Defenders: Doctrine of Man (Part 7): Paul’s Use of the Anthropological Terms Sarks and Psyche

Summary

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Defenders Podcast: Doctrine of Man (Part 7)

Episode Theme:
Paul’s Use of the Anthropological Terms Sarx and Psyche
Host: Dr. William Lane Craig
Air Date: July 2, 2025

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Main Theme and Purpose

This episode explores Paul's use of key anthropological terms—sarx (flesh) and psyche (soul)—in New Testament theology. Dr. Craig examines their nuanced meanings in Paul's writings, clarifies theological misunderstandings around these terms (especially "the flesh" in relation to sin and the resurrection), and discusses the biblical basis for body-soul dualism, as well as implications for Christian doctrine on the afterlife and the resurrection.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Understanding "Sarx" (Flesh) in Paul

(Timestamps: 00:17–08:27)

• Multiple Meanings of Sarx:

  • Sometimes used metaphorically for “the evil proclivity” or fallen human nature, not material bodies.
  • Paul and the Scriptures do not teach that our material bodies are inherently evil.

• Nuances in Resurrection Language:

  • The German Apostles’ Creed says, “I believe in the resurrection of the flesh (Fleisch),” which worries some theologians since “flesh” can imply sinful human nature.
  • Dr. Craig clarifies Paul often uses “sarx” in a morally neutral sense, meaning simply “biological tissue”—the organic matter of living things.

“Paul often uses the word sarx in a morally neutral sense to mean basically organic stuff, the material out of which an animal's body is made, the physical flesh, essentially meat, if you will.” — Dr. Craig (02:24)

• 1 Corinthians 15:35–41 Discussion:

  • Paul uses three analogies for the resurrection body:
    1. Seed & Plant Analogy: The sown seed dies and yields a different kind of life—so the resurrection body is transformed.
    2. Kinds of Flesh: “Not all flesh is alike”—men, animals, birds, fishes—all have different types of flesh. Here, sarx means “meat” or “organic tissue,” not sinful nature.
    3. Celestial and Terrestrial Bodies: Different types of “glory” (luminosity) illustrate the transformed, glorified resurrection body.

• Scholarly Insight:

  • Robert Jewett notes that here sarx is used interchangeably with soma (“body”), showing a non-moral sense.

“So in this passage, Paul is not using the word sarx in the theological sense of fallen human nature. Rather, he basically uses it as akin to the body…” — Dr. Craig (06:57)

• Key Takeaway:
  • The phrase “resurrection of the flesh” is not theologically problematic if “flesh” is understood as “physical body” rather than “sinful nature.”

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2. Audience Discussion: New Testament Use of "Flesh"

(Timestamps: 08:27–09:04)

• John 1:14 as Example:
  • Audience notes that “the Word became flesh” in John 1:14 is another case where “flesh” simply means “physical body.”

“John's not saying that Jesus…became evil, corrupt human nature…” — Steve (08:44)

• Craig’s Affirmation:
  • Agrees: “The very Incarnation means literally in the flesh.” (08:53)

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3. Pre-Fall Flesh vs. Theological Flesh

(Timestamps: 09:04–09:33)

• Question: Could different “estates” imply different “dominions,” and does the “flesh” change through the fall?
• Craig’s Clarity: Pre-fall, humans had a neutral, biological sarx. The “flesh” as sinful proclivity only arises after the fall.

“The flesh in the sense of this evil proclivity... comes into existence through the fall and through sin.” — Dr. Craig (09:33)

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4. Paul’s View of "Psyche" (Soul) and Body-Soul Dualism

(Timestamp: 09:33–19:22)

• Definition:

  • Psyche means “soul”—the conscious self.
  • Paul teaches a dualism: body (soma) and soul (psyche).

• Scriptural Exegesis – 2 Corinthians 4:16–5:10:

  • “Outer nature” (body) is temporary (“tent”); “inner nature” (soul) is eternal.
  • After death but before resurrection, souls exist in an “intermediate state”—as disembodied souls “at home with the Lord.”
  • This “naked” state (without the body) is not preferable; believers “long to be further clothed”—to receive their resurrection bodies without passing through death.

