SPELLING EDITED M-12. BIBLICAL UNITARIAN VIEW of Holy Spirit! A dear brother in the Lord wrote to me concerned about my viewpoint of who the Holy Spirit is. He is a Biblical Unitarian. We disagree on some points as to who is the Holy Spirit or what is the Holy Spirit. We both AGREE that the Holy Spirit is, indeed, a PERSON but the Holy Spirit is NOT a THIRD person of a Godhead Trinity God, where the one God is made up of three separate distinctly different persons. He has written a few times in the past to discuss this subject of the Holy Spirit saying that I do not understand the DIFFERENCE between how the words Spirit, spirit, Holy Spirit, and holy spirit are used in the Bible. His main point was that I do not understand the DIFFERENCE between the Father being the Holy Spirit and the holy spirit empowering believers. I THOUGHT I explained myself quite well, but evidently, I did not. And after several months of not hearing from him again, he sent me an article written by a Biblical Unitarian which makes a DISTINCTION between that Holy Spirit and the holy spirit. The article spent a great detail of time on there being no capital letters in the original Hebrew and Greek which I knew already. The article explained that translators do make mistakes at times which, again, something that I already knew. The article finally came around to making the point that the GIFT of the holy spirit is incorrectly written as Holy Spirit with a capital “H” and a capital “S” in some Bibles when these words should have been written as “holy” spirit with a lower case “h” and a lower case “s” to distinguish the holy spirit from the Holy Spirit. In other words, to Biblical Unitarians, “holy spirit” is an “IT” while the “Holy Spirit” that is correctly translated with a capital “H” and a capital “S” is a “HE”, as in, the Holy Spirit is one and the self-same being as Almighty God the Father. Simply put THE Holy Spirit IS the Father. BUT holy spirit is a GIFT from the Father. And, therefore, to Biblical Unitarians, “holy spirit” is as “IT” while the “Holy Spirit” is a “HE”. Now, to be fair, the article does NOT come right and point blanks say that the holy spirit is an “IT”. But rather, they say that the GIFE of the holy spirit is the PORTION of the NATURE of God. And when I read the WORD “nature” I myself, do not think of nature as being a “HE”. So I apologize to my dear brother in the Lord and to all Biblical Unitarians for ASSUMING that you are calling the GIFT of the holy spirit an “IT” by teaching that the gift of the holy spirit is a portion of God's nature. Anyway, the Biblical Unitarian line of reasoning is that a “PERSON” cannot SEND parts or portions of himself to dwell in many millions of believers. So with that line of reasoning, they concluded that the GIFT of “holy spirit” is an “IT”. Sorry, the gift of the holy spirit is a portion of God's NATURE, at least, according to Biblical Unitarians. And according to ME, Biblical Unitarians, and most importantly, the Bible ITSELF, THE Holy Spirit IS the Father, Almighty God himself. For all the verses of Scripture that clearly teach us that the Holy Spirit IS the Father and NOT some THIRD person of a Godhead Trinity God please read the study “THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE FATHER!” MY PLEA TO BIBLICAL UNITARIANS! Now, my line of reasoning is that Biblical Unitarians sincerely desire to REACH Trinitarians with the TRUTH that the doctrine of the Trinity is NOT sound Biblical teaching because it CONTRADICTS many verses in the Bible. And in their ZEAL to prove that the Holy Spirit is NOT a THIRD person of a so-called Godhead Trinity God they took the verses that SEEM as if the Holy Spirit is an “IT” when, in fact, there can only be ONE Holy Spirit. And whether those words are capitalized or not, “holy spirit” IS just as much Almighty God as the Holy Spirit. And to ME, Almighty God is NEVER an “IT”. Here is what I KNOW from my personal experience as once being a Trinitarian. Almost every Trinitarian Christian, EVEN IF they are ALREADY questioning the doctrine of the Trinity, if they come across an article, a book, a Bible study on the Internet, a video on YouTube, or even a face to face in-person teaching and they find that teaching evening HINTING at the Holy Spirit as being an “IT” or an impersonal substance such as a force, or just a power used by God then they will NOT trust one word those teachers have to say. That is how MUCH Trinitarians dislike the Holy Spirit as being referred to as an “IT”. For you see, ALL Trinitarians KNOW full well that “holy spirit” is the SAME as the Holy Spirit who they KNOW is a PERSON. So to THEM, for someone to refer to the Holy Spirit or “holy spirit” as an “IT” or a “POWER” used by God is BLASPHEMY in their eyes. And I have to agree with them on this point. Please understand that I am NOT suggesting any Bible teacher to become a MAN-pleaser and water down the word of TRUTH. I have clearly shown in the studies that I have written that the Bible ITSELF does NOT teach us of a THIRD person WITHOUT trying to use the argument that there is a DIFFERENCE between how the words, spirit, Spirit, holy spirit and Holy Spirit are used in the Bible. So to all my dear brothers and sisters who are Biblical Unitarian Christians, IF you TRULY want to REACH Trinitarian Christians with the TRUTH that the Holy Spirit is NOT a THIRD person of a Godhead Trinity God then I IMPLORE you to EDIT the studies you have written and STOP calling the Holy Spirit an “IT”. Sorry, again. Stop referring to the holy spirit as the gift of God's NATURE. Let me give you a quote from part of the Biblical Unitarian article that this 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 nature. I assume it 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 a “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.” 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 is ONE being. And God gives believers a PORTION OF HIS OWN Spirit “being” AS his GIFT to dwell in true believers 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.
As to my apology to Biblical Unitarians, I apologize for recommending Biblical Unitarianism to my readers WITH the contingency that I do NOT believe EVERYTHING that Biblical Unitarianism teaches. I do NOT want to discourage my readers in any way to avoid becoming a Biblical Unitarian. In fact, I truly believe that Biblical Unitarianism is the most CORRECT sound Biblical group of Christians there is that are of a substantial number. What I mean by this is that I am just one person, and I do not know of anyone except perhaps one other person who agrees with everything I teach. And even he does not see perfectly eye to eye with me on everything I teach. But there are many Biblical Unitarians. And yes, not ALL Biblical Unitarians agree with each other either. The point of my apology to Biblical Unitarians is that I WANT my readers to know that I sincerely believe that Biblical Unitarianism is closer to the truth, except perhaps me, than any other teaching out there. And prayerfully someday Biblical Unitarians will unite to become a church denomination stating all of what Biblical Unitarians believe in a “tenets” of faith. Also, after reading the above paragraph highlighted in yellow that I quoted FROM the Biblical Unitarian article sent to me, I can now see that, well, at least the Biblical Unitarian who wrote the Biblical Unitarian article that was sent to me, I can now see that Biblical Unitarians believe what I myself believe about the EARNEST of the Holy Spirit being GIVEN to believers to empower us to do the SAME works that Jesus did THROUGH the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling IN him. Let me quote that article again without the highlighting and without the part that I DISAGREE with. Again, the emphasis is mine and what is in parenthesis highlighted in blue is mine that I added. “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.”
Again, personally, I would NOT use the word “NATURE” because it could be misunderstood as God’s character or God’s DIVINITY that we possess as our own. Please read 2 Peter 1:4 where we, as faithful believers who endure unto the end WILL be given God’s DIVINE NATURE of IMMORTALITY at the coming of Jesus if we endure unto the end to be saved to receive the end of our salvation.
2 Peter 1:4.
“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the DIVINE NATURE, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust”
Right now, we have the EARNEST of LIFE dwelling in us, the SAME QUICKENING Spirit of LIFE that dwelt IN Jesus that RAISED Jesus from the DEAD. But we have not yet received the divine nature of immortality which is what 2 Peter 1:4 is teaching us, according to the context. In other words, 2 Peter 1:4 is NOT teaching us that the divine nature is RECEIVED when we first believed in Jesus as our Savior. Yes, we received LIFE to dwell in us but not the TOTALITY of the divine nature that 2 Peter 1:4 is teaching. We receive the ABILITY to BECOME the sons and daughters of God when we first believed. And likewise, we received the ABILITY through the power of the Eternal Spirit to overcome sin to possess the nature of GODLINESS in this present world when we OBEY the leading of the Holy Spirit to walk in the light and NOT walk in darkness. So the totality of God's divine nature is the GOAL that we are headed TOWARDS. Jesus was not given the totality of God's LIFE until after God raised the Son of man from the dead and gave him the divine nature of immortality.
