[Steve Myers] Do you have a soul or are you a soul? That was the topic of our last BT Daily and it's such an important question for you to answer because it will guide your whole view of what God thinks about you and what His plan is for you as well. We recognized the other day in Genesis 1:20And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
See All... that living creatures were created by God. Nephesh , nephesh were created - living creatures. And we found that that same word was used in Genesis 2:7And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
See All... for people. When God created Adam and Eve they were living beings, they were living souls. So they didn't possess immortality. They weren't eternal to begin with.
We talked about Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
See All... where it says eternity, eternal life is the gift of God. It's not something that we possess already. And here's something that's very startling if you've never thought about this in the past.
There is a remarkable passage that's over in Ezekiel. It's in Ezekiel 18:4Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
See All.... This is a passage you should look up and really study because it will probably rattle your bones right down to the very core if you believe you already have eternal life, if you believe you are an immortal soul because you're going to run into a problem with that belief when you read Ezekiel 18:4Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
See All.... Let's notice what it says.
It says, "Behold, all souls are Mine." That's what God is saying - all souls, all nephesh . Now we know that's a living being. "All living beings are Mine," says God, "The soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine." So each time that word soul is being used there, that is the word nephesh that we know is a living being. Now, here's the startling part - the end of verse 4, God says, "The soul who sins shall die."
So, obviously, you don't have an immortal soul because God says it can die. It's not immortal. It will die and so God points out very clearly enteral life is something that God gives us. It's not something that we already possess.
So, if you begin to really think about that that has to change your idea of what heaven and what hell is all about because it's not biblical to believe that you already have immortality. There is hope in the future that God can give us eternal life. It's a bit subject. There's a lot to it so I encourage you to look into it and find out for yourself what the true Bible teaching is on immorality.
That's BT Daily . We'll see you next time.
I studied the Bible in Bible college many, many years ago and thought I was well versed (no pun intended), but each time I log on to the U.G.C. website I learn something new. Thank you for providing so much material in all forms (written, audio and visual). Thank you.
Just a note of information: The words soul and souls in the old testament are not always translated from the hebrew word "nephesh". In Job 30:15, the hebrew word for soul is "nediybah" and the word for souls in Isaiah 57:16 is the hebrew word "neshamah". Basically, the meanings of these words are the same as "nephesh." (Reference: "The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible")