Spiritual Meaning of Spirit

Spiritual Meaning of

Spirit

The signification of the spirit of wisdom, when said of those who are in celestial good, is Divine truth; they are said to be filled with it when what has been inscribed remains. The case herein is that those who are in the celestial kingdom of the Lord do not know truths from memory-knowledge, and the consequent faith; but from internal perception; for they are in the good of love from the Lord, and all truths have been ingrafted in this good. The good itself has been implanted in their will part, and the derivative truth in their intellectual part. With them the will part and the intellectual part act absolutely as a one, differently from those who are in the spiritual kingdom. From this it is that those who are in the celestial kingdom of the Lord do not from their intellectual part know truths, but perceive them; for the good that has been implanted in the will is presented in its quality and in its form in the understanding, and is there in a light as it were flaming. With them, truth is the form of good, and the quality of it, which is not seen but perceived, is from good. From this it is that they never dispute about truths, insomuch that when they discourse about truths, they say that it is so, or is not so, nothing further; for anything further is not from good. These are they who are meant in Matthew:--

Let your discourse be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay; whatsoever is more than these is from evil (Matt. 5:37).

That they who are in the celestial kingdom of the Lord are of this character, (AR 2715, 2718, 3246, 4448, 5113, 6367, 7877, 9166, 9543); what the difference is between those who are in the celestial kingdom, and those who are in the spiritual kingdom, (AR 9276).

[2] From all this it can now be seen what is meant by Divine truths being inscribed. The word spirit is used in many passages in the Word, and when said of man, by his spirit is signified the good and truth that have been inscribed on his intellectual part, consequently there is signified the life of this part. That when predicated of man, spirit has this signification, is because in respect to his interiors man is a spirit, and in respect to these is also in company with spirits. On this subject see what has been abundantly shown above, namely, that there are spirits and angels with man, and man is directed by the Lord by means of them (AR 50, 697, 986, 2796, 2886, 2887, 4047, 4048, 5846-5866, 5976-5993); that man is among spirits and angels such as he is himself (AR 4067, 4073, 4077, 4111); and that every man has a spirit through which his body has life (AR 4622).

[3] From this it can be known what is meant by Spirit when said of the Lord, namely, the Divine truth that proceeds from His Divine good, and that when this Divine truth flows in with man, and is received by him, it is the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of God, and the Holy Spirit; for it flows in immediately from the Lord, and also mediately through angels and spirits (AR 9682); that the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of God, and the Holy Spirit, denote this, will be seen in what follows. For it must first be shown that in the Word, spirit, when said of man, denotes the good and truth that has been inscribed on his intellectual part, consequently that it denotes the life of this. For there is the life of the intellectual part, and the life of the will part; the life of the intellectual part is to know, to see, and to understand, that truth is true, and that good is good; whereas the life of the will part is to will and to love truth for the sake of truth, and good for the sake of good. This latter life is called in the Word heart; but the former is called spirit.

[4] That such is the case is evident from the following passages in the Word:--

Make for you a new heart and a new spirit; why will ye die, O house of Israel? (Ezek. 18:31).

I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in the midst of you (Ezek. 36:26);

a new heart denotes a new will; and a new spirit, a new understanding. In Zechariah:--

Jehovah stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man in the midst of him (Zech. 12:1);

where stretching forth the heavens, and laying the foundation of the earth denotes a new church. That the church is meant by heaven and earth, (AR 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4535); to form the spirit of man in the midst of him denotes to regenerate him in respect to the understanding of truth and good.

[5] In David:--

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a steadfast spirit in the midst of me. Cast me not away from before Thee, and take not the Spirit of Thy holiness from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and let an ingenuous spirit uphold me. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart God doth not despise (Ps. 51:10-12, 17);

a clean heart denotes a will that is averse to evils, which are unclean; a steadfast spirit denotes the understanding and faith of truth; a broken spirit, and a broken heart, denote a state of temptation and the consequent humiliation of the life of both of these. That spirit denotes life, is plain from each of the above expressions. The Divine truth, from which is this life, is the Spirit of holiness. Again:--

A generation that maketh not its heart right, and whose spirit is not constant with God (Ps. 78:8);

a heart not right denotes that the will is not right; a spirit not constant with God, denotes that the understanding and faith are not constant.

