~~~
The
Holy Spirit & The Holy Trinity
~~~
. . .The Christian
Creeds do not speak of “ three Persons” as though they were three
Gods. We are not Polytheists but Trinitarians; i.e., we believe in
“a Trinity in Unity, and Unity in Trinity.”
"Three in One; and One in Three"
. . . It
is not therefore correct to speak of the Holy Spirit as a Person apart from
His being God Himself."
. . .the Holy Spirit is neither called
nor spoken of as 'a Person.' . . .There is no need for us to increase the difficulties necessarily inherent in
so great a subject, by introducing a word
["person"]
which the Scripture does not once
use of the Holy Spirit. He is never
called a “Person” in Scripture; and we only create a difficulty
when we use the language of Theology instead of the words of God.
 -- Word
Studies on the Holy Spirit, by Dr, E.W. Bullinger,
ppg. 36-39
|
Index
Of Chapters
Reading down the page
in order is highly recommended!
~~~
The
Holy Spirit &
The Holy Trinity
~~~
An Introduction to the subject
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If someone walked up to you today and
asked you to explain the Holy Spirit, could you do it? I mean, could you really
do it? What about Jesus, you could explain Him certainly? Or how
about God, could you explain the Lord God to your new friend? And when you
were done answering those three questions, would you have been describing three
separate individuals or only one, and would that have been clear to the person
asking? Surprisingly, most people will only get one out of the three
correct, many more might get two out of the three questions correct, but if we
have done our work well you shall get all three correct in about an hour.
We ask wisdom and understanding from our Heavenly Father —
in Jesus Christ's name — as we search His
Word for our answers.
The 'concept' (or the understanding of) the Holy Trinity
(Triune Godhead) as well as that of the Holy Spirit is oft
misunderstood even by many faithful Christians. They know that they believe
upon the Holy Trinity, by, in and through faith but they are hard-pressed to explain
it or to
teach it simply — or even to really fully comprehend it themselves.
And no wonder! For how hard is it for our frail human intellect
(compared to God's) to
comprehend "One being three and yet still only being One?" This
confusion leads to err, in some cases it leads to great error regarding the
Holy Spirit in the churches. Through this present Bible study we shall endeavor to lay clear
and understandable the nature of the Holy Trinity, and to make that clarification based upon our Father's Holy
Scriptures; for therein only lies any authoritative word on the matter.
And we know and are confident that none can understand anything of God except
our Lord God show us His truth, of Himself, through the Holy Spirit; for such
things are spiritually discerned and are foolishness to those whom are lost:
1 Cor 2:12-14
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost
[Holy Spirit]
teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
(KJV)
That most all
Christian congregations and denominations somewhat 'miss the mark' in their teaching and
understanding of the Holy Trinity will be aptly and abundantly shown in this little
Bible study. But we must begin with this: Surely our brethren's
misunderstanding of the Trinity is done by innocent error. In
other words, we are not 'finger pointing' or trying to embarrass
anyone here, but rather, we are trying to correct any errors that some may have
been taught in the churches regarding the Holy Trinity & the Holy Spirit; and to do so with the Scriptures
of God's Word being our witness. There is no shame in being in error, the
shame is in staying that way, especially if it is due to some misguided
reverence to the church traditions built up by men: "Making the word of God of none effect through your
tradition" (Mark 7:13). For all men are wrong about something regarding
the Scriptures, and, all men
misunderstand some parts of the Bible, and, all men are indeed in some
haze and do see somewhat "through a glass,
darkly" (1st Cor 13:12) at the great and wondrous
depths of God's Word — How much more so
then at His Holy and Divine nature and personage?
Is it not
therefore better for us all always to correct and/or reprove a brother or
sister in Christ with mercy
and kindheartedness, always giving the benefit of the doubt that they err by
mistake and not intentionally. For it is wrong to call someone that is
simply confused or whom has been themselves misled — a false teacher or anything
of that sort. It is a fact that all men are
sometimes incorrect on certain things spiritual; and also, let us remember that there is
a vast chasm between simply being deceived oneself — as opposed to purposely
deceiving another, between being deceived —
or being a deceiver. So it would be wrong to accuse those of false teaching
whom simply are misled themselves. Intent is everything regarding chargeable
guilt; and the Lord is the final judge of all matters of the heart and
spirit. We say
this because in this Bible study we are going to expose many false teachings in
the mainstream 21st century Christian Churches of today, and we do not want to
appear as though we are accusing anyone of KNOWINGLY teaching falsehoods
regarding the Holy Spirit &c.
