Introduction

This is what the Princeton educated theologian, Louis Berkhof, said regarding the topic of “dichotomy”

It is customary, especially in Christian circles, to conceive of man as consisting of two, and only two, distinct parts, namely, body and soul. This view is technically called dichotomy. Alongside of it, however, another made its appearance, to the effect that human nature consists of three parts, body, soul, and spirit. It is designated by the term trichotomy. The tripartite conception of man originated in Greek philosophy, which conceived of the relation of the body and the spirit of man to each other after the analogy of the mutual relation between the material universe and God.

What Berkhof is helping us see, is that when we broach the subject of the nature of man we have a battle on our hands. There has been much ink poured, and immense thought given on the subject of the “parts” of man, however, there is only one biblical answer. It is obvious from his statement above, there is an answer and perspective which arises from God’s holy word, and there is a perspective which arises from philosophy. 

Confessional Statements

One would be hard pressed to find the word “dichotomy” within the historic confessions of faith. The absence of this word, however, does not mean that the notion and belief of dichotomy is not found within them. Here is a spattering to show the point: 

Regarding the fall of man, sin, and punishment, the Westminster Confession says,

By this sin they fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and so became dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body.

WCF 6.2

And regarding the state of men after death, and the resurrection, the Westminster Confessions makes clear, 

The souls of the righteous, being then made perfect in holiness, are received into the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies: and the souls of the wicked are cast into hell, where they remain in torments and utter darkness, reserved to the judgment of the great day. Besides these two places for souls separated from their bodies, the Scripture acknowledgeth none.

WCF 32.1

It seems obvious then, that the teaching of the Westminster, is that men are made of two constituent parts. One ontological entity which dies and sees corruption, namely the body, and another that does not die but is immortal, namely the soul/spirit. 

Nice Quotation

The bible can sometimes be confusing. I imagine this goes without saying (or perhaps I’m just alone on this one). But sometimes there seems to be a less-than-exact use of language by its writers. Consider the famous quotation of Deuteronomy 6:5 quoted in the New Testament

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Deuteronomy 6:5

And not consider its New Testament counterparts:

And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Luke 10:27

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

Matthew 22:37

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

Mark 12:30

Mingled in these verses the authors even use different Greek words than the others to express their thoughts, as well as different orders of words, and so on. The issue is this: Do we walk away from these texts thinking that these authors are convinced that man is made up of 3 or even 4 parts respectively, and there being little agreement between them? Or do we walk away with the simple understanding that these authors are all saying we are to love the Lord with our whole entire being? That we are to love them with all that we are, and this is expressed by using multiple words which all point to one thing?

Dichotomy

Mankind is made of two primary components, that of body and soul. This distinction is made in Matthew 10:28 when Jesus is instructing his disciples in their fear of the Lord and man. He tells them to “fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell,” indicating - fairly clearly - the dual nature of man. He does this by defining with finality, every aspect of man God is capable of destroying without leaving any facet absent. What Christ, in his authority, is doing is making a definitive statement of the two overarching aspects of mankind. All other terms, therefore, used to describe man such as spirit, flesh, mind, hidden self, or inner self, are but descriptions of the functions or aspects of these two parts. 

The bible makes a habit of using different terms to describe one thing so that it can be seen from all sorts of angles and the many different aspects of it can be understood. Sin for instance, is regarded as transgression, iniquity, and debt. Psalms also are regarded as hymns. The technical term for this is “hendiatris.” It is a figure of speech where multiple words are used to express on idea. The designation of soul as spirit, inner man, inner self, or flesh is therefore nothing to cause worry or lead one to making mankind to be more than God has intended him to be. 

Body and Soul

The soul has been designed by God to be what guides us. Our soul guides our bodies. Proverbs 4:23 is helpful, saying that from the heart flows the springs of life. Jesus expands this idea in Matthew 15:18,19 illustrating this truth to an even greater degree. He says, 

“but what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” 

By this, Jesus was upholding the principle identified by Solomon, that everything that is made manifest from us outwardly, was first established inwardly, and comes out of our own hearts. We see then the natural conclusion, that the body “is guided and steered by the soul.” However, this idea can seem to make the body nothing more than a shell, or a microphone for the soul to speak or an headset for the soul to hear. But, far from reducing the body to a mere vessel that is slave to the whims of the soul, this elevates the body to being the medium and arbiter of the soul to the entire world, and also communicates information from the world to the soul. It is important to make this point, because there are those who condemn the body because it is seen as defiled and unworthy. Far from this idea, God exalts the body by allowing it to be the conduit through which our soul interacts with the world, and even giving it the hopes of an expected resurrection (Romans 8:23). 

Additionally, In Hebrews 10, when Christs’ death is spoken of in regards to the privilege we now having of drawing near with full assurance of faith, the author says specifically (and only), that our hearts and our bodies have been cleansed and washed. 

Soul Care

Because of the significance of the dichotomy of mankind, we can never relegate a Christian’s problems to something that is simply physical or merely spiritual. These two aspects of mankind interact and interfere with each other in each and every situation that we are presented. Counselors, pastors, moms and dads, concerned layman, must also know and understand the impact each has upon the other. 

That the physical state of the counselee will play a large role in their spiritual awareness, or response. We see the desire for a continuity - a balanced health - from the Apostle John in his third epistle. In 3 John the Apostle desires for Gaius to be in good physical health, just as he desires his soul to prosper. He says, 

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.

This kind of language shouldn’t surprise us, since we know that each impacts the other. What may be surprising is the relative understanding of the way the Lord has made us to John in that time period, and the relative misunderstanding of this in our day. 

The one offering help therefore, must recognize that there are needs that our being needs that are not always going to simply need a good sit down and a talk. We need to know of, and be willing to work with good physicians to aid in our counseling efforts. This means we need to take the body seriously, health seriously, and rhythms seriously. And, although the physical is very significant, no counselee’s issues are merely physical. They are always – at least – also spiritual issues at hand. This is because no matter the issue our goal and aim is always to please God (2 Corinthians 5:9), which necessarily brings in a spiritual component: we don’t want to be guilty of sin, but rather we desire to learn to live faithfully no matter our bodily condition.