Bible Thesaurus: Spiritual

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Thesaurus

Spiritual (42 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (a.) Consisting of spirit; not material;
incorporeal; as, a spiritual substance or being. 2. (a.) of ...
/s/spiritual.htm - 51k

Carnal (11 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary. 1. (a.) Sensual; pertaining to the body or its appetites;
fleshly; sensual; human or worldly as opposed to spiritual. ...
/c/carnal.htm - 13k

Spirituality
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) The quality or state of being spiritual;
incorporeality; heavenly-mindedness. 2. (n.) That which ...
/s/spirituality.htm - 9k

Earthly (39 Occurrences)
... 1. (a.) Pertaining to the earth; belonging to this world, or to man's existence
on the earth; not heavenly or spiritual; carnal; worldly; as, earthly joys ...
/e/earthly.htm - 22k

Snow (25 Occurrences)
... 14). (7) The whiteness of leprosy is compared to snow (Exodus 4:6 Numbers
12:10 2 Kings 5:27). Alfred H. Joy. SPIRITUAL SONGS. (odai ...
/s/snow.htm - 21k

Fleshly (15 Occurrences)
... 3. (a.) Human; not celestial; not spiritual or divine. ... Romans 7:14 For we know that
the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin. (WEB DBY YLT). ...
/f/fleshly.htm - 11k

Physical (7 Occurrences)
... the laws Of nature; also, Of or relating to natural or material things, or to the
bodily structure, as opposed to things mental, moral, spiritual, or imaginary ...
/p/physical.htm - 9k

Prophesyings (1 Occurrence)
... Broadly speaking, the false prophesying related itself to the national ideal
independently of any spiritual quality, while the true prophesying ever kept ...
/p/prophesyings.htm - 8k

Animal (163 Occurrences)
... 4. (a.) Pertaining to the merely sentient part of a creature, as distinguished from
the intellectual, rational, or spiritual part; as, the animal passions or ...
/a/animal.htm - 38k

Baptismal (1 Occurrence)
... This, however, as the life is already there, has nothing to do with the idea of
baptism as an opus operatum, working a spiritual change in virtue of its mere ...
/b/baptismal.htm - 24k

Bible Concordance

Spiritual (42 Occurrences)

John 4:23 But a time is coming--nay, has already come--when the true worshippers will worship the Father with true spiritual worship; for indeed the Father desires such worshippers.
(WEY)

John 4:24 God is Spirit; and those who worship Him must bring Him true spiritual worship."
(WEY)

Romans 1:9 I call God to witness--to whom I render priestly and spiritual service by telling the Good News about His Son-- how unceasingly I make mention of you in His presence,
(WEY)

Romans 1:11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, to the end that you may be established;
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Romans 2:29 But the true Jew is one inwardly, and true circumcision is heart-circumcision--not literal, but spiritual; and such people receive praise not from men, but from God.
(WEY RSV)

Romans 7:6 But seeing that we have died to that which once held us in bondage, the Law has now no hold over us, so that we render a service which, instead of being old and formal, is new and spiritual.
(WEY)

Romans 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Romans 8:4 in order that in our case the requirements of the Law might be fully met. For our lives are regulated not by our earthly, but by our spiritual natures.
(WEY)

Romans 8:5 For if men are controlled by their earthly natures, they give their minds to earthly things. If they are controlled by their spiritual natures, they give their minds to spiritual things.
(WEY)

Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
(Root in KJV WEY WBS)

Romans 8:9 You, however, are not devoted to earthly, but to spiritual things, if the Spirit of God is really dwelling in you; whereas if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, such a one does not belong to Him.
(WEY)

Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.
(WEB ASV NAS RSV NIV)

Romans 12:11 in the diligence not slothful; in the spirit fervent; the Lord serving;
(See NIV)

Romans 15:27 Yes, it has been their good pleasure, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, they owe it to them also to serve them in fleshly things.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Corinthians 1:7 so that you come behind in no gift; waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ;
(See RSV NIV)