Please read Romans 8:8-11.
“So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9. But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God DWELLS IN you. Now if any man has NOT the Spirit of Christ, (Speaking of the SAME Holy Spirit who DWELT IN the Son of man, Jesus, the anointed man of God) he is none of his. 10. And if Christ (Or if the ANOINTING of the Holy Spirit) be IN you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit IS LIFE because OF righteousness. 11. But if the Spirit of him (Speaking of the Holy Spirit of Almighty God the Father) that raised up Jesus from the dead DWELL IN YOU, HE (The Spirit of LIFE that DWELT IN Jesus Christ) that raised up Christ from the dead shall ALSO quicken your mortal bodies BY his Spirit (QUICKENING LIFE) that DWELLS IN you.”
My point that I am making to my dear Biblical Unitarian brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, is that Jesus called the PORTION, the EARNEST of the Eternal Spirit, dwelling IN him as being the FATHER. And to me, the Father is a “HE” and NOT an “IT” or a “nature”. Now, obviously, Jesus never intended his words to mean that the totality of the Father dwelt in him because he prayed to his Father in heaven. But yet, Jesus called the Eternal Spirit dwelling in him, the FATHER. Biblical Unitarians teach that the Father is a person and the holy spirit with a lower case “h” and a lower case “s” is NOT a person but rather the “nature” of God. And I myself STRONGLY disagree with that interpretation of the Scriptures because when I myself read the word nature I think of nature as being an IMPERSONAL IT and not a portion of the divine BEING of Almighty God Himself. So then, to all my other readers, whoever tells you that the Holy Spirit is an “IT” or simply a “POWER” or some other word that coveys to YOU as being an impersonal thing that is used by God then do NOT believe them. And I leave it to YOU, my readers and seekers of the TRUTH, what do YOU say that the word “nature” means to YOU? When you read the word nature do you think in your mind that nature is a “he” or an “it”? Now some Christians may argue and say that Jesus himself received ALL the Holy Spirit because the Bible says in John 3:34 that Jesus received the Spirit WITHOUT or NOT with MEASURE. But if you look closer at that verse of Scripture you will find that the words “to him” are NOT in the original Greek text. So then, John 3:24 is actually saying that God gives his Spirit without measure, PERIOD. Meaning to ME, that God gives his Holy Spirit without measure to every person who is given the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit is not given a different measure to some believers than God Gives to other believers in Jesus. We are all dealt the SAME measure of faith so why would God have partiality of persons to give one believer more Holy Spirit than another believer. Some Christians MISUSE John 3:24 to claim the ONLY Jesus can live without sin. Also, Colossians 2:9 is speaking of AFTER the Son of Man, Jesus, was GLORIFIED to receive the COMPLETENESS of the Father to abide in him BODILY, as in, Jesus NOW has the divine nature of immortality. But DURING the days of his flesh Jesus only had a PORTION of God dwelling in him. But that is another study for another day. The purpose of this study in God's word is to learn WHAT IS the difference between the EARNEST of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit. So the questions become. #1. The Biblical Unitarian view. Is the GIFT or is the EARNEST of the Holy Spirit just the NATURE of God and NOT a portion of the Holy Spirit himself? Or. #2. My view. Is the GIFT or is the EARNEST of the Holy Spirit a PORTION of Almighty God himself given to us as God's gift to empower us to do all that God asks and requires of us? Basically, I am asking the question, IS the earnest of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us a portion of God himself or just a portion of God's nature, power, presence, holiness, and whatever else nature means to Biblical Unitarians? Does nature have INTELLIGENCE to speak, lead, guide, and do all the things that the Holy Spirit does? Or is the holy spirit a PRODUCT of God, something that God produces like men produce power and NOT a portion of Almighty God Himself? Let us see what the Bible ITSELF teaches us.
