SPELLING EDITED M-11. Is the HOLY SPIRIT a GIFT of God's NATURE? The purpose of this study in God’s word is to see what the Bible ITSELF teaches us on the subject of the Holy Spirit. And more specifically to see WHAT the DIFFERENCE is between the Holy Spirit when referring to Almighty God the Father and the GIFT of the EARNEST of the Holy Spirit dwelling IN believers. To say this another way, does the Bible ITSELF states as a FACT with NO interpretation needed that the Holy Spirit dwelling IN us is God’s NATURE? Or does the Bible ITSELF specifically state as a FACT that we are the TEMPLE of God rather than stating as a fact that we are the temple of God’s NATURE? Now, the reason that I am writing this study in God’s word is that I deeply desire that all Christians speak the same things. And my own personal conviction based upon the WHOLE word of Almighty God is that the Holy Spirit dwelling IN us as believers is a LITERAL living portion of Almighty God HIMSELF WHO is Spirit and NOT just some active FORCE or POWER used by God as the Jehovah’s Witnesses wrongly teach. Here is what the Jehovah’s Witnesses publication of the Awake 2006 edition titled “Is the holy spirit a person?” says. “An accurate translation of the Bible’s text refers to God’s spirit as an ACTIVE FORCE.” Now, I assume that all Christians agree that God is a Spirit and that God is a LITERAL intelligent being who is the CREATOR of everything that exists. And I fully realize that not all Christians agree as to WHAT the ONE TRUE God is when it comes to THREE terms used in the Bible. And those three terms are Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All Trinitarian Christians believe that the ONE God is made up of three separate persons called God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Whereas, ALL Unitarian Christians believe that the ONE God is a SINGLE being of ONE person called the Father. In other words, ALL Unitarian Christians do NOT believe that the SON OF God is an ETERNAL being who has always existed WITHOUT ever having a beginning. And, therefore, to ALL Unitarian Christians, the Son of God only pre-existed in the MIND and plan of God to one day bring forth into existence his Son. However, not all Unitarian Christians agree on WHEN the Son of God came into existence. The Oneness Pentecostal Christians believe that the Son of God pre-existed as God himself, as in, God’s THOUGHTS before God spoke his thoughts out from his mouth as prophecy to create a human BODY that the FULLNESS of Almighty God himself would dwell in. And to Oneness Pentecostal Unitarian Christians that means that Jesus IS the Father who manifested himself a BODY to dwell in. And thus, according to the Oneness doctrine, Jesus is NOT a SEPARATE person or separate being from the Father. They are one and the self-same being in ONE person. So then, the Oneness Pentecostal Unitarians Christians believe the exact opposite of Trinitarian Christians because they believe that the Father IS Jesus or the Son, the Father IS the Holy Spirit, Jesus or the Son IS the Father, the Holy Spirit IS the Father, the Holy Spirit IS Jesus or the Son, as is, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are ONE and the SELF-SAME God is indeed ONE SINGLE PERSON in ONE SINGLE BEING. Now, the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that the ONE God is ONE being in ONE person called the Father. They believe that Jesus was the very first of God’s creatures that God created and then Jesus created everything else. BUT they do NOT believe that Jesus is THE God who alone is the Father whom they call Jehovah. And as far as the Holy Spirit, the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that the Holy Spirit is an “IT” that they called an ACTIVE FORCE used by God. They do NOT believe that the Holy Spirit is a person at all. There are other Biblical Unitarians who have very similar views to the Jehovah’s Witnesses such as the Christadelphians. But the Christadelphians do NOT believe that God created Jesus as an ANGELIC being named Michael the archangel. They believe that Jesus was born of God in eternity past. Christadelphians believe that Almighty God the Father USED both Jesus and the Holy Spirit to create all things. BUT they do NOT believe that the Holy Spirit is a PERSON and that the Holy Spirit is a POWER used by God. And then there are BIBLICAL Unitarians who believe almost all of what I myself believe EXCEPT with this one MAJOR difference. And why I say major is because to ME, I feel that it is borderline BLASPHEMY to refer to the Holy Spirit as an IMPERSONAL THING. And SOME Biblical Unitarians say that the Holy Spirit dwelling IN believers is NOT a person but rather the GIFT of God’s NATURE. And to ME, that is speaking AGAINST the Holy Spirit and BLASPHEMY according to the words of Jesus in Matthew 12:31,32. Matthew 12:31,32. “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. 32. And whosoever speaks a word AGAINST the Son of MAN, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever SPEAKS AGAINST the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” And to ME, speaking AGAINST the Holy Spirit is to say things that are NOT TRUE about the Holy Spirit. Nowhere in the Bible are we commanded that we MUST believe that the Holy Spirit is NOT a person of being in order to be saved. Nowhere in the Bible are we commanded that we MUST believe that the Holy Spirit is a POWER used by God and that the Holy Spirit is NOT a PERSON but rather some NATURE of God dwelling in believers. In fact, Zechariah 4:6 says NOT by might and NOT by POWER but BY MY SPIRIT says, Yahweh. Zechariah 4:6. “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, NOT by might, nor by power, BUT BY MY SPIRIT, says the LORD of hosts.”
