“then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”

Genesis 2:7

substance dualism

Body

Physical
Material
Flesh and bone
Delineated
Visible

soul

Immaterial
Consciousness
Mind and will
Formless
Invisible

“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.”

2 Corinthians 5:1–4

“for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

1 Timothy 4:8

radical dualism

Body

Physical
Secondly
Imperfect
Fragile
Utilitarian

soul

Spiritual
Primary
Ideal
Indestructible
Honorable

6. The body is therefore part of God's purposes for
the human person.

holistic dualism

Body

The body is the means through which the soul expresses itself.

soul

The soul is what gives life, initiating thought, desire, and action.

a whole person:

The human person is an embodied soul. Bodily experiences matter because they are the way the unseen is manifested in the physical realm, and the soul matters because it is what animates and directs the physical.

verse: 1 Kings 19:4-8 

BODILY CONDITION:
Elijah is exhausted and famished.

SPIRITUAL STATE:
He is despairing and loses hope.

verse: Psalm 32:3 

BODILY CONDITION:
David’s “bone’s wasted away.”

SPIRITUAL STATE:
He was unrepentant of sin.

verse: Psalm 42 

BODILY CONDITION:
David’s opponents taunt him.

SPIRITUAL STATE:
His soul is “cast down.”

verse: Luke 22:44

BODILY CONDITION:
Jesus suffers agony and sweat.

SPIRITUAL STATE:
His soul is “very sorrowful.”

“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

1 Corinthians 6:13b–20

redemptive wholeness

1. Confession — We become honest about ourselves by agreeing with what God says is true.

2. Repentance — We turn from the pursuits of self and reorient our lives toward God.

3. Conformity — We become whole as our lives are shaped into the likeness of Christ.

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

1 Corinthians 6:9–11

“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23–24