In the New Testament, the spirit "is the realm where relations between God and a human being can take place (Philippians 3:3)." It is "that aspect of human personality or self through which these relations are possible (http://www.gci.org/spiritual/soulspirit)."
Romans 1:9 (ASV) For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of his Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers (http://bible.cc/romans/1-9.htm).
1 John 3:24 (Codex Sinaiticus) And he that keeps his commandments abides in him and he in him; and in this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.
1 John 4:12 - 13 (Codex Sinaiticus) ...if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. In this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit (http://codexsinaiticus.org/en/manuscript.aspx?book=55&chapter=4&lid=en&side=r&verse=16&zoomSlider=0).
"While the flesh dies, the Spirit of God makes alive (1 Peter 3:18)." Perhaps the best we can say at this point is that we are "souls (meaning persons) in whom the spirit resides (http://www.gci.org/spiritual/soulspirit)."
While I was reluctant to accept that "soul" as it is used in the bible is more akin to our person-hood then to a transcendental or immortal soul The Soul and the Spirit Part 1, perhaps what I was longing for was the existence of the Spirit of God within us. The words I used at the beginning of my first post to describe what I am sometimes shown in another person's eyes were "a pure or vibrant spirit, a kindred spirit, a young soul or an old soul." Can we then say with more accuracy that the eyes are the windows to the Spirit of God within us?
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