Please read 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 DWELLS IN me, HE does the works.” And the SAME PORTION OF the ONE ETERNAL Holy Spirit who dwelt IN Jesus now dwells in us as believers in Jesus. In other words, Almighty GOD HIMSELF dwells in us just the SAME as Almighty God the FATHER dwelt in Jesus. The Holy Spirit dwelling in believers is called God and NOT God's NATURE in several verses of Scripture. Please read the following verses of Scripture. 1 Corinthians 3:16. “Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” 1 Corinthians 3:17. “If any man defiles the temple of God, him, shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” 1 Corinthians 6:19. “What? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own?” 2 Corinthians 6:16. “And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? for you are the temple of the LIVING God; as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk-in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” So how can Biblical Unitarians say that God is a “HE” but then turn right around and CONTRADICT themselves to say that “holy” spirit is DIFFERENT from the Holy Spirit? And that “holy” spirit dwelling in believers is an “IT” or a portion of the NATURE of God? But yet the Bible itself teaches us that the Holy Spirit IS the Eternal God who is a “HE”. Sorry, but I myself see NO difference EXCEPT that the Father is ALL of Spirit and the EARNEST of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us is just a PORTION of God's Spirit that Jesus likens to just a FINGER of God. The Bible teaches us that there is only ONE Spirit and that God is Spirit. So to me, the ONE Holy Spirit is Almighty God Himself in ONE person. So I myself do not see the DIFFERENCE that Biblical Unitarians are seeing. Especially when Biblical Unitarians agree with what the Bible ITSELF teaches that God gives a PORTION of HIMSELF as the EARNEST of HIS Spirit to dwell in us. I only desire that ALL Christians speak the SAME things but I myself MUST teach only what the Bible ITSELF teaches. And the Bible ITSELF teaches us in 2 Corinthians 2:16 “AS God has said, I will DWELL IN them” So if God INTENDED that the PORTION of HIMSELF be called an “IT” or a portion of his NATURE then he would have said something like, “AS God has said IT will dwell in them” or “AS God has said a portion of my NATURE with dwell in them.” But that is NOT what the Scriptures teach us. God said I will dwell in them. The LIVING God dwells in us. So to me, the line of reasoning that a PERSON cannot divide themself up and send out portions of themself does NOT mean that the Almighty God Himself who is only DESCRIBED by men as being a “PERSON” cannot do what a human person cannot do. I personally believe that God is SPIRIT, the SOURCE of ALL LIFE. Spirit is LIFE. Spirit is ONE BEING that is present everywhere because everything is created out from or out of Spirit. I believe that there is the “MIND” of Spirit where God, the Eternal Spirit being, processes his THOUGHTS which I see as being the FATHER or the HEAD of Spirit much like our BRAIN controls our body or the rest of our BEING. So then, the FATHER who sits on the THRONE of Spirit is the RULER of His OWN BEING which is Spirit. Please understand that this is my own personal THEORY. I am NOT asking you to believe my theory or even my interpretations of the Scripture for that matter. The purpose of this study in God's word is my PLEA to Biblical Unitarians to put yourself in the shoes of Trinitarian Christians. In other words, try to read what you teach through the eyes of Trinitarian Christians if you TRULY want to reach Trinitarians with the truth of God's word that the Holy Spirit is NOT a THIRD person of a Trinity Godhead. For you see, Trinitarian Christians will never see the “earnest” of the Holy Spirit as being an IMPERSONAL thing. To them and to me the GIFT of the Holy Spirit is a portion of God HIMSELF dwelling in us. However, Trinitarian Christians see the Holy Spirit as a separate distinctly different person from the Father and the Son. Whereas, I myself see the Holy Spirit as a PORTION OF Almighty God the Father. So then, I believe that there is a PART of Spirit being that has a FORM that sits on the throne of Spirit being which the Bible calls the Father. And I believe that this theory can, indeed, be supported by Scripture. But that is another study for another day. The Bible itself teaches us that the Holy Spirit dwelling IN believers speaks, hears, teaches, leads, guides, reproves or