Furthermore, the entirety of creation, encompassing heaven and earth, can be viewed as the dwelling place of God, since “the spirit inwardly nourishes” all of creation, imbuing every part with life and movement (Virgil. 6. Aeneid.). Thus, the Apostle confidently proclaims, “For in Him we live and move and exist” (Acts 17:28).
If one were to argue that the spirit is present in idols due to the existence of unclean spirits in them, such an individual should recognize the conventional language of Scripture. The spirit of destruction is never simply referred to as spirit; rather, it is described with additional qualifiers, as seen in instances like, “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 examples. Whenever the term ‘spirit’ appears without qualifiers, it is invariably understood in a positive light, pertaining to the Holy Spirit. For instance, “He that soweth in the Spirit, by the Spirit shall also reap eternal life” (Gal. 6:8), and again, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace” (Gal. 5:22) or “Walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16).
We do acknowledge that the Holy Spirit may be referred to with modifiers, such as the Holy Spirit, the original Spirit, or the Spirit of God. However, it is evident that the Holy Spirit is often simply called ‘spirit,’ whereas the term for an evil spirit is exclusively used with additional words. If someone still insists on perceiving the evil spirit in this context, it could be clarified that the statement “There is no spirit in him” differs from “There is no spirit near him,” indicating that while the evil spirit may be associated with the physical representation of idols, it cannot inhabit them. Aquila expressed this distinction by translating the Hebrew as “And his spirit is not in his belly” or “in the midst of him.” It should be noted that some Hebrew manuscripts do not include the term ‘no’ and simply state ‘spirit.’
However, if one is swayed by this explanation to consider the presence of the Holy Ghost in this instance, the clause “There is no spirit in him” can be perceived as referring to the absence of the various gifts of the Holy Spirit. Essentially, it conveys that no grace or divine favor is present within the idols created by heretics. Even though these idols lack vitality, they may outwardly reflect an illusion of divinity and a semblance of genuine doctrine. For clarity, it is worth mentioning that in Hebrew, both ‘spirit’ and ‘wind’ are denoted by the same term: rua (רוח), which is context-dependent in interpretation. In this case, ‘spirit’ could refer to ‘wind,’ as idols do not breathe, or ‘soul,’ given their lifelessness. The latter interpretation is evident in Christ’s prayer: “Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit” (Luke 23:46). Since Jesus could not surrender either an evil spirit or the Holy Spirit, who is divine, He entrusted only His soul, stating, “My soul is grievous even unto death” (Matt. 26:38; Mk. 14:34) and, “No man can take my soul from me: but according to my own will I lay down my soul, and receive it again willingly” (Jn. 10:17-18).
THEOSIS