Body Sleeps, Soul Lives

Some ground rules: physical death is nothing more than the death of the body our souls presently inhabit. God made man in his image, with an eternal soul that will never die. God also made man a body for the soul to inhabit. Adam was made with a soul and body that were to live together as an entity for eternity.

Adam broke the rules of God. God had promised Adam that in the very day he quit trusting in God and trusted in his own judgment, he would surely die that same day. Since God made man in his image, with an eternal soul, death of the soul merely meant separation from the life of righteousness in God. The soul that sins will surely die (be separated from the righteousness of God), but it would remain a living soul for eternity. The soul of a righteous man is never separated from God, but the soul of a condemned man is separated from God for eternity.

There are three deaths for mankind. Adam instituted the first death. God had breathed his breath of life and righteousness into Adam and he became a living soul with God. He was one with God in that he had the breath of God in him. As soon as Adam removed his faith from God, he immediately was separated from God. Adam’s spiritual soul, breath from God died, and he was immediately separated from God.

Adam was still an entity and had a soul of his own, but it was no longer in union with the life of God. The life of God in Adam died, he was separated from God, and all of his descendents would be born without this spiritual connection (soul, breath of life from God). All men born since Adam are separated from God, and can only become part of God again through Christ and the Holy Ghost.

Since righteousness was separated from man (Adam), his body would begin to take on the effects of the tainted world and evil of mankind caused by man’s own actions. Man’s bodies would begin to decay and die, but the soul that inhabits it is eternal and will never cease to exist. The bodies we inhabit are tainted by the sin and must eventually die, to be replaced with an eventual resurrected body which will be inhabited with the eternal soul of man.

When a man is born again, it is due to his faith in the promise of God and the application of grace by Christ in the form of the Holy Ghost. This new birth of the Christian is the indwelling of the perfect Holy Ghost (Spirit of Christ) in the regenerated new creature. The separated man has now become one with God again through the Holy Ghost.

The born again creature in Christ now has a new heart and is in union with God for eternity. This soul of the once separated man is now united with the soul of Christ for eternity. Our soul becomes one with Christ, and we always be wherever Christ will be. Since death of the soul is nothing more than separation from God, the new born again person’s soul will never be separated from Christ and will not experience the second death of man’s soul.

The third death, the second death of the soul, is the final judgment of the wicked (those without Christ). Those, who never accepted the free gift of salvation from Christ through faith, remain separated from God in their physical bodies until it decays and dies. Then their eternal soul, still separated from God, will be temporarily confined to hell until the judgment day.

At the judgment day, the bodies of these wicked will be resurrected into an immortal body that can live forever along with the soul that will inhabit this newly resurrected body, but both will be cast into the Lake of Fire that burns for eternity. This is the second death of the soul that has never accepted the free gift of salvation.

The gist of the descriptions is that all souls will live for eternity. The souls that reject the only salvation available will live eternally separated from God in the Lake of Fire. The soul of the born again believer, those who accepts the free salvation offered by God, will also live eternally, but will live eternally with Christ in heaven in a blissful place that is so much greater than this life that it cannot be explained to mortals.

The remainder of this topical study will deal with scriptures verifying the fact a man who is born again of Christ will never see death or separation of his soul from Christ. All born again Christians are already alive in Christ (united with him in spirit) and will continue to be with Christ in heaven at the immediate cessation of this physical body. I will not attempt to show the scriptures proving the unsaved souls will go directly to hell in this study. I have two other studies that prove that fact indisputably.

Be careful about taking scripture out of context: for instance, when Jesus said, Moses is dead, he meant his physical body. We know his spiritual soul was with God, because Moses and Elias appeared on the Mount of transfiguration with Jesus.

Job 12:10 In whose hand (God’s) is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. (The soul of the righteous is always in the hand of Christ.)

Psalms 23:4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me. (Christ is with our souls during death)

Psalms 49:15 God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. (David said he would be received into heaven at his physical death.)

Psalms 56:12-13 12Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee. 13Thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that “I may walk before God in the light of the living”? (Christ delivers the soul from death; it is separated from the physical to be with Christ)

Psalms 66:9 God holds our soul in life, and suffers not our feet to be moved. (Christ holds/keeps our soul in life; he is constantly united with our soul through the Holy Ghost.)

Proverbs 10:2-3 2Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivers from death. 3The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casts away the substance of the wicked. (The righteousness of the Holy Ghost delivers our soul from the power of death to the body and Christ will not allow the soul to famish in hell when it leaves the body; it will remain united with Christ.)

