Human Nature

The biblical view of a spirit-body dualism requires that each person have an eternal destiny, for the spirit (or soul) of a man continues to exist even after the death of the body. This anthropological assertion stands in direct contrast to secular naturalism that reduces the soul and human person equivalent to the psychological affect of biochemical functions. In this atheistic view, the human person obviously could not exist beyond the death of the body. However, Thomistic dualism (from Thomas Aquinas) proposes that the “soul is an immaterial substance different from the body to which it is related.”⁵  One must not confuse this belief with the dualistic Gnostic doctrine of the body being evil and unnecessary.  For, “while the soul is in the body, the body-soul complex is a deeply integrated unity with a vastly complicated, intricate array of mutual functional dependence and causal connection. [Yet Thomistic dualism] allows for the possibility that the soul may exist independent of the body…”⁶ If it is true that the soul may be disembodied, then the possibility exists that the human soul is in some sense immortal, continuing on after physical death. The human spirit cannot be intrinsically eternal, for God alone is essentially and necessarily immortal (1 Tim. 6:16).  Paul alone speaks about future immortality extensively (Rom. 2:7; 1 Cor. 15:53-54; 2 Tim. 1:10). From the biblical record it must be concluded that after the soul comes into existence, it is sustained by God forever (Acts 17:28; Col. 1:16-17), even through disembodiment and consignment to heaven or hell.⁷

Thomistic dualism also stands in contradistinction to the theistic extinction/re-creation position, which involves the view that soul and body are inseparable (monism).  In this theory, the soul dies upon bodily death as well and is later recreated at the resurrection by God. The biblical data clearly proves this view false.  In the Old Testament, the soul or spirit appears to be something added to the lifeless body in order to form the whole person (Gen. 2:7; Ezek. 37), and the resurrection involves the same soul returning to its body (Gen. 35:18; Ps. 30:3; 49:15; 146:4; Isaiah 26:14, 19).⁸  The New Testament provides a much more explicit emphasis on the dualistic nature of humanity.  Concerning Jesus’ death, Peter wrote that He was “made alive in the spirit,” though not yet in body, and spoke to the spirits of those who lived during Noah’s day (1 Peter 1:18-20). At the moment of Christ’s death, He gave up His spirit, leaving the body behind (Matt. 27:50; Luke 23:46).  Jesus did not simply cease to breathe, for He committed Himself into God’s hands, indicating that His spirit was departing from His body to be with the Father.  Not until three days later did Christ receive his glorified body and become the firstborn of the resurrection (Col. 1:15), to again become and forever remain a dualistic body-soul being.  Next, Hebrews 12:23 speaks of the “spirits of the righteous made perfect,” and Revelation 6:9-11 tells of the martyrs crying for vengeance, referred to as “souls.”  These souls await their final resurrection, the reuniting of their souls and their bodies (Rev. 20:4-5).  Finally, examining the letters written by Paul adds significant weight to the idea of Thomistic dualism.  Paul distinguishes between the earthly body and heavenly resurrection body in 2 Corinthians 5:1-10, and refers to being “absent from the body and at home with the Lord.”  The disembodied state is seen as “nakedness,” or being found “unclothed.”  A parallel passage is found in Philippians 1:21-24, when Paul speaks of the necessity to “remain on in the flesh,” in contrast to his spirit departing to be with Christ.  Finally, Paul explicitly states the possibility of one’s spirit departing the body in 2 Corinthians 12:1-4.  Paul is describing a vision that he had of the third heaven, the abode of God, and is unsure whether or not he left his body, indicating the soul’s ability to exist independently, even before death!⁹  The biblical data, while not focused on proving a form of dualism per se, is nonetheless extremely clear in its view of human nature; namely, that while the soul and body are intricately and eternally related, the soul can exist in a disembodied state.  This truth is vitally important in understanding the eternality of the future punishment of the wicked, because if the soul continues to exist beyond physical death, those who do not put their faith in Christ must be consigned to a place other than heaven for all eternity.