Additionally, the entire universe, encompassing heaven and earth, can be regarded as the dwelling place of God, for ‘the Spirit inwardly nourishes’ all of creation, imparting movement and life to every part of the cosmos (Virgil. 6. Aeneid). This is why the Apostle confidently proclaims, ‘For in Him we live and move and exist’ (Acts 17:28).
If someone raises the question, ‘How can it be said that the Spirit is absent from idols when unclean spirits may inhabit all statues?’ it is important to understand the customary language of Scripture. The spirit of destruction is never referred to simply as ‘spirit’ without additional descriptors, as seen in ‘They are deceived by the spirit of sexual immorality’ (Hos. 4:12) and in the Gospel: ‘When the unclean spirit came out of the man’ (Luke 11:24), among other instances. Consequently, whenever the term ‘spirit’ appears on its own, it is understood positively, in relation to the Holy Spirit, as evidenced by the Apostle’s assertion: ‘He that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting’ (Gal. 6:8) and ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace’ (Gal. 5:22), or ‘Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh’ (Gal. 5:16).
It is acknowledged that the Holy Spirit may indeed be referred to as ‘spirit’ with additional qualifiers; He is called the Holy Spirit, the original Spirit, the right Spirit, the Spirit of God, and so forth. However, it is affirmed that ‘spirit’ frequently denotes the Holy Spirit alone, while references to evil spirits consistently employ additional descriptions. Should anyone insist on identifying the evil spirit in this context, one could interpret that ‘There is no spirit in him’ conveys one meaning, while ‘There is no spirit near him’ conveys another—implying that the evil spirit may be present alongside the idols but cannot inhabit them. Aquila’s translation of the Hebrew emphasizes this by stating, ‘And his spirit is not in his belly’ or ‘in the midst of him.’
It is worth noting that in some Hebrew texts, the term ‘no’ is absent, simply rendering it as ‘spirit.’ If someone, swayed by my explanation, wishes to view the Holy Spirit in this context and questions why the phrase ‘There is no spirit in him’ includes an addition, it refers to the absence of the various gifts of the Holy Spirit. Thus, the implication is that he possesses no spiritual gift or divine power. This can be understood figuratively as well—that no grace of the Holy Spirit resides in the idols of heretics and their creations; while these figures may outwardly mimic divinity and possess an allure of true beliefs, they lack true life and vitality.
Furthermore, it is important to convey that in Hebrew, both ‘spirit’ and ‘wind’ are expressed with a single term: rua (רוה). The interpretation of this word hinges on contextual nuance. In this instance, we may perceive ‘spirit’ as denoting wind, alluding to the lifelessness of idols, or as indicating soul, given that statues are inanimate. The use of ‘spirit’ in reference to the soul is evident in the prayer of Jesus: ‘Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit’ (Luke 23:46). When Christ surrendered to the Father, He did not hand over an evil spirit—this notion is inconceivable—nor did He submit the Holy Spirit, who is God Himself. Instead, He surrendered His soul, the same soul of which He remarked: ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death’ (Matt. 26:38; Mk. 14:34) and, ‘No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself, and I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again’ (Jn. 10:17-18).
THEOSIS