The Human Spirit

For example, when the great Chinese ethicist Confucius talked about "the bright virtue" in man, I think he was referring to the conscience. And in that regard, he was speaking, IMO, about something related to the human spirit.

I am not familiar with all of the world's religions. And I don't think I have to be.

The damaged human spirit, is not completely gone in most people. The human conscience is one of the functions of the human spirit.

The person we Christians have to thank for much of this understanding of man's parts is Mrs. Jessie Penn Lewis who did an exhaustive search of the entire Bible to help us to understand HOW these various parts of man were mentioned - The soul, the spirit, the heart, the conscience.

Mrs. Jessie Penn Lewis according to Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessie_Penn-Lewis

@sonship said
For example, when the great Chinese ethicist Confucius talked about "the bright virtue" in man, I think he was referring to the conscience. And in that regard, he was speaking, IMO, about something related to the human spirit.

I am not familiar with all of the world's religions. And I don't think I have to be.

The damaged human spirit, is ...[text shortened]...
Mrs. Jessie Penn Lewis according to Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessie_Penn-Lewis

I thought Confucius was referring to man's creative spirit when he spoke of the bright virtue, not his conscience?

@FMF

Aside from being a descriptor that alludes to attributes that differentiate us from other living creatures, and perhaps differentiate us from each other, what do you think the human spirit is?

I think that apart from God's revelation of the Holy Bible, I am not sure if we could know much about this.

This will be of no use to you as you do not believe God has revealed anything.

But what I think is according to both the Scriptures and the experience of Christians, including my own. Just as there is a conjunction joining "of the Father AND of the Son AND of the Holy Spirit" in Matthew 28:19 So there is in the original language a conjunction joining the three in First Thessalonians - "spirit AND soul AND body" .

Hebrews 4:12 spoke about the dividing of soul and spirit.
So I believe that they are distinct parts of the total man.

Paul lived from and served God from his [Paul's] human spirit which had been born again.

"For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son ..." (Romans 1:9)

.

He worked out from his spriti. His spirit was joined to the Holy Spirit which is God Himself -

"He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit" (1 Cor. 6:17)

Sometimes the brothers had fellowship for him in the presence of God. Paul said that this refreshed HIS spirit.

"For they refreshed my spirit and yours. Acknowledge therefore such ones." (1 Cor. 16:18)

He serve God in his spirit. And he wanted the Corinthians to acknowledge as notable those among them who REFRESHED his spirit and the spirits of the believers in Corinth.

Paul said certain ones refreshed his spirit. That is their fellowship and communication was spiritual and refreshing to Paul's innermost being.

"For they refreshed my spirit and yours. Acknowledge therefore such ones." ( 1 Cor. 16:18)

This is like his words in Philemon where he said the inward parts of the saints (Christians) have been REFRESHED through Philemon.

"For I had much joy and encouragement over your love, because the inward parts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother." (Philemon 7)

When a believer's spirit is refreshed he is "watered" or nourished deep in his heart. He is made to feel spiritually alive towards God and empowered with fresh new strength.

Again Paul asks the brother Philemon, in spite of some difficult circumstances, to refresh his own [Paul's] inward parts - meaning his human spirit.

"Yes, brother, may I have profit from you in the Lord; refresh my inward parts in Christ." (v.20)

In the closing statement of his letter, Paul remind Christian brother Philemon that the Lord Jesus Christ as empowering grace, is with his human spirit.

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." (v. 25)

Now before a man is born again, he lives absolutely out of his soul.

Paul teaches that in the Christian life the Holy Spirit (who is God) bears joint witness with the human spirit that there is a life relationship of intimacy with God Himself.

"The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God." (Romans. 8:16)

In the man who receives the Lord Jesus as Lord and Savior, deep within his being there is a coordinated joint witnessing going on. The Spirit of God, the Third of the Triune God witnesses along with the human spirit - "God is my Daddy" - "God Himself is my Papa" - "I am in the family of God. I feel an intimate closeness in love with God."

