What is meant by spirit?

General Faith
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What Does ‘Spirit’ Really Mean in the Bible?

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The spirit of a person—what is it, and how does it change when someone comes to Christ? This post explores whether “spirit” refers to our core character and how it’s shaped by sin or the Holy Spirit. Join the discussion in Crosswalk Forums and share your thoughts.
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The word spirit is used 563 times in the Bible but what does it mean? (I am not referring to the Holy Spirit here.)

I believe that humans are composed of body, mind, and spirit. The first and second are clearly understood, but what about the third?

I believe that the best definition is that of character. It is the basis of whom a person is, their fundamental nature. Excluding “body”, the “mind” is an active use of consciousness, i.e., what I am thinking or saying right now. For example, I am using my mind right now to form what I am about to type.

So, that leaves spirit. The closest definition I can come up with is “character”. What is it that makes a person act and think the way s/he does? It is not a moment-to-moment quality, but a fundamental part oif a person.

The Bible says that we are born with Adam’s spirit and therefore are destined to be controlled by sin. (There is no better description of this than Romans 7.) When a person becomes a Christian, they receive a NEW spirit, a different quality than what s/he is born with. As such, Christians have the ability to be controlled by that Spirit and no longer are subject to sin’s control.

Can Christians sin? YES! There are many people who continue to sin even after they have received the Holy Spirit from God! How does that manifest itself? By deliberately acting toward others in ways that are contrary to loving their neighbor. (A command that is repeated in BOTH Testaments.) A often-seen quality of this is nastiness. Instead of being kind, a person deliberately acts negatively towards others.

Unfortunately, I have seen a recent trend toward nastiness to others from many people, even those who profess to be Christians. They express themselves in a way to dominate and/or hurt people, which is a poor substitute for loving one’s neighbor.

Remember, in the parable of the good Samaritan, the Samaritan did not know the man(!) yet gave him aid and comfort. Why, because that was his character. Opposite behavior can be clearly seen in the attitude of the Pharisees toward Jesus. They argued with Him and constantly tried to “trip him up” with counter-arguments. (They even plotted how to kill Him for such behavior as healing on the Sabbath.) Why? Because they were controlled by their sinful nature.

In the parable about the prodigal son, he clearly sinned but his father loved him and forgave him. The older brother was angry that HE wasn’t rewarded in a similar fashion to his younger brother (who had clearly sinned).

So, what are your thoughts about the spirit of a person? Does a person fundamentally change when s/he receives the Holy Spirit? Is frequent Christian anger and hostile behavior toward others justified?

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You’re asking the right question, brother. But then you took a sharp turn into the land of Oprah definitions: “spirit = character”? That’s not exegesis, that’s existential poetry.

The Bible never defines “spirit” as character. Not once. Not in Hebrew (ruach), not in Greek (pneuma). You’re smuggling modern psychology into the sanctuary and calling it theology. That’s how we end up with sermons that sound like TED Talks and Christians who think the fruit of the Spirit is “being nice.”

Let’s put the brakes on the sentimental Sunday School version and go Bible-first, not feelings-first.

Biblical Breakdown: What Is the Spirit?

  1. The spirit is not your “character,” it’s your innermost being—your God-conscious faculty.

    “The spirit of a man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.”
    — Proverbs 20:27
    That’s not “personality” talk, that’s deep soul diagnostics.

  2. The spirit is dead until God revives it.

    “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.”
    — Ephesians 2:1
    Character doesn’t need to be resurrected. Your spirit does.

  3. There’s a difference between the human spirit and the Holy Spirit.

    “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”
    — Romans 8:16
    Two spirits. One divine. One human. Don’t confuse them like a bad spiritual smoothie.

You Said: “When we receive the Holy Spirit, we get a new spirit.”

Careful, brother. That’s dangerously close to saying the Holy Spirit replaces our spirit, which is nowhere in Scripture. What happens is regeneration—our spirit is made alive, not replaced.

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
— John 3:6

The Holy Spirit indwells the believer, empowering their spirit, not overwriting it like divine malware.

As for “Nastiness in Christians”…

Yes, Christians can act like jerks. That’s not a spiritual mystery—it’s called the flesh. And you don’t overcome it by focusing on behavior or “niceness,” but by walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16). Spoiler alert: the fruit of the Spirit isn’t just smiling politely while believing heresy.

“Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?”
— Galatians 4:16
Sometimes truth sounds like a sword, not a Hallmark card.

Bottom line, Benny:
Your spirit isn’t your personality, your vibes, or your moral resume. It’s the inner core that either houses the Holy Spirit or stays spiritually bankrupt. The issue isn’t bad manners—it’s bad theology that redefines spiritual reality to make it more palatable.

Let’s stop calling sandcastles “solid ground.” The Word defines the spirit. Not our best guesses.

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Hi,
This is what happens to our spirit.

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 soul.
KJV

We are given our spirit from God.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. KJV

Our spirit returns to God when our life is over.

Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. KJV

If we keep our spirit, we will die and not be allowed to enter heaven. (per Romans 6:23)

If we consciously return our spirit to God before we die, we are forgiven of our sin, given eternal life, and allowed into heaven. (per John 3:16)

Ah, but what if God is not real?
You live your whole life being good.
Where’s the fun?

If there is no God, what have I lost?
I have lived a good life.
I am spoken of honorably..
I have had plenty of fun living a good clean life.

If God is not real, what great things have I lost?

Blessings

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I am confused by your post.

If our spirit returns to God..? That isn’t the case. We are resurrected – body, mind, and spirit. Read about who Jesus was after He was resurrected. He walked with people, talked with people, ate food, etc. He was fully human, not some disembodied spirit. And we will be like Him.

Where is the fun in being good??? Being good is far more enjoyable than not being good. Living “in darkness” is not enjoyable to the person or those s/he is in contact with.

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Peace to all,

We often ask, logically How does God do it? To me: we all become again.

To me logically the common denominator of all faiths is the spirit and in Christianity the spirit becomes and lives inside the being to become again One God, to me. We all have to see everyone as Children of God becoming again in One Body.

Poor mankind is created riddled with the freedom of choice to love or not to love from a failed spirit through flesh mortal and fallible in a created soul from the Father becoming transformed into flesh immortality through the New Eve becoming through the New Adam in the Christ becoming incorruption through the spirit becoming again through both natures, life immortality and spirit incorruption in One Holy Spirit Family One God in being, to me.

And to me the Spirit is just more than a person and is the entire “Sophia” and Wisdom of the Holy Family pre-existing even before creation was ever created was even created from the Powers and Gods in personal beings of Creation, Transformation, Glorification and Transfiguration becoming again in all One God in being.

Logically we will never die of the spirit only reborn and saved in the New Body, through both natures, Spirit and Life, transformed immortally glorified and incorruptibly transfigured becoming again loving only and only loving with the most love in the Family of The One God in being from where we became, to me.

To me, The Spirit is blown into the created soul for the flesh to manifest from the power for the Body to become from the manifestation reimaged as The Father becoming again in One Holy Family through the spirit power.

Peace always,
Stephen

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Oh StephenAndrew…

Peace definitely be unto you, brother—but I’ve got to break out the spiritual machete, because that was less “stream of consciousness” and more “flood of confusion.” Your post reads like a theological smoothie blended with every mystic word you could find between Genesis and the Gospel of Thomas.

Let’s dissect this politely, but with sanctified steel:

1. “To me” doesn’t make it true.

You used “to me” more times than the Bible uses “hallelujah.” But spiritual truth isn’t determined by how many poetic metaphors you can stack into a paragraph. Truth is what God says, not what feels profound. If your theology needs constant disclaimers—“to me,” “logically,” “becoming again”—you might be describing your imagination, not divine revelation.

“Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.” – Psalm 119:89

Settle the Word. Stop reinventing it with spiritual finger paints.

2. The Spirit isn’t a “becoming again.”

That phrase is sprinkled all over your post like glitter at a New Age retreat. But the Holy Spirit is not a process, He’s a Person—fully God, co-eternal with the Father and the Son, not some cosmic metamorphosis or abstract “Sophia energy” from pre-creation pantheism.

“When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth.” – John 16:13
Not “it” becomes truth, but He guides into it.

The Holy Spirit doesn’t “become.” He is. Eternal. Active. Holy. And definitely not confused with your stream-of-consciousness gospel remix.

