Some even deny that the soul can survive when the body dies. They talk about “soul sleep.” What they really mean is that nothing remains of us after death. We cease to exist, at least for a while. Some even deny the existence of a soul. Advocates of these views look for biblical evidence. They also introduce philosophical categories…I wish to discover how each individual term is used throughout Scripture.

Doctrinal controversies go in and out of style. Students of the Bible may debate an issue at one time but find it boring at some later point. Sometimes disputes cool off for a while. They flare up again when someone works out a new potential implication of the argument.

One of these recurring controversies concerns our basic nature. What are we, and what makes us human? Is our material being our real self? Or is the immaterial the real us? Do our true selves live in our bodies, or do our bodies somehow define self-hood? If we are immaterial, how many immaterial parts do we have? Are soul and spirit distinguishable, or are they identical? What about other features such as the heart? How are all these questions related to our creation in God’s image?

Much of this debate went out of style a generation or two ago. Recent perspectives are bringing it to the front again. For example, transgenderism forces us to ask how our bodies relate to our identities. Christian counselors are disputing how souls influence bodies and vice versa. Some theories of sanctification assume that spirit and soul are different. Other theories insist they are the same.

Two views used to be popular. We usually called one dichotomy and the other trichotomy. Sometimes we called them the dipartite and tripartite theories. Trichotomists argue that humans consist of three substances (body, soul, and spirit). Dichotomists see only two elements (body and soul/spirit).

Trichotomists advanced several scriptural evidences to support their position. One text, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, names spirit, soul, and body in parallel. Trichotomists view this parallelism as proof for three equal parts of human nature. They also point to Hebrews 4:12, which says that the Word of God can separate soul and spirit. Then they turn to Mary’s Magnificat. Mary states that her soul magnifies the Lord and that her spirit has rejoiced in God her savior (Luke 1:46–47).

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