1 Corinthians 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual things.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Corinthians 2:15 But he who is spiritual discerns all things, and he himself is judged by no one.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Corinthians 3:1 Brothers, I couldn't speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Christ.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Corinthians 4:15 For even if you were to have ten thousand spiritual instructors--for all that you could not have several fathers. It is I who in Christ Jesus became your father through the Good News.
(WEY)

1 Corinthians 9:11 If we sowed to you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we reap your fleshly things?
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Corinthians 10:3 and all ate the same spiritual food;
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

1 Corinthians 10:4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

1 Corinthians 12:1 Now concerning spiritual things, brothers, I don't want you to be ignorant.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Corinthians 14:1 Follow after love, and earnestly desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Corinthians 14:12 So also you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, seek that you may abound to the building up of the assembly.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV WBS YLT NAS NIV)

1 Corinthians 14:32 and the spiritual gift of prophets to prophets are subject,
(YLT)

1 Corinthians 14:37 If any man thinks himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him recognize the things which I write to you, that they are the commandment of the Lord.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Corinthians 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body and there is also a spiritual body.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Corinthians 15:46 However that which is spiritual isn't first, but that which is natural, then that which is spiritual.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Galatians 6:1 Brothers, even if a man is caught in some fault, you who are spiritual must restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; looking to yourself so that you also aren't tempted.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ;
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ephesians 5:19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; singing, and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ephesians 6:12 For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world's rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Philippians 3:3 For we are the true circumcision--we who render to God a spiritual worship and make our boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in outward ceremonies:
(WEY)

Colossians 1:9 For this cause, we also, since the day we heard this, don't cease praying and making requests for you, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Thessalonians 2:2 not readily to become unsettled in mind or troubled--either by any pretended spiritual revelation or by any message or letter claiming to have been sent by us--through fancying that the day of the Lord is now here.
(WEY)

1 Timothy 4:14 Don't neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the elders.
(See NAS)

Hebrews 5:14 Such persons are mere babes. But solid food is for adults--that is, for those who through constant practice have their spiritual faculties carefully trained to distinguish good from evil.
(WEY)

1 Peter 2:2 as newborn babes, long for the spiritual milk which is without guile, that ye may grow thereby unto salvation;
(ASV RSV NIV)

1 Peter 2:5 You also, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Hosea 9:7 The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred.
(KJV WBS)

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (a.) Consisting of spirit; not material; incorporeal; as, a spiritual substance or being.

2. (a.) of or pertaining to the intellectual and higher endowments of the mind; mental; intellectual.

3. (a.) of or pertaining to the moral feelings or states of the soul, as distinguished from the external actions; reaching and affecting the spirits.

4. (a.) of or pertaining to the soul or its affections as influenced by the Spirit; controlled and inspired by the divine Spirit; proceeding from the Holy Spirit; pure; holy; divine; heavenly-minded; -- opposed to carnal.

5. (a.) Not lay or temporal; relating to sacred things; ecclesiastical; as, the spiritual functions of the clergy; lords spiritual and temporal; a spiritual corporation.

6. (n.) A spiritual function, office, or affair. See Spirituality, 2.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

