Spirit, Soul, Body and Heart

This Scripture tells us that a human being has: (i) a spirit; (ii) a soul; and (c) a body.

God breathed life into man and this is the human spirit that is the life force of every human being.

“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.” [Genesis 2:7 KJV]  “The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” [Job 33:4 NKJV]

Without the human spirit, there is no life, no soul and only a dead body. “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” [James 2:26 NKJV]  Before Jesus died on the cross, the last words He spoke, according to Luke 23:46 (NKJV) were “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.

This life-giving spirit is also the point of communion between man and God.  Proof of this is that when we are “born again” (i.e., when we receive Christ as Lord), we receive a new spirit; we are born of the Holy Spirit – John 3:3-8; and 2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore, if anyone [is] in Christ, [he is] a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” [NKJV] “For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.” [Roman 8:16 NLT]

The “soul” (Strong’s Concordance H5315) refers to a “creature” (i.e. a living creation of God).  It is the character of a person, i.e. the person’s:

(a) mind (how a person thinks and perceives the world);

(b) will (how a person interacts with the world);  and

(c) emotions –

all housed in a human body, for as long as the human spirit of that person is still on earth.  The soul defines the unique character of a person and the body defines the person’s unique physical identity.

In the bible, “spirit” and “soul” are sometimes used interchangeably (see for example Genesis 35:18 KJV: “And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.”).  This confirms that the soul cannot exist without the spirit (as is often colloquially put – the spirit is the seat of the soul).

The soul is influenced by the person’s spirit.  Those who are born again and who yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit allow their souls to be influenced by the leading of the Holy Spirit.  “Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.”  [Romans 8:12 -13 NLT]

The born again person also renews his mind by the word of God.   “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what [is] that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” [Romans 12:2 NKJV]

The “body” is the physical house of the human spirit and soul, made by God from the elements of the world (Genesis 2:7).  Medical science confirms that the human body is made up of elements such as oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, calcium, phosphorus, sulphur, potassium etc.  However, there is both a human body and a spiritual body.

When a person dies, the human spirit and soul separate from the person’s human body (refer to Genesis 35:18 and Luke 23:46).  “Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.  But, that is not the end of the body.”  [2 Corinthians 5:8 NLT]

“ … Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever.  Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength.  They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies. [1 Corinthians 15:42-44 NLT]

We see a glimpse of the glory of the resurrected body through what Jesus was able to do in His resurrected body.  His body was material (it could be touched and felt; He could eat solid food [Luke 24:39-43]), yet He was able to appear and disappear, unlike a human body [John 20:26-28; Luke 24:30-31].

“What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later.”  [1 Corinthians 15:46 NLT]   “For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.”  [1 Corinthians 15:53 NLT]

This means our unique character (soul) and physical identity will transition into the spiritual world after we have died on earth when the human spirit, soul and transformed immortal body reunite in the spiritual world that is to come.  This applies to everyone (believer or not), for everyone who dies will be resurrected (in one of two phases of resurrection – Revelation 20:4-5 and 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17); and those who have not died by the end of the world will all have their bodies transformed into spiritual bodies – “But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.” [1 Corinthians 15:51-52 NLT]

Corruption of the Heart and our Redemption

One of the best descriptions of biblical references to the heart (in my view) comes from Owen (as quoted by JL Marais in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia) – “The heart in Scripture is variously used, sometimes for the mind and understanding, sometimes for the will, sometimes for the affections, sometimes for the conscience, sometimes for the whole soul. Generally, it denotes the whole soul of man and all the faculties of it, not absolutely, but as they are all one principle of moral operations, as they all concur in our doing of good and evil.” (https://biblehub.com/topical/h/heart.htm  – 16 August 2025)

The heart can either be evil or good.  “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” [Matthew 12:35 KJV]  As Jesus said: “A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad.” [Matthew 12:33 NLT]

If a person’s heart is evil, that person will allow evil thoughts in his mind (i.e. part of the soul) that will eventually lead to the commission of an outward sin.  “Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.  These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.” [James 1:14 NLT]. Therefore, we are warned in Proverbs to “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” [Proverbs 4:23 NLT]  This means the heart can be corrupted or it can be sanctified (with bad or good consequences, respectively).

When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, sin entered the world and mankind was separated from God (i.e. this resulted in both spiritual and physical death for mankind).  “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.” [Romans 5:12 NLT]   Because of sin, God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, placed a curse on them that included death [Genesis 3:19] and prevented them from eating from the tree of life (which would have allowed man to live for eternity in his sinful, fallen state – [Genesis 3:22]). Thus, physical death was assured for all humanity – “After sending them out, the LORD God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” [Genesis 3:24 NLT]  Romans 5:12 confirms the corruption of man’s “heart” through sin. This corruption spread to everyone.

“For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” [Matthew 15:19 NKJV]

However, God has made it possible for a person to be redeemed (i.e. to have a person’s spirit, soul and spiritual body to be forever reunited with God).  “But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.” [Romans 5:15-16 NLT]

God made this possible by sending His Son, Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for our sins through the shedding of His blood and His death on the cross (so that we may be set free from that penalty and we may receive the free gift of salvation from God).  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” [John 3:16 NKJV]

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” [Romans 10:9 NLT]  God has made it that simple for us to be reunited with Him.

Being born again is the beginning of the transformation of the heart.  “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” [Ezekiel 36:26 NLT]

A person whose heart is God conscious, who has a new spirit that is in communion with God (having received Christ as Lord), a mind that is renewed by the word of God and a soul that is led by the Holy Spirit will bear the goodness that is evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit – “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” [Galatians 5:22-23 NLT]

Where do you stand in your relationship with God today?