Souls and death
How does Genesis 2:7 prove immortality of the soul? It clearly says the man became a living soul; not that he had a living soul. All people, all living souls, sin. Ezekiel 18:4 says the soul that sins dies. Thanks.
Genesis 2:7 speaks of God giving life to Adam, just as God had given life to animals and birds (Genesis 1:30). Where Adam and Eve differed from the animal life around them, of course, was that they consisted of body and soul. Scripture passages like Ecclesiastes 12:7; Matthew 10:28; Matthew 16:26; 2 Corinthians 5:6-9; Revelation 6:9 and Revelation 20:4 speak clearly of the soul that exists beyond the death of the body.
Ezekiel 18:4 does speak of sin’s consequence: death. With the basic idea of “separation” in mind, the Bible speaks of three different kinds of death: physical, spiritual and eternal. Physical death means that the body and soul which were together during life on earth are separated. Spiritual death describes the unbeliever who is physically alive on earth right now but who is separated from the forgiveness of sins. Eternal death is the fate of an unbeliever whose life on earth comes to an end: the person is in hell, forever separated from God and his love.
Ezekiel 18:4 uses the word “soul” to describe a person. The 2011 NIV reflects that with this translation: “The one who sins is the one who will die.” We can use similar language when we speak of congregational membership totaling “850 souls.”
Physical death is not the end of a person. When physical death takes place, the body and soul are separated. There is immediate judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Souls are in heaven or hell, based on faith or unbelief in the heart. On the last day the Lord will raise the bodies of all who have died, reunite bodies with souls, and people—with body and soul—will be in God’s presence or be shut of his presence forever (John 5:28-29). This is why our Lord tells us to take care of the needs of our soul first and foremost (Matthew 16:26).