Now, this one single verse of Scripture alone tells me that the Holy Spirit is the SOURCE OF the might and power and not just simply a power that is used by Almighty God the Father who IS SPIRIT. Here is what SOME Biblical Unitarians believe and teach. Let me give you a quote from part of the Biblical Unitarian article that a dear brother in the Lord sent to me. Sorry, I do not have a link to this study but you can go to a Biblical Unitarian website and find what they teach about the Holy Spirit being BOTH a “he” AND an “it” or what they call God’s nature. I assume the article came from truthortradition.com but I am not positive on that. Anyway, what I highlighted in yellow in the following quote from this Biblical Unitarian article I totally AGREE with. What I highlighted in green I DISAGREE with because God is NOT a HUMAN person. He is God and nothing is impossible with God. I will say more about this shortly to explain WHY I believe that God CAN and DOES give PORTIONS of HIMSELF to dwell in believers. And what I highlighted in blue I have ADDED to the original Biblical Unitarian article. In other words, IF I myself was writing a study on the Holy Spirit using what is highlighted in yellow below then I would REMOVE the unhighlighted paragraph with the part that is highlighted in green and I would REPLACE it with the paragraph that I wrote myself that is highlighted in blue. The emphasis is mine to draw your attention to what I myself believe is SOUND Biblical teaching. And the words in parenthesis that are highlighted in blue are also mine.
“The idea that Peter set forth before the Jewish crowd was one that they were familiar with from the Old Testament: that God would give PART (Or an EARNEST) of His spirit to believers. That God gave a PART OF His spirit is reflected in a number of English translations (“pour out of my Spirit,” DBY, KJV, NKJV, YLT; “pour out a PORTION OF MY Spirit,” NAB). However, a number of English translations only have, “I will pour out my Spirit” (HCSB; ESV; NIV). Although that is a grammatically acceptable translation, it does not communicate well to the average reader that each believer receives a PORTION OF God’s spirit. Verses such as Acts 2:17-18 and 1 John 4:13 are showing that God CAN take SOME OF of His (SPIRIT) nature and give it to different people to spiritually empower them. The verses that speak of the HOLY SPIRIT being distributed in portions to different people show us that it is not “Person” in a triune God because a “Person” cannot be divided or distributed. In contrast, God’s gift of His nature to people can be distributed to people.” (I myself would REPLACE THIS unhighlighted paragraph with the words highlighted in green with the paragraph below to make the Biblical Unitarian teaching SOUND Biblical teaching, And I would NOT use the word nature) The verses that speak of the Holy Spirit as being distributed in portions to different people, speak of Almighty God the Father as ONE God in ONE being. And God gives believers a PORTION OF HIS OWN Spirit “being” AS his GIFT to dwell in true believes in Jesus. To say this another way. God gives believers a PART OF HIMSELF to empower us to do the same works that Jesus did. So while the Holy Spirit is, indeed, a PERSON there are no verses in the Bible that teach us that the Holy Spirit is a THIRD distinctly different and separate person from Almighty God the Father to make up a Trinity Godhead. And here is why I say this. The Holy Spirit dwelt in Jesus to empower him and Jesus said that he could do NOTHING OF himself and that it was the FATHER dwelling IN him WHO did the works. I fully realize that the Bible teaches us that the Holy Spirit is spoken of as a GIFT from God. And when we read the word GIFT we think of a THING and NOT a person, but you have to remember that God also GAVE his human Son Jesus as his GIFT to the entire world so the WHOSOEVER of any person in the entire world who BELIEVES in God’s SON might have eternal life in the world to come. I will only quote three verses that refer to the Holy Spirit as being God’s GIFT to believers because to ME, the mere fact that the Holy Spirit is a GIFT does not prove that the gift of the Holy Spirit is NOT a PERSON. For you see, Jesus is a person, whom God GAVE to the world, according to John 3:14-18. And to ME, the gift of the Holy Spirit is a PORTION of God’s very own BEING and NOT just a THING called the NATURE of God or some impersonal force or POWER that is used by God. Acts 2:38. “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 Ghost.” Luke 11:8-13 “I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity, he will rise and give him as many as he needs. 9. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 10. For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened. 11. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? 12. Or if he shall ask for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13. If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father GIVE the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” Ephesians 1:13,14. “In whom you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, (Meaning the promise of the GIFT of the Holy Spirit) 14. Which is the EARNEST of our INHERITANCE UNTIL the REDEMPTION of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” So simply being God’s GIFT does not prove that the Holy Spirit is NOT a person of being because God GAVE his only begotten Son who is God’s GIFT of so great a salvation and Jesus is, INDEED, a PERSON. The Greek word translated as sealed also means to stamp, as in, thus says the Lord these people belong to ME Satan so handoffs, they are under MY protection. This Greek word “sphragizo” also means to ATTEST. Here is what E-Sword has to say. G4972 σφραγίζω sphragizō sfrag-id'-zo From G4973; to stamp (with a signet or private mark) for security or preservation (literally or figuratively); by implication to keep secret, to attest: - (set a, set to) seal up, stop. And the English word “ATTEST” means to provide or serve as clear EVIDENCE of something. Attest also means to be a WITNESS to. The Greek word translated as earnest means the following. G728 ἀῤῥαβών arrhabōn ar-hrab-ohn' Of Hebrew origin [H6162]; a pledge, that is, PART OF the purchase money or property given in advance as security for the rest: - earnest. Now, when we purchase a house we put down what we call EARNEST money