BODY, SPIRITUAL

spir'-it-u-al: Paul describes the body after the resurrection as a spiritual body (soma psuchikon) and contrasts it with the natural (psychical body, soma pneumatikon, 1 Corinthians 15:44). Our present natural body has for its life-principle the soul (psuche) but the resurrection body is adapted and subordinated to the spirit (pneuma). See PSYCHOLOGY. The apostle does not argue for a literal and material identity of that future body with the present one, but thinks of it as the counterpart of the present animal organism so conditioned as to be adapted to a state of existence which lies wholly within the sphere of the spirit. Against his Corinthian readers he argues that the resurrection cannot be succeeded by a state of non-existence, nor is he willing to admit a mere etherealized state. There must be a body, but between it and our present body there is a similar difference to that between the first and second Adam. The present body and the first Adam were alike dominated by the soul (psuche); but as the second Adam became a life-giving spirit, so will the resurrection body be a spiritual one. Christ became a life-giving spirit through the resurrection (Meyer on 1 Corinthians 15:45); and since we are to bear His image (1 Corinthians 15:49), it becomes evident that Christ's resurrection-body is the nearest possible approach to a sensible representation of the spiritual body. For this Paul argues more directly when he affirms that our resurrection-body shall be transformed according to the body of His glory (Philippians 3:21; compare 1 John 3:2). The body of Christ after the resurrection was conformed in many respects to the body of His earthly life, yet with some marked differences. He ate (Luke 24:42, 43); He breathed (John 20:22); possessed flesh and bones (Luke 24:39), and could be apprehended by the bodily senses (Luke 24:40 John 20:27). His body possessed characteristics which differentiated it entirely from the popular fancy of ghosts or apparitions (Luke 24:36-43). Yet His body was superior to the usual barriers which restrict human movements. Barred doors and distances did not impede His going (John 20:19-26 Luke 24:31-36). The context shows that the purpose of His eating was to convince the disciples that it was really He (Luke 24:41-43), and not to sustain life which His body was probably capable of maintaining in other ways. John speaks of His appearances after His resurrection as "manifestations" (John 21:1-21). A change in His person and appearance had certainly taken place, for those who knew Him best did not at once recognize Him (Luke 24:16 John 20:14). It is evident therefore that the post-resurrection-body of Jesus was one that had the power of materializing itself to natural senses, or withdrawing itself at will. It was this same body which was taken into the heavens at the ascension, and which remains in heaven (Acts 1:11; Acts 3:21). There is no hint that it underwent any change in its removal from earth. Hence, the spiritual body of which Paul speaks is not to be unlike the body which Jesus possessed after His resurrection. There is to be an absence of the desires and passions which belong naturally to the present bodily existence (Matthew 22:30 Luke 20:35, 36).

William Charles Morro

SPIRITUAL

spir'-it-u-al (pneumatikos, "spiritual," from pneuma, "spirit"): Endowed with the attributes of spirit. Any being made in the image of God who is a Spirit (John 4:24.), and thus having the nature of spirit, is a spiritual being.

(1) Spiritual hosts of wickedness (Ephesians 6:12), in distinction from beings clothed in "flesh and blood"-the devil and his angels. This use of the word has reference to nature, essence, and not to character or moral quality. God, angels, man, devil, demons are in essence spiritual. The groundwork and faculties of their rational and moral being are the same. This limited use of the word in the New Testament has its adverb equivalent in Revelation 11:8, "which (the great and wicked city) spiritually is called Sodom." As the comprehensive term moral includes immoral, so spiritual includes unspiritual and all that pertains to spirit.

(2) With the above exception, "spiritual" in the New Testament signifies moral, not physical antithesis: an essence springing from the Spirit of God and imparted to the spirit of man. Hence, spiritual in this sense always presupposes the infusion of the Holy Spirit to quicken, and inform. It is opposed

(a) to sarkikos, "fleshly" (1 Corinthians 3:1), men of the flesh and not of the spirit;

(b) to psuchikos, "natural," man in whom the pneuma, "spirit," is over-ridden, because of the Fall, by psuche, the principle of the animal life, "soul"; hence, the unrenewed man, unspiritual, alienated from the life of God (1 Corinthians 2:14 2 Peter 2:12 Jude 1:10). See MAN, NATURAL;

(c) to natural, meaning physical, ".... sown a natural body;.... raised a spiritual body" (1 Corinthians 15:44).

(3) In the New Testament and general use "spiritual" thus indicates man regenerated, indwelt, enlightened, endued, empowered, guided by the Holy Spirit; conformed to the will of God, having the mind of Christ, living in and led by the Spirit. The spiritual man is a new creation born from above (Romans 8:6 1 Corinthians 2:15; 1 Corinthians 3:1; 1 Corinthians 14:37 Colossians 1:9 1 Peter 2:5).

(4) Ecclesiastically used of things sacred or religious, as spiritual authority, spiritual assembly, spiritual office.

See SPIRIT.

Dwight M. Pratt

SPIRITUAL BLESSING

(eulogia pneumatike): Any blessing administered in the realm of the spiritual life; specifically the blessing of the Spirit in introducing the believer into "the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3); a term expressing the fullness of blessing in God's gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ.

SPIRITUAL BODY

(soma pneumatikon, "body spiritual"): The resurrection-body, a body fitted to the capacities and wants of the spirit in the celestial world; an organism conformed to the spiritual life at the resurrection (see 1 Corinthians 15:44).

