The Bible’s own language for death is sleep, not conscious existence in the period between death and resurrection (i.e., the intermediate state). That idea comes from Greek philosophy. In this article we’ll notice a sampling of verses which demonstrate how the Bible uses the word soul. As stated previously, our methodology in examining this topic is as follows.
First, we’ll examine the Bible’s description of the soul (previous blog post). Second, we’ll observe the usage of the term “soul” within the biblical context (this article). Third, we’ll analyze various passages often cited as evidence for the soul’s ability to exist independently from the body.
Although some of the passages we’ll examine in this article may revisit concepts from the previous article, it’s important to reinforce the idea that the soul is not a separate entity which inhabits our bodies. Instead, it is a biblical concept representing the inseparable combination of our body and immaterial inner being. In other words, the soul is not something we have; it is what we are. Said yet another way, the soul is the summation of one’s body and inner being.
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