“To be away from the body is to be present with the Lord. And that is better than this earthly existence.” — Dr. Craig (15:50)

• Implications for Christian Materialism:
  • Dr. Craig highlights problems with views that deny the existence of an immaterial soul (such as Christian physicalism/materialism).

“…such a view is very difficult to reconcile with the teaching of a passage like this, which…I think clearly contemplates the existence of the soul in…a disembodied state.” — Dr. Craig (16:32)

• Terminology Variations:
  • Paul sometimes uses metaphors instead of technical terms (“tent” vs. “body/soul”).
  • Sometimes compounds three terms: soma (body), psyche (soul), pneuma (spirit)—but “spirit” (pneuma) is best understood as an aspect of soul, not a third substance.

“It’s more plausible to take spirit as a function or aspect of the soul.” — Dr. Craig (18:56)

• Key Conclusion:
  • Humans have an immaterial component (soul/spirit) that survives death and awaits resurrection.

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5. Intermediate State for Unbelievers (Hades/Sheol)

(Timestamp: 19:22–21:51)

• Audience Question: What happens to unbelievers’ souls after death?
• Craig’s Answer:
  • Makes distinctions: Hades/Sheol (intermediate state for the dead) vs. Gehenna/hell (final state).
  • Parable of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16) suggests both believers and unbelievers exist in a conscious intermediate state; however, cautions against over-interpreting parables.

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6. Speculations on Spirit, Soul, and the Resurrection

(Timestamp: 21:51–25:51)

• Audience Attempts to Systematize:

  • One participant outlines a theory of “spiritual anchor,” “projection,” and “manifestation” (anchor = spirit, projection = soul, manifestation = body).

• Craig Pushes Back:

  • Finds no New Testament support for this elaborate scheme.
  • Firmly states: “The flesh” in its theological (sinful) sense is not resurrected but destroyed.

"Flesh in this sense…is not a thing. It just represents the fallenness…the God opposed nature of human beings…that I would say, thank God, will be completely done away with." — Dr. Craig (25:33)

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7. Clarifying the Creation and Existence of Hell & Heaven

(Timestamp: 26:03–28:34)

• When is Hell Created?
  • Dr. Craig: In one sense, hell (“the final state”) does not yet exist; currently, only the “realm of the disembodied dead” (Sheol/Hades) exists.
  • Likewise, “heaven” in its final sense (the new creation) awaits resurrection.

"In a sense, heaven doesn’t exist yet either. That will be the final state for resurrected believers, the new heavens and the new earth.” — Dr. Craig (28:07)

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8. On the Intermediate State and Scriptural Interpretation

(Timestamp: 28:34–29:17)

• Audience Asserts: Lazarus and the rich man may not be a parable due to the use of names. Also references Christ preaching to “spirits in prison” (1 Peter 3:19).
• Craig’s Response:
  • Acknowledges multiple passages regarding an intermediate state.
  • Admits difficulty in interpretation (esp. 1 Peter 3:19), whether this refers to fallen angels or human souls.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Sarx and Resurrection:
  • “It is in this physical sense then, that the resurrection of the flesh is…quite unobjectionable. Theologically.” — Dr. Craig (07:48)
• On Body-Soul Dualism:
  • “We know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord…We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” — Dr. Craig (reading Paul, 14:31)
• On Doctrine and Pastoral Implications:
  • “If the soul or mind is the self conscious self, the ‘I’, then it’s bewildering what a distinct spirit could be.” — Dr. Craig (18:51)
• On Intermediate States:
  • “What exists now is this intermediate state of disembodied existence prior to the return of Christ and the resurrection of the dead.” — Dr. Craig (28:10)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:17–08:27: Paul’s use of sarx, especially in 1 Corinthians 15, and the “resurrection of the flesh”
• 08:27–09:04: Audience connects John 1:14 to the neutral meaning of “flesh”
• 09:33–19:22: Paul’s conception of soul, body, and the intermediate state
• 19:22–21:51: Fate of unbelievers in the intermediate state (Hades/Sheol)
• 21:51–25:51: Audience speculation on spirit/soul concepts and Craig's response
• 26:03–28:34: Clarifications about creation of hell and the afterlife
• 28:34–29:17: Luke 16 discussion (parable or real event); Christ preaching to spirits in prison