See BODY, SPIRITUAL.

SPIRITUAL DRINK

(pneumatikon poma): Having a spiritual significance, as referring to the water that flowed miraculously from the smitten rock (1 Corinthians 10:4 Numbers 20:11). Symbolic also of nourishment for the thirsty soul in the sacramental cup and the outpoured blood (life) of Christ.

See ROCK, 2, (1); SPIRITUAL ROCK.

SPIRITUAL GIFTS

(charismata):

1. Gifts Connected with the Ministry of the Word

(1) Apostleship

(2) Prophecy

(3) Discernings of spirits

(4) Teaching

(5) The Word of Knowledge

(6) The Word of Wisdom

(7) Kinds of Tongues

(8) Interpretation of Tongues

2. Gifts Connected with the Ministry of Practical Service

(1) Workings of Miracles

(2) Gifts of Healings

(3) Ruling, Governments

(4) Helps

LITERATURE

The word charisma, with a single exception (1 Peter 4:10), occurs in the New Testament only in the Pauline Epistles, and in the plural form is employed in a technical sense to denote extraordinary gifts of the Spirit bestowed upon Christians to equip them for the service of the church. Various lists of the charismata are given (Romans 12:6-8 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28-30; compare Ephesians 4:7-12), none of which, it is evident, are exhaustive. Some of the gifts enumerated cannot be said to belong in any peculiar sense to the distinctive category. "Faith" (1 Corinthians 12:9), for example, is the essential condition of all Christian life; though there were, no doubt, those who were endowed with faith beyond their fellows. "Giving" and "mercy" (Romans 12:8) are among the ordinary graces of the Christian character; though some would possess them more than others. "Ministry" (Romans 12:7), again, i.e. service, was the function to which every Christian was called and the purpose to which every one of the special gifts was to be devoted (Ephesians 4:12). The term is applied to any spiritual benefit, as the confirmation of Christians in the faith by Paul (Romans 1:11). And as the general function of ministry appears from the first in two great forms as a ministry of word and deed (Acts 6:1-4 1 Corinthians 1:17), so the peculiar charismatic gifts which Paul mentions fall into two great classes-those which qualify their possessors for a ministry of the word, and those which prepare them to render services of a practical nature.

1. Gifts Connected with the Ministry of the Word:

(1) Apostleship

(1 Corinthians 12:28 f; compare Ephesians 4:11).-The name "apostle" is used in the New Testament in a narrower and a wider sense. It was the peculiar title and privilege of the Twelve (Matthew 10:2 Luke 6:13 Acts 1:25 f), but was claimed by Paul on special grounds (Romans 1:1 1 Corinthians 9:1, etc.); it was probably conceded to James the Lord's brother (1 Corinthians 15:7 Galatians 1:19), and in a freer use of the term is applied to Barnabas (Acts 14:4, 14; compare 1 Corinthians 9:5, 6), Andronicus and Junias (Romans 16:7). From the Didache (xi.4;) we learn that the ministry of apostles was continued in the church into the sub-apostolic age (see LITERATURE, SUB-APOSTOLIC). The special gift and function of apostleship, taken in the widest sense, was to proclaim the word of the gospel (Acts 6:2 1 Corinthians 1:17, etc.), and in particular to proclaim it to the world outside of the church, whether Jewish or Gentile (Galatians 2:7, 8).

See APOSTLE.

(2) Prophecy

(Romans 12:6 1 Corinthians 12:10, 28, 29), under which may be included exhortation (Romans 12:8; compare 1 Corinthians 14:3). The gift of prophecy was bestowed at Pentecost upon the church as a whole (Acts 2:16), but in particular measure upon certain individuals who were distinctively known as prophets. Only a few of the Christian prophets are directly referred to-Judas and Silas (Acts 15:32), the prophets at Antioch (Acts 13:1), Agabus and the prophets from Jerusalem (Acts 11:27 f), the four daughters of Philip the evangelist (Acts 11:9). But 1 Corinthians shows that there were several of them in the Corinthian church; and probably they were to be found in every Christian community. Some of them moved about from church to church (Acts 11:27; Acts 21:10); and in the Didache we find that even at the celebration of the Eucharist the itinerant prophet still takes precedence of the local ministry of bishops and deacons (Didache x.7).

