The Soul and the Self — The Spiritual Man

The Soul and the Self

Since we have seen how the soul is our personality, the faculty of our will, and our life, we naturally come to the conclusion that the soul is our true self, it is our self. Our “self” is the soul. This is also clearly affirmed by the Bible.

In Numbers chapter 30, the phrase “bind himself” appears ten times. In the original Hebrew, it is literally “bind the soul.” This helps us understand that the soul is the person himself. There are many places in the Bible where the word “soul” is translated as “self.” Here are a few examples:

• Leviticus 11:43: Do not defile yourselves — the original reads “do not defile your souls.”

• Leviticus 11:44: You shall not make yourselves unclean — again, “souls.”

• Esther 9:31: For themselves and for their descendants — literally “for their souls and their descendants.”

• Job 18:4: You who tear yourself in anger — “tear your soul.”

• Job 32:2: He justified himself — “his soul.”

• Isaiah 46:2: Their souls go into captivity — here, “themselves” is “souls.”

Moreover, Exodus 12:16 refers to “what every man must eat,” which in Hebrew is “what every soul must eat.” Numbers 35:11, 15 say “who kills any person,” but literally, “who kills any soul.” Numbers 23:10 says, “Let me die the death of the righteous,” but the original says, “Let my soul die…” Leviticus 2:1: “When anyone offers a grain offering” — in Hebrew, “when a soul offers…” Psalm 131:2: “My soul is calm and quiet.” Esther 4:13: “Do not think that you in the king’s palace will escape” — literally, “Do not think your soul will escape…” Amos 6:8: “The Lord has sworn by Himself” — “by His soul.” These various passages show clearly that the soul is the person.

This is also true in the New Testament. In 1 Peter 3:20, the “eight persons” — in Greek, it is “eight souls.” Acts 27:37 says there were “276 persons on the ship,” literally “276 souls.” Romans 2:9 says, “tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil” — the Greek is “every soul who does evil.” The warning is to the soul that does evil — in other words, the person. James 5:20 says saving a soul from death is saving a sinner. In Luke 12:19, the foolish rich man speaks to his own soul, offering it comfort — in reality, speaking to himself.

Therefore, it is very clear that the Bible considers a person’s soul — or the life of the soul — as the person himself. In the examples above, a literal translation using “soul” or “life” would render the verse meaningless; only when translated as “self” or “person” does it make sense. This is because the Holy Spirit views the soul or life of a person as the self. If we value the words of the Lord Jesus, we must confirm this understanding.

Matthew 16:26 says, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his soul (Greek: psuchē)? Or what can a man give in return for his soul (psuchē)?”

Luke 9:25 says, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses or forfeits himself?”

The event described in Matthew and Luke is the same. But one uses the word “soul,” the other “self.” Thus we see that the Holy Spirit uses Matthew to explain what “self” in Luke means, and uses Luke to explain what “soul” in Matthew means. The soul, or the life of the soul, is the self. The self is the soul, or soul-life.

When we read what the Bible says about the soul, we come to understand that a person’s soul is his life, his self, his personality — which includes his will, mind, emotions, and more. This study brings us to a conclusion: the soul encompasses everything that constitutes “human nature.” Every natural human being has a soul, and everything within that soul. The soul is the life shared by all flesh-and-blood humans. Before one is born again, everything contained in their life — whether self, vitality, strength, abilities, thoughts, intentions, affections, or feelings — all belongs to the soul. In other words, the soul-life is the life we are born with from our mother’s womb. Everything we originally had, can have, or are capable of having before believing in the Lord belongs to the soul-life. Once we clearly understand what belongs to the soul, we will then be able to discern what belongs to the spirit and thus distinguish between what is spiritual and what is soulish.