The Spark of Life and the Shape of the Soul

When sperm meets egg, something extraordinary begins. Scientists see flashes of zinc. Cells start to divide. But those who hold to a biblical worldview ask a deeper question—is this also the moment a soul is created?

This question has sparked debate among theologians, philosophers, and physicians across the centuries. It’s not just about when life begins in a biological sense, but when personhood begins—when the mind, will, and emotions come into existence. In this article, we examine how Hebrew and Greek understandings of the soul, modern science, and the writings of Watchman Nee all converge to reveal a profound unity between biology and theology.

Scientists have discovered that when a sperm fertilizes an egg, a spark of light appears.
This happens because zinc atoms are released in a burst.
Researchers observe this flash under a microscope using fluorescent imaging.

These zinc sparks are measurable.
They may show the quality of the fertilized egg.

Biology calls this the start of cellular life.
But is that all?
Could this also mark the start of something personal?
Is this when body and soul first join to form a new person?

The Hebrew word for soul is נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh).
It appears over 750 times in the Old Testament.
Nephesh means a living person.
It describes the whole person, not just a spiritual part.

Genesis 2:7 says:

“Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living nephesh.”

Man does not receive a soul.
He becomes a soul.
This shapes how you understand the human person in Scripture.
The soul is not something added.
It includes your mind, will, and emotions.

Nephesh can:

• Hunger and thirst (Deut. 12:20)

• Love (Song of Songs 1:7)

• Mourn and rejoice (Isaiah 38:15; Psalm 42:5)

• Long for God (Psalm 63:1)

You see nephesh as the full experience of being alive.

When the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek (the Septuagint), nephesh was rendered as ψυχή (psyche). This term becomes the standard word for “soul” in the New Testament, where it continues to describe the conscious, emotional, personal self.

In Matthew 10:28, Jesus says:

καὶ μὴ φοβεῖσθε ἀπὸ τῶν ἀποκτεννόντων τὸ σῶμα, τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν (psyche) μὴ δυναμένων ἀποκτεῖναι· φοβεῖσθε δὲ μᾶλλον τὸν δυνάμενον καὶ ψυχὴν (psyche) καὶ σῶμα ἀπολέσαι ἐν γεέννῃ.

Translation: *Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul (ψυχή, psyche); rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.*³

In Luke 1:46–47, Mary exclaims:

Καὶ εἶπεν Μαριάμ, Μεγαλύνει ἡ ψυχή (psyche) μου τὸν Κύριον, καὶ ἠγαλλίασεν τὸ πνεῦμά (pneuma) μου ἐπὶ τῷ Θεῷ τῷ σωτῆρί μου.

Translation: My soul (ψυχή, psyche) magnifies the Lord, and my spirit (πνεῦμα, pneuma) has rejoiced in God my Savior.

This distinction between psyche and pneuma is vital. The soul is the seat of personal experience, while the spirit is the place of divine encounter. Together with the body, they form the tripartite design of humanity.

In Hebrew, רוּחַ (ruach) means spirit, breath, or wind. It often refers to the divine life-force that sustains all creation. In Genesis 1:2, it is the ruach of God that hovers over the waters.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 notes that at death, the spirit returns to God. The spirit is what connects us to the divine. It is what becomes reborn when someone comes to faith.

In the New Testament, πνεῦμα (pneuma) carries the same meaning. Jesus tells Nicodemus:

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6)

Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:23:

“May your whole spirit (πνεῦμα), soul (ψυχή), and body (σῶμα) be preserved blameless.”

This passage explicitly names all three parts of the person, reinforcing the tripartite structure.

Watchman Nee, in his book The Spiritual Man, describes the human being as made of spirit, soul, and body—each with its own function, and each part needing alignment under God’s rule.⁵

Nee identifies three faculties of the human spirit:

• Conscience
• Communion
• Intuition

These allow the believer to hear, worship, and respond to God. The soul, meanwhile, contains:

• Mind – the capacity to think
• Will – the capacity to choose
• Emotions – the capacity to feel

In the fall, Nee explains, the soul became dominant, overpowering the spirit. Redemption, then, is not only salvation from sin. It is the restoration of divine order—the spirit ruling the soul, and the soul governing the body. Spiritual growth means surrendering the soul to the spirit, allowing God’s life to flow freely through us.

Biology tells us that life begins when sperm meets egg. Scripture tells us that the human soul begins when body and breath unite. Science reveals a flash of zinc. Theology reveals the hand of God.

The soul, defined as the mind, will, and emotions, begins not as a later development but as a fundamental part of life from its earliest moment. And the spirit—that God-aware core—is formed with us, waiting to be awakened.

This integrated view honors both the sanctity of life and the complexity of personhood. We are more than matter. We are souls. And we were created to know the One who breathed us into being.