[6] In Moses:--

Jehovah God made worse the spirit of Sihon king of Heshbon, and hardened his heart (Deut. 2:30);

in this passage also spirit and heart denote the two lives, which are said to be hardened when there is no will of understanding truth and good, nor of doing them. In Ezekiel:--

Every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be let down, and every spirit shall be contracted (Ezek. 21:7);

where the meaning is similar. In Isaiah:--

Jehovah, that giveth soul unto the people upon the earth, and spirit to them that walk therein (Isa. 42:5);

giving soul to the people denotes the life of faith. That soul denotes the life of faith, (AR 9050); and giving spirit denotes the understanding of truth. Again:--

With my soul have I dared Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit in the midst of me have I awaited Thee in the morning (Isa. 26:9);

where the meaning is similar.

[7] Again:--

Conceive ye refuse, bring forth stubble; your spirit the fire shall devour (Isa. 33:11)

the spirit which the fire shall devour, denotes the understanding of truth, thus intelligence; fire denotes evil affection, which being from evil destroys.

[8] Again in the following passages:--

Woe to the foolish prophets that go away after their own spirit (Ezek. 13:3).

That which cometh up upon your spirit shall never come to pass (Ezek. 20:32).

Not one hath done so, and the rest who have the spirit: what therefore the one, seeking the seed of God? Therefore take heed by your spirit, that he may not deal treacherously against the wife of thy youth (Malachi 2:15).

Blessed is the man to whom Jehovah imputeth not iniquity, provided in his spirit there is no deceit (Ps. 32:2).

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 5:3).

Jesus said unto His disciples, Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit indeed is ready, but the flesh is weak (Matt. 26:41).

It is very evident that in these passages by spirit is meant the very life of man; that it denotes the intellectual life, or the life of truth, can be seen from the fact that by spirit in the natural sense is meant the life of man's respiration; and that the respiration of the lungs corresponds to the life of truth, which is the life of faith and from this of the understanding; while the beating of the heart corresponds to the life of the will, thus of the love. That there is this correspondence of the lungs and of the heart, see (AR 3883-3896, 9300, 9495); from which it can be seen what life is meant in the spiritual sense by spirit.

[9] That in a general sense spirit denotes the life of man's respiration, is very plain in the following passages:--

Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled; Thou gatherest their spirit, they expire. Thou sendest forth Thy spirit, they are created (Ps. 104:29, 30).

Answer me, O Jehovah, my spirit hath been consumed; hide not Thy faces from me (Ps. 143:7).

My spirit hath been consumed, my days extinguished (Job. 17:1).

Jesus, taking the hand of the maid that was dead, said, Maid arise. And so her spirit returned, and straightway she rose up (Luke 8:54, 55).

Every man is become foolish with knowledge, a graven image is a lie, and there is no spirit in it (Jer. 10:14; 51:17).

He carried me forth in the spirit of Jehovah, and set me in the midst of the valley. And there the Lord Jehovih said to the dry bones, Behold I bring spirit into you, that ye may live. Thus said the Lord Jehovah, Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe into these slain; and the spirit came into them, and they lived again (Ezek. 36:1, 5, 9, 10).

The two witnesses were slain by the beast that came up out of the abyss; but after three days and a half the spirit of life from God entered into them, that they should stand upon their feet (Rev. 11:7, 11).

[10] From these passages it is very manifest that spirit denotes the life of man. That specifically it denotes the life of truth, which is the life of man's intellectual part, and is called intelligence, is clear in these passages:--

The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. God is a spirit, therefore those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23, 24).

Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, both of knowledge and of understanding, was in him (Dan. 5:12, 14).

John grew, and waxed strong in spirit (Luke 1:80).

The child Jesus grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was filled with wisdom (Luke 2:40).

He whom the Father hath sent speaketh the words of God; for God hath not given the spirit by measure to him (John 3:34);

spirit here denotes intelligence and wisdom; speaking the words of God denotes to speak Divine truths.