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Conclusion

Dr. Craig artfully parses Paul’s dense theological vocabulary, distinguishing between physical and moral senses of “flesh” and defending body-soul dualism grounded in scripture. The class discussion surfaces common confusions and speculative ideas, which are gently but firmly clarified. The episode reinforces classical Christian teaching: humans are both body and soul; death entails an intermediate disembodied state; the resurrection will reunite soul and body in glory; and the fallen, sinful “flesh” has no place in the world to come.

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For more resources, visit reasonablefaith.org.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to Defenders, the teaching class of Dr. William Lane Craig today the Doctrine of Man, Part 7. For more information and resources from Dr. Craig, go to reasonablefaith.org Last time we.

[B]

Looked at one of the most important of Paul's anthropological terms, namely soma or body. Today we want to turn to a second important anthropological term used by Paul in his letters, and this is the word sarx. I've already briefly mentioned this word sarx, which means flesh. Theologians who are familiar with the word sarx know that in the New Testament the flesh is often used metaphorically as a term for the evil proclivity which is in human beings. This use of the term, therefore, is not referring to the physical stuff of our body. The Scripture does not teach that our bodies are evil because they are material. But the flesh will often be used by Paul to represent fallen human nature. Now, this usage touches a very sensitive chord in theology, because in Germany, where I studied, at least, the Apostles Creed affirms, I believe in the resurrection of the flesh. That is to say, the flesh. In English we say, I believe in the resurrection of the body. But in German it affirms, I believe in the resurrection of the flesh. Fleisch and theologians are quite rightly nervous about any sort of affirmation that the flesh, in the sense of this evil fallen nature, is going to be the object of the resurrection. Because of this, they're prone to overlook the fact that Paul often uses the word sarx in a morally neutral sense to mean basically organic stuff, the material out of which an animal's body is made, the physical flesh, essentially meat, if you will. And in this morally neutral sense, to affirm the resurrection of the flesh is unobjectionable. It is equivalent to believing in the resurrection of the physical body. Let's look, for example, at first Corinthians, chapter 15, verses 35 to 41, for Paul's disquisition upon the nature of the resurrection body. First Corinthians 15:35, 41. Paul imagining some Corinthian opponent of his doctrine says, but someone will ask, how are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come, you foolish man, what you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body which is to be but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is alike. But there is one kind for men, another for animals, another for birds, and another for Fish. There are celestial bodies and there are terrestrial bodies, but the glory of the celestial is one and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun and another glory of the moon and. And another glory of the stars. For star differs from star in glory. In this passage, Paul uses three analogies to illustrate the notion of the resurrection of the body. The first analogy is that it is like a seed, and the plant which springs from that seed, the body is planted in the ground as it is buried. And then just as a plant that is quite different will come from the seed, so the resurrection body that comes from the earthly body that is sown will be vastly different from the earthly body. It will be a supernatural body endowed with powers and, and properties that this earthly body does not have. To skip ahead, Paul's third analogy is from celestial and terrestrial bodies. The stars and the sun and the moon all have a different luminosity, which is what the word glory refers to here. Just as these different bodies have different luminosities, so the resurrection body will differ from the earthly body in being more honorable and more glorious than the body that is sown. It is the second analogy that we want to focus on. It appeals to different kinds of flesh. Paul is clearly using the word sarx here in a morally neutral sense. Biological flesh, if you will. He says there's one kind of flesh in man, there is another one in animals, and another one in birds, and another one in fish. So here he's using the word flesh in a morally neutral sense to mean basically meat or the organic stuff of which animals are made. Robert Jewett, in his book on pulse anthropological terms, draws attention to the fact in this passage of a striking departure from the technical flesh category and an appropriation of traditional Judaic use of sarx as interchangeable with soma. So here Paul is not using the word sarx in this moral sense, but rather in a non moral sense sense which is interchangeable with soma or buff, the physical body. So in this passage, Paul is not using the word sarx in the theological sense of fallen human nature. Rather, he basically uses it as akin to the body, the sort of bodies that exist in the biological realm. And it's in this physical sense then, that the resurrection of the flesh is. Is quite unobjectionable. Theologically. The resurrection body will be a physical body, vastly different from this corruptible, mortal, dishonorable and weak body that we presently possess, but a body nevertheless. Any discussion of Paul's use of the word sarx, Cody?

