1. The Dichotomous Theory.
Man has a two-fold nature,—on the one hand material, on the other hand immaterial. He consists of body, and of spirit, or soul. That there are two, and only two, elements in man's being, is a fact to which consciousness testifies. This testimony is confirmed by Scripture, in which the prevailing representation of man's constitution is that of dichotomy.
Dichotomous, from δίχα, “in two,” and τέμνω, “to cut,” = composed of two parts. Man is as conscious that his immaterial part is a unity, as that his body is a unity. He knows two, and only two, parts of his being—body and soul. So man is the true Janus (Martensen), Mr. Facing-both-ways (Bunyan). That the Scriptures favor dichotomy will appear by considering:
(a) The record of man's creation (Gen. 2:7), in which, as a result of the inbreathing of the divine Spirit, the body becomes possessed and vitalized by a single principle—the living soul.
Gen. 2:7—“And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul”—here it is not said that man was first a living soul, and that then God breathed into him a spirit; but that God inbreathed spirit, and man became a living soul = God's life took possession of clay, and as a result, man had a soul. Cf. Job 27:3—“for my life is yet whole in me, And the spirit of God is in my nostrils”; 32:8—“there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty giveth them understanding”; 33:4—“The Spirit of God hath made me, And the breath of the Almighty giveth me life.”
(b) Passages in which the human soul, or spirit, is distinguished, both from the divine Spirit from whom it proceeded, and from the body which it inhabits.
Num. 16:22—“O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh”; Zech. 12:1—“Jehovah, who ... formeth the spirit of man within him”; 1 Cor. 2:11—“the spirit of the man which is in him ... the Spirit of God”; Heb. 12:9—“the Father of spirits.” The passages just mentioned distinguish the spirit of man from the Spirit of God. The following distinguish the soul, or spirit, of man from the body which it inhabits: Gen, 35:18—“it came to pass, as her soul was departing (for she died)”; 1 K. 17:21—“O Jehovah my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again”; Eccl. 12:7—“the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it”; James 2:26—“the body apart from the spirit is dead.”The first class of passages refutes pantheism; the second refutes materialism.
(c) The interchangeable use of the terms “soul” and “spirit.”
Gen. 41:8—“his spirit was troubled”; cf. Ps. 42:6—“my soul is cast down within me.” John 12:27—“Now is my soul troubled”; cf. 13:21—“he was troubled in the spirit.” Mat. 20:28—“to give his life (ψυχήν) a ransom for many”; cf. 27:50—“yielded up his spirit (πνεῦμα).” Heb. 12:23—“spirits of just men made perfect”; cf. Rev. 6:9—“I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slain for the word of God.” In these passages “spirit” and “soul” seem to be used interchangeably.
(d) The mention of body and soul (or spirit) as together constituting the whole man.