~~~
the
Holy Trinity (the TRIUNE Godhead) ~~~
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Many may be surprised
to learn that the word "Trinity," or "Holy Trinity" is
nowhere to be found in the Bible (If you are using anything other than a King
James Bible (KJV), see: Appendix
One — Bible Versions) at the end of this
study.
(There is a link there to come back to this very place in the study.) However,
what is found written is the word Godhead:
Col 2:9
9 For in him [Jesus Christ]
dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (KJV)
Rom 1:20
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly
seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and
Godhead; so that they are without excuse: (KJV)
Acts 17:29
29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that
the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by
art and man's device. (KJV)
The word Godhead
is what is commonly referred to as the "Holy Trinity" or the
"Triune Godhead." (although the word "Triune" is not found
in the Bible either). The words "Trinity" and "Triune"
are just man's way of saying three, and this author does not see
any problem with naming it as such even though it is not in the Scriptures per
say; for three is implied but not stated specifically as "Trinity" or
"Triune" in the Scriptures, for instance:
I Jn 5:7
7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these
three are one.
(KJV)
The concept of the
Holy Trinity (we shall use this title henceforth since it is what people seem to
be the most comfortable with) is difficult for our human minds to
comprehend. And it is indeed a testimony to a true Christian that they believe
something on faith that they may not well be able to explain to others nor
perhaps even fully comprehend themselves. For as it is written: "Now faith is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
(Heb 11:1).
But the Scriptures are not mute regarding the Lord's nature and identity,
the truth is written there for the seeker. But this
author is convinced that a total comprehension of the Holy Trinity is not necessary for
salvation; in other words, it is not necessarily a salvation issue. For
the Scriptures do not state that one must fully comprehend the Holy Trinity to be
saved; nowhere do we see the Prophets of old, or Jesus Christ, nor the
Apostles state that to be saved one must understand the Holy Trinity
fully. God did tell us what man must do to be saved:
John 3:15-18
15 That whosoever [that's
you!] believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world
through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
(KJV)
Christians do not believe in three Gods, they believe in One God in three
'offices,' 'facets,' or 'aspects,' or, revealed in three different ways.
1st
'facet' or 'part' of the Trinity
God (Yehovah
'Elohim = The Lord God), is the Father, the One and Only God Eternal!
He
whom created everything, He whom has no beginning and has no end.
Exod 3:13-15
14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say
unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of
Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and
this is my memorial unto all generations. (KJV)
2nd facet
of the Trinity
Jesus Christ of
Nazareth is the Son (Yehoshua = Yehovah the Savior, or, God
Savior), He
is God manifested (came) in the flesh, He is God in human form come to earth to
save His creation from satan and their sins. Jesus is not another God, He is God.
John 10:27-30
(Jesus
speaking)
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to
pluck them out of my Father's hand.
30 I and my Father are one. (KJV)
3rd facet of the
Trinity
Holy Spirit
(tó pneúma tó hágion = The Spirit The Holy = The Holy Spirit)
is the
Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is the Power of God in action. It is through the Holy
Spirit of God that God interacts with His creation today, for He no longer walks
with man face to face as He did with Adam, Noah, Abraham....., and He no longer
is physically amongst us as He was when Jesus Christ walked the earth.
This is because we (as a peoples) fell short, we forsook Him, we left Him — He
didn't leave us! Below we see that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God,
God's Spirit; not a separate 'person' or individual apart from God:
Acts 2:17
(Peter speaking)
17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith 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 (KJV)
Peter was quoting the Old Testament Prophet Joel:
Joel 2:27-29
27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your
God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.
28 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.
(KJV)
So then, you have the Lord God of all, and, you have that Lord God in the flesh (Jesus
Christ), and, you have the Spirit of that Lord God (the Holy Spirit),
but they
are all One. The three; God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are three
aspects of the same one entity, that being the Ever Living Almighty Lord God.
To understand how this can be so, look at it
like this:
You may be a father to your child, you also may be a husband to
your wife, and to your employees at work you are a boss. But you are not three
people, yet all three of those people are the one you (father, husband and boss).
