Homily for the Pentecost Sunday (Cycle C)
Based on John 20:19-23 (Gospel), Ac 2:1-11 (First Reading) and 1 Co 12:3b-7,
12-13 (Second Reading)
From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”
RECEIVE
THE HOLY SPIRIT
“Receive the Holy Spirit…” (Jn 20:22)
The Gospel for this Pentecost
Sunday (Cycle C) is taken from John 20:19-23 under the title “Appearance to the disciples”. The whole gospel narrative has parallels in
the following places:
1.
=Mk 16:14-18 - Lastly, he showed himself to
the Eleven themselves while they were at table. He reproached them for their
incredulity and obstinacy, because they had refused to believe those who had
seen him after he has risen (v. 14). And he said to them, ‘Go out to the whole
world; proclaim the Good News to all creation (v. 15). He who believes and is
baptized will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned (v. 16). These are the signs that will be associated
with believers: in my name they will cast out devils, they will have the gift
of tongues;d (v. 17) they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be
unharmed should they drink deadly poison, they will lay their hands on the
sick, who will recover’ (v. 18).
Footnote d says “Var. ‘new tongues’.”
2.
=Lk 24:36-39 - They were still talking about all this when he himself stood them and
said to them, ‘Peace be with you!’ (v. 36). In a state of alarm and fright,
they thought they were seeing a ghost (v. 37). But he said, ‘Why are you so
agitated, and why are these doubts rising in your hearts (v. 38)? Look at my
hands and feet; yes, it is I indeed. Touch me and see for yourselves, a ghost
has no flesh and bones as you can see I have.’
3.
Jn 21:14 - This
was the third time that Jesus showed himself to the disciples after rising from
the dead.
Verse 19 of the Gospel says: In the evening of the same day, the first day of the week, the doors
were closed in the room where the disciples were,i for fear of the
Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them. ‘Peace be with you’… Footnote isays “Add. ‘assembled’”.
Parallel texts are:
1.
Jn 16:16 - In
a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will
see me again.
2.
Jn 14:27 - Peaces I bequeath to you, my own
peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not
let your hearts be troubled or afraid. Footnote s says
“The customary Jewish greeting and
farewell, cf. Lk. 10:5p; it means soundness of body but came to be used of
the perfect happiness and the
deliverance which the Messiah would bring. All this Jesus gives”.
Verse 20
says: And showed them his hands
and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord…
Parallel texts of verse 20 are:
1.
Lk 24:16
- But something prevented them from recognizing him.d Footnote d
says “In the apparitions described by Lk
and Jn, the disciples do not at first recognize the Lord: they need a word or a
sign, Lk. 24:30f,35,37,39-43; Jn 20:14 and 16,20; 21:4 and 6-7; cf. Mt. 28:17.
This is because the risen body, though the same body that died on the cross, is
in a new condition; its outward appearance is therefore changed, Mk. 16:12, and
it is exempt from the usual physical laws, Jn 20:19. On the condition of
glorified bodies, cf. 1 Co. 15:44+”.
2.
1 Jn 1:1
- Something which had existed since the beginning, that we have heard, and we
have seen with our own eyes; that we have watched and touched with our hands:
the Word, who is life-this is our subject.
3.
Jn 15:11 - I have told you this so that my own joye
may be with you and your joy be complete. Footnote e says “The
perfect happiness of the messianic era which is communicated by the son of God”.
4.
Jn 16:22 - So it is with you: you are sad now,
but I shall see you again, and your hearts will be full of joy, and that joy no
one shall take from you.
Verse 21
says: And he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father sent
me, so am I sending you…
Parallel
texts are:
1.
Jn 4:38 - I sent you to reap a harvest you have not
worked for. Others worked for it; and you have come into the rewards of your
trouble.’l Footnote l says “The
reapers are the apostles, the sowers those who have labored before them, especially Jesus.”
2.
Jn 17:18 - As
you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
3.
Mt 28:19 - Go, therefore, make disciples of all the
nations, baptize them in the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit,g and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. Footnote g
says “It may be that this formula, so far
as the fullness of its expression is concerned, is a reflection of the
liturgical usage established later in the primitive community. It will be
remembered that Ac speaks of baptizing
‘in the name of Jesus’, cf. Ac.
1:5+. But whatever variation is formula, the underlying reality is the same”.
4.
Mk 16:15 - And
he said to them, ‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all
creation…
5.
Lk 24:47 - And
that, in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to
all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this.
Verse 22
says: After saying this he
breathedj on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Footnote
j says “The
breath of Jesus is the symbol of the Spirit (‘breath’, in Hebrew); he send
forth the Spirit who will make all things new, Gen. 1:2; 2:7; Ezk. 37:9; Ws
15:11; See Jn 19:30+ and Mt. 3:16+.”
Parallel texts are:
1.
Jn 1:33
- I did not know him myself, but he who
sent me to baptize with water had said to me, “The man on whom you see the
Spirit come down and rest in the one who is going to baptize with the Holy
Spirit”.y Footnote y says “This phrase sums up the whole purpose of the
Messiah’s coming, cf. Jn 1:1+, namely, that mankind might be born again in the
spirit: the O.T. had already foretold it,cf. Ac. 2:33+. The Spirit rests on
him, Is. 11:12, 42:1, Jn 1:33, and so he can confer it on others baptism on the
Spirit, cf. here and Ac 1:5+), but only after his resurrection, Jn
7:39,16:7,8,20:22; Ac.2. For Jesus came in the flesh, 1 Jn. 4:2, 2 Jn 7, flesh
that was corruptible, Jn 1:14+, and it is only when he is ‘lifted up; and has
gone to the Father that his body, glorified now, is fully endowed with divine,
life-giving power. Thenceforward the Spirit flows to the world from his body as
from an inexhaustible spring, Jn 7:37-39, 19:34, cf. Rm. 5:5+. For the water
symbolism, cf. Jn 4:1+”.
2.
Ac 1:8 - But you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes on you.i and then you will be my witnessesj
not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to the ends
of the earth’.k
Footnote i says “The Holy Spirit is a favorite theme of Luke (Lk 4:1+); he talks mostly
about the Holy Spirit as a Power, Lk 1:35; 24:49;Ac 1:8;10:38; Rm 15:13,19; 1
Co 2:4,5; 1 Th 1:5; Heb 2:4, sent from
God by Christ, Ac 2:38, to broadcast the Good News. 1. The Spirit gives the
charismata, 1 Co 12:4f, that guarantee the message; the gift of tongues, Ac
2:4+, of miracles, 10:38, of prophecy, 11:27+; 20:23; 21:11, of wisdom,
6:3,5,10:2, the Spirit fives strength to proclaim Jesus as Messiah in spite of
persecution 4:8,31; 5:32; 6:10;cf. Ph 1;19 and to bear witness to him, Mt.
10;20p; Jn 15:26; Ac 1:8; 2 Tm 1:7f,cf. following note; 3. The Spirit guides
the Church in her major decisions: the
admission of pagans, Ac 8:29,40; 10:19,44-47; 11;12-16; 15:8, without
obligation to observe the Law, 15:28;
Paul’s mission to the pagan worlds, 13:2f; 16:6-7; 19:1 (Western Text) cf. Mt.
3:16+,Ac also mentions the Spirit as
received in baptism and forgiving sins, 2:38, cf. Rm 5:5+”; Footnote j
says “The primary functions of the
apostles is to bear witness: not only to Christ’s resurrection, Lk. 24:48, Ac
2:32, 3:15, 4:33, 3:32, 24:48,13;31, 22:15, but also to the whole of is public
life, Lk 1:21, Jn 15:27, Ac. 1:22, 10:39f.”; Footnote k says “nothing can limit the apostolic mission.”
3.
Ac 2:2 - Men
of Israel, listen to what I am going to say;n Jesus of Nazareth was
a man commended to you by God by the miracles and portents and signs that God
worked through him when he was among you, as you all know. Footnote n says “The content of the earliest apostolic preaching (the ‘kerygma’) is here
summarized for the first time; cf. the five discourses of Peter, Ac. 2:14-39,
3:12-26; 4:8-12, 5:29-32, 10:34-43, and the discourse of Paul. 13:16-41. The
kerygma is 1. a witness, 1:8+, to Christ’s death and resurrection, 2:24+, and
to his exaltation, 2:33+; 2:36+, 2. It also provides certain details of
Christ’s ministry; how it was heralded by John the Baptist, 10:37, 13:24,
inaugurated by teaching and miracle, 2:22, 10:38, completed by the appearances
of the risen Christ, 10:40,41, 13:31, and by the gift of the Spirit, 2:33,
5:32. 3. It places this story in its wider setting: it appeals to the past,
adducing the OT prophecies, 2:23+; 2:35+, and it surveys the future, the advent
of the messianic era, inviting Jews and pagans to repentance, 2:38+, so that
Christ’s glorious return may come the sooner, 3:20-21. The gospels, which are
development of the primitive preaching, adopt the same theme.”
Verse 23 says: for those whose sins you retain, they are
retained.
Parallel texts are:
1.
Mt. 16:19 -
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, whatever you bind on
earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be
considered loosed in heaven.i Footnote
i says “The City
of God, like the City of Death, has its gates too; they grant entrance only to
those who are worthy of it. Peter has the keys. It is his function, therefore,
to open or close to all who would come to the kingdom of heaven through the
Church. ‘bind’ and ‘loose’ are technical rabbinic terms; primarily they have a
disciplinary reference; one is ‘bound’ (condemned to) o ‘loosed’ (absolved
from) excommunication. Their secondary usage is connected with doctrinal or
juridical decisions: an opinion is ‘bound’ (forbidden) or ‘loosed’ {allowed).
Of the household of God Peter is controller (the keys symbolize this, cf. Is.
