John 14:10-12; RSV
Later, in the garden just before His capture and crucifixion, He would teach that, after He went to the Father, He would send the Spirit of Truth, who would be a comforter to us and teach us all things.
His term for this Spirit in the original Greek is paraclete, which means counselor, helper, and comforter, and is considered by Christians to be the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, that will become our companion.
I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you. “I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
John 14:16-20; RSV
He adds to this, saying,
The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
John 14:26; RSV
Later in this teaching, He added more about this Spirit, explaining that He, Jesus, had much more to say, but it could not yet be absorbed by His followers; the Spirit would guide.
I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
John 16:12-13; RSV
The disciple Paul added another view into the nature of our consciousness and the Spirit of the Lord: There is a veil that needs to be removed so that we can bear more knowledge, more guidance from the Spirit.
To this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their minds; but when a man turns to the Lord the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:15-18; RSV
To the woman at the well, Jesus explained that “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24; RSV) To Nicodemus, Jesus taught that not only must we be born of flesh, but we must be born anew of the Spirit.
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, “You must be born anew.” The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit.
John 3:5-8; RSV
When we practice the fruit of the Spirit, it nourishes us in a manner that gradually changes us from predominantly physical, worldly vibrations and consciousness to more spiritual, godly vibrations and consciousness. As one loves, one unites with love, and as the Scriptures point out: God is love. (1 John 4:8) As we apply these virtuous fruits in our thoughts, words, and actions each day, we become one with these virtues, thus united with the Spirit. Then the Spirit gives the gifts that strengthen us and that expand our minds and hearts in such a manner that we become increasingly one with God and companionable to God—the God of the entire universe and all that is in it. The evangelist Paul wrote:
It is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
Romans 8:16; RSV
Edgar Cayce’s discourses affirm this several times in various ways; here are two:
Doubt not self, nor self’s abilities, for in doing does strength come. Keep that consciousness that answers to self, as face answers to face in the water, and this will bring the answer in self as to whether the Spirit of the Creative Forces bears witness with your own spirit.
EC 262-7
Why is God mindful of an individual soul? Spirit! For our spirit, that is a portion of His Spirit, ever bears witness with His Spirit as to whether we be the children of God or not.
262-115
The Nature of Spirit
Just what is the nature of Spirit?
The word Spirit appears at the very beginning of the Bible, in the second verse of the first chapter of Genesis: “The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” The actual Hebrew word for Spirit used in this passage is Ruwach, which means “wind,” as in “the wind of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Wind is an unseen force behind a manifested condition. We see the leaves and branches of a tree move, and we know that the unseen wind is the cause.
Jesus picked up on this characteristic when He explained to Nicodemus the nature of the Spirit: “The wind blows where it will, and you hear the sound of it but do not know from where it comes or to where it goes; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8) Now these words were written in Greek, and the Greek word here for Spirit is pneuma, which also means wind but has the added connotation of breath. Breath is personal wind; we inhale the Spirit of God and it becomes a personal spirit within us. This is seen in the second chapter of Genesis when God breathed the breath of life into humankind and we became living souls. (Genesis 2:7)
Edgar Cayce also compared God to breath and wind: “God is but as the breath or the wind in its passing, yet in its passing may quicken . . . each atom.” (EC 1158–5)
Spirit is the life force. In the biblical book of Job, Elihu acknowledges that the Spirit has given life to us when he says, “the Spirit of God hath made me.” (Job 33:4) God’s Spirit gives life to all, including minerals, plants, and animals. Where there is Spirit, there is life.
In addition to life, the Spirit brings wisdom and understanding. Elihu stated this in the book of Job: “It is the Spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.” (Job 32:8–9) We also see how the Spirit brings wisdom when, in the story of the pharaoh who, after being astonished by Joseph’s wisdom, asked his counselors, “Can we find such a man as this, in whom is the Spirit of God? Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discreet and wise as you are.” (Gen. 41:38–39)
Spirit is the life force and brings enlightenment to our consciousness. Here are three of Edgar Cayce’s insights on the Spirit.
God and the Christ Spirit is Life itself; and the motivating force of the soul is either for that companionship, that association, that development which will make such a soul-body as a fit companion for that Creative Influence manifested in the earth in Him, or it is for separating self from Him.
EC 524-2
Know . . . an ideal must be beyond the purely material things in life, or in an experience in the earth. For these that are of the earth-earthy rust and corrupt. But those that are founded in the spirit of life and truth take hold upon the very throne of mercy and peace and harmony and justice and long-suffering and brotherly love; for they are of God—and thus are everlasting!
EC 1125-1
Spirit is life, whether related to the physical functioning of the atomic forces within the system or whether that of the mental being of a body, and these must coordinate in the proper direction one with another, just as much as it is necessary for a physical functioning organ to coordinate