The Apostles’ Creed: God The SonSample

Jesus’ Soul: Luke 23:46

Scripture regularly says that human beings consist of a mortal body that houses an immortal soul. It speaks of our souls by many different terms, but the most common are “soul” and “spirit.” Based on Hebrews 4:12 and 1 Thessalonians 5:23, some traditions have maintained that “soul” and “spirit” are different parts of our being. But there are approximately 200 verses in which one or the other of these terms is used to refer to all the inner, non-physical aspects of our being as a whole. So, it is best to conclude that the words “soul” and “spirit” both refer to the same underlying reality that man consists of only two main parts: body and soul.

In Luke 23:46, Jesus spoke of his own “soul” or “spirit” as he was dying. 

Consider his words there:

Father, into your hands I commit my spirit (Luke 23:46).

When Jesus died on the cross, he indicated that while his body would be placed in the grave, his human spirit or soul would be in the hands of God the Father. 

As the spiritual side of our being, our soul is the seat of our consciousness. When our bodies die, our souls are separated from our bodies and continue in a conscious state. And the Apostles’ Creed explains that the same thing happened to Jesus when he died. Specifically, it says: 

He descended into hell.

Here, the creed states that when Jesus died, his conscious, rational soul was separated from his body. And while his body remained in the tomb, his soul descended into hell.