as our pledge to SECURE the house as being our house. It is our SEAL that we will not back out of the deal. Let us now read this definition using the word Holy Spirit as being the EARNEST of our inheritance until the time of REDEMPTION. The SOUND Biblical meaning of the Greek word translated as earnest means a PLEDGE, that is to say, the sound Biblical mean of the EARNEST OF the Holy Spirit is, “PART OF the Holy Spirit given is to believers as God’s gift to believers in Jesus in advance as God’s seal of security or as his promise of the INHERITANCE of eternal life to DWELL IN us as his WITNESS bearing witness to our spirits that we are his sons and daughters so that we will CONTINUE to endure in our faith UNTIL the REDEMPTION of the purchased possession”. Can you not see that PART OF the MONEY IS MONEY? Part OF something is NOT something else. Part of Spirit IS SPIRIT. And Spirit is the SOURCE OF power. 1 John 4:4 teaches us that greater is HE that is IN us than he that is in the world. The GENDER of the Greek word "ho" that is translated as he is the MALE gender and the LITERAL translation says the ONE in you which means that the Holy Spirit dwelling in us IS a PERSON. That is what the whole word of Almighty God teaches us. So why does this Scripture say UNTIL the redemption of the purchased possession? It does so because we do not actually receive the FULNESS of Spirit LIFE to be made partakers of God’s divine nature of immortality UNTIL the REDEMPTION of our physical BODY. And also, God will, indeed, take BACK the earnest of his Spirit quickening LIFE from the UNFAITHFUL Christians on the day of redemption when they are judged UNWORTHY to receive the divine nature of immortality. Please read the study “IS ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED BIBLICAL?” And also read the studies under the heading >>>CAN WE LOSE ETERNAL LIFE?<<< But for now, please read Romans 8:18-25. “ For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19. For the earnest expectation of the creature waits for the MANIFESTATION of the sons of God. 20. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who has subjected the same in hope, (Meaning that God said let the tares that the ENEMY planted grow together with the wheat until the day of harvest lest the good wheat be plucked with the wicked tares. Matthew 13:24-30) 21. Because the creature itself (Or the PHYSICAL BODY) also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22. For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. 23. And not only they but ourselves also, which have the FIRSTFRUITS of the Spirit, (Or because of the beginning of or the earnest of the Spirit dwelling in us) even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. (When we receive the COMPLETE manifestation of eternal life in our WHOLE being. Right now we have a PORTION of the Spirit who IS LIFE dwelling in us) 24. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man sees, why does he yet hope for? 25. But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” God has given us a PART OF or a PORTION OF his being of Spirit to dwell in us as one of the three WITNESSES giving us EVIDENCE that we have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus. The Holy Spirit dwelling in us SPEAKS to us to assure us that God loves us and that God’s promises are true and faithful so that we will CONTINUE to believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior unto the end to be saved. Please read 1 John 5:8-13. “And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, (Or the divine God, Almighty God the Eternal Spirit who dwelt in Jesus according to Hebrews 9:14 and John 14:10) and the water, (Speaking of water baptism as God’s promise for the remission of sins according to Acts 2:38) and the blood: (Speaking of the promises of God referring to the shed blood of Jesus, according to Matthew 26:28, Romans 3:25 and Hebrews 9:22) and these three agree in one. 9. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he has testified of his Son. 10. He that believes on the Son of God has the WITNESS IN himself: (Speaking of a PORTION of the divine God bearing witness with our spirit that we are the sons of God) he that believes not God has made him a liar; because he believes not the record that God gave of his Son. 11. And this is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, (Or a PORTION of the ETERNAL Spirit as a WITNESS to dwell in us UNTIL the redemption of the purchased possession) and this LIFE is in His Son. (Or the promise of eternal life is only through faith in God’s Son Jesus) 12. He that has the Son has life; (Or the EARNEST of LIFE dwelling in them as the WITNESS bearing witness to us that we are the sons and daughters of God) and he that has not the Son of God has not life. (Or has NOT the Holy Spirit dwelling in them) 13. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may KNOW that you have eternal life, (Dwelling in you) and THAT you may believe on the name of the Son of God.” The Holy Spirit bears WITNESS to us that we are saved SO THAT we will CONTINUE to believe unto the END to be saved in order to receive the REDEMPTION of our BODIES to become IMMORTAL bodies the same divine nature that Jesus was given after the cross. SECTION TWO: JESUS DESCRIBES THE SPIRIT! Jesus DESCRIBES the Spirit for us in several verses. Keep in mind that Jesus is NOT calling or saying that the Holy Spirit IS the WIND or IS a well of water springing up. But rather Jesus is DESCRIBING how the Holy Spirit works and moves to make his presence know, both to the world and to believers. Simply some NATURE or a POWER cannot DO what the Holy Spirit does. It is the Holy Spirit himself who PRODUCES the nature of God in us and who GIVES us the power to overcome sin. Nowhere in the Bible does it STATE that God gives us his NATURE to dwell in us. Rather the Bible states that God gives us the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. Jesus starts off by saying that God IS Spirit. The participle “a” as in, God is “a” Spirit is not actually in the Greek text. So God is Spirit. And since the Bible teaches us that there is only ONE Spirit then Almighty God the Father is THE ETERNAL Spirit who has always existed without beginning or end. And the Bible clearly identifies the ONE Spirit being as the Father. 