"The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God." (Rom. 8:16)

The immediately previous verse says that this is the receiving a human spirit of sonship prompting us to call out to God as Papa - Abba -Father in a most personable way.

"For you have not received a spirit of slavery bringing you into fear again, but you have received a spirit of sonship in which we cry, Abba, Father!

The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God." (vs.15,16)

To find your human spirit it is pertinent that you receive Jesus as Lord and also use your mouth to call on the Lord or call out to your new heavenly Father.

To get to know your human spirit it is very vitally important that you use your mouth. Man is not use to living out from his spirit. We have lived all of our lives out of the soul. So living from the source of the regenerated human spirit is a new skill to be learned with patience.

But what a joy it is!

@Ghost-of-a-Duke

I thought Confucius was referring to man's creative spirit when he spoke of the bright virtue, not his conscience?

I am not an expert on Confucius's philosophy. I will inquire more into it from others.

But a deeper part in man then his mind (where creativity occurs) is the human spirit. One of the functions of the human spirit is to furnish man with an intuitive sense of right and wrong - of good and evil.

There is something about the conscience which will not reason if it knows that it knows that it knows. It cannot be bribed or silenced. If it tells you that something should be, it will take no rational against that intuitive sense. If it knows that something is wrong, it will take no rationale to dissuade it.

I believe that the human spirit is therefore that "bright virtue" that Confucius talked of informing man of the highest ethics intuitively.

In the Bible, though the human spirit is damaged and needs to be born again, I think some function of it is not completely dead - the conscience.

Yet with some people the human conscience can almost be completely smothered and suppressed. Men and women sometimes try to shut up the conscience.

However, this can get complicated too. There can be an over sensitive conscience. That means a conscience that condemns you when you ought not to be condemned. The mental institutions contain some people who have an over sensitive conscience.

Because the soul of man and the spirit of man are closely related and are components of the total man, their interaction with one another can be very subtle. And we as fallen humans are plagued with many ailments of the inner being.

It is difficult sometimes for the translators of the New Testament to know if they should capitalize Spirit with a capital S or whether the thought expressed is about the human, small s spirit.

I will go through a few verses to show differences in Bible translations reflecting the editors' uncertainty as to whether the Holy Spirit was meant or the human spirit was meant.

@sonship said
This something I have been thinking about for many, many years.

"Apart from the Christian gospel, is there anyone who speaks of the soul AND the human spirit in this way?"

Up to the present time, I think the matter of the human spirit as distinct from the human soul is a revelation associated with the truth of the New Testament. I do not ...[text shortened]... they do not realize that they are talking about the remaining function of the damaged human spirit.

Forgive me if I found your answer fuzzy and evasive.

Here is the question again:

Do you endorse or subscribe to any definition of "the human spirit" that does not make reference to "Jesus" and that might, therefore, be applicable to the majority of the human beings who don't believe in or follow him?

If your answer is essentially "No", perhaps you can state it clearly.

Are you suggesting that "the human spirit" merely = "conscience"?

So, "the human spirit" = each person's moral compass, right?

It doesn't really matter whether, in your personal opinion, everyone's "human spirit" is "damaged" or "plagued with many ailments of the inner being" or "not completely unfunctioning" [sic] unless they happen to be members of your religion. Have I distilled your meaning correctly with "human spirit = moral compass"?

@FMF

I am not going to spend lots of time to argue with you.

Forgive me if I found your answer fuzzy and evasive.

You can feel that way.

Here is the question again:

Do you endorse or subscribe to any definition of "the human spirit" that does not make reference to "Jesus" and that might, therefore, be applicable to the majority of the human beings who don't believe in or follow him?

My answer leaned toward the revelation of the human spirit being intrinsically and mainly related to new testament salvation.

No need to put "Jesus" in quotes. I know you're afraid of the Name.