It is evident that the functions of the prophet must sometimes have crossed those of the apostle, and so we find Paul himself described as a prophet long after he had been called to the apostleship (Acts 13:1). And yet there was a fundamental distinction. While the apostle, as we have seen, was one "sent forth" to the unbelieving world, the prophet was a minister to the believing church (1 Corinthians 14:4, 22). Ordinarily his message was one of "edification, and exhortation, and consolation" (1 Corinthians 14:3). Occasionally he was empowered to make an authoritative announcement of the divine will in a particular case (Acts 13:1). In rare instances we find him uttering a prediction of a future event (Acts 11:28; Acts 21:10 f).

(3) Discernings of Spirits

With prophecy must be associated the discernings of spirits (1 Corinthians 12:10; 1 Corinthians 14:29 1 Thessalonians 5:20 f; compare 1 John 4:1). The one was a gift for the speaker, the other for those who listened to his words. The prophet claimed to be the medium of divine revelations (1 Corinthians 14:30); and by the spiritual discernment of his hearers the truth of his claim was to be judged (1 Corinthians 14:29). There were false prophets as well as genuine prophets, spirits of error as well as spirits of truth (1 John 4:1-6; compare 2 Thessalonians 2:2; Didache xi). And while prophesyings were never to be despised, the utterances of the prophets were to be "proved" (1 Thessalonians 5:20 f), and that in them which came from the Spirit of God spiritually judged (1 Corinthians 2:14), and so discriminated from anything that might be inspired by evil spirits.

See DISCERNINGS OF SPIRITS.

(4) Teaching

(Romans 12:7 1 Corinthians 12:28 f).-As distinguished from the prophet, who had the gift of uttering fresh truths that came to him by way of vision and revelation, the teacher was one who explained and applied established Christian doctrine-the rudiments and first principles of the oracles of God (Hebrews 5:12).

(5) The Word of Knowledge

Possibly the word of knowledge (gnosis).

(6) The Word of Wisdom

The word of wisdom (sophia) (1 Corinthians 12:8) are to be distinguished, the first as the utterance of a prophetic and ecstatic intuition, the second as the product of study and reflective thought; and so are to be related respectively to the functions of the prophet and the teacher.

See TEACHER, TEACHING.

(7) Kinds of Tongues

(1 Corinthians 12:10, 28, 30).-What Paul means by this he explains fully in 1 Corinthians 14. The gift was not a faculty of speaking in unknown foreign languages, for the tongues (glossai) are differentiated from the "voices" or languages (phonai) by which men of one nation are distinguished from those of another (14:10, 11). And when the apostle says that the speaker in an unknown tongue addressed himself to God and not to men (14:2, 14) and was not understood by those who heard him (14:2), that he edified himself (14:4) and yet lost the power of conscious thought while praying with the spirit (14:14), it would appear that the "tongues" must have been of the nature of devout ejaculations and broken and disjointed words, uttered almost unconsciously under the stress of high ecstatic feeling.

(8) Interpretation of Tongues

Parallel to this gift was that of the interpretation of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:10, 30). If the gift of tongues had been a power of speaking unknown foreign languages, the interpretation of tongues would necessarily have meant the faculty of interpreting a language unknown to the interpreter; for translation from a familiar language could hardly be described as a charisma. But the principle of economy makes it improbable that the edification of the church was accomplished in this round-about way by means of a double miracle-a miracle of foreign speech followed by a miracle of interpretation. If, on the other hand, the gift of tongues was such as has been described, the gift of interpretation would consist in turning what seemed a meaningless utterance into words easy to be understood (1 Corinthians 12:9). The interpretation might be given by the speaker in tongues himself (1 Corinthians 12:5, 13) after his mood of ecstasy was over, as he translated his exalted experiences and broken cries into plain intelligible language. Or, if he lacked the power of self-interpretation, the task might be undertaken by another possessed of this special gift (1 Corinthians 12:27, 28). The ability of a critic gifted with sympathy and insight to interpret the meaning of a picture or a piece of music, as the genius who produced it might be quite unable to do (e.g. Ruskin and Turner), will help us to understand how the ecstatic half-conscious utterances of one who had the gift of tongues might be put into clear and edifying form by another who had the gift of interpretation.