1 Corinthians 12:13. “For by ONE Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into ONE Spirit.” And again, since God is Spirit and there is just ONE Spirit then the Holy Spirit is God and God is the Holy Spirit. The Bible always clearly identifies the ONE God as being the FATHER. Therefore, the ONE Eternal Spirit who dwelt in Jesus IS the Father, as in, a PORTION OF the ONE eternal Spirit. Not just because of logic but because Jesus himself said in John 14:10 that the Holy Spirit dwelling in him was the FATHER dwelling IN him who did the works and NOT that he or it was the NATURE of God dwelling in him that did the works. Here is just one, of many verses that clearly identify the ONE God as being the Father. 1 Corinthians 8:6. “But to us, there is but ONE God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” And here are two verses where the Eternal Spirit dwells in Jesus and Jesus identifies the Eternal Spirit as being the Father dwelling in him. Hebrews 9:14. “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the ETERNAL Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” John 14:10. “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 DWELL IN me, HE does the works.” So since Jesus overcame sin THROUGH the power OF the Eternal Spirit dwelling in him because God was WITH him as Acts 10:38 clearly teaches us and there is just ONE eternal Spirit then Almighty God the FATHER must be the ONE Eternal Spirit who dwelt IN Jesus to empower the Son of man to overcome sin. And since Almighty God is a person or BEING then the PORTION of the eternal being called the Holy Spirit must also be a portion of the very BEING of God and not just the NATURE of God that has NO LIFE to continue to PRODUCE the power. But the Bible itself teaches us that the Spirit IS LIFE the SAME quickening LIFE who dwelt in Jesus. Please read Romans 8:9-11. “But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God DWELL IN you. (Know you not that you are the temple of God and NOT if the NATURE or the POWER of God dwell in you. And NOT you are the temple of God’s NATURE) Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10. And if Christ is IN you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is LIFE because of righteousness. (Meaning that those Christians who do NOT serve God in RIGHTEOUSNESS will LOSE the earnest of the Spirit of LIFE dwelling in them) 11. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead DWELL IN you, HE that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies BY his Spirit (His LIFE giving Spirit) that DWELLS IN you.” The English word “that” is NOT in the original Greek text. Yes, the gender of spirit is neuter and when speaking the GREEK language it is grammatically correct to use gender-neutral connecting conjunctions. But we are not speaking Greek here in the English Bible translation. And when speaking in ENGLISH, if a word refers to a PERSON then the connecting conjunction MUST be the word “WHO DWELLS IN US. The Spirit dwelling in us is the LIFE, the earnest of LIFE giving Spirit who is DWELLING IN every believer in Jesus Christ, who will resurrect us from the dead, BY the Holy Spirit DWELLING IN us. For you see the ONE eternal Spirit was GIVEN to the Son of God who God has ALSO given all power and the AUTHORITY to resurrect all the dead, BUT then ONLY GIVE eternal life to those who are found to be FAITHFUL BELIEVERS in God’s so great a salvation unto the end to be saved. In other words, the UNSAVED people do NOT have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. And the UNFAITHFUL Christians will LOSE the earnest of the Holy Spirit dwelling in them IF they die physically WHILE being unfaithful Christians living in a lifestyle of sin. Let us now look at some of the verses that DESCRIBE the Holy Spirit as a THING. Again, Jesus is NOT saying that the Spirit IS the wind. But rather we can understand more about the Spirit by understanding the working of wind. And the same is true of the meaning of spirit as being breath. We know that without breath we would die. So breath is a word that is describing Spirit as the SOURCE of LIFE. John 3:8 “The wind blows where it lists, and you HEAR the sound thereof, but can not tell whence it comes, and whither it goes: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” In other words, everyone who is born-again HEARS the voice of Almighty God the Holy Spirit or the Eternal Spirit who is Holy and who ALONE is the FATHER and NOT some THIRD person of a Godhead Trinity God. To fully understand that the doctrine of the Trinity is NOT SOUND Biblical teaching please read the studies under the heading >>>A LIST OF STUDIES ON THE TRINITY!<<< My point right now is that the Holy Spirit has INTELLIGENCE. The Holy Spirit SPEAKS to the inner man of believers. And a ‘nature” cannot speak. Jesus says that we shall hear his voice and follow him. John 10:16. “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” The all-Jewish believers heard the voice of the Son of Man Jesus but the other fold of Gentile and Jewish believers hear the teachings of Jesus through the voice of the Holy Spirit of the Father. And that is because during the days of his flesh Jesus spoke only the words given to him BY the Father DWELLING IN him to speak. And now, after the cross, Jesus is to one telling the Holy Spirit dwelling in us what to say and do. The Holy Spirit dwelling in us is still the SAME ONE Eternal Spirit whom Jesus said was the FATHER dwelling in him. The Bible ALSO teaches us that the word Christ can refer to the PERSON of the Son of MAN, Jesus, being the ANOINTED man of God to be God’s Messiah. Or the word Christ can refer to the ANOINTING of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us who is the SAME Holy Spirit who dwelt in Jesus So then, the words Christ IN you mean the SAME anointing of the Holy Spirit who dwelt in Jesus as God being WITH Jesus who was the FATHER dwelling in him. The Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ is referring to the SAME anointing of the Holy Spirit who dwelt in Jesus to WHOM Jesus is telling what to speak to us. Jesus also DESCRIBES the Holy Spirit as living water and a well springing up in us. These are terms describing HOW the Holy Spirit himself works in us to come out of us to overflow upon us with the presence of God all over us. Please read the following verses of Scripture. John 4:10,13,14, “Jesus answered and said unto her, If you knew the GIFT of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; you would have asked of him, and he would have GIVEN you living water… ...13. Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinks of this water shall thirst again: 14. But whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” A WELL of water can be drawn up anytime we are THIRSTY of God. We can STIR UP the GIFT of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us like a well to drink or the Spirit to be REFRESHED anew with the PRESENCE of God coming OUT of us to flow all over us. That is what the Bible calls being FILLED with the Holy Spirit or being BAPTIZED or submerged in the Holy Spirit and being “drunk” not with wine but with the Holy Spirit. John 7:37-39. “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38. He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, OUT of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” Isaiah 58:11. “And the LORD shall guide you continually, and satisfy your SOUL in drought, and make fat your bones: and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.” Paul teaches us to be filled with the Holy Spirit speaking to Christians who have ALREADY been filled with the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18-20. “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; (The phrase “BE FILLED” LITERALLY means be being filled with the Spirit to be filled again and again with the Holy Spirit anytime you desire to feel the JOY and the presence of God. A person does NOT STAY drunk with wine and a believer does not remain FULL of the Holy Spirit to the overflowing joy unspeakable and full of glory. But rather a believer must STIR UP the Holy Spirit dwelling in them to speak in other tongues AS the SPIRIT GIVES them the utterance. And “nature” cannot give believers the utterance to speak in other tongues. Only the PERSON of the Holy Spirit can give Believers the utterance to magnify God in other tongues and spiritual songs from our hearts) 19. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;”
So I have learned to stir up the gift of the Holy Spirit living in me until that well of my heart of living Spirit LIKE water to rise up in me and flows out of me LIKE rivers of living water all over me. In other words, any Christians can be filled with the Holy Spirit over and over again and again as often as they become thirsty for more of God. Please read the study, “STIR UP THE GIFT THAT IS WITHIN YOU!” Now, some Christians, such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and SOME Biblical Unitarian Christians, will argue that the Holy Spirit is NOT a PERSON because the Greek word translated as the spirit is gender-neutral meaning that GRAMATICALLY speaking the spirit is referred to by the pronoun “IT” in the GREEK language. So to THEM, the Holy Spirit cannot be a PERSON. But yet Biblical Unitarians agree that Almighty God who is SPIRIT and thus the Father is a HE because OTHER VERSES clearly SHOW us that the Father who is Spirit is indeed a PERSON. Here is a quote from a Biblical Unitarian who INSISTS that the Holy Spirit is NOT a person because the Greek word itself is gender-neutral and because he personally believes that God can NOT divide himself up into little pieces and still be God dwelling in believers. And therefore, to HIM, and some other Biblical Unitarians, the Holy Spirit dwelling in believers is a THING that they call the “NATURE” of God dwelling in us. BUT they also believe that the Eternal Spirit who is God himself is a PERSON called the Father. The emphasis highlighted in colors yellow, orange, light blue, and green is mine. “Since the Greek word pneuma for spirit is grammatically neuter, then in the same language, the pronoun referring to the Holy Spirit under that name should also be grammatically neuter. However, the Greek word parakletos, which is translated “Counselor,” “Helper,” “Comforter” and “Advocate” in John chapters 14 to 16 is a masculine word in Greek, and thus is referred to in these chapters by Greek pronouns equivalent to the English “he,” “him,” “his,” “himself,” “who” and “whom,” which are grammatically correct in Greek. But to translate these into English as “he,” “him,” etc., is actually grammatically incorrect and deceptive. For example, you would never translate a particular French sentence into English as “I’m looking for my book so I can read him.” While this grammatical construction makes sense in the French language, it is wrong in English. In the same way, to suppose on this basis that the Holy Spirit is a person to be referred to as “he” or “him” is incorrect. Only if the parakletos or helper were KNOWN to be a person could the use of a gender inflected pronoun justifiably be used in English. And the term parakletos certainly does refer to a person in 1 John 2:1 as it refers directly to Jesus Christ. Many believe that the Comforter is the Holy Spirit as a literal being, and one of the reasons some assume this is because the pronoun “he” has been used since parakletos is masculine. But the Comforter is actually Christ coming to us through the Spirit, that is the Spirit of God, not a literal being. So using pronouns such as “he” or “him” for the Greek word parakletos, being a masculine word would be correct in the sense of physical gender, as Christ through the Spirit is our Comforter.” It seems to me that people get hung up on the word “divide himself up.” Their thought seems to be how can a person