The Soul of Man

The soul of man is often described as the place where the mind, will, and emotions reside in man. However, the soul is much more than this description. Your soul is you! You are a living soul! Your thoughts, feelings, ideas, and opinions are all you, the living soul! Your soul is your identity! It is not your spirit or body, but your soul is you!

     The Hebrew word for soul is nephesh, pronounced “neh-fesh.” When translated into English, nephesh can mean living beings, persons, creatures, life, self, mind, and more.

     Your soul lives forever, redeemed or not. When redeemed, you enter into heaven as a complete man, but to those who have chosen not to be redeemed, Scripture teaches, “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7). The soul goes unredeemed to eternal death.

     However, the person whose spirit has been born again is accepted by God into eternal life as a complete person, having a restored spirit, a redeemed soul, and a new resurrected body. The apostle Paul wrote the truth of this in 1 Thessalonians 5:23:

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

     After God created Adam from the earth, He breathed His Spirit of life into him, and he became a living soul (nephesh): “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; the man became a living person” (Genesis 2:7).

     All living creatures on earth have a nephesh and a body. However, unlike mankind, they do not have a sinful nature because they never disobeyed God’s command. Instead, they live under the curse of man as described in Romans 8:19–22:

“For the eagerly awaiting creation waits for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.”

     The unredeemed soul of a man or woman, whose spirit has not been born again and remains unconnected to the Spirit of God, is led by the body and is flesh. Animal behavior prevails within the person as a natural person. “But a natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). Thus, predatory behavior dominates, and the survival-of-the-fittest mindset is displayed.

     The “Natural person” is self-protective and becomes murderers, liars, and haters. Further becoming sexually immoral, covet, and strive to achieve what is best or feels best for themselves. Those who remain in a fallen state want to control their environment without regard to their Creator.

     Some try to change themselves by doing good works and becoming “a better human” or “the best part of themselves.” By human standards, not all who have not been born again are bad people. They live disciplined lives, are kind, giving, and wonderful to be around. I know many people like this and enjoy fellowship with them. They just have not accepted Jesus’s work on the cross and received redemption.

     Ephesians 2:8–9 teaches, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” We understand we are not redeemed by works but by Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us. A good person is not good enough to enter the kingdom of heaven.

     Many describe themselves and others as “good people” or “a person who has a sweet spirit about them.” This human recognition does not mean a person has a redeemed spirit. Mark 10:18 reports that Jesus said, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.” Mankind is unable to judge whether another is truly good. Only God knows the innermost part and heart of mankind. Men and women must have a restored spirit and relationship with their Creator.

     I would often rather fellowship with some who have not been born again than with some who have; not all who have been born again show others that they are good people, me included. Those who have accepted Jesus’s work on the cross and received redemption do not instantly reflect the beauty of their new nature. It takes a lifetime to surrender the fallen nature to the new nature of God that they become aware of when their spirits come to life.

     A man or woman’s personality develops in their soul. A person has an identity at birth. However, their personality first develops by the genetic code from their biological parents. As they grow into physical maturity, environmental experiences and the teachings of those around them help influence their thoughts, feelings, and expressions.

     Many have been separated from parents and siblings early in life and reunited later when adults. After reuniting, they realize that they have similarities in their thinking and behavior due to family genetics. Although they grew up in different environments with other people in their lives, they have a connection just the same.

     Environment plays a crucial role in developing personality; for example, if we grow up in a desert, we will have a different view of life than if we grow up in a forest. If we grow up in poverty, we will form opinions of life differently from those in prosperity. It is not that one is better than the other; they are just different, thus creating a point of view that shapes our personality. If we grew up in a violent atmosphere, we would have another influence that may cause us to not value life as much as those who grow up in a peaceful atmosphere.

     We should also consider that the people we grow up around have a significant influence on developing our personalities because they teach and train us from infancy to maturity. Parents, grandparents, extended family, friends, and teachers all have a tremendous impact on the development of our personalities. Their influence can cause a personality to display love or fear, peace or violence, faith or doubt, trust or hate in ourselves and others. Each of us knows the influences of others in our lives, both positive and negative.

