Both the Hebrew and Greek words rendered spirit in our Bibles (ruach and pneuma) carry this basic thought, and both have the same range of association. They are used of (1) the divine Spirit, personal and purposeful, invisible and irresistible; (2) the individual human consciousness (in which sense spirit becomes synonymous with soul); and (3) the wind that when aroused whirls leaves, uproots trees, and blows buildings over. I wish our language had a word that would carry all these associations. Puff and blow are two English words that refer to both the outbreathing of air from human lungs and the stirring of the wind, but English has no term that also covers the intellectual, volitional, and emotional individuality of God and of his rational creatures. Spirit in English, by contrast, denotes conscious personhood in action and reaction, but cannot be used of either breath or wind. This is doubtless one reason it does not suggest power in action in the way that ruach and pneuma did to people in Bible times. Power in action is in fact the basic biblical thought whenever God’s Spirit is mentioned. Keep in Step with the Spirit - J. I. Packer Classic Collection
Posted on: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 06:51:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015