When you are at work, you do not cease being boss when your wife walks
in whom knows you as husband. Likewise, you do not cease being husband to your wife when your children come home and call you
father. Well, the same goes with God, only on a much grander
scale.
In the Scripture below we see all three aspects of the
Trinity involved in one act: This was done for our benefit, that we would know
that this same Jesus was the one we are to follow:
Luke 3:21-22
21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also
being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and
a
voice came from heaven [God], which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well
pleased. (KJV)
What just happened there was that the Lord God, by His Holy Spirit, showed us that Jesus
Christ was the beloved Son of God, the promised One. For we also see John the Baptist's witness:
John 1:29-34
29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon
him
[Jesus].
33 And I knew him
[Jesus] not: but he
[God] that sent me
[John] to baptize with water, the same
[God] said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit
[the Holy
Spirit] descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy
Ghost.
34 And I saw, and bare record that this
[Jesus] is the Son of God.
(KJV)
Some
may say that it is hard to comprehend how God can be in three different places (in
Heaven, coming down descending "like a Dove", and Jesus on the earth) all at the
same time; and we certainly would agree. But allot of things were done
simply so that we would understand. For the Holy Spirit needn't have visibly
(appearing like a Dove) come down and rested upon Jesus as was done in the above Scripture,
for Jesus was begotten of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit was within Him, it
was His Holy Spirit:
Luke 1:35 (the
Angel speaking to Mother Mary)
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing
[Jesus] which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
(KJV)
Matt 1:20 (the Angel speaking to
Joseph, Mary's husband)
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that
[Jesus] which is conceived in her is of the
Holy Ghost. (KJV)
Another
place where something was done for our benefit, that we
might believe, happened when Jesus prayed to God before raising Lazarus from the
dead:
John 11:41-42
41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard
me.
42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by
I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. (KJV)
But this
author agrees that it is difficult, yea impossible even, for us to fully comprehend
when Jesus prayed to God. For Jesus was God, yet He spoke with
Himself: "These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify
thee" (John 17:1),
but in another place Jesus said: "I and my Father are
one" (John 10:30), and again He said: "...he that hath seen me hath seen the
Father...I am in the Father, and the Father in me...the Father that dwelleth in
me..." (John 14:9-10). So why then
should Jesus pray to Himself unless it was for our benefit. This author is
comfortable with that.
Perhaps our
minds just are incapable of fully understanding the things of God or of the
spiritual realm. For even Apostle Paul, whom himself was "caught up to the third
heaven" (2 Cor 12:2) stated: "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love
him" (1 Cor 2:9 [quoting Isa 64:4]).
And we mustn't
forget that God requires faith of us. But if we were shown all things,
then it would not be by faith that we believed them, but we would have believed
them because we had seen them; therefore not having shown faith in the belief
of those things. "Now faith is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb 11:1),
and: "For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not
hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it."
(Rom 8:24-25). Jesus said that faith is
to be commended and rewarded: "Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that
have not seen, and yet have believed."
(John 20:29). So, suffice it to say, we
simply shall not understand all things about God. But let us learn that
which He will allow us to learn, and believe on faith that which is not given
for us to fully comprehend. Sounds good and prudent, yes?
~~~
Some examples of all three aspects or offices of the
Trinity in the same one Scripture: God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy
Spirit.
~~~
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Isa 42:1 (God speaking)
1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I
[God] have put my
spirit [Holy Spirit]
upon
him: [Jesus Christ]
he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. (KJV)
John 14:26 (Jesus
speaking)
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, [Holy Spirit]
whom the Father [God]
will send in my [Jesus Christ]
name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
(KJV)
I Jn 4:2
2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: [Holy Spirit]
Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ
[Jesus Christ]
is come in the flesh is of God [God]
: (KJV)
Rom 15:30
30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's [Jesus Christ]
sake, and for the love of the Spirit,
[Holy Spirit]
that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God
[God] for me;
(KJV)
1 Pet 1:2
2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, [God]
through sanctification of the Spirit,
[Holy Spirit]
unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus
Christ: [Jesus Christ] Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
(KJV)
Matt 12:28 (Jesus speaking)
28 But if I [Jesus Christ]
cast out devils by the Spirit of God,
[Holy Spirit]
then the kingdom of God [God]
is come unto you. (KJV)
~~~
Jesus Christ ~~~
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When you say the words, Jesus Christ, you are
saying: "Yehovah Savior, the Anointed One." Anointed with the The
Holy Spirit of God from the womb (Matt 1:20). So when you say,
Jesus
Christ, you are actually mentioning all three offices (or aspects) of the Holy
Trinity, God, Jesus
Christ, and the Holy Spirit (in the Greek = The Spirit
The Holy):
Yehovah
(YHVH - the Lord God), Messiah (Savior -
Jesus), i.e., the Anointed One (with the Holy
Spirit of God).