[11] From all this it is now evident what is signified by spirit in John:--

Jesus said to Nicodemus, Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which hath been begotten of the flesh is flesh; and that which hath been begotten of the spirit (John 3:5, 6);

where to be begotten of water denotes by means of truth; and to be begotten of the spirit denotes the consequent life from the Lord, which is called spiritual life. That water denotes the truth through which is regeneration, (AR 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 9323); but the flesh denotes what is man's own, in which there is nothing of spiritual life, (AR 3813, 8409).

[12] The like is signified by spirit and flesh in the same:--

It is the spirit that maketh alive; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak to you are spirit, and are life (John 6:63);

the words which the Lord spake are Divine truths, the life thence derived is the spirit. In Isaiah:--

Egypt is man and not God; and his horses are flesh, and not spirit (Isa. 31:3);

Egypt denotes memory-knowledge in general; his horses denote memory-knowledge from the intellectual, which is called flesh, and not spirit when there is nothing of spiritual life therein. That Egyptdenotes memory-knowledge, (AR 9340, 9391); that horses denote the intellectual, (AR 2761, 2762, 3217, 5321); and that the horses of Egypt denote memory-knowledges from the intellectual, (AR 6125, 8146, 8148). He who does not know what is signified by Egypt, by horses, and also by flesh and spirit, cannot possibly know what these words involve.

[13] When it is known what is signified by spirit in regard to man, it can be known what is signified by Spirit when it is said of Jehovah or the Lord, to whom are attributed all things belonging to man;as face, eyes, ears, arms, hands, and also a heart and a soul; thus also a Spirit, which in the Word is called the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jehovah, the Spirit of His mouth, the Spirit of holiness, or the Holy Spirit. That by the Spirit is meant the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord, is evident from many passages in the Word. The reason why the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord is signified by the Spirit of God, is that the whole life of man is thence, and those have heavenly life who receive this Divine truth in faith and love. That this is the Spirit of God, the Lord Himself teaches in John:--

The words that I speak to you are spirit, and are life (John 6:63);

the words which the Lord spake are Divine truths.

[14] Again:--

Jesus cried with a great voice, saying, If anyone thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. Whosoever believeth in Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow streams of living water. This said He of the Spirit, which they that believe in Him should receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:37-39);

that by the Spirit which they that believe in the Lord were to receive is meant the life which is from the Lord, and which is the life of faith and of love, is plain from the details of this passage; for thirsting and drinking signify a longing to know and perceive truth; streams of living water which shall flow from the belly denote truths Divine. From this it is evident that the Spirit which they should receive, which is also called the Holy Spirit, denotes life from the Divine truth which proceeds from the Lord, which life is called the life of faith and of love, and is the very spiritual and celestial life with man. The reason why it is said that the Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified, is that while the Lord was in the world He Himself taught Divine truth; but when He was glorified, which was after the resurrection, He taught it through angels and spirits. This holy thing which proceeds from the Lord, and flows into man through angels and spirits, whether manifestly or not manifestly, is the Holy Spirit there mentioned; for it is the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord that is called holy in the Word (AR 9680).

[15] From this it is that the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth, and that it is said that He will lead into all truth; and that He shall not speak of Himself, but what things soever He shall hear from the Lord; and that He shall receive from the Lord the things that He will proclaim (John 16:13, 14); and also that when the Lord departed from the disciples, He breathed into them, and said, Receive ye the Holy Spirit (John 20:21, 22). The respiration signifies the life of faith (AR 9229, 9281); consequently the inspiration [or breathing] of the Lord signifies a capability imparted to men to perceive Divine truths, and thus to receive the life of faith; whence also comes the word spirit from blowing and from wind, because from the respiration; and therefore spirit is sometimes called wind. That the respiration of the lungs corresponds to the life of faith, and the beating of the heart to the life of love, see n. 3883-3896, 9300, 9495).

[16] The like is signified by inspiration (or breathing into) in the book of Genesis:--

And Jehovah breathed into man's nostrils the soul of lives (Gen. 2:7).

From this the Lord is called the spirit of our nostrils (Lam. 4:20). And as Divine truth consumes and vastates the evil, it is said in the following passages:--

The foundations of the world were revealed at the blast of the spirit of Thy nostrils (Ps. 18:15).

