Mortals.
Some say we do. Some say we don’t. Others are not sure.
What does the Bible say?
We need not go far from the creation narrative to know the answer to this important question. Some downplay the importance of this subject. But in truth it spells the difference between the true gospel and a false one.
The first mention of the word “soul” can be found in Gen 2:7:
Gen 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.
The phrase “living soul” come from the Hebrew phrase “chay nephesh”. Chay means alive or living. Nephesh means a breathing creature. Now, these same words are used in some earlier verses, but are translated differently. They are as follows:
Gen 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life [chay, nephesh], and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
Gen 1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living [chay] creature [nephesh] after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
Gen 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life [nephesh,chay], I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
As you can see, these passages make no distinction between the life that was imparted to Adam and the life imparted to other breathing creatures. Ecclesiastes corroborates this observation:
Ecc 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
Ecc 3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
This is clear proof that man as created by God during the “creation week” is not immortal – nor was anything put in him that makes him immortal. In fact, man has to partake of the “tree of life” in order to live forever:
Gen 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
This establishes beyond doubt that man is not immortal and that he has no immortal soul.
The Gospel that Paul Preached
The immortal soul doctrine is incompatible with the teaching of resurrection. IF we have immortal soul, what need do we have for resurrection? Yet, resurrection is the subject of the gospel that Paul explained in 1Corinthians 15! Let’s take a good look at what Paul wrote:
1Co 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
1Co 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
1Co 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1Co 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
1Co 15:12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
Notice that Paul introduced his message as the gospel “which I preached unto you” [v.1]. Some, during Paul’s day, claim that there is no resurrection — and today, resurrection is de-emphasized and is hardly preached as an essential belief. Yet resurrection as Paul said is the only hope of eternal life for those who have died. Notice:
1Co 15:13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
1Co 15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
This fact is obscured by the false teaching of immortal soul and false gospels. Now continuing with Paul’s explanation of the gospel:
1Co 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
1Co 15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
Christ’s resurrection served as a forerunner of the coming resurrection of many. This makes Christ the “firstfruits” of the dead. Now Paul graphically describes this coming resurrection:
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Co 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
Presently we are corruptible [perishable, as in perishable goods] – subject to death and decay. But after resurrection – and only after resurrection – will we become unperishable and immortal.
In short, Paul was saying that Christ died for our sin, was buried and resurrected on the third day — paving the way for those who died “in Christ” to be themselves resurrected [or changed to spirit, if alive] at Christ’s second coming. That is the way eternal life is going to be granted to us. And THAT is the gospel that Paul preached!
Origin of Immortal Soul Belief
This belief that we have immortal soul has been foisted on man almost as soon as Eve was created. The “serpent” got into Eve apparently while Adam was not around:
Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Did you see how wily the serpent was? God did not prohibit the eating of every tree in the garden. God prohibited only the “tree of knowledge of good and evil”. But Satan framed his question in such a way to confuse Eve and cause her to doubt if she got God’s instruction right or if God was being truthful. In verses 2-3, Eve gave her answer. Sensing Eve’s vulnerability, the serpent then applied his “coup de grace” – this time an outright lie:
Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: Gen 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Eve’s and Adam’s subsequent actions betray how they fell for Satan’s sweet, forked tongue. They believed the serpent and felt that God lied – and was unjust to them. This serpent by the way is the same serpent that deceives the whole world today — none other than Satan [Rev.12:9]. And so today, people had come to take for granted that they have immortal soul.
Conclusion
The Bible is clear – we have no immortal soul and we don’t have immortality inherent in us. We need to be resurrected or changed to immortal spirit being [John 3:5-6]. We have to partake of the “tree of life” if we are to live forever. That tree of life is clearly symbolic rather than a literal tree. Christ told His disciples:
Joh 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man EAT OF THIS BREAD, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
…
Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: THE WORDS THAT I SPEAK unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
…
Joh 6:68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE.
Christ also said:
Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that DOETH THE WILL of my Father which is in heaven.
Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that DO HIS COMMANDMENTS, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Joh 12:49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
Joh 12:50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.
“He that has an ear let him hear.”