22:22). In that capacity, he is to exercise the disciplinary power of admitting
or excluding those he thinks fit; he will also, in the administration of the
community, make necessary decision in questions of doctrinal belief and of
moral conduct. The verdicts he deliver or the pronouncements he makes will be
ratified by God i heaven. Catholic exegetes maintain that these enduring promises
hold good not only for Peter himself but also for Peter’s successors. This
inference, not explicitly drawn in the text, is considered legitimate because
Jesus plainly intends to provide for his Church’s future by establishing a
regime that will not collapse after Peter’s death. Two other texts, Lk. 22:31f
and Jn. 21:15f, on Peter’s primacy emphasize that its operation is to be in the
domain of faith; they also indicate that this makes him head not only of the
Church after the death of Christ but of the apostolic group then and there”.
2.
Mt. 18:18 - I tell you solemnly, whatever you bind on
earth shall be considered bound in heaven: whatever you loose on earth shall be
loosed in heaven.j Footnote j says “One of the powers conferred on Peter is here
conferred on the Church’s ministers, to whom this discourse is primarily
addressed.”
The First Reading is taken from Ac 2:1-11. Verse 1
says: When Pentecost day came round,
theya had all met in one room… Footnote a says “Not the hundred and twenty, 1:15-26, but the
group mentioned in 1:13-14.” Parallel text is Ex
23:14 that says The great feastsd. Three times a year you are to
celebrate a feast in my honor. Footnote d says “The four Pentateuchal traditions have each a calendar of the great
religious feasts: Ex 23:14-17 ‘Elohistic’; Ex. 34:18-23 ‘Yahwistic’; Dt 16:1-16
‘Deuteronomic’; and the ‘Priestly tradition of Lv 23 with which the liturgical regulations of Nb
28-29 correspond. In the various texts appear further details of ritual but the
three principal feasts remain those laid down by Ex 23. 1. In Spring the feast
of Unleavened Bread, including the Passover, see notes to 12:1 and 11.2. The
feast of Harvest, called ‘feast of Weeks’ in Ex 34:22; it was held seven weeks, Dt 16:9, or fifty days, Lv
23:16, after the Passover (hence its Greek name ‘Pentecost’, Tb 2:1) and marked
the end of the wheat harvest; at a later date it also commemorated the giving
Law on Sinai. 3. The feast of Ingathering of grapes and olives in the autumn;
it was called The feast of tabernacles (or Shelters), Dt 16:13; Lv 23:34,
because during the week’s festivities the people lived in huts made in the
vineyard; these shelters reminded the Israelites of their ancestors’ tents in
the wilderness, Lv 23:43. Of these three feast the most popular seems to
have been Ingathering or Tabernacles, which is called simply the
‘feast’ in 1 K 8:2,65; Ezk 45:25. Later, other feast were added: the religious
New Year, Lv 23:24; the Day of Expiation, Lv 16 and 23:27-32; and after the
Exile: Purim, Est 9:24; Dedication, 1 M 4:59; the Day of Nikanor, 1 M 7:49”.
Verse 2 says: When
suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven,b
the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting…Footnote
b says “The Spirit is like the
wind, and the same word is used for both ‘spirit’ and ‘breath’.
Parallel texts are:
1. Ac 4:31 - As they prayed, the house where
they were assembled rocked; they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began
to proclaim the word of God boldly.l Footnote l says “A
miniature Pentecost, cf. the earlier one, 2:1f.”
2. Ps 33:6 - By the word of Yahweh the
heavens were made, their whole array by the breath of his mouth…
3. Ps 104:30 - You give breath, fresh life
begins,f you keep renewing the world. Footnote f says
“The spirit of God is the source of all
being and life”.
4. Jn 3:8 - The wind blowsd
wherever it pleases; you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes
from or where it is going. That is how it is with all who are born of the
Spirit. Footnote d says “In
Greek, as in Hebr., one word serves for both ‘wind’ and ‘spirit’.“
5. Jn 20:22 - After saying this he breathedj
on them and said: Footnote j says “The breath of Jesus is the symbol of the Spirit (‘breath’, in Hebrew);
he sends forth the Spirit who will make all things new, Gen. 1:2; 2:7; Ezk.
37:9; Ws 15:11; See Jn 19:30+ and Mt. 3:16+.”
Verses 3 and 4 say: And something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire;c
these separated and came to rest on the head of each of each of them. They were
all filled with the Holy Spirit,d and began to speak foreign
languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech. Footnote c
says “The shape of the flames (Is. 5:24;
cf. Is 6:6-7) is here associated with the gift of tongues”; and Footnote d
says “One element, vv. 4.11,13, of the
Pentecost Miracle is the gift of glossolalia common in the early Church: see
10:46, 11:15 19:6, 1 Co. 12-14; cf. Mk 16:17, cf early prophecy in Israel, Nb.
11:25-59, 1S. 10:5-6,10-13, 19:20-24, ik.22:10,cf. the promise of Joel, 3:1-5,
quoted by Peter, vv. 17f.”
Parallel texts for verse 4 are:
1. Ac 1:5 - John baptized with water but you,
not many days from now, will be baptized e with the Holy Spirit.
Footnote e says “The baptism
of the Spirit foretold by John the Baptist, Mt. 3:11 p. and here promised by
Jesus, will be initiated by the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, Ac.
2:1-4. Subsequently, the apostles, obedient to Christ’s command, Mt 28:19, will
continue to make use of baptism in water, Ac. 2:41, 8:12, 38, 9:18, 10:48,
16:15, 33, 18:8, 19:5, as the ritual initiation into the messianic kingdom, cf.
Mt. 3:6+, but it will be ‘in the names of Jesus’, Ac. 2:38+, and through belief
in Christ as savior, cf. Rm 6:4+, will
be able to absolve from sins and to give
the Spirit, Ac. 2;38. Connected with this Christian baptism by water, there is
the companion rite of the ‘imposition, 1
Tm. 4:14+, the purpose of which is to give the gifts of the spirit in as
manifest a way as they had been given at Pentecost, Ac. 8:16-19, 9:17-18,
19:5-6 (but cf. 10:1-48); this is the origin of the sacrament of confirmation.
Side by side with these Christian sacraments the baptism of John was for a time
still being administered by certain of the less instructed early Christians,
Ac. 19:3”.
2. Ac 19:6 - And the moment Paul had laid
hands on them the Holy Spirit came down on them, and they began to speak with
tongues and to prophesy.
3. Ac
1:8 - But you will receive power when
the Holy Spirit comes on you.i and then you will be my witnessesj
not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to the ends
of the earth’.k Footnote i says “The Holy Spirit is a favorite theme of Luke
(Lk 4:1+); he talks mostly about the Holy Spirit as a Power, Lk 1:35; 24:49;Ac
1:8;10:38; Rm 15:13,19; 1 Co 2:4,5; 1 Th 1:5; Heb 2:4, sent from God by Christ, Ac 2:38, to broadcast the
Good News. 1. The Spirit gives the charismata, 1 Co 12:4f, that guarantee the
message; the gift of tongues, Ac 2:4+, of miracles, 10:38, of prophecy, 11:27+;
20:23; 21:11, of wisdom, 6:3,5,10:2, the Spirit fives strength to proclaim
Jesus as Messiah in spite of persecution 4:8,31; 5:32; 6:10;cf. Ph 1;19 and to
bear witness to him, Mt. 10;20p; Jn 15:26; Ac 1:8; 2 Tm 1:7f,cf. following
note; 3. The Spirit guides the Church in her major decisions: the admission of pagans, Ac 8:29,40; 10:19,44-47;
11;12-16; 15:8, without obligation to observe the Law, 15:28; Paul’s mission to the pagan worlds,
13:2f; 16:6-7; 19:1 (Western Text) cf. Mt. 3:16+,Ac also mentions the
Spirit as received in baptism and
forgiving sins, 2:38, cf. Rm 5:5+.”; Footnote j says “The primary functions of the apostles is to bear witness: not only to
Christ’s resurrection, Lk. 24:48, Ac 2:32, 3:15, 4:33, 3:32, 24:48,13;31,
22:15, but also to the whole of is public life, Lk 1:21, Jn 15:27, Ac. 1:22,
10:39f.”; Footnote k says “nothing
can limit the apostolic mission.”
4. Ws
1:7 - The spirit of the Lord, indeed,
fills the whole world, and that which holds all things togetheri
knows every word that is said.j Footnote i says “A phrase from the Stoic vocabulary, emphasizing the function of the
spirit of the Lord which maintains the cosmos in unity (cf. the part ascribed
to Christ, Col. 1:17;Heb 1:3). The notion is new; the OT knew God as sole
creator, Gn 1+; Is 42:8+, but had considered his activity in the universe only
from the point of view of omniscience and ubiquity, Am 4:13; 9:2-3; Jr 23:24; 1
K 8:27; Jb 34:21-23; Ps 139:7-12; Si42: 18-20”; Footnote j says “Lit. ‘has knowledge of sounds’. The liturgy
of Pentecost applies this text to the ‘gift of tongues’, Ac 2:2-4”.
Verse 5 says: Now there were devout mene living
in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven…Footnote e says ‘devout men’ Sin. Western Text ‘ Now the Jews who were living in
Jerusalem were men of every nation under heaven’. The other texts have both ‘devout men’ and ‘Jews’.
Parallel
text is Lk 24:47 that says: And that,
in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all
the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this.
Verse 6 says: And
at this sound they all assembled, each one bewildered to hear these men
speaking his own language.f Footnote f says “A second characteristic of the Pentecost
miracle: the apostles speak a universal language; the unity lost at Babel is
restored. This symbolizes and anticipates the apostles’ worldwide mission.”
Parallel texts are:
1. Mt 28:19 - Go, therefore, make
disciples of all the nations, baptize them in the name of the father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit,g and teach them to observe all the
commands I gave you. Footnote g
says “It may be that this formula, so far
as the fullness of its expression is concerned, is a reflection of the
liturgical usage established later in the primitive community. It will be
remembered that Ac speaks of baptizing
‘in the name of Jesus’, cf. Ac.
