Do Humans have a Spirit?
The suggestion that humans have a spirit which does not die, is eternal and continues in an ever-progressing manner even though the body has ceased to exist, has always been a subject for discussion
The doctrine of many religions state that at death the soul or spirit of a person will travel to the heavenly realms if they have lived a good earthly life and will continue to exist as a spirit, operating in a different dimension although unseen by human eyes.
Many people however admit that they are still very perplexed and unsure as to whether we are really spirits in a physical human body, irrespective of their religion. Many believe after death we remain dead with no consciousness at all.
It therefore prompts the questions, is it true that we are a spirit in a human body and if so, how did this come about and does our spirit really continue to live on after physical death?
In the Book of Genesis in the Bible the account of the creation of our world and of all life is recorded, informing us of how God created the physical body of man.
The account tells us that God as his first action creates the first man from the ground, forming his physical shape from it and then as a separate and distinct action breathes into him the Breath of Life. The word used in the original Hebrew texts for Breath of Life is 'spirit'. Man is therefore a human being consisting of a spirit encased within the physical body, with consciousness and movement being due to his spirit that exists within.
God Creates Mankind
Your spirit is unique to you, and it is your spirit what makes you who you are, there being no two spirits alike. To understand this more easily consider your fingerprints and how they are exclusively yours with no other person having fingerprints like them, with each set of fingerprints being individual and unique to that person. Just as your fingerprints are unique to you, so too is your spirit. Therefore, everything that contributes to your individuality is due to the spirit you have, making each one of us distinctive and original. As a person is alive and animated due to the spirit within them, it also follows that if the spirit departs from the physical body the body ceases to function, as the spirit is the driving force behind human life. When we retire to bed at night and sleep overcomes them, it is due to the withdrawal of the spirit from their body that this happens. As their spirit withdraws out of their body, animation, and movement ceases, for the body cannot function without its spirit, with the mode of sleep then taking over. The spirit is still linked to the body throughout the sleep period by a silver cord and returns when the physical body is suitably refreshed (Ecclesiastes 12 v 6). The spirit is linked to the body when we sleep but leaves the body at death to continue life in the spirit world. If a person's spirit did not withdraw each night, it would be impossible for that person to benefit from sleep, for their Spirit would always animate their body. God as the Creator of the physical body made provision for this phenomenon of sleep for it is a necessary part of our physical programme, allowing the body to thereby refresh and replenish itself on a daily basis. When the time arrives however for the Spirit to exit the body after the physical death of the person, the physical body returns to the ground and the Spirit of the person, returns to God and continues on into God's Spirit World.
In the Book of Genesis in the Bible the account of the creation of our world and of all life is recorded, informing us of how God created the physical body of man.
The account tells us that God as his first action creates the first man from the ground, forming his physical shape from it and then as a separate and distinct action breathes into him the Breath of Life. The word used in the original Hebrew texts for Breath of Life is 'spirit'. Man is therefore a human being consisting of a spirit encased within the physical body, with consciousness and movement being due to his spirit that exists within.
God Creates Mankind
Your spirit is unique to you, and it is your spirit what makes you who you are, there being no two spirits alike. To understand this more easily consider your fingerprints and how they are exclusively yours with no other person having fingerprints like them, with each set of fingerprints being individual and unique to that person. Just as your fingerprints are unique to you, so too is your spirit. Therefore, everything that contributes to your individuality is due to the spirit you have, making each one of us distinctive and original. As a person is alive and animated due to the spirit within them, it also follows that if the spirit departs from the physical body the body ceases to function, as the spirit is the driving force behind human life. When we retire to bed at night and sleep overcomes them, it is due to the withdrawal of the spirit from their body that this happens. As their spirit withdraws out of their body, animation, and movement ceases, for the body cannot function without its spirit, with the mode of sleep then taking over. The spirit is still linked to the body throughout the sleep period by a silver cord and returns when the physical body is suitably refreshed (Ecclesiastes 12 v 6). The spirit is linked to the body when we sleep but leaves the body at death to continue life in the spirit world. If a person's spirit did not withdraw each night, it would be impossible for that person to benefit from sleep, for their Spirit would always animate their body. God as the Creator of the physical body made provision for this phenomenon of sleep for it is a necessary part of our physical programme, allowing the body to thereby refresh and replenish itself on a daily basis. When the time arrives however for the Spirit to exit the body after the physical death of the person, the physical body returns to the ground and the Spirit of the person, returns to God and continues on into God's Spirit World.
