A question about body, soul, and spirit

A reader writes:

i like your articles…

a quick question.

how do we distinguish soul from spirit? is “and with your spirit” the same as “and with your soul?” idk, i don’t think so, but idk.

thanks for any explanations.

Paul writes: “May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Th 5:23). Paul does not define these terms but the general idea is the *wholeness* of the human person.  All living things have bodies and souls, not just human beings.  What distinguishes a human being from other living things is not a soul but a *rational* soul.

That said, such definition are not self-evidently in the mind of Paul.  It is likely that, by “spirit”, he is referring to that aspect of the human person, regenerated in baptism, that is oriented toward communion with God.  But at the same time, his whole point is to distinguish without separating these aspects of the person.  For Paul, the human person is a union of body, soul, and spirit and the proof of this is the resurrection of Jesus Christ in which the whole person, not just the immaterial part, is raised and glorfied.

Hope that helps!