The human makeup is miraculous yet complex.

A person consists of a lot of things.  We often think of him as having a “body,” a “mind” and a “spirit.”  We can see a body, and we know he has a mind because he can communicate.  We’re also convinced everyone has a spirit.

But if you ask a dozen people what a person’s spirit is, you’ll likely get as many opinions.

Since we like to keep things simple and easy to remember, our approach to clarifying this term normally begins by looking in the Bible.  And the NASB translation records the English word “spirit” over five-hundred times.

It’s also no coincidence that both the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts recognized this term primarily in the same light:

[רוּחַ (ruach): breath, wind, spirit]

[πνεῦμα (pneuma): wind, spirit, breath, Spirit (of God), inner life, self, disposition, state of mind]

So, can I paint the definition of a spirit with a broad brush?  Probably not.  But I could illustrate it with a series of wide strokes.  That being said, there are two things about the human “spirit” the serious Bible reader would do well to recognize.  No author ever used this noun to describe anything tangible, that is, something you could see or put your finger on.

Nor did any ever perceive it to exist in perpetuity.

Even though we understand the essence of God the Father to be invisible [Col. 1:15], it’s unfortunate that many overlook the lexical significance [see definitions above] of the term “breath,” especially as it was first used in the second sentence of the Bible:

“The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.”  [Gen. 1:2]

I wouldn’t suggest that the meaning of “the Spirit of God” in this passage was exclusive to His “breath” only.  However, the sentences which followed indicate that He spoke the universe into existence by virtue of that Spirit—or Breath.

He also personally breathed the breath of life into the first man [Gen. 2:7; ח: (naphach) to breathe, blow].  That same miraculous breath of life has somehow also been “breathed” into every form of life since then.

I can’t logically separate the Spirit of God from His life-giving Breath.  From His Spirit, He has given me a spirit—from His Breath, my breath.  But He’s also given me the freedom to choose how I use and reflect that spirit.  The Scriptures record human “spirits” as having been all over the spectrum of temperament.  Some were joyful.  Others were deceitful, troubled, etc.

Of course, part of Jesus Christ’s good news was that the Spirit of God now desires to cohabit with the willing mortal spirit, Who, with every Breath, leads, encourages and heals the crippling effects of inhaling worldly carcinogens.

I was given a spirit [breath] when I was born.  I felt the presence of the Lord’s Breath [Spirit] when I began to repent and believe on Him.  As a result, my general attitude [spirit] might—or might not—be suggested as something to be “continuing to live on” at my funeral.

However, at that point, my spirit [breath] will have returned to the One Who gave it to me. [Ecc. 12:7]

How’s that for four wide strokes of the brush?