3. You’re flirting with Gnosticism.

All this talk about “spirit becoming,” “powers and gods,” and a “New Eve through the New Adam” sounds like a rejected chapter from the Gospel of Sophia. You’re not describing biblical Christianity—you’re building a Tower of Babel with theological Play-Doh.

Paul didn’t preach transformation through abstract cosmic cycles—he preached Christ crucified and risen, not “Creation, Transformation, Glorification, and Transfiguration becoming again in One.” That’s not exegesis, that’s esoteric salad.

4. Let’s simplify, biblically.

  • We were created.
  • We fell.
  • Christ came.
  • He died.
  • He rose.
  • His Spirit regenerates us.
  • We await glorification.

That’s the gospel, brother. Not “becoming again through spirit flesh transformation cycles of love.”

Final word, in love and truth:
Stephen, poetic theology might tickle ears, but it won’t save souls. The Spirit isn’t a process, a force, or a becoming. He’s the Holy Spirit of the living God—convicting of sin, sealing the believer, and glorifying Christ.

So let’s drop the “to me”s and pick up our Bibles. Because if the Spirit you’re describing doesn’t point to the blood-stained cross and the empty tomb, then whatever it is—it ain’t Holy.

Peace still.
But with truth this time.

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Peace to all,

Thanks Sincere Thinker for the thoughts and very logical to me. I will use much less the term “to me” to often but we know not to preach or proselytize and I use the term in only generalization. I am seeking help in the logic of the Holy Spirit for all to be able to understand more reationally and with your help maybe you can help me see and help others see with new logical eyes who the HolySpirit really is. I think the original definition calls, defines The Holy Spirit as a person in being and logically the Holy Spirit appears to be the Family of God in all generalization. Few have been able to coinside and help me logically and yourself sir seems to be the OMNIlogical candidate.

OMNI is a term I use for meaning from within or intrinsic as your knowledge appears to be. Thanks in advance, SincereThinker.

Thanks for the rev down, sometimes I get besides myself and see me passing, I mean, like when i think I got it I get going too fast.

In all generalization Our God comes to earth and lives inside of us, becoming again One God in being.

From Romans 11:36 Exegesis appears literal.
For from him and through him and for him are all things. In him be the glory forever. Amen.

Exegeses is the Word you used and I agree.

Thanks for the update, Here are three logical Hims in One Him from Romans, and explains exegesis, logically.

I am thinking, we become the New Eve and through the New Adam become again One Holy Spirit Family of God,

Peace always,
Stephen

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Oh Stephen…

You’ve calmed the storm a bit, and I’ll hand it to you—there’s a glimmer of humility shining through that holy word maze. But brother, let’s clear the fog before someone turns your theology into a bumper sticker for a Unitarian yoga class.

⸻

First: Praise God for the pull-back.

Yes, thank you for acknowledging the overuse of “to me.” When we’re talking about God the Holy Spirit, the last thing we need is a mystical disclaimer every five seconds. This isn’t spiritual jazz—it’s doctrine, and doctrine demands clarity, not clouds.

Now let’s gently but firmly correct some of what’s still swirling around in your post like incense in a wind tunnel.

⸻

  1. The Holy Spirit is not “The Family of God.”

That’s a theological fender-bender waiting to happen.

God is not divided. He is Three Persons in One Being.
Father. Son. Holy Spirit. That’s the Trinity—not “a Family” in some metaphorical blend.

You’re trying to turn the Holy Spirit into a group identity, like He’s a divine neighborhood watch. But Scripture always refers to the Holy Spirit as HE—not they, not it, not “the collective manifestation of divine togetherness.” That’s New Age soup. We need steak.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things…” —John 14:26

He, Stephen. Not “the Holy Spirit Family.” He.

⸻

  1. Romans 11:36 isn’t a mystical code—it’s a doxology.

“For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”

Yes, amen indeed. It’s Paul exalting the sovereignty of God—not laying down a cryptic trinitarian math puzzle. You’re reading Romans like it’s a Dan Brown novel, trying to find “three Hims” in one verse like some kind of divine Easter egg hunt.

Let Scripture speak plainly:
God is the source (from Him), the means (through Him), and the goal (to Him). That’s not three Hims—that’s one Sovereign God operating in all things. No need to get numerologically cute.

⸻

  1. “Becoming the New Eve”? Tap the brakes.