condemns, admonishes, reveals faults, and rebukes. The Holy Spirit obeys Jesus to teach us what Jesus gives the Holy Spirit to teach. The Holy Spirit raises to DEAD, and HE can ALSO be GRIEVED. And verses in the gospel of John call the Holy Spirit a “HE” which I totally understand that the pronoun use is up to the translators. And thus, the verses in the gospel of John could just as easily been translated as “IT”. But LOGICALLY can an “IT” teach? Can a portion of the “NATURE” of God teach? Does holiness have intelligence in itself? Can POWER teach? Can an “IT” convict us of sin? Can a portion of the “NATURE” of God convict us of sin? Can an “IT” be GRIEVED? Can a portion of the “NATURE of God be GRIEVED? Let us read some MORE verses of Scripture which clearly teach ME, that the Holy Spirit dwelling in believers is a “HE” and NOT an “IT” or some portion of God's NATURE. For you see, the earnest of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us does all those things and more. The truth of the matter is that God's NATURE is ETERNAL nature. God's nature is holiness and in Him is no darkness at all. And at the coming of Jesus, we who believe and endure unto the end will be made partakers of the DIVINE NATURE of immortality. The Bible says that God will dwell in us and that we are the temple of God and NOT that we are the temple of God's NATURE. John 14:16,17. “And I will pray to the Father, and HE shall give you another Comforter, that HE (Speaking of Almighty God the FATHER, as in, the EARNEST of His Holy Spirit) may abide with you forever; (Now, I myself see this verse saying that the Father, who we know is God, will give believers a PORTION of HIMSELF that will be called another Comforter to be with us always as our teacher since Jesus will be IN heaven. And God gives us this EARNEST OF HIMSELF who will dwell IN us so that HE, Almighty God the FATHER HIMSELF can be WITH us. The word another is referring to another person other than Jesus because Jesus is leaving. In other words, the word another does not demand that the Holy Spirit dwelling in us is some so-called THIRD person of a Godhead Trinity God) 17. Even the Spirit of truth; (Is not God Himself the Spirit of truth, as in, the PORTION of God or the EARNEST of the LIFE of God Himself) WHOM the world cannot receive, because it sees (Or understands) HIM not, neither knows HIM: (Or perceives God to be true) but you know him; for HE dwells WITH you, (Now) and shall be IN you.” John 15:26. “But when the Comforter has come, WHOM I will send unto you FROM the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, HE shall testify of me:” Now, WHO does Jesus say bears WITNESS of him as being God’s Messiah that God sent? Did not Jesus say that TWO witnesses are TRUE? Let us read those verses of Scripture to refresh your memory. John 8:16-18. “And yet if I judge, my judgment is TRUE: for I am not ALONE, (Because the ANOINTING of the Holy Spirit was DWELLING IN the Son of man, Jesus. Please notice WHO Jesus IDENTIFIES the Holy Spirit who is with him, not only being IN him but ALSO being all around him REPROVING the world or CONVINCING the unsaved that Jesus is God’s Messiah) but I and the FATHER that sent me. (And NOT I, the Father, and the Holy Spirit, but rather only TWO “persons”) 17. It is also written in your law, that the testimony of TWO men is TRUE. 18. I am ONE that bears witness of myself, AND the FATHER that sent me bears witness of me.” And the Holy Spirit who dwells in us bears witness to us that Jesus is, INDEED, the Christ, the Son of the living God. The SAME portion of the Father who dwelt in Jesus now dwells in us who believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. John 16:12-15. “I (Jesus) have YET many things to say (Or to TEACH) unto you, but you cannot BEAR them NOW. (The ALL Jewish followers of Jesus would NOT have continued to follow Jesus IF Jesus told them when he was WITH them face to face that they are NO LONGER to KEEP the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES if they want to receive eternal life in the world to come. They could NOT BEAR the TRUTH at that time. But later, Jesus would TEACH them this truth THROUGH the PERSON of the Holy Spirit who takes what Jesus gives HIM to speak and the Holy Spirit obeys Jesus to TEACH what Jesus gives to HIM to teach us) 13. Howbeit when HE, the Spirit of truth, is come, HE will GUIDE you into all truth: for HE shall not speak of HIMSELF; but whatsoever HE shall HEAR, THAT shall HE SPEAK: and HE will SHOW you things to