BT24: There is much discussion today among Christians about whether Scripture speaks of man as trichotomous (three parts - body, soul, and spirit), dichotomous (two parts - body and soul/spirit), or holistic (a unit - with body, soul, and spirit as different aspects, different ways of viewing that total unit). What are the hermeneutical princple(s) that should be applied when attempting to resolve this question?

Deuteronomy 4:29, Deuteronomy 6:5, Deuteronomy 10:12, Deuteronomy 11:13, Deuteronomy 13:3, Deuteronomy 26:16, Deuteronomy 30:2, Deuteronomy 30:6, Deuteronomy 30:10, Joshua 22:5, Joshua 23:14, I Kings 2:4, and many other verses in the Old Testament speak of seeking God with all of one's heart and all of one's soul. Those verses do not speak of both soul and spirit in a way that would suggest that they are separate entities. The Hebrew word used for soul was "nephesh," and it means the inner being of man, the man himself, the self, the person or the individual. In the New Testament, Matthew 10:28, Matthew 16:26, Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27, I Peter 2:11, II Peter 2:8, and III John 1:2 also refer to only the soul and not the spirit. The Greek word used for soul was "psuche," and it means a living being, a living soul, or the seat of the feelings, desires, affections, aversions.

By contrast, I Thessalonians 5:23 refers to the body, soul, and spirit and says, "May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Hebrews 4:12 also refers to both soul and spirit and says, "For the word of God is living 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." In those two verses, the Greek word for soul was also "psuche," and the word for spirit was "pneuma," which means the rational spirit, the power by which the human being feels, thinks, and decides.

In Matthew 12:18, spirit is used to refer to the Holy Spirit. In I Peter 1:22, the Apostle Peter wrote about purifying one's soul by obeying the truth of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Based on the multiple uses of spirit and soul in both the Old and New Testaments, humans seem to be dichotomous and in the form of a body and a soul. The use of spirit seems to be speaking of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and that Spirit seems to reside within the soul. The fact that Hebrews 4:12 spoke of dividing soul and spirit also suggests that they are somehow together as one.