See TONGUES, GIFT OF.

2. Gifts Connected with the Ministry of Practical Service:

(1) Workings of Miracles

(1 Corinthians 12:10, 28, 29).-The word used for miracles in this chapter (dunameis, literally, "powers") is employed in Acts (8:7, 13; 19:11, 12) so as to cover those cases of exorcism and the cure of disease which in Paul's list are placed under the separate category of "gifts of healing." As distinguished from the ordinary healing gift, which might be possessed by persons not otherwise remarkable, the "powers" point to a higher faculty more properly to be described as miraculous, and bestowed only upon certain leading men in the church. In 2 Corinthians 12:12 Paul speaks of the "powers" he wrought in Corinth as among "the signs of an apostle." In Hebrews 2:4 the writer mentions the "manifold powers" of the apostolic circle as part of the divine confirmation of their testimony. In Romans 15:18; Paul refers to his miraculous gifts as an instrument which Christ used for the furtherance of the gospel and the bringing of the Gentiles to obedience. The working of "powers," accordingly, was a gift which linked itself to the ministry of the word in respect of its bearing upon the truth of the gospel and the mission of the apostle to declare it. And yet, like the wider and lower gift of healing, it must be regarded primarily as a gift of practical beneficence, and only secondarily as a means of confirming the truth and authenticating its messenger by way of a sign. The Book of Acts gives several examples of "powers" that are different from ordinary healings. The raising of Dorcas (9:36;) and of Eutychus (20:9;) clearly belong to this higher class, and also, perhaps, such remarkable cures as those of the life-long cripple at the Temple gate (3:1;) and Aeneas of Lydda (9:32;).

(2) Gifts of Healings

(1 Corinthians 12:9, 28, 30).

See HEALING, GIFTS OF.

(3) Ruling, Governments

(Romans 12:8, 1_corinthians 12:28).-These were gifts of wise counsel and direction in the practical affairs of the church, such as by and by came to be formally entrusted to presbyters or bishops. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, the ministry of office had not yet supplanted the ministry of inspiration, and Christian communities were guided and governed by those of their members whose wisdom in counsel proved that God through His Spirit had bestowed upon them the gift of ruling.

(4) Helps

(1 Corinthians 12:28).-This has sometimes been understood to denote the lowliest Christian function of all in Paul's list, the function of those who have no pronounced gifts of their own and can only employ themselves in services of a subordinate kind. But the usage of the Greek word (antilempsis) in the papyri as well as the Septuagint points to succor rendered to the weak by the strong; and this is confirmed for the New Testament when the same Greek word in its verbal form (antilambano) is used in Acts 20:35, when Paul exhorts the elders of the Ephesian church to follow his example in helping the weak. Thus, as the gift of government foreshadowed the official powers of the presbyter or bishop, the gift of helps appears to furnish the germ of the gracious office of the deacon-the "minister" paragraph excellence, as the name diakonos denotes-which we find in existence at a later date in Philippi and Ephesus (Philippians 1:1 1 Timothy 3:1-13), and which was probably created, on the analogy of the diakonia of the Seven in Jerusalem (Acts 6:1), as a ministry, in the first place, to the poor.

See , further, HELPS.

LITERATURE. Hort, Christian Ecclesia, Lect X; Neander, Hist of the Planting of the Christian Church, I, 131;; Weizsacker, Apostolic Age, II, 255-75; Lindsay, Church and Ministry, passim; EB, IV, article "Spiritual Gifts"; ERE, III, article "Charismata"; PRE, VI, article "Geistesgaben."

J. C. Lambert

SPIRITUAL HOUSE

(oikos pneumatikos, "house spiritual"): A body of Christians (a church), as pervaded by the Spirit and power of God (1 Peter 2:5); a term applicable to God's house: "house of prayer," the temple (Matthew 21:13); to heaven: "my Father's house" (John 14:2); to the tabernacle: "Moses.... faithful in all his house" (Hebrews 3:2); to saints: as "the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19), and "the temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:19); hence, any "habitation of God in the spirit" (Ephesians 2:22) in which His glory dwells and His power and grace are manifest.

