SPECIAL TOPIC: BODY AND SPIRIT

Body and spirit are not an ontological dichotomy in mankind, but a dual relationship to both this planet and to God. The Hebrew word nephesh (i.e., soul) is used of both mankind and the animals in Genesis, while "spirit" (ruah) is used uniquely of mankind. This is not a proof-text on the nature of mankind as a two-part (dichotomous, cf. 1 Cor. 7:34; Heb. 4:12) or three-part (trichotomous) being (cf. 1 Thess. 5:23). Mankind is primarily represented in the Bible as a unity (cf. Gen. 2:7; 2 Cor. 7:1). For a good summary of the theories of mankind as trichotomous, dichotomous, or a unity, see Millard J. Erickson's Christian Theology (second edition), pp. 538-557 and Frank Stagg's Polarities of Man's Existence in Biblical Perspective.