Ecclesiastes 7:1 A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth. (The person who has a good name, united with Christ has a better life in Christ at the death of his body than he has from the time he is born until the time his body dies.)

Matthew 10:28 Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (It is clear here that the body can be dead, but the spirit is either alive in Christ or alive and being ruined in hell. Note the passage did not say the soul was killed in hell, but it is destroyed, ruined, in hell.)

Matthew 18:8-9 8If thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9If thine eye offends thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. (A person may live maimed in this life, but it is better than to die physically and the soul be cast into hell fire at death. If those without Christ still have a soul in hell, then those with Christ have their soul in heaven.)

Matthew 22:32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. (Jesus states in the above that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are alive as he speaks. Jesus also assures all that he is God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (The soul continues to live after the body dies.)

Matthew 27:52-53 52The graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. (These saints bodies were asleep, were resurrected, reunited with their souls and are now in heaven with Christ)

Mark 12:25-27 25When they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven. 26As touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spoke unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? 27He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err. (Again, God states that the souls live on after death. He is not the God of the dead bodies, but the God of righteous souls which are alive in Christ.)

Luke 16:22-26 22It came to pass, the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man died, and was buried; 23in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24He cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime received thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26Beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us that would come from thence. (It is clear that both of these men’s bodies had died, but one’s soul was in hell and the other in Paradise with Jesus.)

Luke 17:20-21 20When he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, the kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21neither shall they say, Lo here! Or, lo there! For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. (The kingdom of God is within the born again creature. It is the new spirit from Christ who makes us alive in him for eternity.)

Luke 20:37-38 37Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he called the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38He is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.

Luke 23:42-43, 46 42He said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou come into thy kingdom. 43Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, today shall thou be with me in Paradise. 46When Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. (Jesus told the thief his soul would be with Jesus immediately after his physical death)

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him. (Those who are born again already have eternal life and shall never see spiritual death or sleep. They are alive and one with Christ.)
John 4:14 Whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (The Holy Ghost dwelling in the born again person will ensure that his soul is always alive with Christ.)

John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (Again, the believer has passed from spiritual death unto eternal spiritual life and shall always be alive in Christ.)

John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. (The believer has eternal life in Christ and will never see spiritual death nor be asleep, but will be alive. This is always stated in the present tense in the Bible)

John 8:52 The Jews said unto Jesus, now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou say, if a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. (Those who are born again shall never taste of spiritual death or limbo. Their bodies will die, but their spirits remain alive in Christ.)

John 11:11-14, 25-26 11These things said he: and after that he said unto them, our friend Lazarus sleeps; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. 12Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleeps, he shall do well. 13Howbeit Jesus spoke of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. 14Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 25Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he was dead, yet shall he live. 26Whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Believe thou this? (Jesus told them that he was the resurrection. All, who die the physical death, still are in Christ and he is the life. The body sleeps, but the soul is with Christ. He did not tell the soul to awake in Lazarus, he told the soul to come forth back into the body of Lazarus. Jesus made it clear that the soul of the believer never dies)

John 12:25 He that loves his life shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. (Those who accept Christ, Holy Ghost, into their lives will receive life eternal from that point onward. The soul will not be affected by physical death.)

Acts 7:59-60 59They stoned Stephen while he was calling upon God. He said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 60He kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord; lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (Stephen’s spirit was received by Christ, but his body fell asleep.)

Romans 6:23 The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (When we accept the free gift, we have eternal life in Christ from that time forward and the spirit will never die.)

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 6We are always confident, knowing that, while we are home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7(For we walk by faith, not by sight) 8We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (Lest anyone get this mixed up, the born again always has the Holy Ghost of Christ dwelling in him, but he is not in the presence of the Christ in heaven. The minute we die the physical death, the Holy Ghost whisks us away to heaven and we are immediately in the presence of the Christ.)

Ephesians 2:5-6 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved): 6and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Even though we are not in the presence of Christ in heaven, we are with Christ and one with Christ through the power of the Holy Ghost in us. At our death, we are loosed from the physical and our spirit returns to the presence of Christ.)

Philippians 1:21-23 21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22If I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor: yet what I shall choose I want not. 23I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: (Another verse telling us we yearn to be in the very presence of Christ in heaven, and will be when we shed this sinful body.)

Colossians 1:12-13 12Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: (Through the power of the Holy Ghost, our souls have been translated into eternal life in Christ.)

2 Timothy 1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: (The receiving of the gospel translates us from death into eternal life and we are alive spiritually for ever.)