[C]

I mean, I Know, this may not be exactly Paul's usage, but I just wanted to comment though that in John 1:14, right, where it says and the logos became sarx, like that, that seems to be enough. That's also another instance in the New Testament seems of where flesh is used to mean like a physical body.

[B]

Right, Exactly.

[C]

John's not saying that Jesus, you know, became evil, corrupt human nature, you know.

[B]

Sure.

[C]

So that was the first thing I thought of when you mentioned how.

[B]

Right. The very Incarnation means literally in the flesh. So that's a good passage to draw on. Yes, thank you, Steve.

[D]

I agree with you about morally neutral, but couldn't it also be like the dominion of different estate? The angels didn't keep their first estate, but left. And so it'd be like limitation, like you could have the same physical flesh in an animal. A man with, without knowing the Holy One is like a beast of the field, but he's given different dominion. I'm talking about in the pre fall state than a regular animal. And then when Christ crowns him, he has another state.

[B]

Well now, if I understand the question correctly, it would seem to me that man in his pre fall state had flesh in the morally neutral sense that we're talking about. He was physical, biological creature. But the flesh in the theological sense didn't exist at that point because man wasn't yet fallen. The flesh in the sense of this evil proclivity within human nature that we wrestle against, comes into existence through the fall and through sin. So I would say in one sense the flesh already exists in a neutral sense, but not in the theological sense. Paul's third anthropological term that we want to draw attention to is psuche, from which we get our word psychology and psychic. It means soul is soul. And Paul teaches a dualism of body and soul with respect to human being. Look for example, at 2nd Corinthians chapter 4, verse 16 to chapter 5 and verse 10, 2 Corinthians 4:16 to 5:10. Paul writes, so we do not lose heart, though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. Because we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Here indeed we groan and long to put on our heavenly dwelling. So that by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we sigh with anxiety, not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to to please Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive good or evil according to what he has done in the body. In this passage, Paul speaks of our outer nature, the body. He uses the metaphor of a tent, which connotes frailty and transitoriness. A tent is not a permanent dwelling. It's going to be struck. The earthly tent represents our earthly body. He speaks then of the resurrection body that we shall receive as a house not made with hands. The contrast between the transitory, frail tent and this substantial building from God shows the immortality and incorruptibility of the resurrection body in contrast to the earthly body in which we live. In between our death and our eventual resurrection comes this intermediate state where we are without a body. Paul talks about being away from the body and at home with the Lord. He speaks of this state as a state of nakedness. In Greek literature, this is a description of the soul existing without any its body. Paul says, it's not that we want to be in that kind of state. He says, we'd really prefer not to be unclothed. That is to say, to have the body stripped away in death and to be naked. Rather, we would prefer to be further clothed. And the verb here has the idea of pulling on top clothing like a sweater over a shirt, without the necessity of undressing in order to put on that clothing. So Paul is saying here that we'd rather live until the return of Christ, so that we receive our resurrection bodies immediately without having to go through the intermediate state of nakedness, existing as a disembodied soul. But if we do go to be with the Lord by dying prior to Christ's return, and so enter into that intermediate state, Paul says we still are of good cheer, because to be away from the body is to be present with the Lord. And that is better than this. Earthly existence. I think that you can see the importance of this body, soul dualism in Christian theology. As I said a couple of weeks ago, the Christian materialist who denies that there is any soul distinct from the body has to believe that when a person dies, that person is simply extinguished. He literally ceases to exist. There is no intermediate state of the dead as the soul awaits the resurrection, because there are no such things as souls. And it seems to me that such a view is very difficult to reconcile with the teaching of a passage like this, which I think clearly contemplates the existence of the soul in, in a disembodied state. Now, Paul does not always employ a uniform terminology of soma and psuche, body and soul. In the passage just quoted, for example, neither term appears until the very end when Paul finally uses the word body. Rather, metaphors are used to express the concept. Similarly, sometimes Paul will mix his terms. Look, for example at 1st Thessalonians 5:23, 1st Thessalonians 5 23, Paul says, 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. Here Paul uses three terms, the soma, the psuche, and the pneuma or spirit, the Greek word from which we get our word pneumatic, as in a pneumatic drill. Paul is here expressing the thoroughgoing nature of our sanctification. Every aspect of, of human being is to be sanctified. Nothing is exempted. But we should not infer, therefore, that for Paul there is a third immaterial component of a human being, namely a spirit. If the soul or mind is the self conscious self, the I, then it's bewildering what a distinct spirit could be. It's more plausible to take spirit as a function or aspect of the soul. In any case, what's important is that we are not, in Paul's view, simply material entities. Rather, we have an immaterial component to our being called the soul or spirit, which will continue to exist after the death of the physical body until its reunion with the resurrection body at the return of Christ. Is there any discussion about Paul's use of the term psuche? Yes.

