By: Abonyi, Hyginus Ebuka
The
spirit which in the philosophical arena is interchangeably called the soul in
the philosophical conception; particularly in the Bantu philosophy is regarded
as the force vitae (The vital force). Philosophically, the human person is
regarded as a composite being made up of the corporeal and the incorporeal that
is the body and the soul. In Plato’s conception, the spirit is the fundamental
principle of life for any existing entity; hence, it is the principle of life
that animates the body which in Plato’s conception is contingent meaning it can
die. If the spirit leaves the body, it becomes dead; lifeless and useless. For
life to exist therefore, implies that the spirit must be joined with the body.
The spirit does not die because it does not belong to the objective world. It
comes from the world of form.
Recognizing
the importance of the spirit, God in the book of Genesis after molding man out
of dust, breathed in him the spirit in form of breath which gave man life. The
spirit is not a tangible thing which can be seen but taking form, it can be
seen through its action in the matter. To keep the spirit active and alive, one
must do what the spirit wants. The spirit therefore because it came from the
world of form, is pure for it is the conception of God the father, joined in
the Holy Trinity according to Nicholas Berdyaev a Christian
existentialist. In as much as the spirit
is pure, any impure substance repels it.
Adam
and Eve sinned against the spirit which after their disobedience made the
spirit which is the power and glory of God to leave them. Man then though
living was left lifeless for the spirit has departed from them. Without the
spirit, one cannot communicate with the world of form; the spirit is power of
imagination, reflection, creativity, etc. God who conceived man and gave him
the force vital through the art of words does not want to leave his creatures
lifeless and without hope or purpose has to come in the form of a son, a man
but also God, to redeem man through act of continued creation. For this, to
recreate man becomes very necessary.
God
came for a purpose which in the Christian conception is the redemption of man.
This redemption is simply to give man back the spirit which made him not in
communication with the world of form. After his redeeming mission, he
recognized that the recreation is never complete without the spirit. He
therefore, promised them not to lose hope but to wait patiently until he sends
them the spirit. The spirit comes with power, understanding, knowledge,
counsel, fortitude, piety, and the fear of God.
However, this is just an analysis of want the spirit does. If you are with the spirit, there is nothing you cannot accomplish because the spirit when united with the body can do many things. It renews, and makes all things well. Find the spirit that comes from God and he will make you to live again.
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