Last week in my Coun 507 class, the professor spoke on the
immaterial part of a human being. He
mentioned the mind, heart, soul, and spirit.
It really caught my attention because it is very important for a person
to know the difference between the soul and spirit. The are not the same. The soul is the spiritual or immaterial part
of a human being, regarded as immortal.
The soul is who the person is.
The Hebrew word for "Soul" is Nephesh, which means "the
moving creature that hath life".
The word "Nephesh" occurs in the Hebrew Old Testament 754
times. The Greek word for
"Soul" is psyche. Psyche
means the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual
life.
The "Spirit" is having a connection with God. The Hebrew word for "Spirit" is Ruach.
Ruach can literally denote a person's breath. For example; when someone is on their death
bed and they literally take that last breath, that is the
"Ruach". The greek word for
"Spirit" is Pneuma. Pneuma
means "breath or air".
How can this subject be used in counseling?
When using this subject in a counseling session, it allows
the client to understand how important it is to take care of their soul and
spirit. Maybe, they will have a better
understanding on how important it is to give their lives to God. Because when someone passing away, their
bodies go into the ground but their souls go back to God or unfortunately if
they did not give their lives to the Lord, their souls will be in the hands of
the enemy ( Satan). This subject about
the soul and the spirit can truly help a counselor because many clients have
questions about God and how to be connected to him. Well, not many clients
would have those questions. If it is
ever brought up in a counseling session, the counselor should hopefully have
good knowledge on the subject and be prepared to give a good response. Both the Soul and Spirit should be taken
extremely care for.
Personal Response
I really enjoyed studying this subject, it is so important
to me, it made me want to take better care of my soul and spirit. I am so glad I made the decision years ago to
give my "Soul" to God. It now
belongs to Him now and forever more. In Acts 2:41 says; " Then those who
gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls
were added to them." Because I
gave my soul and life to God, more and more each day my "Spirit" is
getting closer to Him. Remember the
"Spirit" is having a connection to God. In John 4:24 it says that;
"God is a Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and
truth". By having that connection
with Him, a person (believer) must study and read the scriptures. Pray to Him,
be thankful to God and most of all love Him, because He loves you.
I really enjoyed this post. I think that the distinct difference between the soul and the spirit are very useful in counseling. Although I still wonder about one's salvation because I was brought up to believe that if the soul was saved you were going to Heaven regardless of spiritual growth. I know that others such as Anderson might not agree with that because of spiritual warfare so I am unsure of the different viewpoints.
ReplyDeleteGood evening Tosh, thank you for your comment. I have heard that same type of belief from certain churches I have attended in the past. For a person ( believer) to be saved and live how ever they want is very dangerous and pretty disrespectful to God. I believe we as believers should do the very best to live for God. Believers have to understand that when we confess our salvation in Christ, we will always have eyes watching are every move, if we know it or not. I guess what I am trying to say is that even though are souls are saved and will be with God for eternity,we should never neglect the spirit. God looks at our spiritual lives as well.
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