divide themselves up and still be the person that they are? A thought for your consideration, we know that we live and move in him. And since God is all around us and in us seeing that we move and have our being in Him then how hard is it to understand God, who is all around us, to also move IN us to be part of one us who believe? Now, this Biblical Unitarian Christian and other Biblical Unitarians as well INTERPRET the Comforter in John 14:16-20 as being Jesus HIMSELF coming to us THROUGH the impersonal NATURE of God that dwells in us and NOT the literally BEING OF God dwelling in us. But is his INTERPRETATION a SOUND Biblical interpretation that does NOT contradict any other verses in the Bible? Let us see what Jesus actually says in John 14:16-23. “And I will pray to the Father, and he shall give you ANOTHER Comforter, that HE may abide with you forever; (Now think this through for yourselves my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible itself says ANOTHER Comforter. Now if so be that this OTHER Comforter is Jesus Christ HIMSELF then that would prove that the Holy Spirit is a PERSON because Jesus is a PERSON. And, therefore, the translators have it CORRECT by saying that the Holy Spirit is a “HE”. Jesus clearly identifies this OTHER Comforter as being the Spirit of truth and NOT as being HIMSELF) 17 EVEN the Spirit of truth; WHOM the world cannot receive, because it sees HIM not, neither knows HIM: but you know HIM; for HE dwells WITH you, and shall be IN you. (So then, even WHILE Jesus was present WITH his disciples the Holy Spirit was ALSO WITH them healing the sick and casting out devils by the SAME Holy Spirit who dwelt IN Jesus whom Jesus identified as being the FATHER who did the WORKS) 18. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. (Biblical Unitarians INTERPRET this verse as Jesus HIMSELF being the ANOTHER COMFORTER in John 14:16 as being the ADVOCATE or COMFORTER in 1 John 2:1. But that is NOT what the CONTEXT teaches us. Keep reading and you will see what I mean) 19. Yet a little while, and the world sees me no more; but YOU SEE ME: because I LIVE, you shall live also. (Jesus showed himself ALIVE for forty days after Almighty God the Father who IS Spirit raised the Son of man from the dead and GAVE him immortality or eternal LIFE to be having in himself even as the Father has LIFE in himself. So verse 18 is NOT speaking of Jesus coming as ANOTHER Comforter who IS the Spirit of TRUTH in John 14:16,17. The Holy Spirit is NOT the ADVOCATE in 1 John 2:1. Keep reading and you will see that I am teaching you the truth of the WHOLE word of Almighty God) 20. At THAT DAY (Speaking of the RESURRECTION day when you shall SEE ME ALIVE forevermore) you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. (Again, Biblical Unitarians INTERPRET this verse to mean that Jesus himself IS the COMFORTER. But that is NOT what this verse is saying, according to the CONTEXT both above and below this verse. ANOTHER Comforter is NOT the SAME Comforter as Jesus in 1 John 2:1. The word comforter means HELPER. Jesus was the comforter during the days of his flesh HELPING his disciples to understand that the ONE TRUE God is the FATHER. And it was the FATHER dwelling IN Jesus who GAVE the WORDS TO the Son of man for Jesus to then speak as God’s prophet, Messiah and teacher. Keep reading) 21. He that has my commandments and keeps them, it is he that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will MANIFEST myself to him. (Or show himself CLEARLY. Make known to his disciples himself more clearly that he is the one prophesied in the Scripture to come. But they did not truly believe UNTIL they SAW with their own eyes the RESURRECTED Messiah showing them many proofs that he is alive never to die again) 22. Judas said unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, HOW is it that you will MANIFEST yourself unto us, and not unto the world? 23. Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and WE will come unto him, and make OUR abode with him.” Now, one interpretation of verse 23 is that BOTH Almighty God and his Son Jesus are IN heaven. And BOTH the Father and the Son will come to the earth at the coming of Jesus. The city of God will remain in the air or in the orbit of the earth and will not come down to the earth until God creates a new heaven and a new earth. And THEN BOTH the Father and the Son will forever ABIDE with the saints or the holy ones made righteous by the shed blood of Jesus and the word of their testimony in the new heavens and the new earth. And that is one way to interpret John 14:23 which says and WE will come unto those who love us and make our ABODE with them who keep the word that Yahweh gave Jesus to give to whosoever BELIEVES unto the end to be saved. Another way to interpret John 14:23 is that BEFORE the cross Yahweh the Father gave Jesus the words to speak. And AFTER the cross the Father GAVE all power and AUTHORITY to Jesus. So now during the age of the church, it is Jesus who is giving the WORDS TO the Holy Spirit FOR the Holy Spirit of the Father dwelling in us SO THAT the Holy Spirit will then speak the words of Jesus to us. The Holy Spirit is NOT some impersonal THING like a microphone that Jesus speaks through. But rather, the Holy Spirit is, INDEED, a PERSON who is a PORTION of the very BEING of Almighty God the Father, the ETERNAL Spirit who we all agree is a PERSON. And that portion of God's Spirit has INTELLIGENCE and NOT an ARTIFICIALLY created intelligence like a computer. SECTION THREE: CAN GOD DIVIDE HIMSELF AND STIIL BE GOD? The MAIN reason that some Biblical Unitarian Christians do NOT believe that the Holy Spirit dwells in believers is that they CLAIM that God can NOT divide himself up into PORTIONS of himself and then send those individual portions of himself to dwell in believers where those PORTIONS of God will still be God. Let us begin this section three in this study of God’s word to learn the SOUND Biblical answer to the question “Is the Holy Spirit God’s nature?” by reading Genesis 6:3 where God’s Spirit will not