Quote:
Originally Posted by mizpeh
Or by an evil spirit of fear and doubt trying to cause unbelief to fester in our minds.
|
Is fear always an evil spirit ...?
Some are quoting
2 Timothy 1:7
but what does Paul mean by spirit?
In examining
2 Timothy 1:7, I think context and prior knowledge should give us which definition of the Greek word pneuma Paul is referring to ...
Surely it's not definition 1 ... and I dont think it's 2 or 3
For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
ou gar edwken (5656) hmin o qeov pneuma deiliav, alla dunamewv kai agaphv kai swfronismou.
--------------------------------------
Pneuma
1. the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father and the Son
1. sometimes referred to in a way which emphasises his personality and character (the \Holy\ Spirit)
2. sometimes referred to in a way which emphasises his work and power (the Spirit of \Truth\)
3. never referred to as a depersonalised force
2. the spirit, i.e. the vital principal by which the body is animated
1. the rational spirit, the power by which the human being feels, thinks, decides
2. the soul
3. a spirit, i.e. a simple essence, devoid of all or at least all grosser matter, and possessed of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding, and acting
1. a life giving spirit
2. a human soul that has left the body
3. a spirit higher than man but lower than God, i.e. an angel
1. used of demons, or evil spirits, who were conceived as inhabiting the bodies of men
2. the spiritual nature of Christ, higher than the highest angels and equal to God, the divine nature of Christ
4. the disposition or influence which fills and governs the soul of any one
1. the efficient source of any power, affection, emotion, desire, etc.
5. a movement of air (a gentle blast)
1. of the wind, hence the wind itself
2. breath of nostrils or mouth
-------------------------------------------------------
I think it has to be the fourth.