Well, I would submit that man is not a spirit, rather man has a spirit.FHII said:I appreciate your humbleness. An example is found in this thread when you spoke of the spirit being breath or wind. The spirit is a bit more than that. Furthermore, jesus' spirit is now in earthen vessels: the body of Christ which is one body of many members. I will have to check on this, but john the baptist was said to have elijah's spirit. Furthermore, God breathed into adam. So, yes... wind and breath can indeed enter into a body.
The only reason we have a spirit is because of the breath of life breathed into us Gen 2:7 NIV, and scripture states that this breath is taken out of us when we die Eccl 12:7 NIV.
Well, the Holy Spirit does enter us and indwell us upon salvation Rom 10:9-10 NIV, so I'm not sure what you mean here.FHII said:If nothing else, everyone who claims the holy spirit has entered them is wrong.
So who are the “cloud of witnesses,” and how is it they “surround” us? To understand this, we need to look at the previous chapter, as evidenced by the word therefore beginning chapter 12. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the rest of the Old Testament believers looked forward with faith to the coming of the Messiah. The author of Hebrews illustrates this eloquently in chapter 11 and then ends the chapter by telling us that the forefathers had faith to guide and direct them, but God had something better planned. Then he begins chapter 12 with a reference to these faithful men and women who paved the way for us. What the Old Testament believers looked forward to in faith—the Messiah—we look back to, having seen the fulfillment of all the prophecies concerning His first coming.FHII said:Overall you were right. Mary isn't talking to anyone! I do believe she's a part of the cloud of witnesses (though not acknowledged in hebrews 11 ), but that's the extent of her witness. Overall, I like your answer to the post, just not the method of getting there: which is that spirit is wind or breath.
We are surrounded by the saints of the past in a unique way. It’s not that the faithful who have gone before us are spectators to the race we run. Rather, it is a figurative representation and means that we ought to act as if they were in sight and cheering us on to the same victory in the life of faith that they obtained. We are to be inspired by the godly examples these saints set during their lives. These are those whose past lives of faith encourage others to live that way, too. That the cloud is referred to as “great” indicates that millions of believers have gone before us, each bearing witness to the life of faith we now live.
It is definitely translator bias on all accounts. Luke 23:43 - If you research the original doctrines of the NT, you will see that there is no punctuation. I would submit that it is translator bias. Also, the word paradise describes a place on the New Earth, Rev 2:7, Rev 22:2, Rev 22:14 and Rev 22:19. When you remove the comma you can see that Jesus was simply comforting the thief on the cross. We also see in verse 42, that the thief was only interested in coming into his kingdom. The thief was not concerned about when he would be there, rather just being there was what he wanted. The correct way to witness verse 43 is this, with no punctuation. If you're adding punctuation the correct place to put it is after today, being that Jesus was only comforting him..FHII said:Furthermore, in the English language punctuation is a must (lets eat grandma!). Tranlator's bias? Don't think so!
Luke 23:43 NIV Jesus answered him Truly I tell you today you will be with me in paradise
Luke 23:42-43 NIV Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. ” 43Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”