someone they hunger for truth and they won't notice how long it takes to hear it.
I'm a youngin and I had no problem with the length of the video. It is not uncommon for the youths to "binge watch" large amounts of media in a single sitting. Giving people the opportunity to binge on a bunch of solid doctrine like this can be beneficial.
How do you justify no pre-Adamites using scripture? It's being taught again, with scripture.
1st Commandments are about sin against God. Soul sins.
Remaining 7 are sin against humans. “Body” sins. (Also sins against God who created/owns all humans.
Oh, how wrong the ''erasmian'' pronunciation of the beautiful greek language is!!! The word ψυχή is pronounced ''pseehee'' (as ''i'' in the word ''it'' and ''is'') for more than 2000 years, as we pronounce it today. The word πνεύμα is pronounced ''pnevma'' (''e'' as in the word ''they''. Erasmus was a failure anyway.
Jordan, I'll have you do the Greek voiceover work!
Use King James Bible English is correct the so called Greek is not the authority
Thank you