Pro 20:27 The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

Zec 12:1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

I think Tom, You meant to say that I said "heart" and "spirit" are synonymous.

Yes, that's what I meant.

Here are some scripture references:

Exodus
35:21 And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, [and] they brought the LORD'S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.

Isaiah
26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments [are] in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Ezekiel
11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
11:20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do [them].

Matthew
26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak.

Mark
14:38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly [is] ready, but the flesh [is] weak.

John
3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Romans
8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
8:6 For to be carnally minded [is] death; but to be spiritually minded [is] life and peace.
8:7 Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
8:10 And if Christ [be] in you, the body [is] dead because of sin; but the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness.

1 Corinthians
5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
14:14 For if I pray in an [unknown] tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
14:15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
14:16 Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?

2 Corinthians
7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Galatians
3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
5:16 [This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Ephesians
4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Philippians
3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

Colossians
2:5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.

1 Thessalonians
5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and [I pray God] your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews
4:12 For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

1 Peter
4:6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

Here are some SOP references:

CON 82
Those only who feel the necessity of keeping soul, body, and spirit in conformity to natural law, to the end that they may preserve the right balance of their mental powers, are fitted to decide important questions in reference to the execution of the law of our land. {Con 82.4}

CS 72
"Ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." The mind, the heart, the will, and the affections belong to God; the money that we handle is the Lord's. {CS 72.2}

CL 11
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself." These words sum up the whole duty of man. They mean the consecration of the whole being, body, soul, and spirit, to God's service. {CL 11.5}

DA 827
All who consecrate soul, body, and spirit to God will be constantly receiving a new endowment of physical and mental power. The inexhaustible supplies of heaven are at their command. Christ gives them the breath of His own spirit, the life of His own life. The Holy Spirit puts forth its highest energies to work in heart and mind. The grace of God enlarges and multiplies their faculties, and every perfection of the divine nature comes to their assistance in the work of saving souls. {DA 827.3}

FLB 229
Courage, hope, faith, sympathy, love, promote health and prolong life. A contented mind, a cheerful spirit, is health to the body and strength to the soul. {FLB 229.7}

AG
God would have us realize that He has a right to mind, soul, body, and spirit--to all that we possess. We are His by creation and by redemption. {AG 245.3}

2MCP 792
Through the perversion of appetites and passions, man has lost the power of God and become the instrument of unrighteousness. The whole being is diseased--body, soul, and spirit. But a remedy has been provided for the sanctification of humanity. The unholy mind and body may be purified. A wonderful provision has been made whereby we may receive pardon and salvation.--Lt 139, 1898. {2MCP 792.4}

OHC 265
We must use the intelligence that God has given in order that we may be perfect in body, soul, and spirit, that we may have a symmetrical character, a well-balanced mind, and do perfect work for the Master. {OHC 265.4}

5BC 1093
Christ shows that there can be no such thing as neutrality in His service. The soul must not be satisfied with anything short of entire consecration--consecration of thought, voice, spirit, and every organ of mind and body. It is not enough that the vessel be emptied; it must be filled with the grace of Christ (MS 78, 1899). {5BC 1093.7}

TDG 48
As they receive the spirit of Christ, light shines from them in clear, distinct rays. They have a solemn sense of eternal realities. There is a renewal of the entire mind and heart. As the leaven introduced into the meal leavened the whole, so the leaven of truth, if introduced into the heart, will absorb to itself all the properties of soul, body, and spirit. {TDG 48.2}

5T 513
Pure religion has to do with the will. The will is the governing power in the nature of man, bringing all the other faculties under its sway. The will is not the taste or the inclination, but it is the deciding power which works in the children of men unto obedience to God or unto disobedience. {5T 513.1}

MM, that was a nice set of quotes you compiled.

You wrote:

quote:

---

I agree with you that our spirit is an attribute, one of the many faculties of the higher powers of the mind. But I do not believe the will and the spirit are one and the same thing.

---

I asked awhile back if "will" meant the same thing as "spirit" to John, and he responded that "heart" and "spirit" were synonyms, and that the spirit (or heart) was comprised of the will and faith. He made it clear that they (the spirit and the will) are not one and the same thing.

