Thanks for pointing that out. I looked that verses up and looked at all the different English translations. Since there are so many different translations how can one know which translation is the correct one? I usually go with the KJV but sometimes I go with the NIV.
I have been posting to Christians for many years and I have come to realize that their whole idea of what the soul is stems from one verse, but you can correct me if you think I am wrong or if you have anything to add..
Genesis 2:7
King James Version
7 And 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.
I believe this verse is correct but that it has been misinterpreted and thus misunderstood. Some Christians believe that because man became a living soul that means that the soul can die when man dies, but the reason it says "man became a living soul" is because in order to live one needs a soul. At least in this material realm of existence man needs a physical body to live, but it is the soul that animates the body an allows it to function. A man becomes a living soul at the moment of conception, and then the body begins to develop in the womb. From the moment of conception, it is the soul that is responsible for life since it animates the human body and allows it to function. A living being is a living soul because it is the soul that makes us a living being.
Genesis 2:7
New International Version
Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
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Because of some Bible verses that say the soul can die, some Christians believe that the actual soul can die or that it can be lost, but what those verses actually mean is that the soul will not have eternal life.
Matthew 16:24-26 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Jesus was saying to deny our selfish desires, things we want that are not of God, and to follow in His Way. For whoever will live for self shall lose his eternal life, but whoever will sacrifice his life for the sake of Jesus and God shall gain eternal life. It is the soul that gets eternal life, not the body.
So if we live for self and the worldly things we gain the world but we lose our soul in the sense that we lose eternal life.
When Jesus referred to eternal life, but He was not referring to physical life of the body. He was referring a quality of life, spiritual life, loving God and being close to God. All the verses below refer to eternal life of the soul, not the eternal life of the physical body, since the physical body is subject to physical death whereas the soul is immortal.
John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
1 John 5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.
John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Since the soul is immortal, all souls will continue to exist in the spiritual world after the body dies but not all souls will have eternal life (everlasting life). Eternal life refers to a “quality” of life, nearness to God which, according to Jesus, comes from believing in Him. Those people who are distant from God do not have eternal life, although their soul continues to exist in the spiritual world after their physical body dies.
Now the following verse makes sense because those souls who do not go to heaven will go to hell, which is not a place but rather a state of the soul that does not know God and/or is distant from God..
Acts 2:27
King James Version
27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.