The
Human Soul
The soul is the invisible part of a person that determines who they really are.
God gives every human being a soul so that they can think and relate to themselves, others, and God. Even when a person dies, their soul lives on forever.
This most special form of inner life is what makes humans different from other creatures.
(yes, even our favorite dogs do not have this kind of soul life)
We know this is true because right after God created the animal kingdom, all the "beasts of the earth" [Gen. 1 :25a], He said He would make man differently.
God said He would make man
"in His own image, in the image of God"
(Gen. I:27a). Of course, we are not duplicates of God! We do not have the power of God, and we certainly do not come close to His perfection. But like God, we have very real yet invisible characteristics that make us who we are. Like God, we have an essence that determines our nature, how we think, and the decisions we make. And that essence is inside our souls.
The essence of the soul has four characteristics that work together so that we can reason, understand right from wrong, and relate to God, others, and ourselves.
02
01
Self- Consciousness
01
03
02
Mentality
03
Volition
04
04
Conscience
Self-consciousness
is our awareness of our own existence. Because we have self-consciousness, we know we are an individual person living among many other individuals. We associate our name with ourselves and can recognize our own face in a reflection.
Volition
is our decision maker. When information is presented, our volition decides whether we believe it or not. When we are given instructions or rules, with our volition we choose whether we follow or reject that information.
Mentality
is the thinking part of the soul. This is where learning takes place. As we grow up, we learn vocabulary, language skills, and facts about many subjects. Little by little, we put that information together to draw reasonable conclusions and solve problems by thinking.
Conscience
is where standards for life are developed and stored. Starting in our earliest years, we develop our conscience by learning right from wrong, moral from immoral, those things we should do and those we should not do.In our conscience we give certain things in life more value and importance than others. If we think wrong ideas about life (like rebelling against authority) are valuable, then we have a weak conscience. If we believe right ideas about life (like respecting others' property) are valuable, then we have a strong conscience. With a weak conscience, we are easily tempted to do things that are wrong. With a strong conscience, we have the strength to resist doing things that are wrong.
The Human Soul
R. B. Thieme, Jr., Bible Ministries
Created on February 27, 2024
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Transcript
The
Human Soul
The soul is the invisible part of a person that determines who they really are.
God gives every human being a soul so that they can think and relate to themselves, others, and God. Even when a person dies, their soul lives on forever.
This most special form of inner life is what makes humans different from other creatures.
(yes, even our favorite dogs do not have this kind of soul life)
We know this is true because right after God created the animal kingdom, all the "beasts of the earth" [Gen. 1 :25a], He said He would make man differently.
God said He would make man
"in His own image, in the image of God"
(Gen. I:27a). Of course, we are not duplicates of God! We do not have the power of God, and we certainly do not come close to His perfection. But like God, we have very real yet invisible characteristics that make us who we are. Like God, we have an essence that determines our nature, how we think, and the decisions we make. And that essence is inside our souls.
The essence of the soul has four characteristics that work together so that we can reason, understand right from wrong, and relate to God, others, and ourselves.
02
01
Self- Consciousness
01
03
02
Mentality
03
Volition
04
04
Conscience
Self-consciousness
is our awareness of our own existence. Because we have self-consciousness, we know we are an individual person living among many other individuals. We associate our name with ourselves and can recognize our own face in a reflection.
Volition
is our decision maker. When information is presented, our volition decides whether we believe it or not. When we are given instructions or rules, with our volition we choose whether we follow or reject that information.
Mentality
is the thinking part of the soul. This is where learning takes place. As we grow up, we learn vocabulary, language skills, and facts about many subjects. Little by little, we put that information together to draw reasonable conclusions and solve problems by thinking.
Conscience
is where standards for life are developed and stored. Starting in our earliest years, we develop our conscience by learning right from wrong, moral from immoral, those things we should do and those we should not do.In our conscience we give certain things in life more value and importance than others. If we think wrong ideas about life (like rebelling against authority) are valuable, then we have a weak conscience. If we believe right ideas about life (like respecting others' property) are valuable, then we have a strong conscience. With a weak conscience, we are easily tempted to do things that are wrong. With a strong conscience, we have the strength to resist doing things that are wrong.