In the spirit – If you read this verse in modern translations, you won’t find these words.  Instead, you will read “Paul devoted himself entirely” or something like that.  Why?  Because this is one of those Greek sentences where the ancient manuscripts have more than one reading.  Some of the documents contain the words “by (or in) the spirit” and some contain the words “by (or in) the word”.  The King James uses a different set of ancient documents than the NIV or the NASB.

Does it make any difference?  Well, yes and no.  The exact wording differs but the meaning is the same.  Both phrases are idiomatic for strong, emotional and mental compulsion to go forward with the task.

Scholars will tell you that the phrase “by the word” is found in the older texts and so it more likely to be the original.  But there is an interesting little insight in the other set of manuscripts (the ones that say, “by the spirit”) that we don’t want to overlook.  “By the word” has the sense of being pulled toward the goal.  Paul was pulled to make this his singular priority because God’s word was so important to him.  “By the spirit” has the sense of being pushed toward the goal.  Paul was driven to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles by the prodding of God’s Spirit.  If we knew that both of these phrases appear in the Greek documents, we would realize that each one captures one part of the picture but both together give us a much stronger vision.  How often have we felt pulled by God’s purposes for us and at the same time pushed by God’s Spirit in our lives?  Maybe that’s why both phrases appear.  Maybe one set of scribes saw the push side and one saw the pull side.

This is all speculation.  No one will ever really know how these two phrases crept into the text.  But I find it quite interesting that knowing both phrases enhances my picture of the kind of decision Paul experienced.  I too am pushed and pulled.  The secret is to let God’s goals pull me and God’s spirit push me.  That is a matter of alignment and power.  I need to have God’s purpose clearly in mind so that nothing else clouds my vision.  And then I need to rely on God’s Spirit to give me the push, the energy, to move in the right direction.

Push and pull.  Twice as good as one alone.