2 Timothy 2:11 It is a faithful saying: for if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: (We mortify our flesh by allowing Christ to live through us by the power of the Holy Ghost in us. The more we mortify our flesh, the more we allow Christ to live through us. At death of the flesh, the last obstacle has been removed, and we are immediately in the presence of Christ in heaven in our spirit.)

Hebrews 4:9-10 9There remains therefore a rest to the people of God. 10He that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. (When we are born again of the spirit of Christ, we are no longer under the law of works, but we are made alive in Christ and rest in him in the spirit. Since we are in him in the spirit, our flesh will sleep until we receive a new immortal body, but our souls, spirit, are still with Christ in heaven.)

1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loves not his brother abides in death. (The born again have passed from spiritual death unto eternal spiritual life and shall always be alive in Christ.)

1 John 5:11-13 11This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life and this life is in his Son. 12He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (He that hath the Christ dwelling in him through the power of the Holy Ghost has the same life as Christ, an eternal, never ending spiritual life.)

Revelations 2:10 Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. (This is for those who die as martyrs during the Tribulation. They will immediately be given a crown of life which is a reward for the martyrs of the Tribulation. Of course, this includes immediate spiritual life with Christ.)

Revelations 4:4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of Gold. (This scene describes some of those who have died the physical death, already received rewards, and are in the spiritual presence of Christ in heaven.)

Revelations 5:3, 5, 8-11 3No man in heaven, or in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. 5One of the elders said unto me, weep not: Behold, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loosen the seven seals thereof. 8When he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. 9They sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou was slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. 11I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; (In verse 3, the term “no man in heaven” proves the souls of men are not sleeping, but are in heaven with Christ. Verse eight affirms 24 elders whose spirits are before the throne. Verse 9 affirms men’s souls singing a new song and lists the souls from all kindred, languages, peoples, and nations. In verse 11, John states the number of souls present were about 100 million souls in heaven.)

Revelations 6:9-11 9When he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11White robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. (This passage also lists many souls in heaven, yet their bodies are still asleep. You can read the details in the passage.)

Revelations 7:9-10 9I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindred’s, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10and cried with a loud voice, saying, salvation to our God which sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. (Another passage stating the quantity of souls in heaven which was such an enormous amount, no man could number them. It has to be remembered, these are all awaiting the end of the end of time on earth and before Christ sets up the 1000 year reign on the earth and their bodies lie asleep in the earth)

Revelations 14:13 I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, write, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, says the Spirit that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them. (Their spirits and their works precede their resurrected bodies into heaven. The spirits are immediately transported to heaven)

Matthew 5:21 As sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. (Sin has control of the soul unto the death of the body of the unbeliever. Eternal life reigns over the soul of the born again one and continues on into heaven.)

Matthew 9:24 He said unto them, give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleeps. They laughed him to scorn. (The body was sleeping, but not the soul. Jesus called the soul back into the body.)

Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls (The soul, of the born again, finds rest in Christ, but is not asleep like the body)

John 2:17 The world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abides for ever. (The Born-again are alive forever more in Christ even when the body is asleep awaiting its resurrection.)

John 3:5-6 5Jesus answered, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. (Those who are born again of the spirit of Christ are alive in Christ and part of the kingdom of God.)

John 3:16, 36 16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 36He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him. (The believers “have” everlasting life, not will obtain it.)

John 5:26 As the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself. (Those born again of Christ are alive in Christ through the Holy Ghost)

John 6:40, 47, 63 40This is the will of him that sent me, that every one which sees the Son, and believed on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. 47Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. 63It is the spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. (Raise him up at the last day means his body will be resurrected into a new immortal body and reunited with his everlasting spirit which dwells with Christ. Jesus makes it clear by verifying it twice (verily, verily) the Christian “has” eternal life with Christ.)

John 8:12 Then spoke Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (The light of life, Christ, has quickened made alive the soul of the born again child of God.)

John 10:28 I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish; neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (All born again are eternally alive and secure in Christ.)

John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he was dead, yet shall he live. (Even though his body sleeps, his soul lives in Christ.)

John 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be. (The born again servant is “always” with Christ, never apart from him.)

John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, if a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (Christ lives in each Christian, thus he is always alive.)

Romans 5:18, 21 18Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 21That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. (Salvation of God reigns eternally in the soul of the believer; he will always be alive in Christ.)

Romans 6:4, 11 4Therefore we are buried with him by Baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 11Likewise reckon you also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Our bodies will die because of sin, but our new souls are alive eternally.)

Romans 8:1-2, 10-11, 14, 38-39 1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 10If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you. 14As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (A born again child of God cannot be separated from Christ at death, nor for any other reason.)

