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Just what is the nature of Spirit?

The word Spirit appears at the very beginning of the Bible, in the second verse of the first chapter of Genesis: “The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” The actual Hebrew word for Spirit used in this passage is Ruwach, which means “wind,” as in “the wind of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Wind is an unseen force behind a manifested condition. We see the leaves and branches of a tree move, and we know that the unseen wind is the cause.

Jesus picked up on this characteristic when He explained to Nicodemus the nature of the Spirit: “The wind blows where it will, and you hear the sound of it but do not know from where it comes or to where it goes; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8) Now these words were written in Greek, and the Greek word here for Spirit is pneuma, which also means wind but has the added connotation of breath. Breath is personal wind; we inhale the Spirit of God and it becomes a personal spirit within us. This is seen in the second chapter of Genesis when God breathed the breath of life into humankind and we became living souls. (Genesis 2:7)

Edgar Cayce also compared God to breath and wind: “God is but as the breath or the wind in its passing, yet in its passing may quicken . . . each atom.” (EC 1158–5)

Spirit is the life force. In the biblical book of Job, Elihu acknowledges that the Spirit has given life to us when he says, “the Spirit of God hath made me.” (Job 33:4) God’s Spirit gives life to all, including minerals, plants, and animals. Where there is Spirit, there is life.

In addition to life, the Spirit brings wisdom and understanding. Elihu stated this in the book of Job: “It is the Spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.” (Job 32:8–9) We also see how the Spirit brings wisdom when, in the story of the pharaoh who, after being astonished by Joseph’s wisdom, asked his counselors, “Can we find such a man as this, in whom is the Spirit of God? Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discreet and wise as you are.” (Gen. 41:38–39)

Spirit is the life force and brings enlightenment to our consciousness. Here are three of Edgar Cayce’s insights on the Spirit.

God and the Christ Spirit is Life itself; and the motivating force of the soul is either for that companionship, that association, that development which will make such a soul-body as a fit companion for that Creative Influence manifested in the earth in Him, or it is for separating self from Him.

EC 524-2

Know . . . an ideal must be beyond the purely material things in life, or in an experience in the earth. For these that are of the earth-earthy rust and corrupt. But those that are founded in the spirit of life and truth take hold upon the very throne of mercy and peace and harmony and justice and long-suffering and brotherly love; for they are of God—and thus are everlasting!

EC 1125-1

Spirit is life, whether related to the physical functioning of the atomic forces within the system or whether that of the mental being of a body, and these must coordinate in the proper direction one with another, just as much as it is necessary for a physical functioning organ to coordinate with the rest of the system.

EC 2357-1

Let’s now study each of the Fruits of the Spirit in an effort to understand them better so that we may apply them in our thinking, speaking, and acting and thereby become one with the Spirit, expanding our hearts and minds for a more soulful life. In this manner we will realize the great potential that God knows is in each of us, even the least among us, as the Bible often phrases it.