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Hebrews 4:12


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okay so I been reading this verse and I have to ask what is the difference between a Spirit and Soul?

 

 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

 

Hebrews 4:12

 

Is this referring to the flesh verses the Spirit?

 

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if you look around on the forum, you will see that this has been dealt with many times, and that opinions vary. The context also changes from verse to verse, the original languages have their own implications. I suggest looking around here, or going to bible resource sites, and looking into the topic. 

 

For myself, I am so far convinced, that others do not have positions that I feel comfortable adopting as any sort of absolute definition, so I do not feel the liberty to repeat them as if they were all that authoritative. 

 

I typically find, that splitting hairs about what the differences might be, if any, don't usually help me find an understanding that alters anyting the verse is probably trying to say.

 

I know you have some resources Jen, for example, your ESV study bible, look in that commentary, and then ask, is there some reason to suspect, that people here can be that helpful in terms of being any more gifted at understanding than various professional

interpreters already offered, in easy to access places?

 

I don't want to discourage you from asking questions, but what do you think  is changed, by trying various ideas about the spirit and the soul here?

 

In other words, substitute the suspects, and then see what the verse teaches. Does that change anything?

 

What is the takeaway of the verse?:

 

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

 

I think the part I put in bold, is what the verse is driving home, the stuff in between is an illustration, a restatement of the word's power, and what it does.

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Omega I already looked at resources I would not have posted this without at first looking it up.

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We all have a spirit but we are not a spirit.The Bible tells us that only believers are spiritually alive 1 Corinthians 2:11.As humans we have a body but we are a soul.The word soul means life.As humans we are naturally sinful and we are eager to sin Luke 12:26 so our soul is effected as well.The soul and the spirit are connected but separable Hebrews 4:12.The soul is the substance of a human.The spirit is what connects us to God.

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Guest shiloh357

The soul is the seat of your will, your mind and emotions.  Your spirit is the part of the you that is immediately born of God the moment you are saved.  It is the part of you that is right now, a new creation.

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okay so I been reading this verse and I have to ask what is the difference between a Spirit and Soul?

 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

 

Is this referring to the flesh verses the Spirit?

No this is not "flesh" vs Spirit but "soul" vs "spirit".  So the first question is what is the soul?

 

SOUL

The Lord Jesus called it the "heart of man", and by that we should understand it is one's innermost, immaterial being -- the real "you".  Within the soul is the heart (the emotions), the mind (thoughts) and the will (decision-making), and also "the flesh" (the old Adamic sin nature).  Therefore all evil proceeds "out of the heart of man" (Mk 7:21-23).

 

SPIRIT

There is another component to the soul which is "the spirit" -- that part of you which understands spiritual things and communicates with God (1 Cor 2:11-14).  In the "natural man" the spirit is dead, but the soul is alive.  At the New Birth, God "quickens" the spirit -- makes it alive by placing the Holy Spirit within (Eph 2:1,5). This is "regeneration" and "renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Tit 3:5).  This constitutes the "spiritual man" or "the inner man".

 

So the Word of God is like a two-edged sword which separates the functions of the soul from the spirit.  It exposes the sins that are within the soul ("the thoughts and intents of the heart"), but it also provides a spiritual weapon to the spirit.  Our spirits wield the Sword of the Spirit against Satan and all his evil spirits, and the whole armour of God is spiritual armour (Eph 6:10-18). 

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