Does man's soul continue to exist?

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What’s Your Question? for April 1, ‘09

Does man’s soul continue to exist?

The word soul is used in different senses in the Bible. (1) It refers to natural life (fish, animals or man, Gen. 1:20,24; 2:7; Rev. 16:3). (2) It refers to humans. The souls that Abram had (Gen. 12:5); and the 3,000 who were baptized on Pentecost (Acts 2:38-41) were men, not animals. (3) It refers to the spirit of man made in the image of God (Jn. 4:24; Gen. 1:26,27). The spirit does not cease to exist at death (Mt. 10:28). Men killed Jesus, but His spirit continued to live (Lk. 23:43; Acts 2:27-31). Physical death is the separation of the body from the spirit (Jas. 2:26); spiritual death is the separation of man from God. A person may be physically alive, while spiritually dead (1 Tim. 5:6), and in this sense the dead can bury the dead (Mt. 8:22).