God and the Holy Spirit
The word, spirit, came from “spiritus” in Latin, meaning “breathe,” and “pneuma,” in Greek, meaning “breath.” The breath, air, is invisible force, and sustains all living life on earth. The presence and power of air is evident in the form of, for example, balloons, storms, hails, or tornado. No one is charged for breathing the air. No one holds ownership of the air. The air is in life naturally and timelessly.
Life is oriented to nurture mainly body and soul (mind, feelings, and desires). Soul and body tell who a person is. Soul is unique to the person and shares with no others. Body is also unique to the person, except a few identical twins. Soul and body are interwoven. For example, your mind tells your body what to do. Your body responds to your mind accordingly. Your body condition also affects your mental health. Soul and body are finite and limited to time and space. A person’s body and soul are limited to the person’s physical, mental, and intellectual capacity.
The spirit is embedded and evident in soul. The spirit is common, just like air, and manifests independently. The spirit is infinite and has no limit to time and space. Unlike soul and body, the spirit is communal and shares universal value with other’s spirit. In other words, a person’s spirit is common to others and naturally intercedes each other. The spirit is invisible and only evident through the manifestation in the person’s soul on its own term. For example, as if invisible and untouchable air is evident in a red round balloon floating in the sky, kindness (spirit) is often evident in the heart of caring person. In contrast, people can take care of others without the spirit of kindness. There is definitely a difference between.
Some focuses on the desires of soul and follows dreams. Some works on body and builds up a proud body. Some nurtures the spirit and become spiritual. The person becomes either spiritual, soulful, or physical, based on which part the person focuses on. A person is in holistic well being, when spirit, soul (mind), and body are equally healthy and well balanced.
All human has intuitive spirituality. They are capable of being spiritual as long as they nurture their spirit. Regardless of religious practice, people can fully demonstrates their spirituality only if they seriously strive for a spiritual state. In Christianity, the spiritual state is a contact with divine presence. Experiencing the contact is the highest level of one’s spirituality. This is the experiencing the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit.
The spirituality is the awakening of one’s innate spirit. The awakened spirit desires for a spiritual walk with God. As a believer honestly and continuously seeks for the presence of God, the Holy Spirit shields and accompanies the journey. The spirit is contacted with the Spirit of God and enters the eternity, as if one comes home. Eventually, the spiritual person manifests the gifts and fruits of the Spirit through the spiritual journey.
The spiritual gifts are various, and all manifestation is for “the common good.” In other words, spiritual persons are gifted not for their personal gains but for the work of God. In the presence of the Holy Spirit, some foresees, has wisdom and knowledge according to the Spirit, discerns of spirits (good or evil), demonstrates healing power of the Spirit, speaks in various kinds of tongues, interprets the tongues, effects of miracles, prophesies, and has faith by the Spirit. The spiritual gifts are the manifestations of the Holy Spirit for the common good.
The spiritual fruits are the indicators of one’s spirituality. The fruits are assumed to be the characteristics of God, because we share the image and likeness of God. The spiritual fruits are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The spiritual person usually has all of these characteristics. Absence of one character fails all other fruits. The fruits may have the different names but they are coupled as one indicator. For example, a person is not a loving person if the person has no self-control. In contrast, if a person is kind, the person more likely demonstrates other spiritual character. The fruits are resulted from the process of faith in spiritual journey over the period.
The emaciation of the spirit results in the destructive humanity. Spiritual journey is open to all people, but only a few take on the journey. When a person fails to acknowledge and nurture the spirit in soul, the person’s soul and body take the full control over the person. There is no power that interrupts the desire of the person’s soul and body, when the spirit is restrained. The uniqueness of soul and body often identifies with self-centered, and/or discriminating behaviors. Therefore, without a communal intercessor, both soul and body are incapable of promoting the common good but self-interest or harm.
The deeds of soul and body are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, dispute, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, and carousing (Galatians 5:19-21). These are the outcomes of unleashed desires for religious, sexual, social, intellectual, mental, financial, and physical attainment. When the common good is dismissed, the humanity fails and the world falls into the darkness. The unattended spirit guarantees nothing but destructive humanity. Only the spirit intercedes soul and body with the help of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit of God is manifested only in human. Since God the Creator is omnipresence, the spirit is often interchangeably identified as the energy of the universe. This is the base of pantheism who believes in the divine universe. In Christianity, however, God’s Spirit is breathed only into human. All other living creature has body and soul but the spirit. Every living existence has its own energy from its own body and soul. The universe generates its own energy but spirit. The Spirit of God intercedes the affairs of the universe timelessly. Divinity belongs to God alone, and godliness may found in spiritual persons. Nature is sacred but divine.