1:5+. But whatever variation is formula, the underlying reality is the same.”
2. Col 1:23 - As long as you persevere and
stand firm on the solid base of your faith, never letting yourselves drift away
from the hope promised by the Good News, which you have heard, which has been
preached to the whole human race,l and of which I, Paul, have become
the servant. Footnote l
says “Lit ‘to all creation under the
sky’.”
Verse 7, 8, 9, and 10 say: They
were amazed and astonished. ‘Surely’ they said ‘ all these men speaking are
Galileans? How does it happen that each of us hears them in his own native
language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; people from Mesopotamia, Judaea and
Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of
Libya round Cyrene; as well as visitors from Rome -
Parallel
text of verse 7 is Gn 11:1-9 that says: The
tower of Babela Throughout the earth, men spoke the same language,
with the same vocabulary. Now as they moved eastwards they found a plain in the
land of Shinarb where they settled. They said to one another, ‘Come,
let us make bricks and bake them in the fire’. - For stone they used bricks and
for mortar they used bitumen. - ‘Come,’ they said ‘let us build ourselves a
town and a tower with its top reaching heaven. Let us make a name for
ourselves, so that we may not ne scattered about the whole earth.’ Now Yahweh
came down to see the town and the tower that the sons of man had built. ’So
they are all a single people with a single language!’ said Yahweh. ‘This is but
the start of their undertakings!’ There will be nothing too hard for them to
do. Come, let us go down and confuse their language on the spot so that they
can no longer understand one another.’ Yahweh scattered them thence over the
whole face of the earth, and they stopped building the town. It was named
Babel, therefore, because there Yahweh confusedc the language of the
whole earth. It was from there that Yahweh scattered them over the whole face
of the earth. Footnote a says “This ‘Yahwistic’ narrative gives a different explanation of the
diversity of peoples and tongues: mankind sinned and this was its punishment;
it was a sin of overweening pride (v. 4) like that of our first parents, ch. 3.
Unity will be restored only in Christ the savior, cf. the Pentecostal gift of
tongues, Ac 2:5-12, and the gathering of all nations in heaven, Rv 7:9-10”.;
Footnote b says “Babilonia,
see 10:10; Is. 11:11; Dn 1:2.”; and Footnote
c says “‘Babel’ is here explained by the root bll ‘to confuse’; the name
actually means ‘gate of the gods’”.
Verse 11 says: Jews
and proselytesg alike- Cretans and Arabs; we hear them preaching in
our own language about the marvels of God. Footnote g says “Pagan converts to Judaism who joined the
chosen race by being circumcised. These proselytes are not the same as the
God-fearers, 10:2+, who admire the Jewish religion and attend the synagogue but
do not accept circumcision or the ritual prescribed by the Law. Jews and
proselytes are not here additional classes of people: the terms qualify the
nations just enumerated.”
Parallel texts are:
1. Ac 10:2 - He and the whole of his household
were devout and God-fearing, b and he gave generously to Jewish
causes and prayed constantly to God. Footnote b- The expressions
‘fearing God’, 10:2,22, 35, 13:16, and ‘worshipping God’ 13:43, 50, 16:14,
7:4,17,18:7, are technical terms for admirers and followers of the Jewish
religion who stop short of circumcision, cf. 2:11+.
2. Ac 10:46 - Since they could hear them
speaking strange languages and proclaiming the greatness of God. Peter himself
then said…
3. 1 Co 14:23 - So that any uninitiated
people or unbelievers, coming into the meeting of the whole church where
everybody was speaking in tongues, would say you were all mad…
The Second Reading is taken from 1 Co 12:3b-7, 12-13. Verse 3b says: No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ unless he
is under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
Parallel texts are:
1.
Ac
2:21+, 36 - All who call on the name of
the Lord will be saved.m For this reason the whole House of Israel
can be certain that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and
Christ.v Footnote
m says “The Christians
style themselves ‘those who invoke on the name of the Lord’, 9:14,21; 22:16; 1
Co 1:2; 2 Tm 2:22; the title ‘Lord’ no longer indicates Yahweh but Jesus, cf.
Ph 2:11; Ac 3:16. On Judgment day people will be received or rejected according
as they have or have not invoked this name, i.e. acknowledged Jesus as Lord;
see Ac 4:12 and Rm 10:9.’; and Footnote v says “Conclusion of the argument from scripture.
It is by his resurrection that Jesus has been constituted the ‘Lord’ of whom Ps
110 speaks, and the ‘Messiah” (Christ) to whom Ps 16 refers. From Ps. 2:7 (Son
of God), Ac 13:33+; Heb. 1:5; 5:5; Rom. 1:4+ develop a similar argument. Cf.
also Ac 5:31 (leader and savior); 10:42 and Rom 14:9 (Judge and Lord of the
living and dead); Ph. 2:9-11 (glorified Lord)”.
2.
Rm 10:9 - If
your lips confess that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God raised
him from the dead, e ten you will be saved. Footnote
3.
Ph 2:11 - And that every tongue should
acclaim o Jesus Christ as Lord, p to the glory of God the
Father. q Footnote o says “Var. ‘and every tongue shall acclaim’.”;
Footnote p says “Om. ‘Christ’. This proclamation is the
essence of the Christian creed, Rm. 10:9, 1 Co. 12:3, cf. Col. 2:6. The use of
Is. 45:23 (in which this homage is addressed to Yahweh himself) is a clear
indication of the divine character that is meant to be understood by the title
Kyrios, cf. Jn. 20:28, Ac. 2:36.’; and
Footnote q says “Vulg. Interpretation is ‘proclaim that Jesus
Christ is in the glory of God the Father’.”
Verses 4, 5 and 6 say: There is a variety of gifts but always the same
Spirit; there are all sorts of service
to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways
in different people, it is the same God who is working in all of themc…
Footnote c says “Note
again the Trinitarian formulation, cf. 6:11; 2 Co 13:13+”.
Parallel texts of verse 4 are:
1. Ep
4:5 -There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism…
2. 1
P 4:10 - Each one of you has received a special grace, so, like good stewards
responsible for all these different graces from God, put yourselves at the
service of others.
Verse 7 says: the particular
way in which the Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose.
Parallel texts are:
1.
1 Co 12:28-30 - in the church, God has given the first place
to the apostles, the second to prophets, the third to teachers;l
after them miracles, and after them the gift of healing; helpers,m
good leaders,n those with many languages. (v. 28). Are all of them
apostles, or are all of them prophets, or are all of them teachers? Do they all
have the gifts of miracles (v. 29), or all have the gift of healing? Do all
speak strange languages, and all interpret them (v. 30)? Footnote l says “The
regular teachers appointed for each separate church, cf. Ac 13:1+”;
Footnote m says “Lit.
‘helpings’; voluntary gifts to works of charity”; and Footnote n says
“Administrators and guides of the church.”
2.
Ac 1:8 - But you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes upon you,i and then
you will be my witnessesj not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judea
and Samaria, and indeed to the ends of the earth’.k Footnote i
says “The Holy Spirit is a favorite theme
of Luke (Lk 4:1+); he talks mostly about the Holy Spirit as a Power, Lk 1:35;
24:49;Ac 1:8;10:38; Rm 15:13,19; 1 Co 2:4,5; 1 Th 1:5; Heb 2:4, sent from God by Christ, Ac 2:38, to broadcast the
Good News. 1. The Spirit gives the charismata, 1 Co 12:4f, that guarantee the
message; the gift of tongues, Ac 2:4+, of miracles, 10:38, of prophecy, 11:27+;
20:23; 21:11, of wisdom, 6:3,5,10:2, the Spirit fives strength to proclaim
Jesus as Messiah in spite of persecution 4:8,31; 5:32; 6:10;cf. Ph 1;19 and to
bear witness to him, Mt. 10;20p; Jn 15:26; Ac 1:8; 2 Tm 1:7f,cf. following
note; 3. The Spirit guides the Church in her major decisions: the admission of pagans, Ac 8:29,40; 10:19,44-47;
11;12-16; 15:8, without obligation to observe the Law, 15:28; Paul’s mission to the pagan
worlds, 13:2f; 16:6-7; 19:1 (Western Text) cf. Mt. 3:16+,Ac also mentions the
Spirit as received in baptism and
forgiving sins, 2:38, cf. Rm 5:5+”; Footnote j
says “The primary functions of the
apostles is to bear witness: not only to Christ’s resurrection, Lk. 24:48, Ac
2:32, 3:15, 4:33, 3:32, 24:48,13;31, 22:15, but also to the whole of is public
life, Lk 1:21, Jn 15:27, Ac. 1:22, 10:39f”; and Footnote k says “nothing
can limit the apostolic mission”.
3.
Rm 12:6-8 - Our gifts
differ according to the grace given us. If your gift is prophecy, then use it
as your faith suggests; if administration, then use it for administration; if
teaching, then use it for teaching. Let the preachers deliver sermons, the
almsgiver give freely, the officials be diligent, and those who do works of
mercy do them cheerfully.
Verse 12 says: Just as a human body, it is made up of many parts, is a single
unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ.k
Footnote k says “The way a
human body gives unity to all its component parts is the way Christ, as a
unifying principle of the Church, gives unity to all Christians in his Body.”
Parallel texts are:
1. 1 Co 6:15 - You know, surely that your
bodies are members making up the body of Christ, do you think I can take part
in Christ’s body and join them to the body of a prostitute? Never!
2. 1 Co 10:17 - The fact that there is
only one loaf means that, though there are many of us, we form a single body
because we all have a share in this one loaf.
3. Rm 12:4-5 - Just as each of our bodies has
several parts and each part has a separate function, so all of us, in union
with Christ, form one body, and as parts of it we belong to each other.c
Footnote c says “The
sentence emphasizes not so much the identification of Christians with Christ, 1
Co 12:27 as their dependence on one another.”