     However, no matter who our parents are, the environment we grew up in, or the influences of the people around us, we know that we were created purposefully in God’s image, so we are redeemable by God’s love and thoughts toward us. God Himself is the most significant influencer in our lives and helps shape our personalities. He never lies, nor does He have selfish ambition. He gave His life for us, His Holy Spirit to live in us, and His Scripture to teach us the truth to renew our minds. In this, we are all the same, no matter our circumstances or the people who helped us develop our personalities.

     So the soul of a man or a woman is the identity of the man and the woman. It is where the personality resides and develops. It is where the mind, will, emotions, character, and reflection of the innermost person are connected.

     The soul of a man or a woman continually receives input from the influence of the innermost man (the spirit) or the outer man (the body). The soul outputs a response to what has been inputted by an individual’s own decision and free will. People either walk in the Spirit or are subject to the deeds of the flesh. Through our free will (an action within our soul), we choose for ourselves whether to walk in the Spirit or in the flesh.

     The flesh (which refers to man’s soul when it lives by the input of only the body) and the spirit of man (which is connected to the Spirit God) are in a war against one another in which one gives eternal life and the other leads to the eternal death of the soul. When a man and a woman walk in the Spirit, they live a life connected to God, their Creator. When a man or a woman lives according to the flesh, they rebel against God’s will and purpose. Romans 7:21–23 tells us the apostle Paul knew this struggle:

“I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully agree with the law of God in the inner person, but I see a different law in the parts of my body waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin, the law which is in my parts my body’s parts.”

     When we discipline ourselves to prayer and devotion to Scripture and then choose to live a life of faith and trust in the Father and the Son, as taught by the Holy Spirit, we have the assurance of eternal life. However, if we choose to live in the flesh, fulfilling all our passions and desires, we are doomed to certain death. We read this truth in Galatians 5:16–25:

“But I say, walk by the spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things you please. But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outburst of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the spirit, let us also walk by the spirit.”

     People make many mistakes when referring to actions regarding the soul. Much credit is given to the spirit when the soul leads and not the spirit. Being led by the soul is very dangerous. The term “spiritual person” is used by many who do not believe you must be born again to enter the kingdom of heaven.

    Those not born again cannot operate under the guidance and direction of the Spirit of God and truth. Instead, they are led into deception by their minds. When the mind learns and practices falsely “truths,” it is deceived and directed by other spirits, not the Spirit of God. Seers, numerologists, stargazers, palm readers, practitioners of white magic and witchcraft, and others are not the true teachers of the spiritual life that only comes from God. Scripture tells us that those who practice these things will not enter the kingdom of heaven. False spirituality is a work between evil spirits and the soul of man.

     Some people say, “I am a spiritual person,” when they are soulish people believing false teachings and lying spirits. Only when a person is born again does the spirit of a man and woman come alive by the Spirit of God to give that person a genuinely spiritual life and capability to walk in the Spirit, thus becoming an actual spiritual person.

     The soul is a dangerous place to look for spiritual life. There is power in the souls of men and women. Those involved in false spirituality can experience many events to mislead, keeping them from the truth and a life connected to the only true God and eternal life. Almost all these deceptive teachings come from disciplines of the soul. Mantras, chants, meditation, self-sacrifice, and many other practices can manifest strange happenings directed by evil spirits intent on causing men and women to ignore the truth about God and His love and salvation.

     The soul connected only to the body is subject to this deception. God must connect the souls of men and women to their born-again spirit, which is alive once more through the redemption given by Jesus Christ, who forgives our sins and restores our unity with God. Only then can man live the true spiritual life.

     We must never try to become a better human, nor master our bodies through the disciplines of the soul! It is perilous to do so! Instead, we must submit ourselves to the discipline of seeking our heavenly Father and to the redemption given us through His Son. Through prayer and Scripture, His Holy Spirit teaches and leads us to become more like Christ and not a better version of ourselves. As Scripture says, “Our natures must decrease, so His nature can increase!”

     The complete man and woman is a miracle! The connection of the soul and the restored spirit of a person as God made it is life and life more abundantly. It cannot be understood by those who have never experienced their spirit being alive within them. To feel God, hear God’s voice, and know who He is will only be experienced when we surrender our souls (heart, mind, will, and strength) to His Spirit. I Am Who I Am desires us to know His love, accept His love, and have a pure, honest, and fantastic relationship with our heavenly Father, our Lord and Savior, and the Teacher He sent to us.