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-Removed-Does Ephesian 4:5 mean that there is no human spirit ?
No.
The Holy Spirit, Who is God, witnesses WITH the regenerated human spirit according to Romans 8:16.
"The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God." (Rom. 8:16)
1.) The Spirit Himself = God, the Third "Person" of the Trinity.
2.) "Our spirit" = the regenerated human spirit/s of Christians.
The capital S Holy Spirit (of whom there is only one - Eph. 4:5) witnesses - co-jointly with the human spirit/s of Christians ... that they indeed have a life relationship with God the Father as His children.
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-Removed-I really am not in a debating mood this morning. But I have to carefully critique your comment.
The issue I have with your ideas sonship is that you always stray from the fundamentals of scripture.
"Fundamentals of the scriptures" as defined by who ?
How come you get to insist on what the "fundamentals of scripture" are which encompass what you wish is "bottom line"?
There is the Holy Spirit.
There are also the human spirits of the human beings.
Whether it meets your Unitarian "bottom line" may be another discussion. It meets the New Testament's revelation that the believer is JOINED "one spirit" = Holy Spirit WITH the human spirit.
"He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit" (1 Cor. 6:17)
You say "But that is not important. That is not fundamental."
So says you who perhaps under appreciates regeneration and being "joined to the Lord".
There is ONE spirit that is the bottom line.
It was important to Jesus Christ, from Whom we learned so much about the Holy Spirit, that we see that the human spirit can be reborn.
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (John 3:6)
In the born-again, born anew experience the comatose and deadened human spirit is born of the One Holy Spirit.
So no wonder "He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit." (1 Cor. 6:17).
So no wonder "The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God." (Eph. 8:16) .
If it wasn't important than these truths would not be part of the oracles of God. Say "Its not important to ME" speaking for yourself, and I have no argument against your personal priorities.
Or you can say, "It is not important to Unitarian / Universalists". Neither are many things about Christ in the New Testament important to their "bottom line".
The spirit that is in the “children of god” is God’s spirit in us. It’s still ONE spirit.
This is partially right because "one spirit" would mean that the Holy Spirit and the human spirit have become mingled.
It is not completely right because before regeneration it is evident that man has a comatose or deadened human spirit.
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Grampy Bobby, if he were here, would argue something similar to what you said. He would say that man has no spirit until he is born again. But we see spirit of man mentioned quite before the regeneration of the born again experience.
" The burden of the word of Jehovah concerning Israel. Thus declares Jehovah,
Who stretches forth the heavens
and lays the foundation of the earth
and forms the spirit of man within him." (Zech. 12:1)
From creation man has a created human spirit.
It was damaged and deadened and made comatose at the fall of man.
It’s the same error you allow to cloud your thinking with the trinity.
The conjunction "and" seperates "spirit AND soul AND body" in the Greek text of First Thessalonians 5:23 in the same way as it does in Matthew 28:19 - "the name of the Father AND of the Son AND of the Holy Spirit." .
The construction in the original language is similar and proves a distinct spirit and soul and body just as there is a distinct Father and Son and Holy Spirit.
The bottom line is there is ONE god, not three. I pointed this out to you in a thread the other day when you said you struggled with the son handing over all things to the father - but you ignored my post, of course.
Since I have always maintained with the Bible that there is one God there was no struggle then or now.
I think I said something like "whatever the passage means it does not mean ... thus and such robbing Christ of His eternal throne."
Incidently. Rajk999, if you are there. the KING reigning during the millennium is Jehovah God accordiing to the very passage from Zechariah that you used to teach otherwise.
"And whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, upon them there will be no rain." (Zech. 14:17)
Altogether now. Who is the King reigning in the millennial kingdom when some peoples will be disciplined with a lack of rain, until Christ delivers up the kingdom to His God and Father --
"the King, Jehovah of hosts"
Both Rajk999 and Divegeester failed pretty bad to make their points.
Maybe they need to "waffle" a wee bit more. You think ?
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So we have the word of God subjectively piercing a man's heart to divide his soul and his spirit. This proves the distinction of the two parts.
" For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, ... " (Hebrews 4:12)
Now if you don't want to listen to the word of God, shut your eyes and chant "Waffle, waffle, waffle!"
See Divegeester for special training.