The Bible helps us to understand this statement of fact, with the account of Jesus on the mountain with his Disciples at what is generally known as the “Transfiguration.” This account states that whilst on the mountain Elijah and Moses appeared and began talking with Jesus about the events that would shortly take place, and which directly concerned him. Jesus was not hallucinating during this discussion, and neither were his Disciples, for both Prophets were there. Although the bodies of Elijah and Moses had ceased to be centuries earlier their Spirits were still in existence, operating and living the Spirit World, but with the ability to still communicate with people on Earth. Sadly, although there are many who believe that we do indeed at the point of death travel to the spirit world and continue to exist, there are also many who totally disbelieve and reject this notion. Many religions remain quite content in declaring and teaching that you go to Heaven when you die and that is all you need to know. Many are advised that any knowledge or insight offered by anyone about the Spirit World, or a Spirit's ability communicate should be rejected. This results therefore in a relatively small number of people actually understanding the truth concerning life, death, and our destiny. Jesus himself indicated when he was on Earth that there would be a vast amount of people who would be ignorant of the truth, with only a few truly understanding the truths concerning God and his plans and purposes. Jesus made the comparison between the knowledgeable and the ignorant as two roads, one wide and spacious, but indicative of ignorance. The other road is narrow and small and symbolic of wisdom (Matthew 7 v 13- 14).
As Spirits do not possess a physical body it may be presumed by some that this is why they are invisible. However, all Spirits vibrate just as all life in the universe does, except Spirits vibrate at a much higher vibration and rate than we and other earthly life does. There are two ways that humans can see a Spirit and they are: 1) By the Spirit lowering its vibrational rate to the point that it is vibrating at a slow enough pace to equal the vibrational rate of humans, thereby allowing human eyes to see its shape. 2) By the Spirit lowering its vibrational rate to the human vibrational rate and clothing itself with the essence of physical matter or Odic Force, so that the Spirit will appear as a solid human being. To understand what is meant by vibration and the fact that Spirits vibrate faster than we do, please engage in the following exercise to understand this more fully: •Hold your Index Finger up in front of you at eye level approximately 50cm away from your face and slowly move it from side to side. •Now proceed to move your finger from side to side but at a much faster rate and you will notice how you are beginning to see more than one index Finger, for it is in affect vibrating. If you could move your finger at a very fast rate, it would reach the point where it would disappear from sight, it being the principle and mechanics behind our inability to see the Spirits, for their vibrational rate is faster than that of our own. If you further consider the functioning of a metronome Just as a Metronome moves from side to side from a slow pace to an extremely fast one, the pendulum could if the speed were sufficient enough, disappear from view due to the speed of its vibration. The Spirit who wishes to be seen therefore by a human must lower its vibration down to a speed which then brings it into the range of our vibrational rate and our physical sight, enabling it's shape to then be seen. A Spirit also has the option to clothe itself with physical matter, which then allows it to be seen as a solid human being. A person viewing a Spirit in this state is not always aware however of the fact that it is a visiting or materialised Spirit. The substance needed by a Spirit to clothe itself in physical matter is called Odic Force and is extracted by the Spirit from either physical object near to hand, or from the person the Spirit wishes to appear to. Once the Spirit has finished with the Odic Force it is returned to the object or person it was originally taken from. Many people even today have seen and conversed with Spirits who have appeared in solid form, while others have been unaware of who they were actually talking to, until enlightened by a person recognising who the Spirit actually was. In the days of the Apostle Paul many people entertained Spirits unknown to themselves which prompted the Apostle to admonish everyone to be hospitable to all strangers for they may be visiting Spirits from the Spirit World (Hebrews 13v2). God is a God of purpose, design, and reason, wishing no one any harm or injury and certainly would not allow us to live just to see us die, never to exist again. Spirits, once their time to leave earth arrives, continue on to live within a different plane of existence, for this is God's plan for us all. We will in time exist in a different world from what we know now but will retain all knowledge of our life on Earth. We are part of God and because of this we will live for eternity.