Body, Soul & Interior Personhood

Read the text

Psalm 139:1–18

Read the primary passage aloud twice. On the first reading, listen for the burden of the text. On the second, mark repeated words, contrasts, commands, promises, causes, and conclusions.

• Matthew 10:26–33
• 2 Corinthians 4:7–5:10
• Philippians 1:19–26

Language desk

Words that clarify—not words that perform.

Confirm each gloss by its use in this context. A lexicon offers possibilities; the sentence, paragraph, author, and canon determine what a word is doing here.

Form the doctrine

The theological claim

Personhood cannot be reduced to matter, yet humans are not souls merely trapped in bodies.

Defense drill

Say it under pressure.

Use the Creator-creature distinction to challenge reductive materialism.

• State the opposing claim in a form its adherent could recognize.
• Open the controlling passage and establish the immediate context.
• Make one clear argument before adding supporting texts.
• Ask a diagnostic question, listen to the answer, and return to Christ and the gospel.

Wednesday assignment

Carry the truth into the week.

Map created dependence from personhood through body, world, and God.