4. Ep 4:25 - So from now on, there must be
no more lies: You must speak the truth to one another, since we are all parts
of one body.
5. Col 3:15 - And may the peace of Christ
reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together as
part of one body. Always be thankful.
Verse 13 says: In
the one Spirit we were all baptized, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as
citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink…
Parallel texts are:
1. Ga 3:28 - And there are no more
distinctions between Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female, but all of
you are one in Christ Jesus.p Footnote p says “Var.
‘you are all of Christ Jesus’.”
2. Ep 4:4-6 - There is one Body, one spirit, just as you were called into one
and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one
baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, though all and within all.b
Footnote b says “Var. (Vulg.) ‘within all of us’.”
3. Col 3:11 - And in that image there is no
room for distinction between Greek and Jew, between the circumcised or the
uncircumcised, or between barbarian and Scythian, slave and free men. There is
only Christ: he is everything and he is in everything.f Footnote f says “The new creation will not be divided into
races and religions and cultures and social classes in the way the present
creation has been since the Fall: the whole world will be reunited in Christ.”
The doctrine on the “Holy Spirit” can be found in
an online article “The Trinity: Is God
Three-In-One?” by David C. Pack at www.rcg.org:
“Notice how Paul
references “the Father” and “Jesus Christ,” thus differentiating them from all
other “gods” and “lords,” but, missing the perfect opportunity, fails to
mention the Holy Spirit, the supposed third member of the trinity.
The
Nicene Creed reads:
I. We believe in
one God, the Father Almighty, the maker of all things visible and invisible.
II. And in one Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, only begotten, that is of
the substance of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God,
begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things
were made, both those in heaven and those on earth. Who for us men and for our
salvation came down and was incarnate, and was made man, And suffered, And rose
the third day, Ascended into heaven, Is coming to judge quick and dead.
III. And in the
Holy Ghost (Encyclopaedia Britannica,
11th ed., vol. 7, pp. 395-396).
Holy Spirit Moves
Toward Personhood
Notice the very
sparse wording of the third section: “And [we believe] in the Holy Ghost.”
There was a reason for this. Many originally opposed longer draft versions of
the Creed, which included more about Origen’s viewpoint concerning the Holy
Spirit, because they could not go along with the strongly trinitarian views.
After Nicaea, theologians who advocated the trinity became bolder and more explicit
in enforcing their belief within the empire—and that it meant that the Holy
Spirit was a third person. By AD 381, at the Council of Constantinople (56
years after Nicaea), the trinity was largely in place.
The philosophies of
Origen prevailed. Remember, this man was an extremely unbalanced Stoic who
publicly castrated himself! Astonishing, but true!
After Nicaea, both
Arius and Athanasius were alternately in and out of favor with the church
hierarchy and Roman leaders. This highly unpredictable atmosphere was polluted
by political favoritism, betrayal and backstabbing. Shifts in leadership could
mean honor or ruin, depending on the political landscape at the time. One could
be elevated one year and banished the next. Even Origen had been subject to this—venerated
for a time and fleeing for his life soon after.
(Numerous versions
of the creed have been in circulation through the centuries. A popular and far
stronger creed, fraudulently attributed to Athanasius, was found to have been
drawn up in the fifth century. Its language was much more explicit than could
have been approved at Nicaea in AD 325. It is generally recognized that
Catholic theologians and historians modify history according to personal
liking.)
It took many years
for this doctrine to become deeply ingrained in Catholic thought. Eventually it
took hold and has stayed firmly in place, so much so that none of the
Protestant sects that separated during the 1500s ever questioned its validity.
It had become blindly accepted, despite its completely unbiblical origins. The
Protestant acceptance of this doctrine is succinctly expressed in this way: “In
regard to the Trinity, Protestantism has nothing very new to say…” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th ed.,
vol. 26, p. 780).
What about “In the Name…of the Holy Spirit”?
But they were also to baptize in the name of
the Holy Spirit, because the Father uses that Spirit—His Spirit—as the power
through which the begettal is performed (Rom. 8:16).
This is what the passage means! God gives
Christians His Holy Spirit, which is His seed. When they receive that seed, it
gives them God’s name—they become heirs with Jesus Christ. From the point of
conversion, Christians carry the name of God. When understood, this is why the
name of the true Church has always been the “Church of God.” The word “Church”
(Greek: ekklesia) means
“the called out ones.” Human beings are called out of the world, begotten as
God’s children, put into His Church and given His name.
Note what John said about the “seed” within
converted people: “Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for His seed
remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (I John 3:9). How
interesting that the Greek for “seed” is sperma, from which came the English word “sperm.” The Holy
Spirit is the “sperm” or “seed” of God. How plain!
Notice another scripture, adding light to
what the seed of God is: “Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the
truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love
one another with a pure heart fervently: being born again [begotten], not of
corruptible seed, but of
incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides forever” (I Pet. 1:22-23).
While true Christians will ultimately
be born again into
the kingdom of God at the resurrection, they are, at
conversion, BEGOTTEN of God through the Holy Spirit. This is similar
to the human reproductive system. As soon as the father’s sperm attaches to the
egg of the mother, a child is conceived. The child is not yet born, although he
is begotten of the physical seed—the father’s sperm. Christians, once they
receive the Holy Spirit—the seed of God—are begotten in this life, but not yet
born! Like any human father who would say that his wife is carrying his child, God speaks of the
Church—described as the “Mother” of Christians (Gal. 4:26; Heb. 12:22; Rev. 12)—as carrying His children.
So then, Matthew 28:19 does
not establish the trinity. It simply reveals that at baptism, one is given
God’s name through His Spirit.
Let’s further examine the begettal process
before returning to other scriptures. Notice Romans 8:9: “But you
are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell
in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” This
passage represents what could be called the Christian “DNA test.” Everyone
recognizes that one must have a man’s genes to be his biological child. God is
the same. Without God’s Spirit, one cannot be His begotten child.
Examining the process of human begettal sheds more light
on the spiritual begettal
process. In reproduction, an egg must be fertilized by a sperm cell, which then
“seals off” the egg. The egg can never be fertilized by another sperm.
Now consider. Romans 8:9 spoke
of Christians receiving in the same begettal the Spirit of God and the Spirit
of Christ. Are these two different Spirits?
How does this fit with Christ saying, “I and My Father are One” (John 10:30)? If
they were two
different spirits, this still would not validate the trinity. It would mean
that there are four, not
three, beings—God and His Spirit
and Christ and His Spirit—in
the Godhead.
Upon baptism and the laying on of hands (the
point at which one receives the Holy Spirit), Christians are begotten by the
Father, just as Christ was begotten in Mary’s womb by the Father. Once
begotten, Christ lives in them (Gal. 2:20). They then have the spirit of both Christ
and the Father dwelling in them—which are one and the same Spirit. This Spirit enables
Christians to take on the mind of Christ (Phil. 2:5).
A Christian can, however, “abort” in this
lifetime—if he does not continue in the right path. It is possible to lose the
Holy Spirit, and bring the new begotten life to an end. Notice: “For it is
impossible for those who were once
enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if
they shall fall away, to renew
them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of
God afresh, and put Him to an open shame” (Heb. 6:4-6).
In these accounts, Christ refers to it as
“the Comforter.” The masculine pronoun “he” is used for the word“Comforter” (Greek: parakletos). This pronoun comes from
the grammatical nature of the Greek language in which the New Testament was
written. Gender was not assigned to God’s Spirit, but to the word used to describe it.
In the rest of the New Testament, the Greek
word pneuma, meaning
“breath” or “spirit,” is translated “Spirit.” It is equivalent to the Old
Testament Hebrew word translated “spirit”—rûach. Grammatically, the word pneuma is neuter, and correctly represented by the pronoun
“it.”
We read earlier that Christ said, “I and My
Father are One” (John 10:30). What does this mean? To understand what Christ meant, we must turn
to the Old Testament.
Amos 3:3 asks a
rhetorical question: “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” Jesus and the Father are of the same mind. They are unified in
both thought and purpose. They agree. In John 10:30, Jesus did NOT say, “I, My Father and the Holy Spirit are One.” If
God is triune, why did Jesus ignore the Holy Spirit when explaining the Godhead
relationship?
This is a huge unanswered question.
In John 14:9, Christ also said, “He who has seen Me has
seen the Father.” Did He mean that He and the Father look exactly alike?
Obviously, by His actions,
Christ revealed the Father. God and Christ are of the same mind. In Luke 2, He asked,
“Know you not that I must be about My Father’s business?” These scriptures show
that Christ and the Father both work.
Again, Christ did not say, “He who has seen Me has
seen the Father and the Holy
Spirit.” John 1:1-3shows the relationship that God and Christ have: “In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the
beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any
thing made that was made.” Again, where is the mention of the Holy Spirit?
Only TWO beings are referenced.
The Greek word Logos, translated “Word,” also means “spokesman.” Psalm 33 reveals
the role Christ had in Creation: “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the
host of them by the breath of His mouth” (vs. 6).
In Matthew 19:17, Christ asked a young man who had
questioned Him about salvation, “Why call you Me good? There is none good
but One, that is, God.” If
Jesus knew He was also God (Luke 2:49), what did He mean here?
Two things become apparent:
(1) He was giving deference to the Father
(see John 14:28). Christ had completely emptied Himself of the power of the Godhead,
taking on the form of physical flesh as a servant (Phil. 2:7). Christ
was made of flesh, and there is nothing good about flesh. See Romans 7:18-24, among
numerous other verses.
(2) In anticipation of the reaction in the young man—that he would reject Christ’s answer (vs. 22)—Christ was
showing the paradox of the young man’s question. Consider. He called Christ, “Good Master,” and professed to want
to do whatever Christ said, but his actions showed he did not believe he was
talking to God—one who was “good.” Christ recognized that the young man had the
same “worshipful” attitude held by so many who rejected Him. (See Luke 6:46; 20:17; Matt. 7:21; 21:42;13:57; Mark 12:10 and Acts 4:11.)
