It has been noted that the presence and activity of the human spirit, which all humans possess, is essential to life itself. The spirit animates and energizes the physical body. It also works in tandem with the physical brain. Though no one has ever seen such a working, logic compels us to surmise it does, unless we can discover a more plausible scenario. The great difficulty with spirit and brain cooperation is centered upon our inability to establish this connection, or bridge, between the physical and the non-physical. How can a bridge be established connecting materiality, which is the brain, with immateriality, which is the mind, or spirit. We simply do not know and, again, the principle reason being our inability to observe such a connection.
But, as we’ve already noted, it is this very immateriality of the human spirit that defies examination, and this also leads materialistic scientists to deny its existence. Nevertheless, it is a huge mistake to dismiss our human spirit as nonexistent simply because it is not observable, especially in view of the Bible making so much of the spirit that is a critical part of our very personhood. Again, we are brought to the threshold of authority. The biblically-minded believer sees the Bible as the authoritative and final answer to the important issues of human existence. We believe it to have stood the test of its authenticity and reliability through the ages. It is a completed revelation, finished and entire. Science and its achievements can never be regarded in terms of finished or complete. Science, to which we, admittedly, are greatly indebted is ever a work in progress. It’s very lifeblood is in discovery, observation, and experimentation. Science, as any reputable science will be quick to tell us, should never be thought of as a finished or complete thing in any sense. This reality alone should convince scientists that, merely because they cannot examine the human spirit, does not prove its non-existence. The very least a self-respecting scientist should conclude is that the jury is still out in regard to presently untestable possibilities. Yet, as regards the Bible, to which we appeal as our sole source of faith and practice, it consistently refers to the presence and activity of the human spirit without ever giving us details about that mysterious bridge, a bridge that must exist connecting our physical self and our spiritual self.
Concluding, the spirit is our source of animation. The spirit also works in cooperation with the brain or mind, each having a different but indispensable function, and the human spirit in our personhood is the component of contact between the Creator and the creature. It is the human spirit that is regenerated by the Spirit of God when faith is exercised in Jesus Christ. We are connected to God in and through our human spirit.
CC-08-17
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