Spirit of the Individual
This is an exploration of verses discussing man's spirit. Do we have our own spirit, or is it simply part of God's Spirit, and whatever makes us individual is something else (soul perhaps)?
My interpretation is something like this:
We are a spirit.
The soul is what makes us unique (mind, will, emotions).
The body is the material object that we inhabit.
To some degree any discussion of the metaphysical is beyond us apart from special revelation from God. The Scripture just doesn't give us a lot to go off of or it does and we just have a hard time understanding it. I'm fine with ultimately saying, I don't really know, but this much is true:
- Genesis 2:7: "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 being."
- Proverbs 20:27: "The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inner depths of his heart."
- Zechariah 12:1: the LORD "forms the spirit of man within him."
- Job 32:8: "there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding."
- Romans 8:16: "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God."
- 1 Corinthians 6:17: "But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him."
- 1 Thessalonians 5:23: may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Ecclesiastes 12:7: Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.