I just explained this is the previous post I wrote to you. John agreed with what I wrote. So if you read the posts, then it should be clear to you that John does not believe the will and the spirit are one and the same thing. When you write something like:

quote:

---

But I do not believe the will and the spirit are one and the same thing.

---

it makes it appear that you are not reading what is being said, as the implication (of the word "but") is that you believe this is what John believes. John clearly does not believe this, so if you are merely wanting to convey the idea that you do not believe the spirit and the will are the same thing, it would be clearer if you wrote something like this:

quote:

---

I, like you, do not believe the will and the spirit are one and the same thing.

---

This would make it clear that you understood what John was saying.

Well MM, since you have so handily backed up with multitude of witnesses the things that I have said; I just wonder if you understand what I had said?

I thought I would summarize the points:

In Romans 7 Paul is relating to us the progression of his experience leading up to conversion. In Romans 8 he tells us of the victory in Christ after conversion.

In Romans 7 Paul speaks of the time when he tried hard to do that which is right by the law, but had not yet discovered the way of righteousness. He could not discover the means of doing that which is good. The Law of sin and death was still at work in him. Paul is not talking about temptations. He is talking about searching for a way to do that which is good. He is describing to us how he discovered his ‘modus operandi’ (the way fallen man functions). He is describing it in different stages of realization.

First comes the knowledge (by the law) of that which is good, which he in mind agrees and accepts, but his spirit is still subject to the flesh (his modus operandi is still the law of sin and death) so he finds no means of doing that which is good, no matter which way he tries. Then he begins to relate his realization of the difference between the functions of his spirit, mind, and flesh, and his choice which to identify with. But he still has not discovered how to function so as to live that good which he approves of. (his modus operandi is still the law of sin and death, his spirit is still subject to his flesh) Then he begins to realize the laws that govern his modus operandi and in verse 23 he establishes it. He cries out for deliverance, and in verse 25 establishes separation. Then in the beginning of Chapter 8, reveals that his modus operandi is now fundamentally changed and that his spirit is no longer subject to the flesh or his mind, but to the spirit of God. Thus the law of sin and death is overcome by the law of spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Now he is able to do that good which before he could not. In Romans 8 he speaks of his discovery of the way and shares it with us, Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Now the spirit of God governs (is source for) his spirit, his spirit governs (is source for) his mind, which in turns governs his body.

Now for a definition of the “spirit”

Often times in conversation mind and spirit could be interchanged depending on the context and aspect. However they are fundamentally and functionally different; different in their government and powers. Basically speaking mind deals with learned knowledge, values, principles, purposes etc. These have been received, accepted and validated by the spirit of man. The spirit largely consists of will and faith. Before anything becomes ours in the mind, it needs to be accepted (given authority and validity) by our spirit. The highest authority in man is his spirit. The spirit does not have to be subject, and is not supposed to be subject to whatever is in the mind. It can override it invalidate it, or investigate things unknown. But the spirit must have a source. In other words, something is trusted (whether reasonable or not, known or unknown. Yet that something is chosen by the will. Whatever is the source is master over us.

The will certainly is the dominant function of the heart or spirit; however the power of the will is faith which is the other dominant function of the heart or spirit. Yet faith cannot be but where the will puts it, nevertheless without faith the will would have no power. There are other aspects to the heart or spirit but suffice this for now

Confusions arise when there is a deprived understanding of the difference between spirit and mind.

The scriptures distinctly teach the difference, and it is vital in salvation.
A synonym that the scripture uses to interchangeably refer to spirit is heart.

At new birth that which is changed is the spirit or heart. It is changed, because it has a new master. Our spirit becomes united with God’s spirit. On the throne of our being, the shekinah glory has come to abide. The flesh has ceased to have influence over (be the source for) the spirit or heart of man. This is accomplished as we in our spirit/heart believe God and cease to trust either our flesh (lower nature) or our mind (what we think is right/wrong, etc). That is conversion.

The mind on the other hand, while it has acquired some information in the process, still has much to learn. Also all that, which is in the mind from before conversion, now needs to be reclassified, re-valuated, or re-educated.

Paul, after his conversion, went for three years to Arabia, for his intensive study period. The continuing learning process is forever. It is also a fact that as our knowledge and growth in the mind transpires that our spirit and heart deepens.