come. (Speaking of the TRUTH that the all Jewish followers could NOT YET BEAR but later they could understand the TRUTH that Jesus ABOLISHED the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES on the cross) 14. HE shall glorify ME: (And WHO did Jesus himself bears witness of the Son? Was it the FATHER who did not leave him ALONE? Or was there a THIRD witness called the Comforter? Come on, Biblical Unitarian Christians, THINK for yourselves. IF the Holy Spirit dwelling in us is NOT the Father but an “IT” then you just created a different kind of “Trinity”. So QUIT calling the Holy Spirit an “IT” which you argue that should be written as holy spirit and read these verses as they are CORRECTLY translated as the Holy Spirit as being a “HE”. NOT a THIRD he but the ONE he who ALONE is the one true and only Almighty God, the FATHER) for HE shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. 15. All things that the Father (The ONE Eternal Spirit) has are mine: (Because the Father GAVE all power and authority TO me) therefore, said I, that HE shall take of mine, and (HE) shall show it unto you.” Can you not see that everything that Jesus spoke and taught was GIVEN TO him BY Almighty God the Father WHO DWELT IN him? And AFTER the cross, Almighty God the Father GAVE the same divine LIFE of immortality TO the Son of MAN Jesus to be having in himself even as the Father has always had eternal life in Himself? And NOW, the highly exalted Son of Man, Jesus is doing the TEACHING FOR the Father. In other words, Jesus is now telling the eternal Spirit what to say and teach because Jesus has EXPERIENCED the same temptations that ALL humans experience. NOT because Jesus is greater and knows more than the Father. But rather, Jesus having been a MORTAL human being and he KNOWS how to help humans because he SUFFERED the same temptations being tempted in ALL POINTS like we are tempted. And since God himself can NOT be tempted that is why Jesus is now telling the SAME portion of the Holy Spirit WHO dwelt in him what to say and teach to us. Jesus would never teach us anything that is NOT God's will. Jesus has been given this authority to be the MEDIATOR BETWEEN God and men. Jesus glorified the Father during the days of his flesh and the Father from HEAVEN glorified him. And now that same Holy Spirit glorifies HIS Son, Jesus through the Scriptures in the New Testament under the New Covenant and also bears WITNESS IN believes that Jesus is the Son of the living God. John 16:7,8. “Nevertheless I (Jesus) tell you the TRUTH; (That the Father told me to tell you) 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. 8. And when HE has come, HE will REPROVE the world of sin, and (HE will CONVINCE the world) of righteousness, and (HE will convict the world) of judgment:” Here is the meaning of the Greek word translated as “reprove” in verse 8. G1651 ἐλέγχω elegchō el-eng'-kho Of uncertain affinity; to confute, admonish: - convict, convince, tell a fault, rebuke, reprove. Total KJV occurrences: 17 Do you remember Jesus saying that he was going to the Father so that we could be WHERE he is? Some Christians interpret those words of Jesus to mean that Jesus was speaking of a MANSION up in heaven. But that is NOT what Jesus intended his words to mean. The CONTEXT of John 13:36 all the way through to John 16:33 is speaking of the Holy Spirit DWELLING IN believers. And HE is the SAME Holy Spirit WHO dwelt IN the Son of man, Jesus. To say this another way, Jesus went to the CROSS to prepare us to be CLEAN TEMPLES for a PORTION of the Holy Spirit to dwell in us so that WE are now empowered to do the SAME WORKS that Jesus did THROUGH the Eternal Spirit WHO dwelt in him. Please read the study “THE POWER AND THE AUTHORITY OF THE BELIEVER!” The power with the authority over the enemy is the MANSION or the abiding place for the Holy Spirit that Jesus prepared for us on the cross so that we could be where he was and is. Jesus prepared a CLEAN place for the Holy Spirit to dwell in. Romans 8:11 which we already read in its context. “But if the Spirit of him that RAISED UP Jesus from the dead DWELL IN you, (Speaking of the Spirit of LIFE in verse 10) HE that raised up Christ from the dead shall also QUICKEN (Or give IMMORTAL LIFE to) your mortal bodies by his Spirit that DWELLS IN you.” And that is WHY we are WARNED to NOT GRIEVE the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 4:30. “And GRIEVE NOT the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption.” Some Christians INTERPRET this verse