The Urantia Book Fellowship

 

Discussion of Spirit as used in the Bible
Dr. William S. Sadler
1966

1. God is Spirit

  • John 4:24. "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth."

2. The Creator Spirit -- the Conjoint Actor

  • Genesis 1:2. "And the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters."
  • Psalm 104:30. "When thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created."

3. The omnipresent spirit -- the Infinite Spirit

  • Psalm 139:7. "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?"

4. The mind spirit -- mind gravity

  • Ephesians 4:23. "And be renewed in the spirit of your minds."

5. Spirit -- the breath of life

  • Job 27:3. "As long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils." (The domain of the Life Carriers.)

6. The indwelling spirit -- Thought Adjusters

  • Zechariah 12:1. "Thus says the Lord, who...formed the spirit of man within him."
  • Job 32:8. "But it is the spirit in a man...that makes him understand."
  • Job 32:18 "The spirit within me constrains me."
  • Psalm 31:5. "Into thy hand I commit my spirit."
  • Proverbs 20:27. "The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord."
  • Ecclesiastes 12:7. "And the spirit returns to God who gave it."
    • Note: This spirit symbolized: See Matthew 3:16, Mark 1:10 -- The Spirit descending on Jesus like a dove, following baptism.

7. The Holy Spirit

  • Psalm 51:11. "Take not thy holy spirit from me."
  • Acts 8:29. "And the Spirit said to Philip, 'Go up and join this chariot."
  • In the Urantia Book, the Holy Spirit is the presence of the local universe Mother Spirit.

8. Spiritual gifts

  • I Corinthians 12:4. "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit."
  • II samuel 23:2. "The Spirit of the lord speaks by me."

9. The fruits of the Spirit

  • Galatians 5:22. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."

10. The seven adjutant spirits

  • Isaiah 11:2. "The spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord."
  • Exodus 28:3. "speak to all who have ability, whom I have endowed with an able mind."

11. One of the three factors of human personality

  • I Thessalonians 5:23. "And may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless."

12. Used synonymously with personality

  • II Kings 2:15. "They said, 'The spirit of Elijah rests upon Elisha."
  • Proverbs 18:14. "A man's spirit will endure sickness; but a broken spirit who can bear?"

13. Used as synonymous with temperament or disposition

  • Nehemiah 9:20. "Thou gavest thy good Spirit to instruct them."
  • Psalm 34:18. "The Lord is near to the borkenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit."
  • Psalm 51:10. "And put a new and right spirit within me."
  • Proverbs 16:18. "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."

14. Used to denote depression -- despair

  • I Kings 21:5. "'Why is your spirit so vexed that you eat no food?'"
  • Isaiah 61:3. "To give them...the mantle of praise intead of a faint spirit."
  • Proverbs 15:13. "By sorrow of heart the spirit is broken."
  • Luke 13:11. "And there was a woman who had had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years."

15. Used to connote emotional enthusiasm

  • Acts 18:25. "And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately."
  • Romans 12:11. "Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit."
  • I Corinthians 2:4. "My speech and my message were...in demonstration of the Spirit."

16. Used to denote self-control

  • Proverbs 16:32. "He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city."

17. The Spirit of Truth

  • John 16:13. "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth."
  • Proverbs 1:23. "Behold, I will pour out my thoughts to you."

18. Spirit assists in prayer and worship

  • Romans 8:26. "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our seakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us."
  • I Corinthians 14:15. "I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also."

19. Evil spirits

Spirits in prison

  • I Peter 3:19. "He went and preached to the spirits in prison." (Probably interned angels and midwayers.)

Wicked spirits

  • Matthew 12:43. "And when the unclean spirit has gone out of a man."

God sends evil spirits

  • Judges 9:23. "And God sent an evil spirit."
    • Note: Early Hebrews believed that both good and evil spirits came from God.
  • Exodus 31:3. "And I have filled him with the Spirit of God."
  • I Samuel 16:23. "And whenever the evil spirit from God was upon Saul."

20. Mediumship, magic, etc. -- tricks of the subconscious mind.

  • I Kings 22:21, 22. "Then a spirit came forward...saying, 'I will entice him'...'I...will be a lying spirit.'"

21. Spirit as contrasted with the flesh

  • Matthew 26:41. "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

22. As the new birth

  • John 3:5. "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."
  • Ezekiel 11:19. "And I will give them oneheart and put a new spirit within them."

23. Denoting unity and perfection

  • Ephesians 4:3. "Eager to maintaint he unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

24. Angels are called spirits

  • Hebrews 1:14. "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve?"

25. The seven spirits of revelation

  • Revelation 1:4. "The seven spirits who are before his throne."

 

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