We find the phrase "in the Spirit" or "in the spirit" about 19 times sprinkled throughout the New Testament in the NASB.
Ever consider just what is or what concepts are being taught by this phrase?
Certainly if we are acting in the will of God, such as presenting accurately His intended message from God's word, we are "in the Spirit." The NASB capitalizes Spirit where in the view of the translation team, the "spirit" in view is the Spirit of God, and not our human (lower case) spirit.
Lets look at a few examples:
In Matthew 22:43, David is said to be "in the Spirit" when He conveys the words inspired by God, such as calling someone Lord.
In Luke 1:17 John the Baptist is said to go "in the power and spirit (lower case) of Elijah, so here the person is acting according to God as conveyed by God's prophet Elijah.
In Romans 8:9 we have a very different meaning apparently presented by the exact same phrase, here "In the Spirit" seems to mean the person has been transferred spiritually into Christ's Spirit, thus here "in the Spirit" might mean "within Christ's spiritual body, as a born anew and indwelt child of God. However, that is not the contextual meaning. Rather if we have been born anew, we are striving to walk according to the Spirit, but if we have not been born anew, we are not so striving.
In yet another very different usage, "in the Spirit" refers to some action of God "by the Spirit." 1 Corinthians 6:11 and Ephesians 3:5 are examples of this usage meaning.
In Ephesians 4:23, in the spirit of your mind simply refers to our human spirit as guiding our actions. Or the opposite of one of the most frequent usage meanings for the phrase!
One of the questions I ask when I come across this multi-meaning phrase is: Which phase fits the context best, According to God's Spirit or according to our spirit? That will not cover all the bases, but I find helpful for many of them.
Ever consider just what is or what concepts are being taught by this phrase?
Certainly if we are acting in the will of God, such as presenting accurately His intended message from God's word, we are "in the Spirit." The NASB capitalizes Spirit where in the view of the translation team, the "spirit" in view is the Spirit of God, and not our human (lower case) spirit.
Lets look at a few examples:
In Matthew 22:43, David is said to be "in the Spirit" when He conveys the words inspired by God, such as calling someone Lord.
In Luke 1:17 John the Baptist is said to go "in the power and spirit (lower case) of Elijah, so here the person is acting according to God as conveyed by God's prophet Elijah.
In Romans 8:9 we have a very different meaning apparently presented by the exact same phrase, here "In the Spirit" seems to mean the person has been transferred spiritually into Christ's Spirit, thus here "in the Spirit" might mean "within Christ's spiritual body, as a born anew and indwelt child of God. However, that is not the contextual meaning. Rather if we have been born anew, we are striving to walk according to the Spirit, but if we have not been born anew, we are not so striving.
In yet another very different usage, "in the Spirit" refers to some action of God "by the Spirit." 1 Corinthians 6:11 and Ephesians 3:5 are examples of this usage meaning.
In Ephesians 4:23, in the spirit of your mind simply refers to our human spirit as guiding our actions. Or the opposite of one of the most frequent usage meanings for the phrase!
One of the questions I ask when I come across this multi-meaning phrase is: Which phase fits the context best, According to God's Spirit or according to our spirit? That will not cover all the bases, but I find helpful for many of them.