to mean that Christians can NEVER lose their salvation EVEN IF they DENY Jesus because, to THEM, Christians are SEALED by the Holy Spirit, as in, Christians are PERMANENTLY secured and preserved SAVED UNTO the day of redemption. Well, that is NOT what this verse is teaching us. WHY would Paul WARN us to NOT GRIEVE the Holy Spirit dwelling in us? The reason is that we do not actually RECEIVE eternal life UNTIL the Day of Redemption AT the coming of Jesus. You see, the Greek word translated as “sealed” ALSO means to “ATTEST”. And the English word attest means to provide or serve as clear EVIDENCE of something. And that EVIDENCE of something, in this case, is the EVIDENCE that the Holy Spirit records that will be used either FOR us or AGAINST us DEPENDING on the EVIDENCE. That is WHY Jesus warned us that ONLY those who ENDURE unto the END will be SAVED. ONLY FAITHFUL Christians will be granted the right to eat from the tree of LIFE. Please read all the studies under the heading >>>CAN WE LOSE ETERNAL LIFE?<<< But for now, let us continue with this study in God’s word that clearly teaches us that the Holy Spirit is NOT an “IT” or a portion of God's NATURE. 1 John 2:27. “But the ANOINTING which you have received of him ABIDES IN you, (Or DWELLS IN you) and you need NOT that any man teaches you: but as the SAME ANOINTING (Dwelling IN you) TEACHES you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, you shall abide in HIM.” Now here we see that the translator made an error by using both pronouns “IT” and “HIM” to refer back to the SAME Holy Spirit ANOINTING who dwells IN believer WHO TEACHES us. The translators realized that Christians can NOT dwell IN an “IT” so they correctly used the personal pronoun HIM. But they INCORRECTLY used the IMPERSONAL pronoun “IT” has TAUGHT you. Now, I realize that an impersonal computer can be used to teach people. But that impersonal computer was PROGRAMMED what to teach. And while INDIVIDUAL verses can be explained away to make them FIT a personal interpretation of the Scriptures, the WHOLE word of God cannot be explained away to try and make some verses mean that the Holy Spirit is definitely, without fail, a “HE” while the holy spirit is an “IT” simply because of the line of reasoning that a HUMAN “PERSON” cannot give PORTIONS of himself and still live. But MORTAL persons are NOT God. And God is NOT a man or a human mortal person. Have you ever seen under a microscope a cell DIVIDING? Did that cell that divided into two cells DIE? Did that cell that divided into another cell CHANGE to be LESS of a cell than it was originally? NO! Then WHY do Biblical Unitarians teach that the PERSON of God, the Holy Spirit, who is the ALMIGHTY God HIMSELF who is the CREATOR of that cell can NOT DIVIDE HIMSELF? Let me say this another way. We know that a single cell can divide itself into two cells and keep on dividing and dividing to infinity if needed. So why is it impossible for YOU who are Biblical Unitarians to see and understand that nothing is impossible with God? WHY can the CREATOR Himself of that cell NOT be able to do what one of His creations can do? The EARNEST of the Holy Spirit WHO dwells in us will either REMAIN as our own PLUS a whole lot MORE of God on our Day of Judgment AT the coming of Jesus. OR the earnest of the Holy Spirit will RETURN BACK to God IF a true born-again Christian is found UNWORTHY to receive the DIVINE NATURE of IMMORTALITY at the coming of Jesus. God will not only divide asunder the spirit of life connected to each individual SOUL of ALL UNSAVED human beings who will be JUDGED as being UNWORTHY to receive immortality IF they remain unsaved and die physically unsaved. But God will ALSO separate that same life-giving spirit connected to the soul of UNFAITHFUL Christians. And God who has given the EARNEST of His Spirit to every believer the very moment that they believed in Jesus as their Savior will ALSO take back that earnest of his Spirit from the UNFAITHFUL Christians when they are judged. In other words, the doctrine of once saved always saved is NOT SOUND Biblical teaching. It is a very DANGEROUS FALSE teaching. So I IMPLORE all my readers to be rooted and ground in the word of TRUTH lest you be deceived by false teachings, especially the false teaching that could cause you to LOSE your salvation. And HOPEFULLY, it is not BLASPHEMING the Holy Spirit by calling HIM an “IT”. Let us read the CONTEXT of where Jesus WARNS to NOT blaspheme the Holy Spirit. Mark 3:22-30. “And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He (Referring to Jesus) has Beelzebub, and BY the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. (Or BY Satan who Jesus HAS is casting out evil spirits BY the EVIL spirit Satan and NOT by the Holy Spirit) 23. And he (Jesus) called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? (Or how can an evil spirit cast out evil spirits?) 