[D]

It seems to me that clearly Paul is talking to Christians, to believers in the discussion you just had, which raises the question of what about the non believers? What sort of a state do they enter into? And, and that would be kind of an acid test in terms of the point that you're trying to make.

[B]

Yeah, I think you're right that that would be important. And the closest thing that off the top of my head that comes to mind here would be the notion of Hades, or in the Hebrew Bible, Sheol, Hades is not the same as hell, which is Gehenna. Gehenna or hell is the final state into which the damned are cast. But Hades or Sheol is that intermediate state between death and resurrection. And you have, for example, Jesus in his parable of Lazarus and the rich man, speaking about how Lazarus dying wakes up in Abraham's bosom in paradise. But the rich man, when he dies, is in Hades and is in torment in the flame. And he begs Lazarus to bring some water to quench his thirst. And the Lord says, no, there's a great gulf fixed between him and you, and none can cross over even if they wanted to. Now, we have to be very careful, I recognize, about using parables to teach Christian doctrine because parables are meant to illustrate a central point and you have to be careful not to push them too far. But this parable would seem to show that Jesus believed that unbelievers would exist in this intermediate state of being separated from God as they await the final resurrection. So that's a passage that comes to mind immediately. But you're right, our concern here is primarily with believers in Christ. Yes, Tajwon.

[E]

Dr. Craig, when we witness or share the gospel, our purpose is to bring a person from their fallen stay to saved or sanctified day. And this process basically involves three things. One is the anchor of the spirit. The second is the projection of that spirit. The third is the manifestation of the spirit. So I thought these three things may be the pneuma. Maybe it's the person's anchor and that when we.

[B]

The person's what?

[E]

The anchor.

[B]

Anchor?

[E]

Yeah, the spiritual anchor. Like we talk about alignment, like with God's word, that we understand what God wanted us to be or what he revealed himself to be, and we align ourselves with him. So it's our, like the core of our faith or that connection that between us and God and the suke, maybe the projection, like we want to anchor from the deceiver Satan that deceive us with all kind of. From the Garden of Edom all the way with all kind of deception. We want to move that anchor back into with God and. And suke is our projection. It's like we want to go there, but we are not we. You know, we are like Paul says, I want to do good, but I couldn't. Right. I'm bound and I'm hopeless. So maybe that part is that projection. And then as we mature in Christ, that projection gets materialized or manifested more and more in summa. And so I wonder whether the resurrection is.

[B]

Now, you said it gets manifested more and more in soma.

[E]

In summa, in the body.

[B]

S O M A Soma.