Therefore, He was pointing the young man to what the Father requires.
In verses 3 and 4 of Acts 5, the apostle
Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to
keep back part of the price of the land? While it remained, was it not your
own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own power? Why have you
conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied unto men, but unto God.”
Does this passage prove that the Holy Spirit
is a person? How could Peter state that Ananias and Sapphira were lying to the
Holy Spirit, if the Holy Spirit is merely the inanimate power or agent of God?
Let’s understand how it was the power—not
the person—of the Holy Spirit both
in Peter’s mind and their own minds that Ananias and Sapphira were lying to.
It was the Holy Spirit that gave Peter the
ability to discern (Heb. 5:14) Ananias
and Sapphira’s lies. Notice I Corinthians
2:11: “What man knows the things of a man,
except by the spirit of man which
is in him? Even so the things of God knows no man, except by the Spirit of God.” Human beings learn by
the spirit of man given to all human beings. This does not mean there is
another person in each human person. Similarly, having God’s Spirit in one does
not mean there is another person in them.
While there is knowledge that human beings
can learn and understand without having
God’s Holy Spirit, certain things can only be understood with His Spirit.
Discerning spiritual things
comes through God’s Holy Spirit in the mind.
Christ demonstrated this ability of
discernment in John 13:27: “And after the sop Satan entered into him [Judas]. Then said Jesus
unto him, That you do, do quickly.” Also notice Mark 8:33: “But when
He [Christ] had turned about and looked on His disciples, He rebuked Peter,
saying, Get you behind Me, Satan: for you savor not the things that be of God,
but the things that be of men.” The Holy Spirit present in Christ’s mind made
this possible.
To understand how Peter could “see through”
Ananias and Sapphira, consider the following analogy:
An attorney is discussing a technical legal
matter with a potential client. Only a lawyer with the utmost legal
understanding could properly handle the case. Also, only with complete and
total knowledge of every aspect and detail of the situation can the lawyer hope
to proceed. But the client, having dishonest ulterior motives, intentionally
omits some minor details. Those details are so minute that they could
potentially escape the attention of an attorney not deeply, intricately versed
in the law. But the attorney sees the deception for what it is. How does he see
through it? Because of the
knowledge of the law that he possesses. Without that knowledge, he would
not recognize the lie for what it is. His knowledge of the law leads him to
understand the man’s ulterior motives.
If one lies to a farmer about a matter
dealing with aerospace engineering, the farmer probably will not recognize the
lie. Likewise, if one lies to a rocket scientist about a matter concerning
agriculture, the scientist will most likely not recognize it. Why? Because
neither is versed in the particular subject being addressed.
It is the same with spiritual understanding:
“Howbeit there is not in every
man that knowledge” (I Cor. 8:7).
Remember, Romans 8:14 defines
Christians: “For as many as are led
by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” They must allow the
“Spirit of truth” (the same as the Spirit of God) to guide them (John 16:13).
In Acts 5, Peter, guided by the Holy Spirit working
in his mind, was able to discern three
things about Ananias and Sapphira:
(1) They had conspired together on their way
to see him.
(2) Their sin and their motive.
(3) The punishment they would receive.
After Pentecost in AD 31, God communicated
to His servants through His Spirit (John 16:13).
Peter could say they were also lying to God because:
(1) Peter was the leading apostle in God’s
Church. Christ had told him and the other disciples, “Whatsoever you shall bind
on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth
shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 18:18).
(2) Christ had also told His disciples, “And
whatsoever you shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be
glorified in the Son. If you shall ask any thing in My name, I will do it” (John 14:13-14).
Christ had given His disciples power to act on His behalf. God had to guide
them in these matters.
(3) Conversely, He showed that anything done
to or for Christians was considered to be done to or forHim. Notice: “Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least
of these My brethren, you have done it unto Me” (Matt. 25:40).
Also notice the following Old Testament
accounts:
(4) “And the whole congregation of the
children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness…And in
the morning, then you shall see the glory of the LORD; for that He hears
your murmurings against the LORD:
and what are we, that you murmur
against us?…for that the LORD hears your murmurings which you
murmur against Him: and
what are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD” (Ex. 16:2, 7-8).
(5) “And the LORD said unto
Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto you: for
they have not rejected you, but
they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them” (I Sam. 8:7).
These passages show why Peter could say that
Ananias and Sapphira were lying to both God and the Holy Spirit. It was not
because the Holy Spirit is a separate person in the Godhead. They were lying to
one of God’s apostles, in whom He was working—through the power of His Holy Spirit.
Also, consider Peter’s statement, “You have
not lied unto men.”
Advocates of the trinity teaching ignore the fact that the husband and
wife had lied directly to Peter (a
man). Peter was a flesh-and-blood human being. Was he somehow elevating himself to the status of either
God or the Holy Spirit? (See Acts 10:25-26 and 14:7-18.)
Trinitarians’ argument has no strength
because it is inconsistent and
does not examine every aspect of
the account. As is always the case, religionists have taken a single scripture
out of context and either ignored or maligned other scriptures, building a
doctrinal “house of cards.” The wise are always able to see through it and
knock it down.
This scripture presents another perfect
example of how so many religionists ignore context, sometimes vital context,
focusing on one aspect of a passage to make it say something it does not. What
follows is supposed proof of the personhood of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 13:2-4: “As they ministered to the Lord, and
fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate Me Barnabas and Saul for the work
whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid
their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy
Spirit, departed unto Seleucia…”
Notice the seven elements of this scripture:
(1) “As they ministered to the Lord”: These men were seeking God’s will
in a matter—specifically, the ordination of two men. James 4:8 states,
“Draw near to God [not the Holy Spirit], and He will draw near to you.”
(2) “when they had fasted”: Fasting is a
tool of Christian growth. It helps Christians acknowledge to God that they are
nothing of and by themselves, and allows them to draw closer to Him. Fasting also
blocks Satan’s influence. If you are drawing near to God, you are resisting
Satan. And, as James 4:7states, if you “Resist the devil…he will flee from you.” By fasting,
these men demonstrated to God they wanted His total involvement in a purpose.
Also, a fast involves going without food and
drink for a period of time, usually at
least 24 hours. Read Jeremiah 36:6; Isaiah 58:3; Nehemiah 9:1. So the period covered between Acts 13:2 and verse 3 is at
least 24 hours.
(3) “…the Holy Spirit said”: If this
were a literal voice from God,
why would the men have felt the need to continue fasting and praying? They would have had their
answer! None would suggest God was speaking the same message to them nonstop
for 24 hours. (Notice II Samuel
12:16-23; Daniel 10:3-13and Matthew 9:14-15.)
They were being guided by God’s Spirit within them, and they needed to be
crystal clear about the intent of the message it was bringing. An actual voice
would eliminate any such need. Again, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they
are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14).
(4) “Separate Me Barnabas and Saul for the
work whereunto I have called them”:
It is the Father who does the calling (John 6:44, 65). The Holy Spirit is the means by which the Father draws
them. Also, it is Christ who determines who will be used in the ministry—and in
what office (I Cor. 12:28). Finally, if this were the voice of a God Being, spoken audibly for all to hear, it
would have been accompanied by obvious displays of natural forces.
(Notice John 5:37 and also Acts 9:3-7.)
(5) “…and prayed”: Prayer is another tool of
Christian growth, used to make our needs known to God. It is also the way we
ask God to make His will known to
us. (See Matthew 6:10 and 26:39, 42.) Again, if they had already received an audible answer, why would
they have continued praying?
(6) “…and laid their hands on them”: The
laying on of hands is a symbolic act when God is called upon, in faith, to
bless and sanctify or impart authority and power. The power of the Holy Spirit
is involved in four purposes—blessings, baptism, healing and ordination.
Genesis 48:13-20 records
that Ephraim and Manasseh received a special blessing when Israel (Jacob) laid hands upon them.
The blessing of
little children is also performed by the laying on of hands, as instructed by
Christ (Mark 10:15-16; Matt. 19:13-15 and Luke 18:15-17).
In the baptism ceremony, the repentant person receives the gift of the
Holy Spirit by having hands laid on him. This is first recorded in Acts 8:17-18: “Then
laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit…through laying
on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given.” Also seeActs 19:5-6 and II Timothy 1:6.
God’s healing is also the result of an elder’s prayer with faith,
accompanied by the laying on of hands on the head of the afflicted person.
Notice Acts 9:17: “…and Ananias [not the Ananias of Acts 5]…entered into
the house; and putting his hands
on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus…has sent me, that
you might receive your sight.”
Ordination into an office in God’s Church is also
done through the laying on of hands. The first example is found in Acts 6:6-8, involving
the ordination of deacons: “…and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them…And Stephen, full of faith and
power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.” God’s Church today
faithfully observes this practice in all ordinations. Hebrews 6:2 specifically
lists it as one of God’s doctrines.
(7) “…they sent
them away”: These men were acting on God’s behalf, ordaining men into higher
ministerial offices. This part of the verse reveals two things: (1) In addition
to prayer and fasting, they had also counseled together to reach a wise decision (notice Proverbs 11:14 and 15:22); (2) the Holy
Spirit did not, of itself, send these men. Again, the verse states, “…they [Niger, Lucius, Manaen]
sent them away.”
To summarize: God, through the power of His
Spirit, acting in response to those seeking His guidance, inspired the men
involved to understand that He wanted Barnabas and Saul to depart.
CHAPTER SEVEN –DEFINING THE HOLY SPIRIT
We now come to a central question: Who or
what is the Holy Spirit? Many people answer this in the following way: “He is
the third person of the Trinity.” However, close examination of Scripture
reveals a totally different picture.
Satan counterfeits every aspect of true Christianity.