This kind of language—us “becoming the New Eve through the New Adam”—is dangerously poetic and dangerously wrong. You’re mixing categories. Christ is the Second Adam (1 Cor. 15:45). The Church is metaphorically referred to as a bride, yes—but nowhere are we called “the New Eve” in any authoritative text.

You’re inventing roles that don’t exist in Scripture. That’s not exegesis, that’s spiritual fanfiction.

⸻

  1. Let’s talk logic. Real, biblical logic.

The Holy Spirit:
• Is eternal (Hebrews 9:14)
• Is personal (Acts 13:2 – “The Holy Spirit said…”)
• Is God (Acts 5:3–4 – lying to Him is lying to God)
• Indwells believers (1 Cor. 6:19)
• Sanctifies (2 Thess. 2:13)
• Testifies of Christ (John 15:26)

That’s not poetic fluff. That’s Scripture. That’s who the Spirit is.

⸻

Final Word, Stephen:

I appreciate your heart. I see the hunger behind your tangled prose. But if you want to know the Holy Spirit, you don’t need to rewrite theology with cosmic metaphors. You need to open the Word and let Him teach you who He already is.

So here’s my challenge:
One week. Just read John 14–16. Slowly. Prayerfully. Line by line.
No “to me.” No extra metaphors. Just let Jesus introduce the Spirit the way He intended.

Peace and truth always,
Sincere Seeker
(Formerly known as your OMNIlogical correctional officer)

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Benny et. al

Defining the Spirit of man as “Character” reads like situational improvisation, like when my wife needs a hammer to pound in a nail, and grabs a can of soup for the task because it’s handy, and because she knows how to wield a can of soup (boy does she!). It’s not right, it doesn’t do the job as well, and interjects undue risks into the task; in short it is not to be applauded or endorsed. Using a soup can for a hammer cannot be justified as good carpentry technique (even if Latin word for the action can be found for the practice), nor can anyone ever say soup cans are just as good as hammers. Just because it accomplished the task, my wife cannot then believe cans of soup are always acceptable alternatives for hammers, and therefore can always be used interchangeably with impunity. No amount of social pressure is ever going to impel me to start building soup can holders in my shop, to store them among my many hammers.

I understand that “Spirit” is an ineffable concept, and difficult to squeeze into our neat three-dimensional material world; we find it impossible to contain in a test-tube, or place on a slide under a microscope. The test-tube and microscope are tools created to investigate a material world and are ineffective for metaphysical inspection. Spirit being as difficult to grasp as the wind, we may be tempted to substitute a proverbial soup can to stand in for the job, but hopefully we will see the wisdom of taking the necessary time and energy to walk to the shop for the proper tool.

Ancient Hebrew writers, and more recent Greek writers spoke (wrote) of spirit as “breath”, or “wind”, probably recognizing its amorphous, and uncontainable nature (as has been previously noted by one writer) The same word that is translated into English as “spirit” in some places of our Bibles is also translated as breath or wind in others. I do not doubt writers of all ages wished they had access to metaphysical linguistic tools to describe metaphysical realities. As it is, they do not, so the contextual usage of the word must partially inform us of the idea the original writer had in mind when he used it. The attribution associated with “spirit” (e.g. the spirit of…) further informs us of the meaning; e.g. “Spirit of God”, “spirit of Jacob”, “spirit of Elijah”, “spirit of Cyrus”, “Spirit of wisdom”, “spirit of jealousy”, “spirit of ill will”, “the spirit of man”, “the spirit of the living creatures”, “the Spirit of Truth”, etc. Further understanding comes by witnessing the way it is used in contrasts:

“Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?” Ecclesiastes 3:21

“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15

“For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:11

So among our many examples (above), there is a spirit of man, and a spirit of God. Only one of those is ever referred to as Holy (perfect). They are all metaphysical, i.e. none of the examples above could be test-tubed or microscoped. They all do refer to a motivating force; an impetus behind the action. The one-and only Holy impetus, is always referred to as a person, not a force only, but as a being. I will add anecdotally (from personal experience), I have observed that a secular writer’s use of the term “spirit” does not imply the same thing as an ecclesiastical writer’s use, so you have to know something of your author to decipher what they are saying. My wife has a shampoo called “Spiritual”. (whew!) In order to understand how The Bible uses the term, you also need to know The Author; not “know of” the author, but be intimately related to The Author, if you get my distinction. That essential relationship requires The Spirit of The Author’s indwelling for understanding. There is no second route. This does lead us to another attribute of Spirit, and that is that it can be “indwelling”; i.e. unified, but separate from the host. And here we arrive at another metaphysical reality that is difficult to explain with pen and paper. As the teenagers say WYKYK.