This should shed additional light on the controversy over whether to Baptize in the name of
Jesus Christ, or, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit. If you understand the languages — it is
the same thing! For certainly the Scriptures do not contradict themselves,
else one be correct and one incorrect! "...and the scripture cannot be
broken" (John 10:35):. Thus, being Baptized in the name
of Jesus Christ is synonymous with being Baptized in the name of the Father,
the Son, the Holy Spirit:
Matt 28:19
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name 1
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 2
(KJV)
Acts 2:38
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 ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
3
(KJV)
FOOTNOTES
FROM THE
ABOVE
1
"name," not "names", the word is
singular. This is the final definition of the name of the One true
God. – Bullinger, Companion Bible, pg. 1380. 2
This is the only place where it is said to Baptize in the name of the
Father, Son & Holy Spirit. The reason being that it was Jesus
Himself as the speaker and He had not yet been glorified. In other
words, it was prior to the Resurrection and not yet time whilst Christ
still walked the earth in the flesh. 3
See also: Acts 10:48, 1 Cor 1:12-13, Acts
8:16, Acts 19:4-5, &c.
And could not a much more effective witness to Jews and Muslims be made if it were fully
explained to them that worshipping Jesus Christ (which Christians rightly do - Matt
28:17; Luke 24:52; John 9:38; &c.) does not
violate the First of the Ten Commandments? "Thou shalt have no other
gods before me" [Ex20:3]. For Jesus was/is God (John
1:1; Rev 19:13). Jesus was both God and man at once, as Thomas
declared to Jesus and was then commended by Jesus for believing upon that very fact:
"And Thomas answered and said unto him, My
Lord and my
God" (John 20:28).
The use of both the word
"Lord," and "God" in the above Scripture describing Jesus
Christ is significant, for they are two entirely different words having two
different meanings. Here, in this Scripture (Jn 20:28), the English word
"Lord" is
Kúriós (Master, Controller, Lord), and the word "God" is
Theós (God, the One Lord God). While Kúriós is "supreme in Divinity," Theós
is "The Supreme
Divinity," there is a great difference. To
be Theós is (in this verse) more
than to be
Kúriós, for
Kúriós (Lord) can be Theós (God), and
Kúriós is sometimes translated (God) in the Bible; however, Theós
(God) is
never translated to (Lord) in the Bible. But
Jesus is called both Kúriós
and Theós
in the Scriptures, and He is called both in the Scripture below:
When God came to earth in the flesh (as Jesus Christ), He came "a little lower that the Angels"
(Heb 2:9) because He was now in a flesh
body that was liable to die (mortal, flesh). But God being omnipresent (present
everywhere) He was still in Heaven and upon the earth at once. The
reason that Jesus was referred to as "a little lower than the angels,"
is because that angels are in spiritual bodies,
not flesh bodies, and are not subject
to death (unless/until God blots some of them out in the Lake of Fire - Rev
20:13-15).
Jesus was
subjected to death (made liable to die), and He did die, but after
His death, by the grace of God towards all whom believe,
Jesus then overcame death (1st Cor 15:26) by raising on
the third day so that we all whom believe may also raise from the dead (John 3:16).
Jesus was not holden to death (not held by): "Whom
[Jesus Christ] God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of
it [death]."
(Acts 2:24), but rather, He overcame death: "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;"
(Heb 2:14). And it is this same Jesus Christ who is the
Eternal One: "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold,
I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys
[the
power, the control] of hell and of death."
(Rev 1:18).
Heb 2:9
9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the
suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God
should taste death for every man. (KJV)
The only way for any of us to attain the
promise and to live eternal with The One True God is through the sacrifice of
His Son when He (Emmanuel - "God with us") came in the flesh to mankind to be crucified
("For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of
God" - Rom 3:23). Therefore, to deny Jesus Christ is to deny The Lord God.
