SPELLING EDITED M-3. WHAT is the EARNEST of the HOLY SPIRIT? Plain and simple, what the King James Version calls the “earnest” of the Holy Spirit, is God’s GIFT that he promised to give those who BELIEVE in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The word “earnest” means a PART of the WHOLE. So the earnest of the Holy Spirit is a PART or a PORTION of the eternal Spirit as God's GIFT to those of us who believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Acts 2:38,39. “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. 39. For the PROMISE is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” When God SAYS that he will do something then that is God’s PROMISE that he will do as he said he would do. And God said that he would pour out his Spirit upon all flesh. Here is the prophecy in Joel 2:28-32 where God promises to pour out his Spirit upon all flesh. Joel 2:28-32. “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. (So then, God prophesied of two outpourings of his Holy Spirit. The first outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit was on the Day of Pentecost which is also called the EARLY RAIN or the FORMER RAIN in Joel 2:23. And the second outpouring of the Holy Spirit will be right after the first half of God’s wrath right before the 1000 year reign of Jesus. And the second outpouring of the Holy Spirit is called the LATER RAIN. See also, Hosea 6:3, Zechariah 10:1, and James 5:7) 30. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. 32. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion AND in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, (Speaking of the second harvest DURING the Millennium) as the LORD has said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.” And the fulfillment of the EARLY rain started on the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2 and it continues through the entire church age during this present world up to the time of the second coming of Jesus. Acts 2:15-21. “For these are not drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17. And it shall come to pass in the last days, said God, I will pour out OF my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18. And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy: 19. And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: 20. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: 21. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
The Greek word “apo” translated as “OF” the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:17 carries the meaning of SEPARATED or the DIVIDING OF the Holy Spirit into portions OF the Holy Spirit which the Bible calls the EARNEST of the Spirit in Ephesians 1:14. Here is what E-Sword says about the Greek word “apo” and then we will read Ephesians 1:14. G575 ἀπό apo apo' A primary particle; “off”, that is, away (from something near), in various senses (of place, time, or relation; literally or figuratively): - (X here-) after, ago, at, because of, before, by (the space of), for (-th), from, in, (out) of, off, (up-) on (-ce), since, with. In composition (as a prefix) it usually denotes separation, departure, cessation, completion, reversal, etc. 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, according to John 3:16, God GAVE his only begotten Son. The Son of man, Jesus, 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 that house as being our house. It is our SEAL or our promise 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 meaning 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. The Holy Spirit dwells in us as a 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 or the EARNEST MONEY IS MONEY? Part OF something is NOT something else. Part of Spirit IS SPIRIT. And the one eternal Spirit is the SOURCE OF all 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” 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 THE God who is a PERSON. That is what the whole word of Almighty God teaches us. Let us now look at a passage of Scripture in the Old Testament where Moses has the Holy Spirit on him and God tells Moses to gather together seventy elders of Israel because God wants to take a portion OF His Spirit who is upon Moses and place His Spirit on the seventy also while yet remaining on Moses.
Please read Numbers 11:14-17, 23-29.
“I am not able to bear all this people ALONE, because it is too heavy for me. 15. And if you deal thus with me, kill me, I pray you, out of hand, if I have found favor in your sight; and let me not see my wretchedness. 16. 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 (The English pronoun IT is NOT in the original Hebrew text. The original text should read like this) I will TAKE OF the spirit which is upon you, and will place upon them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you bear it NOT yourself ALONE... ...23. And the LORD said unto Moses, Is the LORD'S hand waxed short? You shall see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not. 24. And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle. 25. And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and TOOK OF the spirit that was upon him, and GAVE IT unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease. (Now, some Christians interpret the pronoun “IT” as meaning that the Holy Spirit is NOT a PERSON because a person cannot divide himself. But yet we clearly see that God can, INDEED divide himself. God is Spirit and there is only ONE Spirit. So the Spirit who God is taking OF is God’s OWN self-same BEING which is Spirit. Moses DOUBTED God and God told Moses Is Yahweh’s hand grown short that I cannot do what I said I would do?) 26. But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp. 27. And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. 28. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. 29. And Moses said unto him, Envy you for my sake? Would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!”
Did you know that in PROPHECY, Jesus is prophesied as being the ARM of Yahweh? And when the prophecy of God’s Son being born of a virgin came to pass we now know that Jesus is a real literal PERSON who came out from God’s own “Spirit” BEING into existence. Even God’s spoken word out from his mouth is life-giving Spirit, according to the words of Jesus in John 6:63. And John 1:14 says the word became flesh or a living human being who was highly exalted to become God’s King of kings and Lord of lords. And God’s plan of so great a salvation began as PROPHECY spoke forth from out of our creator's mouth. And one of those prophecies is Jesus being the ARM of Yahweh.
Isaiah 40:10,11.