24. And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26. And if Satan rises up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. 27. No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. (Jesus is using a physical person to describe the spiritual realm or spiritual unseen invisible kingdom to mortal eyes unless God opens those mortal eyes to see the spiritual realm. So Jesus is describing Satan as a PERSON or an ACTUAL living being and NOT as some symbolic metaphor that supposedly does not really exist) 28. Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: 29. But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost has never forgiveness but is in DANGER of eternal damnation: (That means that those who do NOT CHANGE from blaspheming the Holy Spirit will have no forgiveness. In other words, those who are PRESENTLY blaspheming the Holy Spirit having never REPENTED of blaspheming the Holy Spirit are in DANGER of eternal damnation UNTIL they repent of blaspheming the Holy Spirit) 30. Because they SAY, He HAS (Beelzebub or Satan) an unclean spirit.” Let us go ahead and read another account in Matthew 12:31,32, as well because some Christians have FEARED that they have blasphemed the Holy Spirit and God will NEVER FORGIVE them neither in this world nor in the world to come. That is NOT what these words of Jesus mean. These verses simply mean that if a person does NOT REPENT of their SIN of blaspheming the Holy Spirit in this present world then they will NOT be forgiven. And those in the world to come who blaspheme the Holy Spirit during the Millennium and THEY do NOT REPENT and confess THEIR sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit then THEY ALSO will not be forgiven of THEIR sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit during the world to come. Now, obviously, the FAITHFUL Christians who will be given immortality AT the coming of Jesus can NOT sin DURING the Millennium because the SECOND death will have NO POWER over them AFTER we are given eternal life to rule and reign with Jesus DURING the world to come. ONLY the MORTALS can sin during the Millennium that is called the world to come by Jesus. Matthew 13:31,32. “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.” Please notice that there is NO mention of the Father in these verses. So then, is Jesus saying that people can blaspheme the Son of God and they can also blaspheme Almighty God the Father Himself and be forgiven, BUT if they blaspheme the THIRD person of the Godhead Trinity God, the Holy Spirit, then they can NOT be forgiven? NO! The reason that Jesus does not mention the Father is that Jesus knows full well that the Holy Spirit WHO was dwelling IN him IS the Father. Also, Jesus would never CONTRADICT himself. And we just read in Mark 3:29 that those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit are in DANGER of eternal damnation and NOT that they are DOOMED to eternal damnation. Jesus is WARNING the Jews to REPENT of their sin of saying that Jesus healed the sick by the evil spirit Satan dwelling in him. My point is that the Holy Spirit IS the Father in EVERY verse of Scripture that refers to the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is ALWAYS a “HE” and NEVER an “IT” or a portion of God's NATURE. So again, to all my Biblical Unitarian brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, IF you TRULY desire to REACH Trinitarian AND Oneness Christians with the TRUTH that Jesus is the SON OF Almighty God and NOT Almighty God HIMSELF then I IMPLORE you to STOP calling the Holy Spirit an “IT” by saying that holy spirit is a portion of God's NATURE. The Holy Spirit and the so-called “holy spirit” with a lower case “h” and a lower case “s” are NOT different. It is you who are Biblical Unitarians who are reading INTO the Scriptures that meaning. For those of you who have not heard that the Holy Spirit IS the Father then please read the studies “THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE FATHER!”, “WHAT IS THE HOLY SPRIT?” and “THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON?” Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark. RETURN TO HOMEPAGE AT |