By the breath of God they perish, and by the spirit of His nostrils are they consumed (Job 4:9).

By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the army of them by the spirit of His mouth (Ps. 33:6);

the word of Jehovah denotes Divine truth; in like manner the spirit of His mouth. That this denotes the Lord is evident in John:--

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. All things were made by Him. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (John 1:1, 3, 14).

[17] That Divine truth, from which is the heavenly life of man, is signified by the Holy Spirit, is plain also from the following passages. In Isaiah

There shall go forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse; and the spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and intelligence, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah (Isa. 11:1, 2);

these words are said of the Lord, in whom Divine truth, consequently Divine wisdom and intelligence, are called the Spirit of Jehovah; and this Spirit is called the spirit of wisdom and intelligence, of counsel, of might, and of knowledge. Again:--

I have put My spirit upon Him; He shall bring forth judgment to the nations (Isa. 42:1);

speaking here also of the Lord; the Spirit of Jehovah upon Him, denotes Divine truth, consequently Divine wisdom and intelligence. Divine truth is also called judgment (AR 2235).

[18] Again:--

When the enemy shall come as a pent-up stream, the spirit of Jehovah shall lift up a standard against him (Isa. 59:19).

The spirit of the Lord Jehovih is upon Me; therefore Jehovah hath anointed Me to preach glad tidings to the poor (Isa. 61:1);

speaking here also of the Lord; the Divine truth which was in the Lord while He was in the world, and which He Himself then was, is the Spirit of Jehovah.

[19] That the Spirit of Jehovah denotes Divine truth, and that the man who receives it has heavenly life therefrom is still more evident from the following passages. In Isaiah:--

Until the spirit be poured upon you from on high, then shall the wilderness become a fruitful field; then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness (Isa. 32:15, 16);

the subject here treated of is regeneration; the spirit from on high denotes life from the Divine; for the wilderness becoming a fruitful field, and judgment dwelling in the wilderness, signifies intelligence where there was none before, thus new life.

[20] In like manner in these passages:--

That ye may know that I will give My spirit in you, that ye may live (Ezek. 37:13, 14).

Then I will not hide My faces any more from them; for I will pour out My spirit upon the house of Israel (Ezek. 39:29).

I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh, and upon the manservants and upon the maidservants in those days will I pour out My spirit (Joel 2:28, 29).

I am full of might with the spirit of Jehovah, and with judgment and strength to declare to Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin (Micah 3:8).

The horses that go forth into the land of the north have quieted my spirit in the land of the north (Zech. 6:8).

I will pour waters upon him that is thirsty, and streams upon the dry land; I will pour out My spirit upon thy seed (Isa. 44:3).

That in these passages the Spirit of Jehovah denotes the Divine truth, and through this the life of faith and of love, is evident; that it flows in immediately from the Lord and also mediately from Him through spirits and angels, may be seen above (AR 9682).

[21] In like manner in another passage in Isaiah:--

In that day shall Jehovah Zebaoth be for a crown of ornament and for a diadem of beauty to the remains of His people; and for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth upon judgment, and for strength to them (Isa. 28:5, 6);

where a crown of ornament denotes the wisdom which is of good; a diadem of beauty, the intelligence which is of truth; and a spirit of judgment, Divine truth, for judgment is predicated of truth (AR 2235, 6397, 7206, 8685, 8695, 9260, 9383).

[22] Again:--

The Angel of the faces of Jehovah delivered them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; yet they rebelled, and embittered the Spirit of His Holiness; whereby He was turned to be their enemy. He put the Spirit of His Holiness in the midst of him; the Spirit of Jehovah led him (Isa. 63:9-11, 14);

here the Spirit of holiness denotes the Lord as to Divine truth, thus the Divine truth which is from the Lord; the Angel of His faces denotes the Lord as to Divine good, for the face of Jehovah denotes love, mercy, and good. In the Revelation:--

The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Rev. 19:10);

the testimony of Jesus denotes the Divine truth which is from Him and concerning Him (AR 9503).