“Behold, the Lord GOD will come with a strong hand, and his ARM shall rule FOR him: behold, his reward is with him, (See Revelation 22:12) and his work before him. (This prophecy will be fulfilled in the world to come during the 1000 year reign of Jesus when he will rule FOR Yahweh during Yahweh’s seventh 1000 year long day of Sabbath rest. That is why Jesus is called the Lord of the Sabbath) 11. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.”
Moses is a type or shadow pointing to Jesus. And as God appointed SEVENTY other men to HELP Moses God told Jesus to appoint SEVENTY others also to help him. I say that God told Jesus because everything Jesus said and did was told to him to say and do by Almighty God the Father.
Luke 10:1-2,17.
“After these things, the Lord appointed other seventy also and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. 2. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is GREAT, BUT the laborers are FEW: pray you, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest… ...17. And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name”
Then in John 20:21,22, we see Jesus prophesying over his disciples to receive the Holy Spirit which was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost in the upper room to begin the age of the church to PARTIALLY fulfill the prophecy in Numbers 11:29, “Would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!”
John 20:21,22.
“Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: AS my Father has sent me, even so, send I you. 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive you the Holy Ghost:”
Jesus told his disciples to not go out and preach the gospel UNTIL they RECEIVED power from on high referring to receiving the EARNEST of God’s Holy Spirit to DWELL IN them. Please read the following verses.
Luke 24:49.
“And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry you in the city of Jerusalem, until you be endued with power from on high.”
Acts 1:4,5.
“And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, said he, you have heard of me. 5. For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized WITH the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”
This was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost and CONTINUES to be fulfilled throughout the entire age of the church. We are baptized BY ONE Spirit so we can DRINK OF the ONE Spirit to receive the power that comes FROM the ONE Spirit who is the SOURCE of power and NOT just a power that is used BY God.
1 Corinthians 12:13.
“For BY ONE Spirit (Speaking of Almighty God who GAVE all authority and Power to Jesus to BAPTIZE us with the ONE Holy 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.”
Anytime we grow weak in faith we can take ANOTHER DRINK of the ONE Spirit who dwells in us. Jesus DESCRIBED the ONE Spirit as being like a WELL of living water. So when we are THIRSTY for more of God we can go and DRINK from the WELL of LIVING water dwelling in us. The ONE Spirit is the SOURCE OF the life-giving Spirit who QUICKENS our mortal bodies. The Greek word translated as quickens carries several meanings. It can mean RESURRECT our mortal bodies but it can ALSO mean to REVIVE or REFRESH our mortal bodies. Being FILLED to overflowing of the Holy Spirit springing up like a spring of water within us to become a river of living water flowing out of us is a time of REFRESHING in the very PRESENCE of God covering us. Even people around us can feel the presence of God coming on them whether they are saved or unsaved. And in the presence of God, there is POWER to heal the sick and the power FROM the ONE Spirit dwelling in us flows out of us to do the work of healing.
Luke 5:17.
“And it came to pass on a certain day, AS he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.”
Acts 10:38.
“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.”
Almighty God the Father is the SOURCE OF the power and Jesus clearly identifies the Holy Spirit dwelling IN him as being the FATHER.
John 14:10.
“Believe you NOT that I am in the Father and the Father IN me? (Or do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is 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.”
I personally do not believe that Jesus LIED to us when he said that the ANOINTING of Spirit of Jesus DWELLING IN him IS the FATHER and that the Father IN him is the one doing the works of healing. So then, according to the Bible ITSELF it is possible for Almighty God the Father to DIVIDED himself up into portions of his Spirit being and gives every believer an EARNEST of his Holy Spirit as His GIFT to us to empower us to overcome sin in our lives, to heal the sick, and to do whatever the Holy Spirit living in us leads us to do. So while it may be true that a person cannot dwell in a person, that does not mean that God Himself cannot dwell in us because God is not a “person”, as in, our human view of a mortal human person. In other words, while we as human persons cannot divide ourselves to dwell in other people, that does NOT mean that Almighty God cannot divide Himself into portions to dwell in us as believers. We use human terms to describe God so that we can get some kind of picture in our mind that makes sense to us of who or what God is. And since we see many features in the Bible describing the attributes of God as a PERSONAL being who loved us even while we were yet sinners, then God being described as a person is as good a word as any, in my own opinion. The Bible ITSELF teaches us that we are the temple of God and that God dwells in us. So if we describe God as a “person” then the person of God is dwelling in us and NOT some impersonal force, power, or nature of God. God is Spirit who is the SOURCE OF the power to help us achieve the goal of having God’s NATURE. For further study in God’s word to understand WHY the Holy Spirit dwelling IN us is, INDEED, a PERSON and not just God’s nature or some power used by God please read all the studies under the heading >>>WHO OR WHAT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?<<< The Holy Spirit is the SOURCE OF all power. Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the whole word of Almighty God the Eternal Spirit who alone is the Father. Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
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