Bipartite or Tripartite Nature of Man?

Originally Posted by Freedom

I agree that the Bible distinguishes between the two. My question, however, is if this distinction is something that should lead us to a tripartite view or if perhaps means something different? Consider these verses:
Luke 1:46-47 And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior…” (NKJV)

At the surface it seems to indicate that two parts of her being were simultaneously giving glory to God. I’m not entirely convinced, however, that’s what these verses are saying. I have to quote something that I saw OBW post on a different thread: “Unless you are seriously bipolar, you never disagree with yourself.” It's a good point, and it's summarizes the reason why I question whether or not this kind of distinction between the soul and spirit means WHAT IT IS OFTEN PRESUMED TO MEAN.

Does it?

It doesn’t seem like this was the case with Saul:
1 Sam 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a DISTRESSING spirit from the LORD troubled him. (NKJV)

You pose an interesting question, Freedom, and your choice of Biblical examples (Mary and Saul) have given me pause for thought and much reflection. It seems to me that whenever we tackle this issue of the distinction between the soul and the spirit, the definition of these two 'organs' is always dogmatically and unconsciously assumed. We have been taught that the 'spirit' is the deeper part of man and that the soul is the seat of the 'mind, will, and emotions'. This, I believe, is classic Nee, and promulgated further by Lee. We have accepted these definitions as if these two 'men of God' somehow, in a lab somewhere in China, were able to isolate 'a soul', observe it, dissect it, and carry out extensive tests on it, in order to come up with a near scientifically precise description of what it is.

Seriously, how did these gentlemen receive this knowledge of something so profound and intangible that it has eluded all others in all ages and climes? What kind of instruments did they use? I have read bygone tales of the corpses of freshly-executed criminals being drawn, and quartered, and excavated, in this quest to fathom the secrets of the soul. All without result! Where is the Biblical evidence that the "mind, will, and emotions" reside in the soul? Though I am not saying that this belief is totally without merit, it still begs the question of whether this is not yet another LC mantra and dogma that the sheep have mindlessly and uncritically accepted?

Freedom's example of Mary, I think, provides some insight. Her soul 'magnified' the LORD and her spirit 'rejoiced'. Could it not be that the soul is the region where we think, and reason, and deliberate, and calculate, etc, while the spirit is that region in us where our 'emotions' (like rejoicing) lie? And wasn't it Saul's spirit that was 'distressed', and not his soul?

Perhaps, we have been sold a faulty bill of goods that has produced in our thinking this false dichotomy of the different functions of the soul and the spirit; and the plain truth is right before our noses and lies in plain sight in everyday language. Is it not usually said of an extraordinarily happy person, even amongst unbelievers, that that person seems to be 'in high spirits'? Why must we look for esoteric and abstruse meanings for things that the LORD has plainly set forth (in what should be taken as ordinary language) in his Word?

Just my two pieces-of-eight, mateys...

Much Grace,

'Jack'