SPIRITUAL MAN

(ho pneumatikos): In distinction from the natural, the unrenewed man (1 Corinthians 2:15); man in whom the Holy Spirit dwells and rules. This divine indwelling insures mental illumination: "He that is spiritual discerneth (AVm) (or interpreteth) all things"; moral renewal: "a new creature" (2 Corinthians 5:17); "a new man" (Ephesians 4:24); spiritual enduement: "Ye shall receive power" (Acts 1:8).

See SPIRITUAL, 2; SPIRITUALITY; MAN.

SPIRITUAL MEAT

(broma pneumatikon, "food spiritual"): Nourishment for the soul, referring specifically (1 Corinthians 10:3) to the manna by which the children of Israel were miraculously fed and which was made by Paul prophetically equivalent to the broken bread of the Christian sacrament symbolizing the body of Christ. Hence,

(1) Christ Himself as the food of the soul: "I am the bread of life" (John 6:48-58);

(2) anything that nourishes the spiritual life:

(a) obedience to the will of God: "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me" (John 4:32-34);

(b) the truths of God in the Scriptures: "Word of righteousness" = "strong meat" (Hebrews 5:12-14); "word of God" (Matthew 4:4);

(c) the things of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:1-2; compare 1 Corinthians 2).

Dwight M. Pratt

SPIRITUAL ROCK

(pneumatike petra): Having a spiritual significance: supernatural, manifesting the power of the Divine Spirit; allegorically applied to Christ as fulfilling the type in the smitten rock in the desert, from which water miraculously burst forth to nourish the Israelites. A tradition current among the Jews affirms that this rock followed the people in their journeyings and gave forth a living stream for their supply. Paul made this ever-flowing rock a beautiful and accurate symbol of Christ: "The rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:4).

Without the characterizing word "spiritual," this figurative term, with the same significance, is common to the Scriptures; applied

(1) to Yahweh, God: "Rock of his salvation," "their rock is not as our Rock" (Deuteronomy 32:15, 31); "Yahweh is my rock" (Psalm 18:2; compare Isaiah 26:4; Isaiah 32:2 1 Samuel 2:2 2 Samuel 22:2);

(2) to the foundation-stone of Christian confession and testimony (Matthew 16:18; compare Ephesians 2:20 1 Corinthians 3:11 1 Peter 2:6-8), and thus to Christ Himself;

(3) in Christian hymnology to Jesus crucified and spear-pierced: "Rock of ages, cleft for me."

Dwight M. Pratt

SPIRITUAL SACRIFICE

pneumatikai thusiai): A figure taken from the victim slain and offered on the altar, as e.g. the paschal lamb; thus signifying the complete and acceptable offering of the self-dedicated spirit. As the temple, priesthood and God Himself are spiritual, so is the sacrifice of the consecrated believer (1 Peter 2:5); compare "living sacrifice" (Romans 12:1); "sacrifice of praise" (Hebrews 13:15, 16). Any self-dedicating act of the inner man; the devout, renewed, consecrated spirit, e.g. Christian benevolence (Philippians 4:18); "to do good and to communicate" (Hebrews 13:16); "mercy" and "knowledge of God," instead of material and outward sacrifice (Hosea 6:6). This is defined and beautifully illustrated in the classic verse on this theme, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit," etc. (Psalm 51:17).

Dwight M. Pratt

Greek

4152. pneumatikos -- spiritual
... spiritual. Part of Speech: Adjective Transliteration: pneumatikos Phonetic Spelling:
(pnyoo-mat-ik-os') Short Definition: spiritual Definition: spiritual. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4152.htm - 7k

3705. horama -- that which is seen
... Cognate: 3705 (a neuter noun derived from 3708 , "to see, spiritual and mentally") --
a vision (spiritual seeing), focusing on the impact it has on the one ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3705.htm - 7k

2222. zoe -- life
... Transliteration: zoe Phonetic Spelling: (dzo-ay') Short Definition: life Definition:
life, both of physical (present) and of spiritual (particularly future ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2222.htm - 7k

