Ángel
Manuel Rodríguez
Thank
you for your discussion on the meaning of “soul” in the Bible
(Nov. 8, 2001). Please
describe the biblical understanding
of the “spirit.”
The
amount of biblical material on your question is large enough for you to
do your own study; I will simply identify some of the main elements in
the biblical understanding of the human spirit. After examining the biblical
references to “spirit,” I have grouped them around what I believe
are their main usages.
1.
Spirit as Life Force: The Hebrew
term rûach and the Greek equivalent
pneuma mean “wind, breath.” But the
emphasis is on the dynamic nature of the wind, its movement, and power.
When applied to humans, it describes individuals who function as a dynamic
life force in bodily form. The spirit is the breath of life that God breathed
into Adam (Gen. 2:7), the life force that characterizes a person. It is
God who gave it to us (Isa. 42:5), and it is He who takes it back (Eccl. 12:7; Ps.
104:29; Acts 7:59). Sometimes the quality of that life is diminished for
lack of food (1 Sam. 30:12) or fear (Eze. 21:7).
Nowhere in the Scripture is the spirit defined as a self-conscious entity
that preexisted the body or continues after death. The idea of ghosts
was known
in biblical times, and biblical writers were acquainted
with it, but there is no acceptance of it or support for it.
2.
Spirit as the Inner Being: The
term spirit designates human beings as creatures with the ability
to think, will, and experience strong emotions. It refers to the mental
forces that make us humans and distinguish us from animals. The spirit
is the center of rational analysis (Ps. 77:6), understanding (Job 32:8),
self-awareness (1 Cor. 2:11), and the seat of
the will, the capacity for self-rule (Job 32:18; Ezra 1:1, 5). Spirit
is synonymous with “heart,” which is specifically used in the
Bible to designate the rational and volitional aspects of human nature.
But spirit also describes us as emotional beings who experience anger
(Judges 8:3), rage (Eze. 3:14), grief (“bitterness
of spirit” [see Gen. 26:35; Isa. 54:6]),
anguish (“shortness of spirit” [see Ex. 6:9]), and depression
(Prov. 15:13; Ps. 143:4). The term spirit
identifies us as complex creatures whose inner being is characterized
by the dynamic interaction of reason, volition, and emotions.
3.
Spirit and Character: Spirit
is employed to designate the disposition of the individual, what defines
and characterizes him or her as an individual—what we call character.
We read that “patience [literally “long spirit”] is better
than pride [literally “high spirit”]” (Eccl. 7:8, NIV),
and about a “haughty spirit” (Prov.
16:18, NIV), “feelings of jealousy” (Num. 5:30), (“spirit
of jealousy,” [KJV]),“spirit of wisdom” (Ex. 28:3), “spirit
of the world” (1 Cor. 2:12, NIV), “gentle spirit” (1 Cor.
4:21, NIV), etc. These are all character traits that express the disposition
of a person, what a person has become. Because we have spirit—a dynamic
nature, a life force—we are able to direct our lives, to be architects
of it, to develop our own characters. When we die God preserves in His
mind our character, and at the resurrection we are brought back to life
with the character that we had developed before we died (Eccl. 12:7).
4.
Spirit and God: Because we are
dynamic rational, volitional, and emotional beings, we are able to communicate with God
and He with us. Paul prays, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be
with your spirit” (Phil. 4:23, NIV; 2 Tim. 4:22). This dimension
of our nature is sensitive and responsive to the Lord (Matt. 5:3; Luke
1:47). God can excite our center of action, the will, to accomplish a
particular purpose (Jer. 51:11). The spirit
of those who are united by faith to Jesus is once more alive (Rom. 8:10;
1 Cor. 6:17). The reference is not to a self-onscious
entity dwelling in a body but to the totality of the person as a psycho-religious-physical
individual with whom God can interact, and who can answer back to God
in love and faith from his or her very inner being. The biblical view
of the human spirit is incompatible with modern definitions that are based
on eastern or Greek dualism.
3/14/02
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