The popular notion regarding the Soul is that it is that immaterial part of man that lives after death—that goes to hades or heaven till the resurrection; and if question were asked, "And what becomes of the Spirit?" the answer would probably be, "The Soul is the Spirit, and the Spirit is the Soul."
There is reason to suspect, however, that we have ceased to recognise a distinction which was once universally acknowledged, and that soul and spirit are not synonyms. The Bible does not use them as such; and so marked is the distinction, that when we try to ignore it, we are surprised to discover that it is impossible.
The Bible speaks of the danger of a man losing his soul, not of losing his spirit. The Bible speaks of God being a Spirit; we should be shocked were we to hear anyone say that God is a soul. Nor is it only in English that the distinction is made, we find it also in every classic language, from Hebrew downwards.
Alexander Thomson