[E]

Yes, soma. And so I was wondering whether the resurrection, they are talking about the fallen flesh become saved and live eternally with God. That process goes through this, this, what I talk about, this anchor, this projection and this manifestation process. Okay, well, this is a. It's a wonder. I'm not saying this is a very.

[B]

Elaborate scheme that you've just laid out. And I guess I just don't see any New Testament basis for this elaborate scheme. I would certainly resist any suggestion that the flesh, as it's understood theologically to be this evil proclivity within human beings, will be in any way resurrected. I'd say, on the contrary, it will be destroyed. Flesh in this sense, in the theological sense, is not a thing. It's not a constituent of human being in the way that psuche, or the physical flesh or physical body is. It just represents the fallenness, the evil, the God opposed nature of human beings apart from. From him. And that's something that I would say, thank God will be completely done away with.

[E]

May I carry on with the discussion a little bit further?

[B]

Well, I think we should give somebody else a chance to say something, if we may. Is there someone else who had a comment? Yes. I see. Charmaine does.

[F]

Could you tell me when Halep was created? Is that why we have Hades and Sheol that after the resurrection then?

[B]

Well, this was a good question, Charmaine. And I would say that in a sense, hell doesn't exist yet.

[F]

You mean now it still doesn't exist?

[B]

Yeah, it doesn't exist now. What exists now would be Sheol or Hades, this realm of the disembodied dead, of souls without their bodies.

[E]

And.

[B]

And these souls can either be in paradise like Lazarus, or at home with the Lord, as Paul says. Paul says he wanted to die and to go to be with Christ, for that is far better. So even in this disembodied state, it brings a closer fellowship and relationship to Christ. And so in that sense, it's better than this present state, but it's not as good as the final state, which will be the resurrection of the body and the complete integration of soul and body in a redeemed humanity. That's the best state. That's what Paul wanted. But you see, he was in a catch 22 situation, because in order to get to the best state, he had to go on living in the worst state. And so in order to improve the present state, he would have to die and go to be with Christ. Even though that's not optimal, it's at least better than this. So he found himself in a real catch 22 situation, where in order to have the best state, you have to go on living in the worst, which is not very desirable. Does that answer your question?

[F]

Yes, and it's very interesting because the Bible says that hell is created for the devil and his angels.

[B]

Yes, it does. This final state that will be brought about after the resurrection of the body. And by the same token, this also implies that, in a sense, heaven doesn't exist yet either. That will be the final state for resurrected believers, the new heavens and the new earth. What exists now is this intermediate state of disembodied existence prior to the return of Christ and the resurrection of the dead. One more.

[G]

I have the microphone.

[B]

Ah, okay. He snatched it as Charles went by. Okay.

[G]

Well, on the. On the Luke verse, you know, I'm a believer in Hades for the departed until the end time, the resurrection and the judgment. But I don't think it's a parable. Jesus doesn't describe it as a parable. And a name is mentioned of Lazarus, where names are not mentioned in the other parables. So I think it's a correct rendition. But also you could link with it. Jesus went and preached. And also, this is a plug for trichotomy. Jesus went and preached to the spirits in prison.

[B]

Yes. There are other passages that speak of the intermediate state that one could appeal to. That was one that came to my mind. But there is a passage, I think it's in Second Peter, where it says that Christ went and preached to the spirits in prison who formerly did not obey during the times of Noah. That's a very difficult passage to understand. Is he talking there about angels who fell in Genesis 6:1:4, or is he talking about human beings and their spirits, as I think maybe you're suggesting? It's an open and controversial question. All right, let's close then with a word of prayer. Thank you, Father, for this time that we've had together this morning and for the mutual stimulus of thinking about these things. And we pray, pray that you would help us as we wrestle with these issues and struggle to understand a biblical view of man. And so now we commit our upcoming week to you praying that you would help us to walk in the light as you were in the light and to not turn our foot to the right or to the left, but to walk in the paths of righteousness for your name's sake. In Christ's name, Amen.

[A]

The copyright for the preceding material is held by Dr. William Lane Craig. For more go to reasonablefaith.org.