The truth about who and what the Holy Spirit is would be no exception. It
serves the devil’s purpose to deceive people into believing that the Holy
Spirit is a person. He knows that if he can convince people to believe this,
they will never learn their own awesome potential. Satan knows that human
beings will ultimately be offered an opportunity that he will never receive.
Is the Holy Spirit a Person?
We saw that the supposed three
members—“persons”—within the trinity are actually one being. But is the Holy Spirit a separate person? As in
previous chapters, earlier points will be repeated in a different context. To
explain the full truth of the matter, we must examine many scriptures.
Simply put, a person is a person. Three
persons cannot be more or less than three persons. Each is separate and unique.
If the Holy Spirit is a person, it cannot be part of a triune godhead of one
being. Some will say that it is not accurate to label God as a person, however,
most trinitarians do. Of course, they then wander off into abstract,
philosophical ideas. Again, many ignore II Corinthians
11:3: “But I fear, lest by
any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds
should be corrupted from the simplicity
that is in Christ.”
To understand the fallacy of the argument
that the Holy Spirit is a person, we start by examining I Kings 3:16-27. In
this well-known account, there was a dispute over who was the rightful mother
of a baby. Solomon offered the following solution: Cut the baby in two and give
each woman half. Obviously, a person cannot be cut in half and live. Likewise,
individual human body parts do not regenerate, and will eventually corrupt, if
they are cut off.
Here is the point. We have already explained
how the trinity concept does not permit Christ to “extricate” Himself to come
to Earth as Savior. Neither can the Holy Spirit be locked into the Father and
Son in the same way. If it is a person, it is separate.
God expects Christians to “grow in grace,
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (II Pet. 3:18). If the
Holy Spirit is a person, how would it be increased within the Christian who has it? For a person to
increase the amount of God’s Spirit within him, he has to exercise it. How
could this be done if the Spirit were a person? It is either present or it is
not, with no way to be increased or decreased. Take a moment and read the
parable of the pounds found in Luke 19:11-26. In this parable, Christ is instructing His
listeners to increase the amount of the Holy Spirit within them. (To learn more
about how the Spirit of God grows in a person, read our vital article “Exercise
God’s Spirit!”)
In Psalm 51:11, confessing his sin, King David implored
God, “Take not Your Holy Spirit from me.” If the Holy Spirit were a distinct
person, with a mind and consciousness of its own, would David have not said,
“Holy Spirit, do not leave me”? Would the Holy Spirit not have the power to
come and go as “He” pleases? Luke 11:13 makes plain that the Holy Spirit
is given by God to
those who ask for it. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is not a person that comes of
its own volition, but rather is seen to be something that God gives.
In this regard, notice that in Acts 8:18-20, Peter
did not rebuke Simon Magus for referring to the Holy Spirit as power, as opposed to a person, when
this man sought this “power” for himself. He rebuked Simon because he thought
he could “purchase” such a power with money.
Christ Revealed the Father, Not the Holy
Spirit
We now ask: How did Christ reveal the Father to a world that knew
nothing of Him?
Again, Israel had been worshipping the Word—Jesus
Christ before He
became flesh—and they were led out of Egypt by Him, not the Father. Referenced earlier, now notice: “Moreover,
brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant, how that all our fathers
were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea [the Red Sea, upon leaving
Egypt]; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did
all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink:
for they drank of that spiritual
Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” (I Cor. 10:1-4).
Let’s do basic thinking. Jesus revealed what
the Father is like, and did this through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Consider. If the Holy Spirit were a person, would not Christ have also revealed
“Him”? Now ask: How could He reveal the Holy Spirit through the Holy Spirit?
This makes no sense and Scripture makes no mention of this.
The Holy Spirit was dwelling in Jesus.
Therefore, it would make no sense for Christ to utter any of the following
statements, if the Holy Spirit were a person doing the works in Him. Notice
more stark omission of any reference to the Holy Spirit or its “work” in the
following passages:
·
“If you
had known Me, you should have known My
Father also: and from now on you know Him, and have seen Him” (John 14:7).
·
“Jesus
said unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet have you not known
Me, Philip? He that has seen Me has seen
the Father; and how say you then, show us the Father?” (John 14:9).
·
“Believe
you not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak
unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwells in Me, He does the works” (John 14:10).
In all of these passages, Christ speaks of
the Father and Him doing the works. If the Spirit were a person, would not that
have been a good time to announce this? Think of the insult to the Holy Spirit
in Christ’s blatant ignoring of all that this “person” was supposedly doing in
Him.
Trinitarians should carefully study the many
scriptures that omit even mild obligatory reference to the Holy Spirit’s personhood
when this would be so necessary.
Holy Spirit Is Not the Father
Trinitarians have a difficult time logically explaining the
following verses about the place of the Father in Christ’s life and the very
different role of the Holy Spirit as the agent or begetting power of the
Father. A question naturally arises: Who is Christ’s Father?
·
“But while
he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in
a dream, saying, Joseph, you son of David, fear not to take unto you Mary your
wife: for that which is conceived
in her is of the Holy [Spirit]” (Matt. 1:20). (Also read Luke 1:35 for
more detail.)
·
“And the
Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as
of the only begotten of the Father)
full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
How many ever consider these verses?
They seem to be
contradicting one another. Was Christ begotten by the Father or by the Holy
Spirit? If Christ was “conceived” by the Holy Spirit as a person, then “he”—the
Holy Spirit—would be Christ’s father. And if the Holy Spirit were a person,
then “he” would be our father
also.
Let’s permit basic logic to prevail. A human father is called a father
because he is the one who IS the father! No one is confused about this, just as
they are not confused about whether a human baby has two fathers. In this
regard, a baby does not have a “human” father and a “sperm” father, because the
sperm did the begetting. The sperm came from the human father, who is the one
who did the begetting. The same is true of the Spirit Father of the newly begotten true Christian who
merely received the Father’s “seed” in the form of the Holy Spirit sent for the
purpose of performing the begettal.
Also notice Peter’s statement that
Christians are begotten by the Father: “Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a lively
hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (I Pet. 1:3). The only
difference is that unlike Christ, one is spiritually begotten after his physical birth, not
before.
Peter says “begotten us again” because these
were begotten the first time by their physical father and born physically. Then, at conversion, Christians are begotten a
second time by their spiritual Father,
later to be BORN AGAIN.
When pieced together, these verses make
clear that the Father begat Christ through the power of His Holy Spirit. Keep
it simple—do not allow theologians, impressed with their own theories, to
impress you with
illogical, nonsensical arguments that only prove that they do not know what
they are talking about.
Read the second half of Romans 16:18 as
a powerful warning to all!
Holy Spirit is Not a Proper Name
In the Old Testament, the word “holy” is
translated from the Hebrew word qodesh,
meaning “a sacred place or thing.” “Spirit” is translated from the Hebrew
word ruach, meaning “wind,
breath, or life.” In the New Testament, “holy” is translated from the Greek
word hagios, meaning
“sacred.” “Spirit” is translated from the Greek word pneuma, meaning “current of air,
breath, or breeze.”
Notice how these are not names like people
or the Father and Christ have. In this case, the words Holy and Spirit merely
describe what the thing is—HOLY ( because it is God’s) and SPIRIT (because
it is like wind).
Unlike the Father and Christ, who are both
composed of spirit, and have names and are clearly portrayed as having form and
shape, nowhere in Scripture is the Holy Spirit given a name or mentioned as
having form. Read Matthew 3:16 and John 14:16, and then think logically: Is the Holy Spirit really a “dove,” and is
“comforter” an actual name?—or are these words used to convey meaning?
Angels and demons are spirit beings, and
they have names, can talk and have forms. Notice:
·
“And the
angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God;
and am sent to speak unto you, and to show you these glad tidings” (Luke 1:19).
·
“And
the LORD said unto Satan, From where come you? Then Satan answered
the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and
down in it” (Job 1:7).
Where in Scripture is the Holy Spirit shown
to be doing such things? Where is “He” shown to be interacting with other
beings like the examples above? The answer is NOWHERE! And if it were a
person, why would it not have an actual name as does every other spirit
being—including Satan—described in Scripture?
Why Is the Holy Spirit Referred to as “He”?
A universally favored piece of “evidence”
used to “prove” the Holy Spirit’s personage is the masculine pronoun “He,”
found in certain verses in John’s gospel account. However, when examined, this
evidence is strictly circumstantial. The irony of this claim is that the
scholars teaching it are supposedly versed in the Greek language of the New
Testament. Unlike English, Greek nouns are always assigned gender. They are
either masculine, feminine or neuter. This is completely arbitrary, having
nothing whatsoever to do with any actual defining quality of the person, place
or thing being referred to, unless a specific human being is being referenced. And pronouns must agree in
gender with the nouns for which they are substituted.
To back up their claims, trinitarians quote
John’s gospel. The words “He” and “Himself” are used extensively in reference
to the Holy Spirit. However, the inspired Greek words can also be translated
“it” or “itself.”
Case in point: “Nevertheless I tell you the
truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the
Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you” (John 16:7).
Compare this verse with Romans 8:16: “The
Spirit itself bears
witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” The exact same Greek
word autos is
translated two entirely different ways in these two verses (“him” and
“itself”). When studying difficult biblical subjects, a careful study of the
original language is necessary to avoid drawing wrong conclusions.
In John 16:8 and verse 13, the phrases
“he will show” and “he will reprove” are actually translated from the Greek
words elegcho and anaggello respectively. They
mean: “to confute or admonish” and “to announce.” The word “he” was used by
translators for gender agreement, not because John was trying to establish the
trinity.
Many will also cite the word “Comforter” as
referring to a person. This is ridiculous. A comforter on your bed is obviously
not a person. It is called such because of what it does. The same is true of the Holy Spirit.
Notice other examples of gender being
assigned to non-gender items:
·
“And He
had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp two edged
sword: and His countenance was as the sun shines in his [the sun’s] strength” (Rev. 1:16).
