Spirit

The biblical terms for spirit — Hebrew ruach and Greek pneuma — both mean primarily wind or breath, the invisible but powerful force of life and movement. Ruach denotes the breath of life given by God that makes humans living beings (Gen. 2:7), the vital principle that departs at death (Eccl. 8:8), the rational immortal soul by which humans reason and will (Prov. 20:27), and the sovereign activity of God himself (Gen. 1:2; Isa. 40:13). The human spirit is that dimension of human being that is oriented toward God and capable of communion with him.

Spirit also designates non-physical personal beings: angels, demons, and the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament pneuma is frequently the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit), whose role in regeneration, sanctification, and empowerment is the distinctive mark of the new covenant age. Paul distinguishes the spirit from the flesh (Rom. 8:1–17), soul (1 Thess. 5:23), and body, and presents the life "according to the Spirit" as the normative existence of the believer in Christ.