[23] In David:--

Jehovah God maketh His angels spirits; and His ministers a flaming fire (Ps. 104:4);

where making the angels spirits denotes receptions of Divine truth; and making them a flaming fire denotes receptions of Divine good, that is, of Divine love. In Matthew:--

John said, I baptize you with water unto repentance;but He that cometh after me shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Matt. 3:11);

where to baptize denotes to regenerate; with the Holy Spirit denotes by means of Divine truth; and with fire denotes from the Divine good of the Divine love. That to baptize denotes to regenerate, (AR 5120, 9088); and that fire denotes the Divine good of the Divine love, (AR 4906, 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 4849, 7324).

[24] In Luke:--

If ye, being evil, know how to give good things to your children; how much more shall the Father who is in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? (Luke 11:13);

to give the Holy Spirit denotes to enlighten with Divine truth, and to endow with the life thence derived, which is the life of intelligence and wisdom. In the Revelation:--

The seven lamps of fire burning before the throne are the seven Spirits of God (Rev. 4:5).

In the midst of the elders a Lamb standing, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth (Rev. 5:6).

That in these passages Spirits do not mean spirits, is evident from the fact that the lamps and the eyes of the Lamb are called the Spirits of God; for lamps denote Divine truths (AR 4638, 7072), and eyes denote the understanding of truth, and when said of the Lord, the Divine intelligence and wisdom (AR 2701, 4403-4421, 4523-4534, 9051); from which it is evident that the Spirits of God signify Divine truths.

[25] When therefore it is known that the Holy Spirit denotes the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord, which is holiness itself, the Divine meaning of the Word can be known wherever mention is made of the Spirit of God, and the Holy Spirit; as in the following passages:--

I will ask the Father that He may give you another Paraclete, that He may abide with you forever; the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him, for He abideth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you orphans. The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and put you in mind of all things that I have said unto you (John 14:16-18, 26).

When the Paraclete shall come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, who goeth forth from the Father, He shall bear witness of Me; and ye shall bear witness (John 15:26, 27).

I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away; if I go not away, the Paraclete will not come unto you; but if I go away, I will send Him unto you (John 16:7).

[26] From these passages it is again evident that the Divine truth proceeding from the Divine good which is the Father, is the Paraclete, and the Holy Spirit and therefore also He is called the Spirit of Truth; and it is said of Him that He shall abide in them, that He shall teach all things, that He shall bear witness of the Lord. In the spiritual sense to bear witness of the Lord denotes to teach about Him. Its being said that the Paraclete who is the Holy Spirit is sent from the Father in the name of the Lord, and again that the Lord will send Him from the Father, and afterward that the Lord Himself will send Him, is because the Father signifies the Divine Itself which is in the Lord, and consequently that the Father and He are one, as the Lord plainly declares in (John 10:30; 14:9-11).

[27] Again:--

All sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men If anyone shall say a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in that which is to come (Matt. 12:31, 32);

to say a word against the Son of man denotes against truth Divine not yet implanted or inscribed in the life of man. That the Son of man denotes the Divine truth, (AR 9807); but to speak against the Holy Spirit denotes against the Divine truth that has been implanted or inscribed in the life of man, especially against the Divine truth about the Lord Himself. To speak against this, that is, to deny it after it has once been acknowledged, is profanation; and the profanation is of such a nature that it utterly destroys the interiors of man; and from this it is said that this sin cannot be forgiven. What profanation is, (AR 3398, 3898, 4289, 4601, 6348, 6959, 6963, 6971, 8394, 8882, 9298).

[28] And again:--

Jesus said unto the disciples, Go ye, and baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19);

the Father here denotes the Divine Itself; the Son denotes this Divine Itself in a human form; and the Holy Spirit denotes the Divine which proceeds. Thus there is one Divine, and yet a Trinity. That the Lord is the Divine Itself under a human form, He Himself teaches in John:--

From henceforth ye have known the Father, and have seen Him; he that seeth Me seeth the Father; I am in the Father, and the Father in Me (John 14:7, 9, 10).

AC 9818

Back to Words index, Back to Spirit words index

Author: E. Swedenborg (1688-1772).

Design: I.J. Thompson, Feb 2002.