Christ on the cross said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit!” Luke 23:46.
The word here translated "spirit" is the Greek word pneuma (as with
virtually every other instance of “spirit” in the New Testament). The primary meaning of pneuma is “wind” or “air.”
The word here translated "spirit" is the Greek word pneuma (as with
Because life is associated so inextricably with the air we breathe—we cannot live long without air—pneuma also means “life.”
There is nothing in the word pneuma that suggests a disembodied consciousness, or the notion that a man can continue to be conscious and think after his body dies.
There is nothing in the word pneuma that suggests a disembodied consciousness, or the notion that a man can continue to be conscious and think after his body dies.
A plain reading is that Stephen and Jesus asked God to receive back the breath that gives life."
F.D. Nichol