2288. thanatos -- death
... Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: thanatos Phonetic Spelling:
(than'-at-os) Short Definition: death Definition: death, physical or spiritual. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2288.htm - 7k

5258. hupnos -- sleep
... sleep. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: hupnos Phonetic Spelling:
(hoop'-nos) Short Definition: sleep Definition: sleep; fig: spiritual sleep. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5258.htm - 6k

4153. pneumatikos -- spiritually
... Adverb Transliteration: pneumatikos Phonetic Spelling: (pnyoo-mat-ik-oce') Short
Definition: spiritually Definition: spiritually, in a spiritual way; from a ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4153.htm - 6k

5591. psuchikos -- natural, of the soul or mind
... lower") aspect of humanity, ie behavior that is "more of (carnality) than heaven."
5591 () then sometimes stands in contrast to 4152 ("spiritual") -- the higher ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5591.htm - 8k

4696. spilos -- a spot, stain
... 4696 -- properly, a stain (spot); (figuratively) a moral (spiritual) fault
or blemish. Moral and spiritual stains (spots) come from ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4696.htm - 6k

5486. charisma -- a gift of grace, a free gift
... Word Origin from charizomai Definition a gift of grace, a free gift NASB Word Usage
favor (1), free gift (3), gift (5), gifts (7), spiritual gift (1). ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5486.htm - 7k

1594. eknepho -- to become sober (after drunkenness)
... to sobriety (seriousness), ie with the awareness of being responsibly aware;
(figuratively) aroused (awakened) out of the stupor of spiritual delusion (apathy ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1594.htm - 7k

Library

The Spiritual Guide which Disentangles the Soul
The Spiritual Guide which Disentangles the Soul. <. The Spiritual Guide which
Disentangles the Soul Miguel de Molinos. Table of Contents. Title Page. ...
/.../de molinos/the spiritual guide which disentangles the soul/

Hymns and Spiritual Songs
Hymns and Spiritual Songs. <. Hymns and Spiritual Songs Isaac Watts. Produced
by Lewis Jones. Table of Contents. Title Page. Transcriber's Note. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/watts/hymns and spiritual songs/

Paul GerhardtÆs Spiritual Songs
Paul GerhardtÆs Spiritual Songs. <. Paul GerhardtÆs Spiritual Songs
Paul Gerhardt. Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, based ...
//christianbookshelf.org/gerhardt/paul gerhardts spiritual songs/

A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents
A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents. <. A Short Method
Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents Jeanne Marie Bouvières. ...
/.../bouvieres/a short method of prayer and spiritual torrents/

Natural Law in the Spiritual World
Natural Law in the Spiritual World. <. Natural Law in the Spiritual
World Henry Drummond. Table of Contents. Title Page. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/drummond/natural law in the spiritual world/

Spiritual Dryness.
... SPIRITUAL DRYNESS. We often meet with ... own cases. Spiritual dryness is
sometimes the result of attachment to the world. "Set your ...
//christianbookshelf.org/orr/how to live a holy life/spiritual dryness.htm

Spiritual Reformers in the 16th and 17th Centuries
Spiritual Reformers in the 16th and 17th Centuries. <. Spiritual
Reformers in the 16th and 17th Centuries Rufus M. Jones. ...
/.../jones/spiritual reformers in the 16th and 17th centuries/

The Spiritual Guide,
The Spiritual Guide which Disentangles the Soul. <. ... THE Spiritual
Guide,. Which disentangles the Soul, and by the inward ...
/.../the spiritual guide which disentangles the soul/the spiritual guide.htm

Spiritual Declension.
... SPIRITUAL DECLENSION. A ... strength. Where such a state of things exists it is
evident that the pulses of spiritual life are ebbing fast. ...
/.../orr/food for the lambs or helps for young christians/spiritual declension.htm

Spiritual Appetite
... Spiritual Appetite. A Sermon (No.1227) delivered on Lord's Day Morning by CH Spurgeon,
April 4th, 1875, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/sermons on proverbs/spiritual appetite.htm

Subtopics

Spiritual Breakthrough