In this study, we look at two false ideas concerning the spirit
Two facts about the word 'spirit'
A false conclusion that spirit is breath is sometimes drawn from these facts. That conclusion is false because the reasoning behind it is false, namely that if one word means different things then the different things must be the same thing. You can see that this is a contradiction. How can different
There is a parallel in the word 'heart'. It means the physical blood pump. It also means the soul or spirit. The one word means different things, and obviously the different things are not the same thing. The blood pump is not the soul or spirit. In the same way, the breath is not the
Some Examples in Scripture
Let's look at some examples in scripture where 'soul' or 'spirit'
Genesis 2:7 says that "the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became
It is pointed out that here, at the beginning of the Bible, "soul" refers not to an immortal spirit, but rather to the life that breath imparts. This is true, because that is exactly how Paul interprets the statement. He quotes "Man became a living soul" to contrast the natural and earthy creation of Adam with the spiritual and heavenly glorification of Christ
This passage does not, however, prove that 'soul' is 'breath'. We observe here that the word 'soul' in this passage means the life that breath imparts. Manifestly, breath is not the same thing as the life that breath imparts. They are different things, as different and opposite as a cause is
So, whilst this example is not one where 'soul' refers to an immortal spirit, it is an example showing that 'soul' can mean different and opposite things. It would make no sense to say, "Adam became a living breath". So right here at the beginning of the Bible, we can see that it would be simplistic and fallacious to argue that 'soul'
Jesus committed his spirit to God when he died. "Jesus crying out with a loud voice said, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit' and having said this, he breathed his last."
Does this mean that he was committing to God his last breath or the life that was in that last breath? Was God going to bottle as it were that last breath, and return it to his nostrils at the resurrection? If so, what would happen
We see then, that to consider the spirit of Jesus as simply the breath of life leads to an absurdity. On the other hand, if we consider the spirit to be
The Spirit of God is referred to in the Bible in such a way that we cannot understand 'spirit' to mean breath. That is to say, "Holy Spirit" or "Spirit of God" cannot literally mean holy breath or
The first use of the word 'spirit' in the Bible, is this statement: "The Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters"
There are instances in the rest of the Bible where 'Spirit' cannot mean 'breath' even figuratively. Notice for instance, some of the things said about the Spirit in
Try reading the chapter and substituting every instance of 'Spirit' with 'breath'. For example, "the Breath also helps our weaknesses, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Breath Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Breath is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God". That has no sense literally or figuratively. Breath has no mind, and breath cannot intercede. Yet the Spirit of God does these things. A study of the
A child in the womb is an example worth considering. If spirit means breath, then an unborn baby who has no breath would have to be viewed as having no spirit. Since James says, "the body without the spirit is dead"
An unborn baby lives on its mother's breath. It has no breath of its own. Does that mean it does not have a spirit of its own? Is it merely an organ of the mother until it is separated from her body and takes its first breath? This difficulty does not arise until someone teaches that the spirit is
The unfortunate man of whom we read in
It is a common idea today that the mind and brain as one and the same. The mind is viewed as a result of
Although everyone speaks of "mind and body" as though they were separate entities, most people conceive of the mind as something produced by a part of the body. They see the mind as part of the flesh, not separate from it. The mind is the brain, rather than the brain being merely the body's interface that allows the mind to associate with the body and
Some Examples in Scripture
Let's look at some examples in scripture where mind
If the mind is produced by an organ of the body, then the mind is subordinate to the body. Yet this is opposite to what
Paul, for instance, regards the fleshly body as subordinate to the spiritual mind, and he distinguishes the spiritual mind from the fleshly members of the body. For example Paul says, "I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law which is in my members"
God is spirit (Jhn 4:24). A spirit does not have flesh and bones
In the Bible, the word "heart" is often used figuratively for the mind. For instance note a few occurrences in the book of Acts: "my heart rejoiced... they were of one heart and one soul... whose heart the Lord opened... to weep and break my heart"
Jesus once asked the rhetorical question, "What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Jesus was asked to select the greatest commandment. He chose, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind"