O significado de espírito na Bíblia: corpo, alma e fôlego

O que significa espírito na Bíblia

Na Bíblia, a palavra "espírito" traduz o hebraico ruach e o grego pneuma, que significam literalmente sopro, vento ou fôlego de vida. As Escrituras usam o termo principalmente em três sentidos: o sopro divino que concede vida biológica ao ser humano, a dimensão imaterial e profunda da pessoa (onde ocorrem a consciência e a comunhão com o Criador) e o próprio Deus — em especial a pessoa do Espírito Santo.

Diferente do corpo material, o espírito humano representa o íntimo do ser, a vida que volta a Deus quando o corpo morre:

26 Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ σῶμα χωρὶς πνεύματος νεκρόν ἐστιν, οὕτως καὶ ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν35 A,C [92%] RP,HF,OC,TR,CP ¦ --- 𝕻20ℵB [8%] NU ἔργων νεκρά ἐστιν.(James 2:26)

12 Ζῶν γὰρ ὁ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἐνεργής, καὶ τομώτερος ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν μάχαιραν δίστομον, καὶ διϊκνούμενος ἄχρι μερισμοῦ ψυχῆς τε35 [90%] RP,HF,OC,TR,CP ¦ --- 𝕻46ℵA,B,C [10%] NU καὶ πνεύματος, ἁρμῶν τε καὶ μυελῶν· καί, κριτικὸς ἐνθυμήσεων καὶ ἐννοιῶν καρδίας.(Hebrews 4:12)

O conflito entre a carne e o espírito

No Novo Testamento, os autores bíblicos contrastam com frequência o espírito e a "carne". Enquanto "carne" descreve a natureza humana inclinada ao pecado e marcada pela fragilidade moral, o "espírito" renovado por Deus inclina a pessoa a obedecer à vontade do Criador.

No Getsêmani, Jesus apontou essa fragilidade ao advertir os apóstolos a orar e vigiar, pois a disposição interior não anula a fraqueza humana sem a dependência de Deus:

41 Γρηγορεῖτε καὶ προσεύχεσθε, ἵνα μὴ εἰσέλθητε εἰς πειρασμόν. Τὸ μὲν πνεῦμα πρόθυμον, ἡ δὲ σὰρξ ἀσθενής.»(Matthew 26:41)

16 Λέγω δέ· Πνεύματι περιπατεῖτε, καὶ ἐπιθυμίαν σαρκὸς οὐ μὴ τελέσητε.(Galatians 5:16)

17 Ἡ γὰρ σὰρξ ἐπιθυμεῖ κατὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος, τὸ δὲ Πνεῦμα κατὰ τῆς σαρκός· ταῦτα δὲ35 A,C [98.5%] RP,HF,OC,TR,CP ¦ γαρ 𝕻46vℵB [1.5%] NU ἀντίκειται ¦ αντικεινται [28%] CP ἀλλήλοις,35 𝕻46vℵ [97%] RP,HF,OC,TR,CP ¦ ∼ 21 (A)B,C [3%] NU ἵνα μὴ ἃ ἂν35 B [96%] RP,HF,OC,TR,CP ¦ εαν ℵA [3.5%] NU ¦ --- C [0.5%] θέλητε, ταῦτα ποιῆτε.(Galatians 5:17)

22 Ὁ δὲ καρπὸς τοῦ Πνεύματός ἐστιν ἀγάπη, χαρά, εἰρήνη, μακροθυμία, χρηστότης, ἀγαθωσύνη, ¦ αγαθοσυνη [25%] πίστις, 23 πρᾳότης,35 [98.5%] RP,HF,OC,TR,CP ¦ πραυτης 𝕻46ℵA,B,C [1.5%] NU ἐγκράτεια—κατὰ τῶν τοιούτων οὐκ ἔστιν νόμος.(Galatians 5:22,23)

25 Εἰ ζῶμεν Πνεύματι, Πνεύματι καὶ στοιχῶμεν. ¦ στιχουμεν [13%] CP(Galatians 5:25)

6 Τὸ γὰρ φρόνημα τῆς σαρκὸς θάνατος, τὸ δὲ φρόνημα τοῦ Πνεύματος ζωὴ καὶ εἰρήνη·(Romans 8:6)

1 Ταύτας οὖν ἔχοντες τὰς ἐπαγγελίας, ἀγαπητοί, καθαρίσωμεν ἑαυτοὺς ἀπὸ παντὸς μολυσμοῦ σαρκὸς καὶ πνεύματος, ἐπιτελοῦντες ἁγιωσύνην ¦ αγιοσυνην [11%] ¦ αγιωσυνης 𝕻46 ἐν φόβῳ Θεοῦ.(2 Corinthians 7:1)

A habitação do Espírito Santo no crente

A teologia bíblica ensina que a vida cristã não se sustenta no esforço puramente humano. A partir da fé em Cristo, o Espírito Santo passa a habitar no interior do crente, transformando seu corpo em templo e dando testemunho de que ele foi adotado como filho de Deus:

19 Ἢ οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι τὸ σῶμα35 𝕻46ℵB,C [65%] HF,RP,OC,TR,CP,NU ¦ τα σωματα [35%] ὑμῶν ναὸς τοῦ ἐν ὑμῖν Ἁγίου Πνεύματός ἐστιν, οὗ ἔχετε ἀπὸ Θεοῦ, καὶ οὐκ ἐστὲ ἑαυτῶν; 20 Ἠγοράσθητε γὰρ τιμῆς· δοξάσατε δὴ τὸν Θεὸν ἐν τῷ σώματι ὑμῶν καὶ ἐν τῷ πνεύματι ὑμῶν, ἅτινά ἐστιν τοῦ Θεοῦ.35 (96.3%) HF,RP,OC,TR,CP ¦ --- 𝕻46ℵA,B,C (3.7%) NU(1 Corinthians 6:19,20)

17 Ὁ δὲ κολλώμενος τῷ Κυρίῳ ἓν πνεῦμά ἐστιν.(1 Corinthians 6:17)

11 Τίς γὰρ οἶδεν ἀνθρώπων τὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εἰ μὴ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὸ ἐν αὐτῷ; Οὕτως καὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐδεὶς οἶδεν35 [95%] HF,RP,OC,TR,CP ¦ εγνωκεν 𝕻46ℵA,B,C [4%] NU ¦ three other readings [1%] εἰ μὴ τὸ Πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ.(1 Corinthians 2:11)

10 Εἰ δὲ Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν, τὸ μὲν σῶμα νεκρὸν δι᾿35 ℵ [81%] OC,TR ¦ δια A,B,C [17%] RP,HF,CP,NU ¦ δια την [2%] ἁμαρτίαν, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ζωὴ διὰ δικαιοσύνην.(Romans 8:10)

14 Ὅσοι γὰρ Πνεύματι Θεοῦ ἄγονται, οὗτοί εἰσιν υἱοὶ Θεοῦ35 [98%] OC,RP,HF,TR,CP ¦ ∼ 231 ℵA,C [1.5%] NU ¦ ∼ 213 B [0.5%](Romans 8:14)

15 —οὐ γὰρ ἐλάβετε πνεῦμα δουλείας πάλιν εἰς φόβον, ἀλλ᾿ ¦ αλλα ℵA,B,C [1%] NU ἐλάβετε Πνεῦμα υἱοθεσίας ἐν ᾧ κράζομεν, «Ἀββᾶ, ὁ Πατήρ.» 16 Αὐτὸ τὸ Πνεῦμα συμμαρτυρεῖ τῷ πνεύματι ἡμῶν ὅτι ἐσμὲν τέκνα Θεοῦ(Romans 8:15,16)

26 Ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα συναντιλαμβάνεται ταῖς ἀσθενείαις35 (93.5%) OC,RP,HF,TR,CP ¦ τη ασθενεια ℵA,B,C (5.2%) NU ¦ της 2 (0.8%) ¦ two other variants (0.5%) ἡμῶν, τὸ γὰρ τί προσευξόμεθα35 [97%] OC,RP,HF,CP ¦ προσευξωμεθα ℵA,B,C [3%] TR,NU καθὸ δεῖ οὐκ οἴδαμεν. Ἀλλ᾿ ¦ αλλα ℵ [25%] NU αὐτὸ τὸ Πνεῦμα ὑπερεντυγχάνει ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν35 C [98%] OC,RP,HF,TR ¦ --- ℵA,B [2%] NU ¦ 1 υμων CP στεναγμοῖς ἀλαλήτοις,(Romans 8:26)