If your answer is essentially "No", perhaps you can state it clearly.

I think my answered leaned toward a yes, but left some room for some speculation. After all the Gentiles had prophets from God and God has revealed truths to people outside of reading the Bible.

Are you suggesting that "the human spirit" merely = "conscience"?

My answer did not say the human spirit was "merely" the conscience.
My answer said that the function of the conscience is, I believe, in the human spirit.

So, "the human spirit" = each person's moral compass, right?

I believe that one of the functions of the human spirit is the moral conscience.

"But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding." (Job 32:8)

I take this to be the mind interpreting in the human spirit moral conscience.

The same concept is seen in the human spirit being the "lamp of Jehovah" in man.

"The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah, searching all the innermost parts of the inner being." (Proverbs 20:27)

I believe this has to do with the human conscience enlightening man's inner motives and other deeper intentions in man. The spirit of man is the searching and illuminating lamp of God installed in man by God.

It doesn't really matter whether, in your personal opinion, everyone's "human spirit" is "damaged" or "plagued with many ailments of the inner being" or "not completely unfunctioning" [sic] unless they happen to be members of your religion. Have I distilled your meaning correctly with "human spirit = moral compass"?

It matters. The Bible also says that we were dead in sins and offenses (Eph. 2:1; Col. 2:13). Now we know that the body and the soul is not dead in the living person. So if there are three parts - spirit and soul and body the deadness scriptures means in this case must be spiritually dead. That involves the comatose state of the spirit.

And it matters that we must be born again in the human spirit. (John 3:7)

"Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born anew."


This is a brief word. It leaves much unexplained. And I don't intend to debate it extensively with you.

@sonship said
@FMF

I am not going to spend lots of time to argue with you.

Forgive me if I found your answer fuzzy and evasive.

You can feel that way.

[quote]
Here is the question again:

Do you endorse or subscribe to any definition of "the human spirit" that does not make reference to "Jesus" and that might, therefore, be applicable to the majority of the hum ...[text shortened]... s is a brief word. It leaves much unexplained. And I don't intend to debate it extensively with you.

Is that a Yes or a No?

@sonship said
My answer did not say the human spirit was "merely" the conscience.

So do you have a definition of "the human spirit" that does not make reference to "Jesus" that goes beyond "conscience"?

@sonship said
No need to put "Jesus" in quotes. I know you're afraid of the Name.

I am not afraid of his name. But my question is about a man who most people around the world - including me - see as having been stone dead for 2,000 years. So, the question remains, can you offer a definition of the human spirit for all those billions and billions of people that does not reference your notions about "Jesus"?

@sonship said
@FMF

It doesn't really matter whether, in your personal opinion, everyone's "human spirit" is "damaged" or "plagued with many ailments of the inner being" or "not completely unfunctioning" [sic] unless they happen to be members of your religion. Have I distilled your meaning correctly with "human spirit = moral compass"?

It matters.

No. Not to most humans, it doesn't. Your religious misanthropy does not matter, aside from the fact you - because of it - don't seem to be able to offer a definition other than one that is reliant on people being members of your religion.

@sonship said
@Ghost-of-a-Duke

I thought Confucius was referring to man's creative spirit when he spoke of the bright virtue, not his conscience?

I am not an expert on Confucius's philosophy. I will inquire more into it from others.

But a deeper part in man then his mind (where creativity occurs) is the human spirit. One of the functions of the human spirit is to f ...[text shortened]... other can be very subtle. And we as fallen humans are plagued with many ailments of the inner being.

I was actually being polite when I put it to you as a question:

'I thought Confucius was referring to man's creative spirit when he spoke of the bright virtue, not his conscience?'

In retrospect, I should have made it a statement:

'Confucius was referring to man's creative spirit when he spoke of the bright virtue, not his conscience.'

@fmf said
Is that a Yes or a No?

Another victim of sonship’s strange and seemingly perpetual furtiveness about stuff he has nailed underpants to.