The Spirit in Man
I often mentionthat all humans have a spirit (a spiritual component) itsgenerally call the spirit in man, or spirit of man. Its not a teaching that is unique of the UCG or COG… Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestants all agree on this point. The first to really elaborate on it was Augustine.
In the pastI have mentioned it as part of a different topic I have said something like “that’s a subject for another sermon”. Today, I would like to do just that.
This spiritis not the Holy Spirit because scripture is very clear that not everyone has the Holy Spirit in them. The Holy Spirit of God is a special gift given tosome people to set them apart and designates them for a special purpose.I will touch on how the holy spirit interacts with the human spirit in the second half of this message.
Human Spirit in the Old Testament
Genesis 2:7this isour first indication that God added something specialto humans, a spiritual component that sets humans apart from animals.
The word is Nahshawma…it literally means a puff of wind or a breath. The word is generally used to indicate something like the life force… or the presence of life in a person. It is used here and elsewhere to indicate a spirit component but not always… sometimes it just means puff of wind.
Zechariah 12:1here is another word. Roo-ak - which comes from the root word wind. Roo-akis more consistently used to indicate a spirit… roo-ak is also used to indicate something as mundane as a breeze… but usually it refers to God’s spirit. We have to determine this through the context.
If I say “that is a burden you must bear”… the word bear means something different than when I say “the bear lives in the woods”… same word but the meaning differs with the context.
What we have learned so far about this spiritual component is:
- It is an element God adds tohumans, it is withinthem, part of them, but not the entirety of what they are. We are a total being consisting of body, mind, and spirit… the complete package is the soul.
- It is acreated thingformed by God, not an immortal or eternal spirit come to live temporarily in a body of flesh, learn some lessons, and then return back to its pure spiritual state… an idea found in new-agey Hinduism, Mormonism, and the Gnosticism that infiltrated the first century Church of God.
Here is some more info:
- Ecclesiastes 12:7following up on the concept of you as a soul made of body, mind, and spirit. When you die your body breaks down… your mind stops operating… and that spirit component returns to God.
- Ecclesiastes 9:5 That spirit does not have life of itself. It does not think, or plan, or dream, or scheme Psalm 146:4.
Now let’s go to a few verses in the NT to add to what we have:
- Matthew 10:28this spiritual component can be permanently destroyed. It is not immortal. Remember “the soul” includes body mind and spirit.
- 1 Corinthians 15:42-50this spiritual component kept by God can be returned to life.
- 2 Corinthians 5:1-4 this spiritual component does not have life unless it has some sort of body.
Functions: Understanding
Job 32:8now we see the spirit in man doing something… giving us understanding!
But what kind of understanding? Humans understand how to split an atom… we understand how to build a space station… how to play basketball. Is that the kind of understanding we are talking about or is there more?There are two kinds of knowledge… humans need both.
Physical Knowledge:this isknowledge that comes via the senses, what our brains can take in through our eyes, ears, fingertips, noses, taste buds… Through our senses we learn how to deal with matter, things… to split atoms, build houses, shoot hoops. This way of gathering information is part of a flesh and blood creation… however humans are especially good at it… our abilities are enhanced by the presence of that spiritual component God forms within us.
Spiritual Knowledge:there is knowledgewe don’t take it in through our eyes, ears, nose, hand or mouth…matters like judgment, mercy, faith, eternity. These come to us in the form of revelation from God. We take this spiritual knowledge in through the spirit we have built in to us.
Our senses are how we interact with the physical world around us… our spirit is how we interact with the spiritual world around us.
Functions: How God Knows and Evaluates Us
Proverbs 20:27this spiritual component is the mechanism through which God looks into our interior thoughts, motives, and intent. This doesn’t mean we are not judged by God based on what we do. The scriptures are very clear that He wants obedience, He wants us to walk in the way, He wants us to show our faith by our deeds. What it does tell us us that God’s judgment takes in the whole picture rather that just what is visible on the surface.
Proverbs 16:2this verse is referring to the spiritin man…not God’s Holy Spirit… why would God need to evaluate His own spirit? The most logical conclusion is that it is referring to a spiritual component built in to humans which God evaluates and judges.
His judgment of that spirit is judgment upon the part of who and what I am that can be raised to life… but not just raised again to flesh and blood… raised to eternal life.
But that sort of resurrection doesn’t happen without something else entered into the mix.
Introducing the Holy Spirit of God
Our Creator tells us that we can be raised to eternal life… but He also tells us something about the mechanics of how He is going to do it. Why does he tell us all this?
