This is such an important question, and I want to start with an excellent example to show that we are alive with a body, spirit, and soul long before we take our first breath.  We read of the yet-to-be-born John the Baptist in Luke 1:41-44, “And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, THE BABE LEAPED IN HER WOMB; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, THE BABE LEAPED IN MY WOMB FOR JOY.”  It was certainly an exception for an unborn baby to leap in the womb, but it does indicate that John was a living soul even before he was born.

The Lord led David to write, “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. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.” (Psalm 139:13-15-ESV). David understood the miraculous and meticulous workings of God in him even before he was born.

Let’s read the words of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet in Jeremiah 1:4-5, “Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”  Even before birth, the Lord knew Jeremiah, and from there He sanctified and ordained him.  Surely, this indicates that Jeremiah was a living soul even before he was born.

Perhaps it is the words of Genesis 2:7 that has prompted this question.  That says, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”  Here, it was when the Lord breathed into the nostrils of Adam that he became a living soul. Of course, Adam was created from the dust of the ground by God, without a gestation period.  He had no time in the womb, and thus, cannot be compared to the natural process of conception to birth.  Indeed, we believe, according to the verses already cited that the soul is created and enters the body at the moment of conception.

I want to give a word of caution.  Many today hold to the teaching that the soul enters the body at first breath in order to justify abortion, claiming the child is not alive (is not a real person) until it begins to breathe.  May the Lord give us all wisdom to see through this terrible thought and realize that every child, even before birth, is precious to Him.  (CC)  (726.6)