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 16Don’t you know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are (Even though a born again Christian cannot lose his soul, he can have his flesh destroyed if he continues to defile it, because it is the temple of the Holy Ghost)

1 Corinthians 15:16-18, 22, 44-45 16If the dead rise not, and then is not Christ raised: 17and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 22As in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 44It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45So it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. [Those (bodies), who have fallen asleep, but their souls are in Christ though the quickening of the Holy Ghost, are living souls alive in Christ and shall never perish.)

2 Corinthians 2:15-16 15We are unto God a sweet savor of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: 16To the one we are the savor of death unto death; and to the other the savor of life unto life. (We are alive eternally in Christ and represent a sweet presence to other Christians, but represent eternal damnation to the wicked, that is why they hate Christians.)

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 16For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perishes, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 17For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. (We see spiritually and know our souls are eternal because we are in Christ and he is eternal.)

Galatians 2:19-20 19I, through the law, am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Christ actually lives in me through the power of the Holy Ghost; I am eternally alive in the spirit of Christ.)

Ephesians 2:19-22 19Therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21in whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22in whom ye also are built together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. (Again, the Holy Ghost is life in all Christians for eternity. Our souls are one with Christ in eternal life.)

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 13I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them which also sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

1 Timothy 1:16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. (Believing brings eternal life into one’s soul.)

Hebrews 7:16 Jesus is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. (We are one with Jesus and have an unending spiritual life starting at the new birth.)

Hebrews 11:4-5 4Abel, through faith, offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet spoke. 5By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. (Abel was counted as righteous. In death he spoke to God as his spirit lived.)

1 Peter 1:23-25 23Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides for ever. 24All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower thereof falls away: 25The word of the Lord endures for ever. This is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. (The soul does not wither away; it remains alive in Christ; the body withers away.)

1 Peter 3:18 Christ hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: (The spirit of Christ never died; it left the body at the cross. The spirit re-entered and resurrected his body into an immortal one. Christian’s bodies die; the souls are alive and go to be with Christ. At the Rapture, we come from heaven with Jesus; he resurrects our bodies and reunites them with our new immortal bodies.

Genesis 2:7 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. (All born again receive new breath from Christ in the form of the Holy Ghost and are alive forevermore.)

Genesis 35:18 As her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin. (Her soul departed from a dead body)

Job 12:10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. (The fate of all souls is in God’s hands. Those who place their souls in Christ will be united with him through the Holy Ghost and will live forever in Christ.)

Job 33:28 He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. (The soul of man goes to one of two places when he dies the physical death.)

Psalms 23:3 He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. (Restores my soul equals the new birth.)

Psalms 24:3-4 3Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? Who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. (The righteous soul ascends to God at physical death.)

Psalms 30:3 O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. (The soul of man either goes to hell or to heaven at physical death.)

Psalms 49:15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. (The grave has no power over the soul of the born again child of God.)

Psalms 56:13 Thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living? (The born again lives forever in the light of Christ.)

Psalms 97:10 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserves the souls of his saints. (The souls of the saved shall always be alive and with Christ.)

Psalms 116:8 Thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. 9 I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. (Same promise of eternal life at physical death.)

Proverbs 10:3 The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casts away the substance of the wicked. (The soul of the righteous will never suffer the least bit of famish or separation from Christ. The born again soul continues steadfastly in Christ.)

Proverbs 19:16 He that keeps the commandment keeps his own soul; but he that despises his ways shall die. (Love the lord thy God with your heart, mind, soul, and strength. The born again child of God keeps his soul intact in Christ.)

Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the Father, so also the soul of the son is mine: The soul that sins, it shall die. [Saved souls never die (separation from God), but unsaved souls remain separated from God. They experience the final separation (2nd death) for eternity at the judgment.]

Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (Again, rest for the soul, not sleep as the body sleeps in death)

Mark 12:30 Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with thy entire mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. (This is the basis for salvation applied to the believer from Christ in the new birth.)

Luke 12:20-21 20God said unto him, thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21So is he that lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. (The rich toward God, saved, will always be united with Christ and never separated from him.)

1 Corinthians 15:45 It is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. (Jesus is a quickening spirit and has the power to quicken our souls with the Holy Ghost and birth us into the kingdom providing us with eternal life at the new birth.)

James 1:21 Lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. (The Holy Ghost has the power to save our souls when it is received as the free gift. He saves us when we receive the Holy Ghost by faith. He unites with our soul, we become one with Christ, and we receive eternal life at this time.)

Father Time