1. What Is a Soul?
Genesis 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."Three Ancient Words for Soul:
נֶ֫פֶשׁ (NEH-phesh) Hebrew,
ψυχη, (psoo-KAY) Greek
anima, (AH-nih-mah) Latin
Therefore, a living soul is what exists while God’s breath animates a physical body.
2. Do animals have souls?
Animals are souls, just like humans. A soul is the form that animal life as we know it takes. (Genesis 1:20, 21, and 24)3. What sets human souls apart
from other souls?
The image of God within.
Genesis 1:26-27 "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
4. What are some
attributes of souls?
Souls need rest. Matthew 11:29
We can “possess our souls”. Luke 21:19
Souls are added to Christ’s church. Acts 2:41
Souls can be numbered. Acts 7:14
Souls can be confirmed. Acts 14:22
Souls can be subverted. Acts 15:24
Our souls are our own. 1 Thessalonians 2:8
Some watch for our souls. Hebrews 13:17
Souls can be saved. James 1:21, 1 Peter 1:9
Souls can be purified. 1 Peter 1:22
Your soul can have a “shepherd and bishop”. 1 Peter 2:25
Souls need keeping. 1 Peter 4:19
Unstable souls can be beguiled. 2 Peter 2:14
The souls of martyrs are kept in heaven. Revelation 6:9
Souls can be bought and sold. Revelation 18:13
4. Can souls be lost?
Yes, as the necessary opposite to the idea that souls can be saved, as attested to in Psalm 72:13, Ezekiel 13:18-19, and James 1:21.5. Are souls eternal?
Not necessarilyEzekiel 18:4 "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die."
If souls survive physical death, it will be by the same means they came to be to start with: the act of God.
6. How are souls saved?
James 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.7. What is an “engrafted word”?
John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."The engrafted Word is not a “what”. It is a “who”. His name, according to the Bible, is: