The Spirit himself [or "itself"] bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God...(Romans 8:16)
In the sentence immediately preceding (vs 15), Paul wrote:
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery — again into fear, but you received a spirit of sonship in which we cry out, "Papa, Father".
Steve7150, do you think this means that God gave the Romans an actual spirit, maybe a good spirit which was a spirit of sonship as opposed to an evil spirit which was a spirit of slavery? In my view, Paul is using "spirit" in the same way we do today when we say someone has a spirit of meekness. We also say, "John seems to be a free spirit." It's a manner of speaking.
So in vs 16, Paul is simply saying that the Spirit of the Father or the Spirit of Jesus (they share the same Spirit) bears witness with our conscious mind that we are children of God not some part of us called our "spirit" which can exist independently of our whole person (a concept derived from Greek philosophy).
Justin Martyr, who followed Plato before he became a Christian made a clean break from Platoism. In his discussion with Trypho and other Jews he said, "If you have fallen in with some who are called "Christians" ... who say that their souls, when they die, are taken to heaven, do not imagine that they
are Christians..." In the second century, this was the position of the gnostics, not the regular Christians.
Steve7159 wrote:Paul sounds to me like he is pressured to make an urgent decision, either choice A or choice B, if he was to sleep for 2,000 years i think he was unaware of it, therefore i think if you don't read anything into his words he did indeed rather depart and be with Christ.
Yes, you're right in that Paul was unaware that Christ would come more than 2000 years after his death. For the apostles of that day doubtless thought Christ would return soon, probably in their life time. That's why Paul could say that at Christ's coming, "Those of
us who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them" (the dead in Christ who will rise first). He expected to be among those who would be raised to life and be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.
Concerning death being called "sleep" (even our Lord called it that), I think this is also a figure of speech, perhaps a euphamism for "death". For a dead person in some respects resembles one who sleeps.
... after that he said to them, "our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."
Then his disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will be okay."
However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that he was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. (John 11:11-14)
Obviously, when Jesus said He would "wake" him, He meant that He would bring him back to life. But by saying, "Lazarus sleeps", our Lord did not mean that he had an immaterial "soul" or "spirit" which survived death but was in a state of unconsciousness (in other words "soul sleep"). I think he meant that Lazarus had died, that he no longer existed. As I see it, when we die, we're really dead — as dead as a dog or cat is when it dies. And we'll stay dead unless God raises us to life as He did His Son — and we will be raised; that is the promise, and our great hope, the hope of resurrection!
In the resurrection morning when the trump of God shall sound,
We shall rise; we shall rise!
Then the saints will come rejoicing, and no tears will e'er be found,
We shall rise; we shall rise!
We shall rise! Hallelujah! We shall rise! Amen!
In the resurrection morning,
When death's prison bars are broken,
We shall rise; we shall rise!