always strive with man. And then we will read from the book of Hosea that teaches us that Yahweh will not always strive with his people Israel because of their sin of pride. Genesis 6:3. “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.” Now read Hosea 5:5,6,14,15. “And the pride of Israel does testify to his face: therefore, shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them. 6. They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find HIM; HE has withdrawn HIMSELF from them... ...14. For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him. 15. I will go and return to MY place, till they acknowledge their offense, and seek my face: in their affliction, they will seek me early.” Then in Numbers 11:16,17 we see Yahweh telling Moses that he will come down and take OF or divert PART OF the Spirit that is on Moses and then place OF that same Spirit on Moses upon seventy elders of Israel to ALSO have Yahweh’s Holy Spirit upon them as well while the Holy Spirit still yet remained upon Moses. So clearly, God’s Spirit can indeed, be divided up and be placed upon more than one person all at the same time. Here is the definition of the Hebrew word translated as OF the Spirit. H4480 מִנֵּי מִנִּי מִן min minnı̂y minnêy min, min-nee', min-nay' For H4482; properly a PART OF; hence (prepositionally), from or out of in many senses: - above, after, among, at, because of, by (reason of), from (among), in, X neither, X nor, (out) of, over, since, X then, through, X whether, with. Numbers 11:16 ,17. “And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with you. 17. And I will come down and talk with you there: and I will take OF the spirit which is upon YOU, and will put it upon THEM; and YOU shall bear the burden of the people WITH YOU, that YOU bear it not yourself ALONE.” And just using simple logic most people know that a single cell can DIVIDE itself over and over as many times as needed as each cell is the same as the original cell that it was separated from to become the same kind of cell. So since a MERE CREATION OF God can divide itself and still yet remain as the same cell that it once was and the cells it becomes are the same as the original cell then why is it IMPOSSIBLE for the Eternal Spirit to take FROM himself and then give PORTIONS of HIMSELF to dwell in believers having the SAME intelligence, and power as the Father on the throne OF Spirit? In other words, Yahweh rules over himself as well as him ruling over his creation which he created out from himself. Please read Isaiah 11:1-4. “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: (Who we all know is a prophecy of Jesus) 2. And the SPIRIT of the LORD shall rest upon him, the SPIRIT of WISDOM and UNDERSTANDING, the SPIRIT of COUNSEL and MIGHT, the SPIRIT of KNOWLEDGE and of the fear of the LORD; (But NOT the SPIRIT of fear because we have NOT received the spirit of fear which is an evil spirit) 3. And (The Spirit of Yahweh) shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: (How can a NON-PERSON thing such as nature TEACH people?) and he (Jesus) shall NOT judge after the sight of HIS eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of HIS ears: (For you see the Holy Spirit WHO dwelt in Jesus is the TRUE judge, eyes and ears who will judge the world BY the MAN Jesus according to Acts 17:31. Jesus is described in prophecy as being the ARM OF Yahweh who will rule FOR Yahweh for 1000 years in the world to come. But Jesus is NOT a NON-PERSON just because he is described as the ARM of Yahweh. So just because the Holy Spirit is DESCRIBED as the FINGER of God does not demand that the Holy Spirit is a NON-PERSON as some Christians insist) 4. But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.” Now let us read Acts 10:37-43 which is the fulfillment of Yahweh ANOINTING the Son of man, Jesus. We can see that that it was Almighty God dwelling IN Jesus who did the works of healing. The Holy Spirit told Jesus where to go, what to say and what to do. And by faith Jesus OBEYED the leading of the Holy Spirit. And you do not obey the NATURE of a being. Acts 10:37-43. “That word, I say, you know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; 38. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. 39. And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: 40. Him God raised up the third day, and showed him openly; 41. Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.” 42. And he commanded us to preach unto the people and to testify that it is HE which was ORDAINED of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. 43. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believes in him shall receive remission of sins.”
Even just a small portion of God's Holy Spirit dwelling in Jesus that Jesus likens to the FINGER of God in Luke 11:20 was more than enough God dwelling in Jesus to accomplish the task that God commissioned the Son of Man, Jesus, to do. And a FINGER of a person is a PART OF the person and NOT some NATURE of a person. Luke 11:20. “But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God has come upon you.” The same account in Matthew 12:28. “But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come unto you.” A finger of God is a PORTION of God. During the days of his FLESH, Jesus had the same measure of the EARNEST of the Holy Spirit that we have today. And even just a small portion of God is far more than enough of God to accomplish all that God leads us to do. Again, some prophecies referring to Jesus describes Jesus as the ARM of the Lord and that does NOT make Jesus to NOT be a PERSON. Isaiah 40:10, “Behold, the Lord GOD will come WITH a strong hand, and HIS ARM shall rule FOR HIM: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.” The Oneness Christians argue that Jesus is just a BODY with ALL of Almighty God dwelling in a body of flesh. But in truth, it was AFTER the cross that Jesus was GLORIFIED with the FULNESS of the Godhead BODILY Jesus was GIVEN the SAME LIFE of the Father to be HAVING in HIMSELF. SECTION FOUR: The Holy Spirit has INTELLIGENCE to HEAR, and SPEAK what Jesus gives him to speak to believers. The following verses of Scripture prove that the Holy Spirit is a PERSON because just a POWER, FORCE or NATURE are THINGS and things do not speak, lead, guide, command, and hear. You cannot grieve and lie to nature or power but you can grieve and lie to the PERSON of the Holy Spirit. Act 13:1-3. “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost SAID, Separate ME Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. 