Me: “Hey, I’m just happy to hear that you’re going to do this for me. It doesn’t matter how you do it, just knowing you’ll do it is enough”.
God:”No, no, I really want to tell you about how I’m going to do it”.
Me:“But, a lot of it I won’t understand. I’m a very limited flesh and blood life form… I won’t be able to comprehend “the science” of stuff beyond the material world”.
God:Yes, yes, I know. But there is one bit of information you will understand… and its makes all the difference. I’m going to put some of myself within you… then you are going to grow into something completely new, unique… you will be my child and you will become like me.
Me: “Wow, I think I can understand that… and it does make a difference!
That “something of himself” which God places within you is His holy spirit. He gives it to those who submit themselves to His will in baptism for the remission of sin followed by the laying on of hands.
Humans Are Created Incomplete
Even with the spiritual component God has given all human beings were are incomplete. Through the holy spirit placed within us we can become complete.
Youare created in the image of God but temporary, not everlasting…. You are arepresentation of God that is physical rather than spiritual… treasures in jars of clay… a clay model of God, designed to take on the spiritual character of the Father and the spiritual power of the Father. You will be completed through resurrection into the real deal… a spirit born child of God.
The church has used the analogy of human conception and birth to help explain the way the H.S. works with your human spirit to bring about that new creation. It’s a great analogy!
There was an OVUMin your mother that would someday become YOU. But it was incomplete. It did not have that spark of life in it or anything that would last beyond about 28 days before it “died” and was flushed out of your mother’s system. Also, it only had HALF the information needed to form YOU. We think of that information in terms of DNA and chromosomes… the ovum only had 50% of what was necessary.
There was also a SPERMcell in your father that would someday become YOU. It didn’t have any form of life energy in it beyond a few hours. It too only carried half of the necessary information needed to become YOU.
Nowadays, we all know from sex education class that the sperm cell unites with (or impregnates) the ovum. Then an amazing process begins… within your mother’s womb you began to live, you began to grow, cells split and replicate, organs form… then, when you reached the appropriate stage of physical maturity, you were born into the world and took you first breath of air.
To me the analogy is even better now that we have increased understanding of DNA. DNA is best described as a set of information… all the instructions and processes needed to create physical life. The ovum and the sperm cell each contains only half the DNA information. When they join together that DNA is joined together and becomes one… and that completed combination became YOU.
A human with body, mind, and their spirit is like that ovum that must be germinated, impregnated, begotten, etc. by the Holy Spirit which enters into you and completes you… adding the missing ingredients for eternal life:
- That spark of, (or power of) eternal life
- The missing information you need to become a spirit born child of God.
Mechanics: the Holy Spirit Interacts With Our Spirit
First:the H.S. is the actual power of God present in you… the same power by which He will raise youfrom the dead at the time of resurrectionRomans 8:11. Youhave (or can have) that power in us now as a sort of down payment on what is to come. Without this power of life within you… you do not have an eternal futureEphesians 1:13-14, 2 Corinthians 1:22, 5:5.
But the holy spirit is more than a promise waiting to be fulfilled when we are raised at Christ’s return. The Holy Spirit is also an active part of your spiritual, emotional, and intellectual transformation now.
Second:the H.S. givesyouunderstanding and knowledge of spiritual things…you don’t take these inthrough the physical sensors built in to our bodies, eyes, ears, nose etc. Youtake this spiritual knowledge in through the human spirit that is in you. The holy Spirit makes a direct connection with your spirit and some amazing things happen .
Romans 8:16describes both the spirit in a person and the spirit of God in that same person… and both of these spirits actively engaged and transmitting information… witness = summartureo… to testify jointly, to collaborate using the same set of evidence (information), to testify or speak to…
1 Corinthians 2:9-16the Holy Spirit of God is in active dialog with your spirit ensuring that it grows and develops properly… into completeness, into maturity, into the full likeness of God.
The bible is information, to have transforming power it needs to be understood. The Holy Spirit helps you understand… how to apply the information to your own circ*mstances… how to interpret you experiences, trials, challenges, and successes in light of that revealed information. And in this way you are transformed, and made complete.
Ephesians 4:7-13grow up into the complete (fully formed) person…. Into the full maturity of Christread verse 23-24.
1 Corinthians 6:17the larger context here is human sexuality and an expression of oneness and joining together. Through the presence and action of God’s Holy Spirit within you… you have a living link with God your Father... just like you now have with you flesh and blood parents.
1 John 3:2-3