The possessive pronoun “his,” referring to
the sun, is strictly a grammatical tool. Such use of gender-specific pronouns
in reference to inanimate objects is found in other languages as well, such as
French and Spanish. In these languages, the gender of a possessive pronoun
agrees with its object, not its subject. In the case of Revelation 1:16,
obviously, neither “sun” nor “strength” has any inherent gender. Consider two more
scriptures:
·
“Therefore
I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her [the earth’s] place, in the
wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger” (Isa. 13:13). Is the
earth female?
·
“Immediately
after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon
shall not give her [the
moon’s] light” (Matt. 24:29). Is the moon female?
When examined from the
perspective of overall biblical usage, the way pronouns are translated is
irrelevant. The real issue is the inconsistency found in theological arguments.
Do trinitarians attribute literal gender and consciousness to the sun, moon or earth?
Of course not! So why assign gender to the Holy Spirit?
One does not have to be a grammarian,
historian or scholar to understand the Bible. In fact, the Bible shows that
those who study it for the simplicity it contains (I Cor. 1:27; II Cor. 11:3; John 4:23), without
adding their own “theological” conjecture, are the ones God is calling and
working with (John 6:44,65).
Is Man’s Spirit a Person?
The book of Job makes a fundamental
statement about another spirit that we have only briefly touched upon. Notice:
“But there is a SPIRIT IN MAN: and the inspiration of the Almighty gives
them understanding” (32:8).
Then notice this passage, also referenced
earlier: “For what man knows the things of a man, save [by]the spirit of man which is in him? (I Cor. 2:11).
These two passages plainly reveal that there
is a SPIRIT within all people. This is what differentiates human
beings from animals, and is what gives people a concept of self. However, it is
not this spirit that permits human beings to comprehend the truths of God.
Notice the rest of verse 11 above: “…even so the things of God knows no man, but [by] the Spirit of God.”
With the human spirit present, people can
understand physical knowledge, and this is done through use of the five senses.
But without the Spirit of God leading a person, it is ABSOLUTELY
IMPOSSIBLE to understand God’s truth—including the nature of the true God
who is the One Who must give that Spirit to reveal Himself.
Now think: God has a Spirit, and man has a
spirit. According to trinitarians, the Holy Spirit is a person. Using their
convoluted logic, one could conclude that man’s spirit is a person, which means
that there would be another “person” dwelling within each person. Obviously,
this is ridiculous!
Can the Holy Spirit Feel Grief?
Paul recorded, “And grieve not the Holy
Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30).
What does it mean to “grieve the Holy Spirit”? Does
this passage mean that the Holy Spirit can “feel” pain or grief? Also, can something
be grieved if it is not a person? Trinitarian reasoning argues “no.”
But consider, for example, the expression,
“Don’t stress the system.” What does this mean? Who is going to feel the
stress? What is the “system”? The “system” is the embodiment of the world as we
know it. It is not something with an objective or agenda of its own. This is
commonly understood. The connotation is that something is being done in a way
that makes things run less than smoothly. But does the “system”
actually FEEL “stressed”? When someone says, “I’m going to beat the
system,” what does this mean? Does the “system” have a name, a face? Is it
personal?
When Paul writes in Romans 8:22, “…the
whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now,” does anyone
believe that planets, stars, trees, rocks, etc.—part of the creation—actually
“groan and travail in pain”? Of course not! In I Corinthians 11:14,
Paul asked, “Does not even nature
itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto
him?” Is nature running an academic curriculum? Again, of course not.
Paul should be able to make such statements
without inviting overanalysis of his words, with the reader coming to unfounded
conclusions. As a teacher, Paul is simply attributing emotion to things that
obviously have none. Poets do
this all the time. Their writings are generally not overanalyzed to the point
of gross contortion of the basic intended meaning. So we ask: Why are not
Paul’s other writings examined in a consistent light? This is because another
spiritual element comes into play when the words of God, as opposed to a poet
or prose writer, are the subject of the study. Recall: “the carnal mind is
enmity [hostile] against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither
indeed can be” (Rom 8:7). Human beings naturally do not want to obey God.
Two Characteristics of the Holy Spirit
Let’s now examine certain characteristics of
the Holy Spirit and ask whether they can be those of a person.
For example: Can a person be distributed?
The obvious answer is no. However, the Holy Spirit can be. Notice: “They were
all filled with the
Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance” (Acts 2:4).
On the Day of Pentecost, many were filled
with the Holy Spirit. This marked the beginning of the New Testament Church. If
the Holy Spirit were a person, this miracle could not have taken place since it
is not possible to be filled with a person. Also recall that many believe one
either has the Holy Spirit or does not—the amount cannot vary. If this is the
case, all Christians in every age would have to be filled with the Spirit.
Do not allow an intellectual trinitarian
response to this such as “the Holy Spirit is God, so normal rules do not apply”
to confuse you. On this basis, no Bible passage could ever mean what it said
because every passage came from God.
In Acts 2:17-18, Peter, quoting Joel 2:28-29, said,
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons
and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and
your old men shall dream dreams: and on My servants and on My handmaidens I
will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy.”
Can a person be poured? Are Christ and the
Father ever referred to as being poured out? Again, do not fall for an
intellectual dismissal of this with the simple assertion that “the Holy Spirit
is God, so forget all rules.” We will revisit this later.
More Aspects of the Holy Spirit
The Greeks believed that the gods were in
everything. This is what led them to “create” their own “gods many and lords
many,” believing they had to put a separate god in every conceivable kind of
inanimate object. (Recall that the Greeks had at least 30,000 gods.)
The true God—the Father and Christ—are in
one place, but can be everywhere at once (omnipresent) through the power of the
Holy Spirit. Their bodies are not spread throughout the universe like a kind of
amorphous nebula. Notice what David wrote in the Psalms: “Where shall I go
from Your Spirit? Or where
shall I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, You are there: if I make my bed in [the grave],
behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the
uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall Your hand lead me, and Your right
hand shall hold me” (Psa. 139:7-10).
Paul exhorted Timothy to “stir up the gift
of God, which is in you by the putting on of my hands” (II Tim. 1:6). Here,
God’s Spirit is referred to as a gift that
one must stir up within a Christian’s mind. Can a person be stirred? Is the Holy Spirit a kind of “genie in a
lamp,” asleep until summoned?
At baptism and conversion, Christians are
given a “measure” of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:7). Can one receive a measure of a person?
No, but they can get a measure of power, which must be continually exercised to
grow. Paul wrote, “I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your
prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:19). A
Christian has been given a supply of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus
Christ. If it is not constantly replenished, that Spirit will run out,
potentially until it is completely gone (Heb. 6:4-6).
As Matthew
25:14-30 shows, those
who do not exercise God’s Spirit and “bring forth much fruit” (John 15:5, 16) will not be given
eternal life in God’s kingdom. II Corinthians
4:16 shows that through
enduring trials and suffering, a Christian increases his supply of the Holy
Spirit: “For which cause [strong persecution] we faint not; but though our
outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”
Notice also that the Holy Spirit must be
renewed: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to
His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). This
verse is referring to the Holy Spirit at work in a Christian’s mind. To renew
something is to keep it active or current.
When someone renews his driver’s license, it
is so he can continue to legally operate an automobile. The license itself
cannot drive, but empowers the individual to do so. Unless it is renewed every
three to four years, one will lose his driving privilege. Figuratively, the
Holy Spirit is the same. Unless renewed, one will lose the privilege of
receiving eternal life.
A person cannot be renewed. But an “amount”
of something can be. If it is a person, it is either there or it is not! There
can be no in-between.
Analogies of the Spirit
The Bible uses many analogies to show how
the Holy Spirit works within a Christian’s mind. None of them attribute any
qualities of “personhood.”
(1) God’s Word likens the Holy Spirit
to WIND: “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty
wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:2).
Christ likened those born as Spirit beings
into the kingdom of God to wind: “The wind blows where it lists, and you hear
the sound thereof, but cannot tell [from where] it comes, and where it goes: so
is every one that is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).
Wind can be powerful, as in the case of a
tornado or hurricane, or it can be gentle. The same is true of the Holy Spirit.
God used it to create the heavens and the earth, but He also can use it to
gently mold a Christian’s character into perfection.
(2) The Holy Spirit is also compared
to OIL. As a spiritual “lubricant,” it is comforting (John 14:26) and keeps
God’s people cool. Oil is also burned as a fuel to create fire, produce light (Matt. 5:14; 25:1-8) and generate
heat (Rev. 3:15). Christians are to be the lights of the world and the Holy Spirit is
the fuel that powers them. (Again, review Matthew 25:1-12.)
We are also anointed by the Spirit, just
like an anointing of oil: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me; because
the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He has sent
Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the
opening of the prison to them that are bound” (Isa. 61:1). Also see I John 2:27,
describing conversion itself as an anointing.
(3) The Holy Spirit is likened to FIRE.
Notice: “And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it
sat upon each of them” (Acts 2:3-4).
Again, II Timothy 1:6 shows that, like a fire, the Holy
Spirit must be constantly stirred up within each Christian: “Wherefore I put
you in remembrance that you stir up the gift of God, which is in you by the
putting on of my hands.”
Paul also exhorted, “Quench not the Spirit”
(I Thes. 5:19). Quenching the Spirit is like quenching thirst or fire—when you
quench either, you extinguish it. In the case of the Holy Spirit, this is done
by “smothering it” with wrong thoughts, or by continual sin. Obviously, a person cannot be “quenched”!
(4) God’s Word also likens the Holy Spirit
to WATER. Nobody can live physically without water, and nobody can live spiritually
(or eternally) without the Holy Spirit. Christ stated, in John 7:38-39, “He
that believes on Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow
rivers of living water. (But this spoke He of the Spirit, which they that
believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because
that Jesus was not yet glorified.)”