3. And when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.” Mark 13:11. “But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what you shall speak, neither do you premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is NOT you that SPEAK, but the Holy Ghost.” Now read the same account in Matthew 10:19,20. “But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what you shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what you shall speak. 20. For it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which SPEAKS IN you.” How could nature KNOW that three men were seeking Peter? How could a NON-PERSON know that things that the earnest of the Holy Spirit knows and then SPEAKS to the hearts of believers? Acts 10:19. “While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit SAID unto him, Behold, three men seek you .” How could a non-person thing know that a chariot was coming down the road? How could a non-person nature know the heart of the man on the chariot was seeking an understanding of the book of Isaiah? Acts 8:29. “Then the Spirit SAID unto Philip, Go near, and join yourself to this chariot.” How could a non-person thing like nature and power know that Peter was doubting the vision that God gave to him and commands Peter to not doubt what the Holy Spirit has just revealed to him in the vision and to obey what the Holy Spirit is telling him to do? The word bade carries the meaning of the Spirit commanded Peter to go. Acts 11:12. “And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover, these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered the man's house:” How can one lie to a portion of God’s NATURE if so be that God’s nature is NOT a PERSON? And how could Peter know that Satan was tempting the heart of Ananias to keep some of the money and lie about it if so be that the Holy Spirit is a non-person thing such as God’s nature or some power used by God? Act 5:3,4. “But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to LIE TO the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4. Whiles 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.” SECTION FIVE: GRAMMATICAL CORRECTNESS is sometimes STRAINING at the GNAT. Please consider the following verses IF we always followed grammatical correctness which is the MAIN argument used by Biblical Unitarians to CLAIM that the Holy Spirit dwelling in believers is NOT a PERSON... For you see if grammatical correctness demands to be followed in every verse it would bring so much confusion that Christians would not know if Almighty God the Father is a he, she, or an “it”. Colossians 1:18,19. “And he is the head (The Greek word translated as “head” is a feminine noun therefore according the grammatical correctness that the pronoun “he” MUST be incorrect and should be the pronoun “she”. That is how ridiculous to ME, that the Biblical Unitarian argument is that the Holy Spirit must be referred to using the pronoun “IT” when the verses referring to the INDWELLING Holy Spirit because in the GREEK it is GRAMMATICALLY correct to do so. Well then, it is grammatically correct in the GREEK to refer to Jesus the SON of God with the pronoun “she”. And SHE in the HEAD) of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (To me it is stupidity to call Jesus a ‘he” in some verses and then call Jesus as “SHE” in other verses when it is “grammatically correct” in the GREEK to do so. That is straining at the Gnat theology to me) 19. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;”
And what about Colossians 2:9,10 where Almighty God the FATHER should be called a “SHE” as well because it is “grammatically correct” to do so in the GREEK. For you see, the Greek noun translated as Godhead in the King James Bible is a FEMININE noun which also means DEITY. So Almighty God the FATHER being DEITY must be a FEMALE God using this kind of ILLOGICAL reasoning. Let me show you just how illogical it is. Some Biblical Unitarians INSIST that the word spirit must be referred to by the pronoun “IT” and thus, to THEM the earnest of the Holy Spirit dwelling in believers is the NATURE of God and NOT a person. But the Greek word “NATURE” is a FEMININE noun and last I heard a female is a living BEING or person Also, the Greek word translated as DIVINE nature in 2 Peter 1:4 is a FEMININE noun as well. So according to their being grammatically correct, theory, we should be referring to the DIVINE FATHER as being a SHE because in the Hebrew language the word for Spirit is a FEMININE gender noun. Again, the Holy Spirit is NOT just some POWER that is used by God but rather the Holy Spirit is the SOURCE OF the power according to Zechariah 4:6. Zechariah 4:6. “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, NOT by might, nor by power, BUT BY MY SPIRIT, says the LORD of hosts.” Just this one verse of Scripture alone teaches us that the gift of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us is NOT just some NON-person thing such as God's nature or some impersonal power that is used BY God. But rather the Holy Spirit dwelling in us is a PORTION or the earnest of God himself dwelling in us WHO IS the SOURCE OF the power and the might, Amen! For even MORE Scriptures that prove that the Eternal Holy Spirit IS the Father and thus a PERSON please read the studies under the heading >>>WHO OR WHAT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?<<< Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God the FATHER who IS Spirit. Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark. RETURN TO HOMEPAGE AT . |
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