“The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:14-16

I know this does not fully answer the question posted as the threads title, but I do hope it has shed light on the question, and leads towards an acceptable answer.

Upward.
KP

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I’m “replying” to my own post. No I’m not schizophrenic, I just thought I’d add something regarding “indwelling”. I posted a poem before and did not recieve any boo’s or rejections, so I’m trying it again here. There are two, the first by another author, a fifteenth century christian poet, George Herbert. Rearding indwelling he wrote:

My God, I heard this day
That none doth build a stately habitation
But he that means to dwell therein.
What house more stately hath there been,
Or can be, than is man, to whose creation
All things are in decay?

I think Mr. Herbert would (hopefully) “Amen” a presumptive elaboration on his theme:

My God, I heard this day
That none doth a stately banquet host
But he that means the starved to sate
What feast more stately, fare more great
Than Your own word, manna toast
That quickens man’s decay.

Enjoy,
KP

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.” **2 Corinthians 4:16 **

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I strongly believe that humans are composed of body, mind, and spirit. “Body” is obvious. “Mind” is conscious, deliberate thought. “Spirit” is the essence of who a person is: character and personality.

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Peace to all,

In all generalizations By the father, we are created from the spirit through the souls of all for the flesh becoming the Body manifested from spirit power through the souls of all in One body becoming again the image of God.

From three powers of the universe, each God in the Powers’ of God and separately, God in being and together one God, becoming conception is to earth through Jesus, becoming the Christ in all mankind becoming again one Holy Spirit, family one God and being.

Peace always,
Stephen

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Stephen…

Brother, if spiritual generalizations were a currency, you’d be Solomon-level rich by now. But here’s the deal: you’re stacking phrases like a theological Jenga tower—and it’s swaying hard. So before the whole thing collapses under the weight of poetic abstraction, let’s bring this back to biblical bedrock.

Let’s be plain: What you’re saying… isn’t Scripture.

You keep saying “in all generalizations” like that’s a license to rewrite the Trinity as a cosmic group hug. But God didn’t reveal Himself in generalizations—He revealed Himself in a specific person: Jesus Christ.

“In the beginning was the Word… and the Word became flesh.” —John 1:1,14

Not “the Word became a manifestation of universal becoming.” He became flesh. Period.

“Three powers of the universe, each God…”

:police_car_light: Warning: That’s not the Trinity—that’s tritheism with a poetic paint job. God is one Being in three Persons—not three “powers” who each get a God badge. You’re not describing the biblical Trinity. You’re drafting your own pantheon.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” —Deut. 6:4
“Baptizing them in the name [singular] of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” —Matt. 28:19

Three Persons. One Name. One Essence. Not three gods taking turns being divine.

“Becoming again” doesn’t make it truer the 40th time.

You love that phrase like it’s the Gospel of Stephen. But here’s the truth: God doesn’t “become” anything—He is.

“I AM WHO I AM.” —Exodus 3:14

You and I might be “becoming.” We’re works in progress. But God isn’t. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). You’re trying to put process where the Bible teaches permanence.

The Image of God is not a mystical blend—it’s a person.

You said:

“The flesh becoming the Body manifested from spirit power through the souls of all in One body becoming again the image of God.”

That’s not theology. That’s word salad dressed in mystery sauce.

Let Scripture tell it:

“He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God…” —Col. 1:15

Not us. Not the collective. Not the “souls of all.”
Christ alone is the image. And by faith, we’re conformed to His image—not a metaphysical mashup of spirit-soul-flesh synergy.

Final word:

Stephen, I believe you’re reaching for truth. I do. But brother, don’t reach past what’s written (1 Cor. 4:6). You don’t need to reinvent the Trinity or repackage the Gospel in mystical riddles. You need to return to what’s clear:

  • God is One.
  • He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
  • Christ is the image of God.
  • The Spirit is not a concept—He’s a Person.
  • Salvation isn’t a “becoming again,” it’s a new birth (John 3:3).

You don’t need “generalizations.” You need revelation.