(5) Byproducts of the Holy Spirit are
compared to FRUIT. Fruit helps to cleanse the physical body. The Holy Spirit helps to cleanse God’s
children spiritually. Fruit
also provides instant energy to the body: “The fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance:
against such there is no law” (Gal. 5:22-23). Allowing the mind to be guided by the
Holy Spirit automatically yields the above “fruit,” which cleanses one of
“spiritual toxins,” and provides power to continue.
Just as no one can live physically without
food, Christians must feed upon the fruits of the Tree of Life (the Holy
Spirit) in order to live spiritually (I Cor. 15:21-22; John 6:30-35; Rev. 2:17).
(6) The Holy Spirit is also a GIFT:
“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift
of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). The Holy Spirit then brings with it potentially a whole series of gifts (I Cor. 12:1-11).
(7) Also, to show that Christians are to be
gentle and peaceable, we saw that the Holy Spirit is likened to a DOVE.
Notice: “Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water:
and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending
like a dove, and lighting upon Him” (Matt. 3:16).
Genesis 8:8-12 records
that Noah sent out a dove “to see if the waters were abated from off the face
of the ground,” so that he could be led in what to do. In like manner,
Christians are guided by the Holy Spirit in their minds.
Exactly What Is the Holy Spirit?
Many examples demonstrate that the Holy
Spirit is neither a third of one amorphous being, nor a separate entity of a
triune god. Let’s ask again, what is it?
The Holy Spirit is the life (and very mind)
of God. Jesus Christ lived by the Spirit of the Father dwelling within Him.
Just as the Father dwelled within Christ through the Holy Spirit and gave Him life, Jesus lives within His
followers through the
Spirit and gives them life—eternal life. Notice Christ’s description of His
relationship with the Father:
·
“As the
living Father has sent Me, and I live by the Father: so he that eats Me, even
he shall live by Me” (John 6:57).
·
“For as
the Father has life in Himself; so has He given to the Son to have life in
Himself” (John 5:26).
With this eternal life (the Holy Spirit)
dwelling inside God’s people, they can also become one with Christ and the
Father. As the Father and Son are of the same mind and the same accord, so are
Christians to be (Phil. 2:2).
Becoming one with God and Christ is only
possible through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Ponder the following
scriptures, asking why there is no reference to the Holy Spirit:
·
“But if I
do, though you believe not Me, believe the works: that you may know, and
believe, that the Father is in Me, and I in Him” (John 10:38).
·
“And now I
am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy
Father, keep through Your own name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one, as We are” (John 17:11).
·
“That they
all may BE ONE; as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also
may BE ONE IN US: that the world may believe that You have sent Me” (John 17:21).
Where is the trinity in all these
verses—including the Holy Spirit? How are they reconciled with Christians
becoming one with the Father and Christ, apart from the Holy Spirit—and when it
is supposedly the only one of the three persons in us?
I repeat: the Holy Spirit is the power of
God. When the term “power” is used today (for instance: “By the power vested in
me…”), it never implies that such power does something of its own accord. It is
understood that someone is using that power, wielding it—exercising
it—distributing it—to accomplish something. Does electricity have a mind of its
own? Does nuclear energy? Does solar power? All sources of power are used to do
various kinds of work and must be replenished. The same is true of God’s
Spirit.
A fascinating passage proves that
power flowed from
Christ in Mark 5:25-30: “A certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, and had
suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and
was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, when she had heard of Jesus, came
in the press behind, and touched His garment. For she said, If I may touch but
His clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was
dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And
Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that virtue [Greek: dunamis,
meaning power] had gone out of
Him, turned Him about in the press, and said, Who touched My clothes?”
Think of it this way. When you work hard and
perspire, your body loses vital nutrients that must be replenished. This
parallels what happened to Christ. The Holy Spirit was like a “vital nutrient”
that flowed from Jesus. It needed replenishment. Also notice the following
verses, and think about them in this context:
- “Now the God of
hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in
hope, through the power of
the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13).
- “But you shall receive power,
after that the Holy [Spirit] is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses
unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the
uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
It is this very power that allowed Jesus to
perform the many miracles that He did. The Father was with Jesus through the
Spirit dwelling in Him. Jesus had no power in and of Himself to do anything:
- “I can of Mine own self do nothing:
as I hear, I judge: and My judgment is just; because I seek not Mine own
will, but the will of the Father which has sent Me” (John 5:30).
- “Then said
Jesus unto them, When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall you
know that I am He, and that
I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father has taught Me, I speak
these things” (John 8:28).
Having emptied Himself from the Godhead to
become a human being, Jesus needed the Holy Spirit. So do you and I. If He
could do nothing of Himself, how much can we do of ourselves? Absolutely
nothing.
Reasons the Holy Spirit Is Given
Most professing Christians understand that
Jesus Christ is to be our example (John 13:15; I Pet. 2:21), and that we are to copy His life in our
own. The way He lived, His sufferings and His overcoming the world are all
things we must be aware of and partake
of. His birth, death and Resurrection are examples that reveal the role of the
Holy Spirit in God’s Plan for mankind.
We saw that Christ was begotten by the
Father through the power of the Holy Spirit. Unlike human beings, He had
no physical father.
The Holy Spirit is the means by which the Father begets His sons. Just as
Christ was begotten by the Father, Christians also are begotten by Him. The
difference is that Christians are begotten outside the womb, and are not given
the Holy Spirit until after baptism (Acts 2:38). Once baptized and given the Holy Spirit,
Christians become begotten sons of God—not yet born. But the time will come
when they will be raised from the dead by the power of God’s Spirit dwelling
within them—just as Christ was.
God also uses His Spirit
to TEACH His people: “The Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom
the Father will send in My name, [it] shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your
remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26). “Howbeit when [it], the Spirit of truth,
is come, [it] will guide you into
all truth…” (John 16:13).
Again, a mind without the Holy Spirit cannot
comprehend spiritual things. It has no hope of understanding God’s Word—the
Bible. It is only through the indwelling of the Spirit that one is able to
understand the mind of God. Reread I Corinthians
2:9-16.
The above scriptures, including I Corinthians 2:9-16,
can be summarized in the following way: Those who are being guided by the Holy
Spirit CAN understand spiritual things, and those who are not being
led by the Holy Spirit cannot understand— it
is IMPOSSIBLE! Just as one cannot know the thoughts of another person,
neither can you know the thoughts of God. In a sense, God’s Spirit is
“projected” into our minds, allowing us to comprehend “the things of God.”
The Holy Spirit
also STRENGTHENS Christians in many important ways. The following
longer scripture is one of the most inspiring in the entire Bible, and best
describes how God’s Spirit directly empowers—strengthens—those who have it:
“That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, TO BE
STRENGTHENED WITH MIGHT BY HIS SPIRIT in the inner man; that Christ may
dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may
be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and
depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that
you might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto Him that is able to
do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, ACCORDING TO THE
POWER THAT WORKS IN US …” (Eph. 3:16-20).
Christ gives His servants the strength
needed to overcome what could be called the three “S’s”—self, Satan and
society, which produce a fourth “S,” SIN. All real overcoming is done by the power of the Holy
Spirit. Just as Jesus could only overcome by the Father dwelling within Him
through the Spirit, it is through that Spirit
dwelling within a person that overcoming anything spiritual is possible.
Why Some WILL NOT Understand!
An inset must be added here. It will explain
why some people CANNOT possibly UNDERSTAND what is
contained in this volume. This point is connected to an earlier section, which
discussed how the Holy Spirit is poured out and can fill people, thus
disqualifying it as a person.
Here is an example of how some will take
that easy-to-understand explanation and dismiss it by bringing in wrong
“facts,” wrong logic, wrong reasoning and/or wrong understanding—thus trapping
themselves in wrong teaching.
Some suggest that Psalm 22:14 proves
that a person can be
poured, because Christ said that He was “poured out” and He was a person. The
conclusion then is that the Holy Spirit can also be poured out and still be a
person.
In this passage, Christ is describing His
crucifixion: “I am poured out like
water, and all My bones are out of joint: My heart is like wax; it is melted in
the midst of My bowels.”
It is probably immediately obvious to most
that Christ is talking about how all of His blood poured out of His body, ending His life. Numerous
verses reveal Christians are forgiven, or justified, by Christ’s shed blood (Rom. 5:9; Eph. 1:7; 2:13; Col. 1:14; Heb. 9:12). Isaiah 53:12 states
that He “poured out His soul unto death.” Obviously, soul here means His
blood—His life. (See Leviticus 17:11.) This passage in no way proves that the
Holy Spirit is a person that can be poured out.
Why cannot the logic explained here be
accepted by some? Why do
most feel compelled to fight sound analysis, sound reasoning and sound
logic? Why also will
the plain explanations found throughout this book upset and confuse many of its
readers? The answer lies in the fact that these things alone—sound analysis,
sound reasoning and sound logic—are not sufficient to defeat the illogic of a
mind to whom God has not revealed Himself (Rom. 1:28; 8:7). Remember, God must call a person (John 6:44, 65) and must reveal Himself to that person
for him to be able to grasp spiritual truths and principles (I Cor. 2:11).
Therefore, understand that this book is not
written to the majority who read it. At least grasp this point! Do not miss it.
For you to truly comprehend all that you are studying, God must be opening your mind through the
power of His Holy Spirit. Otherwise, there is no hope of understanding. Perhaps
take the time to read Matthew 7:7 for what you can also do.
All Are Deceived
The Bible is filled with instruction about
the Holy Spirit. But in a world completely overcome with Satan’s “wiles” (Eph. 6:11) and
“devices” (II Cor. 2:11), it is only through God’s help that you can be an exception.
However, you must be willing to admit that
the realm of traditional Christianity (and the world in general) has remained
ignorant of what the Holy Spirit is. Naturally, this has contributed to why the
nature of God so completely escapes their comprehension.
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