Does the Bible say anything about the pre-existence of souls?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

The Bible shows human life starting in the womb. Passages like Psalm 139:13, Jeremiah 1:5, and Luke 1:41 describe God forming and knowing a person before birth. In these texts, the person is not a preexistent soul joined to a body but the entire individual created by God. Scripture consistently treats a person as both body and soul (Genesis 2:7; Matthew 10:28), indicating that the beginning of life also marks the start of the soul.

Belief in preexistent souls comes from outside the Bible, such as Plato’s philosophy or Mormon teachings, which claim souls lived before entering bodies. In contrast, Scripture affirms that only God is eternal (Psalm 90:2), while human souls are created in time. Zechariah 12:1 shows that God is the one who forms the human spirit, meaning each soul is the result of His creative act, not something that already existed.

The consistent teaching of Scripture is that life begins at conception, when God unites body and soul into one person. From that moment, the soul continues forever—either in eternal life with God or in eternal judgment apart from Him.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• The key verse illustrating the soul is created with the body is the creation of Adam: “Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). The “breath of life” represents God imparting Adam’s soul, which was united with his newly created body. Personhood begins when body and soul are joined. Although later humans would come into being differently than Adam, the same principle applies: the soul is created when the body is made, that is, at conception.
• Several other passages emphasize that God creates the soul in connection with the body. For example, Zechariah 12:1 states that the LORD “forms the spirit of man within him.” The idea is that the “spirit of man” (his or her soul) is created inside the body. This contrasts with the notion of a preexisting soul being attached to a later-created body.
• Likewise, Job affirms that “the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (33:4). Using language borrowed from Genesis 2:7, he indicates that each person’s soul is essentially “breathed in” at the moment of creation.
• David also said, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. …. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” (Psalm 139:13–16). David became a person from the moment of conception, and the Psalm emphasized that God was actively involved in his creation. He was not a person before that moment, which implies that he was made, both body and soul, at his conception.

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• The New Testament confirms that God creates the entire person, body and soul together. Hebrews 12:9 calls Him the “Father of spirits,” which emphasizes His ongoing role as the Creator of the immaterial part of man. John 1:3 also states that all things were made through Christ, a declaration that necessarily includes the creation of each human soul. In both cases, the focus is not on preexistence but on God’s continuous creative work.
• Luke’s account of John the Baptist before his birth offers further confirmation. When Mary visited Elizabeth, Luke records that John leapt in his mother’s womb (Luke 1:41). While this doesn’t fully answer the question, it does show that a person is a person in the womb. With other verses, this suggests that his soul came into existence during his conception.
• Paul’s preaching in Athens reinforces this same truth. He declared that God “gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:25). Some might argue that this could mean souls were pre-created at an earlier time and later given bodies. But the language points instead to God’s ongoing creative act: He continually gives life to each person at the moment he or she comes into existence. Scripture never describes a treasury of souls waiting for embodiment. Instead, the consistent picture is that body and soul are created together as one living person.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

If souls pre-existed, either eternally or as pre-created entities waiting to be placed in bodies, then human identity would not start at conception. Scripture’s teaching, however, affirms that body and soul are created together, which establishes the sanctity of life from the very first moment of existence. This means every human being, from conception onward, is a whole person with dignity and worth before God.

Knowing this protects us from philosophies that inflate humanity’s role by making us eternal beings alongside God. We are not eternal; we are created. We depend on God for not only our bodies but also our souls. Recognizing this dependence should foster humility and gratitude.

Finally, being created by God means we are accountable to Him. We did not exist from eternity past but were brought into being by God’s creative hand, and one day we will stand before Him and learnt where we will spend eternity after death. The gospel promises eternal life to those who repent and believe in Christ. You were not with God before you were born—but you can be with Him forever.

UNDERSTAND

• Souls are not pre-existent from the body.
• God creates us all as a body-soul unity at the moment of conception.
• Ideas about pre-existent souls come from ancient philosophers and other non-Christian religions.

REFLECT

• How does it affect your worldview to know that you are “fearfully and wonderfully made” in God’s image (Psalm 139:14)?
• How do you protect yourself against “deceptive philosoph[ies],” such as the philosophy of pre-existent souls (Colossians 2:8)?
• In what way is your Christian walk affected by knowing that you are a body-soul unity from conception?

ENGAGE

• How can Christians engage those who believe in pre-existent souls?
• What contemporary issues relate to the Christian stance about the body-soul unity God creates at conception?
• How can discussions about philosophies/religions that teach pre-existent souls be used as an opening to share the gospel?