16 ἵνα δῴη35 [97%] RP,HF,OC,TR,CP ¦ δω 𝕻46ℵA,B,C [3%] NU ὑμῖν, κατὰ τὸν πλοῦτον35 [97%] RP,HF,OC,TR,CP ¦ το πλουτος 𝕻46ℵA,B,C [3%] NU τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ· δυνάμει κραταιωθῆναι διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον· 17 κατοικῆσαι τὸν Χριστὸν διὰ τῆς πίστεως ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν, ἐν ἀγάπῃ ἐρριζωμένοι καὶ τεθεμελιωμένοι(Ephesians 3:16,17)

17 ἵνα ὁ Θεὸς τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν, Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὁ Πατὴρ τῆς δόξης, δῴη ὑμῖν πνεῦμα σοφίας καὶ ἀποκαλύψεως ἐν ἐπιγνώσει αὐτοῦ,(Ephesians 1:17)

13 Ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκομεν ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ μένομεν καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν ἡμῖν, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ Πνεύματος αὐτοῦ δέδωκεν ἡμῖν.(1 John 4:13)

13 Εἰ οὖν ὑμεῖς, πονηροὶ ὑπάρχοντες, ¦ οντες ℵD [15%], ¦ ∼ 21 OC οἴδατε δόματα ἀγαθὰ35 𝕻75ℵA,B,C,D,W [97%] HF,RP,OC,NU ¦ ∼ 21 𝕻45 [3%] CP,TR διδόναι τοῖς τέκνοις ὑμῶν, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὁ Πατὴρ ὁ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ35 A,B(C)D,W [98%] CP,HF,RP,TR,OC[NU] ¦ 23 𝕻75ℵ [2%] ¦ 1 ουρανιος 𝕻45 δώσει Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον ¦ αγαθον 𝕻45 [1.5%] OC τοῖς αἰτοῦσιν αὐτόν.»(Luke 11:13)

3 Καὶ ὤφθησαν αὐτοῖς διαμεριζόμεναι γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός, ἐκάθισέν τε35 A [98%] HF,RP,OC,TR,CP ¦ 1 δε C ¦ ∼ και 1 B [1%] NU ¦ και εκαθισαν ℵ ¦ και εκαθισαν 2 D ἐφ᾿ ἕνα ἕκαστον αὐτῶν. 4 Καὶ ἐπλήσθησαν ἅπαντες35 C [98%] HF,RP,OC,TR,CP ¦ παντες ℵA,B,D [2%] NU Πνεύματος Ἁγίου καὶ ἤρξαντο λαλεῖν ἑτέραις γλώσσαις, καθὼς τὸ Πνεῦμα ἐδίδου αὐτοῖς ἀποφθέγγεσθαι.35 [97%] HF,RP,OC,TR,CP ¦ ∼ 21 ℵA,B,C,D [3%] NU(Acts 2:3,4)

19 Οἶδα γὰρ ὅτι τοῦτό μοι ἀποβήσεται εἰς σωτηρίαν (διὰ τῆς ὑμῶν δεήσεως καὶ ἐπιχορηγίας τοῦ Πνεύματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ)(Philippians 1:19)

13 Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς τῆς ἐλπίδος πληρώσαι ὑμᾶς πάσης χαρᾶς καὶ εἰρήνης ἐν τῷ πιστεύειν, εἰς τὸ περισσεύειν ὑμᾶς ἐν τῇ ἐλπίδι ἐν δυνάμει Πνεύματος Ἁγίου.(Romans 15:13)

Adoração em espírito e renovação da mente

Ao conversar com a mulher samaritana, Jesus afirmou que Deus é espírito. Isso significa que o relacionamento com o Criador não está preso a montanhas, ritos exteriores ou templos locais, mas exige sinceridade interior e conformidade com a verdade bíblica:

23 Ἀλλ᾿35 C,N [99.5%] CP,HF,RP,OC,TR ¦ αλλα 𝕻66,75ℵA,B,D,W [0.5%] NU ἔρχεται ὥρα, καὶ νῦν ἐστιν, ὅτε οἱ ἀληθινοὶ προσκυνηταὶ προσκυνήσουσιν τῷ Πατρὶ ἐν πνεύματι καὶ ἀληθείᾳ· καὶ γὰρ ὁ Πατὴρ τοιούτους ζητεῖ τοὺς προσκυνοῦντας αὐτόν. 24 Πνεῦμα ὁ Θεός, καὶ τοὺς προσκυνοῦντας αὐτὸν ἐν πνεύματι καὶ ἀληθείᾳ δεῖ προσκυνεῖν.»(John 4:23,24)

15 Τί οὖν ἐστιν; Προσεύξομαι τῷ πνεύματι, προσεύξομαι δὲ καὶ τῷ νοΐ· ψαλῶ τῷ πνεύματι, ψαλῶ δὲ καὶ τῷ νοΐ.(1 Corinthians 14:15)

11 τῇ σπουδῇ μὴ ὀκνηροί· τῷ πνεύματι ζέοντες τῷ Κυρίῳ ¦ καιρω [1%] TR δουλεύοντες·(Romans 12:11)

18 Ἡμεῖς δὲ πάντες, ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ τὴν δόξαν Κυρίου κατοπτριζόμενοι, τὴν αὐτὴν εἰκόνα μεταμορφούμεθα ἀπὸ δόξης εἰς δόξαν, καθάπερ ἀπὸ Κυρίου Πνεύματος.(2 Corinthians 3:18)

7 Οὐ γὰρ ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν ὁ Θεὸς πνεῦμα δειλίας, ἀλλὰ δυνάμεως καὶ ἀγάπης καὶ σωφρονισμοῦ.(2 Timothy 1:7)

23 Ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου,35 ℵA,B [85%] RP,HF,OC,CP,NU ¦ 1 ημων 𝕻46 [15%] TR Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, μετὰ πάντων35 (90.9%) RP,HF,OC,TR,CP ¦ του πνευματος 𝕻46ℵA,B (9.1%) NU ὑμῶν. Ἀμήν.35 𝕻46ℵA [98%] RP,HF,OC,TR,CP ¦ --- B [2%] NU,35 is based on thirty-seven MSS—18, 35, 201, 204, 328, 386, 394, 444, 604, 757, 824, 928, 986, 1072, 1075, 1100, 1248, 1249, 1503, 1548, 1637, 1725, 1732, 1761, 1768, 1855, 1864, 1865, 1876, 1892, 1897, 2080, 2352, 2466, 2554, 2587 and 2723—all of which I collated myself. 35, 1072, 1864, 1865 and 2554 are ‘perfect’ representatives of f35 in Philippians, as they stand, as were the exemplars of another ten. The uniformity is impressive. Since these MSS come from all over the Mediterranean world (Sinai, Jerusalem, Patmos, Constantinople, Bucharest, Aegean, Trikala, Meteora, Athens, Mt. Athos [seven different monasteries], Grottaferrata, Vatican, etc.) they are certainly representative of the family, giving us the precise family profile—it is reflected in the Text without exception.In the statements of evidence I have included the percentage of manuscript attestation for each variant, within either ( ) or [ ]. I have used ( ) for the evidence taken from TuT, which I take to be reasonably precise. For the variant sets that are not covered there I had to revert to von Soden and the apparatus of N-A27, supplementing from other sources where possible (Scrivener and Tischendorf)—the percentages offered, I have used [ ] for these, are extrapolations based on a comparison of these sources.I venture to predict, if complete collations ever become available, that for any non-Byzantine variants listed with 5 to 1% support (in my apparatus) the margin of error should not exceed ±1%; for non-Byzantine variants listed with 10 to 6% support the margin of error should hardly exceed ±3%; where there is some division among the Byzantine witnesses the margin of error should rarely exceed ±15%. However, I guarantee the witness of Family 35. Please see the last footnote for Matthew for further information.(Philippians 4:23)

As promessas proféticas e o discernimento

Os profetas do Antigo Testamento anunciaram que Deus colocaria um espírito novo e retiraria o coração insensível de Seu povo. O texto sagrado também orienta o crente a exercer domínio sobre as próprias reações e a discernir as influências espirituais à luz da Palavra:

1 Ἀγαπητοί, μὴ παντὶ πνεύματι πιστεύετε, ἀλλὰ δοκιμάζετε τὰ πνεύματα, εἰ ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστιν, ὅτι πολλοὶ ψευδοπροφῆται ἐξεληλύθασιν εἰς τὸν κόσμον.(1 John 4:1)

A postura correta diante de Deus: humildade de espírito

A Bíblia destaca que Deus acolhe quem reconhece a própria dependência e necessidade de perdão. Quando o rei Davi se arrependeu de seus pecados graves, ele pediu não poder terreno, mas a renovação de um espírito íntegro em seu interior:

3 «Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.(Matthew 5:3)