This where the 'Jews' (Pharisees - Judaism) were snared in their own disbelief,
for though they had the Scriptures and the written prophesies, but they had not
faith to recognize them when they were being fulfilled right before their
eyes; and for their unbelief, Jesus Christ became to them the "Stone
of stumbling" (1st Pet 2:8) and the "Rock
of offence" (Isaiah 8:14), for it was Jesus Christ, whom they
killed, that was He whom was prophesied to come and whom did come and fulfill
the prophesies:
Ps 118:22-23
22 The stone [the
Messiah - Jesus Christ] which the builders refused
[rejected]
is become the head stone of the corner.
23 This is the LORD's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. (KJV)
Mark 12:10-11 (Jesus speaking of Himself)
10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone
[Jesus
Christ - the Messiah] which the builders rejected
[crucified
- the ultimate rejection] is become the head of the
corner [the
head of the Church, the Captain of salvation - Heb 2:10]:
11 This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? (KJV)
The only way for any of us to attain eternal life is through Jesus
Christ, for to deny Jesus Christ IS to deny the Lord God:
I Jn 2:22-25
22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is
antichrist, that [whom
then does] denieth the Father and the Son.
[in other words, if
you deny the one then you deny them both, for they are both of the same]
23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that
acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If
that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall
continue in the Son, and in the Father.
25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. (KJV)
John 3:35-36
35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth
not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (KJV)
For Jesus Christ and
the Lord God are One:
In the below Scripture we see
that God's hand and Jesus' hand are synonymous (the same):
John 10:27-30 (Jesus
speaking)
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow
me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of
my hand.
29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of
my Father's hand.
30 I and my Father are one. (KJV)
The below Scriptures remove any doubt that Jesus was (and is) in fact, God:
John 1:1-3
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
(KJV)
Gen 1:1
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
(KJV)
John 1:14
14 And the Word [Jesus Christ]
was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
(KJV)
1 Tim 3:16
16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest [Grk. #5319 phaneroo: to render apparent,
appeared] in the
flesh
[Jesus Christ], justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
(KJV)
John 8:58-59
58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was,
I am.
59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
(KJV)
What was it about Jesus saying "I
Am" that so caused the Jews to want to
kill Him? "I AM"
is the sacred name, Jesus was calling Himself God! Observe God's sacred
name that he Himself spoke to Moses:
Exod 3:14
14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel,
I AM hath sent me unto you. (KJV)
Jesus
was/is God and He stated so. While it is somewhat obscured in our
English translations, the Jews knew full well that Jesus claimed to be
God in the flesh (for Jesus spoke to everyone in their native tongue, therefore
when Jesus told them in Hebrew that He was the "I
AM," what He was saying was 'EHaYEH
, or the title fully stated 'EhaYEH
aSHER 'EYaYEH which means: I
AM THAT I AM, or I will be what I want to be –—
I exist (by self), self existent, God Almighty, created by none, but simply
became –— was –—
is. To this day, Jews will not pronounce 'EHaYEH
, for they reason that for a Hebrew in the Hebrew tongue, to say the name 'EHaYEH,
is itself calling oneself God.
It is
kind of like if our name in English for God was something like "I Am
God," then for us to pronounce His name would be to call oneself
God (or so the Jews suppose, anyway). But the Lord said "..this
[I AM THAT I AM]
is my name for ever, and this is my
memorial unto all generations" (Ex 3:15),
so why wouldn't they call Him that? Jews today call God "Hashem"
(meaning: "The Name"), and write His name as G-d. (See Ap. #31.
The Fifteen Extraordinary
Points of the Sopherim. #32.
The 134 Passages where the
Sopherim altered "Jehovah" to "Adonai". & #33. The
"Eightteen Emendations" of the Sopherim.
The
point is that with this single utterance Jesus had at once claimed that He
was God Almighty. For this the Jews sought to kill Him because had
it not been true (but it was) then it would have been blasphemy
punishable by death for a man to make the claim. So in that the Jews
could have meant 'well.' BUT, Jesus was God, so it was
not blasphemy for Jesus to say it. But the Jews did not believe that
Jesus was the Immanuel - God with us (Isa 7:14)
that the prophets of old had foretold of. But they should have, for he
fulfilled over 300 Old Testament prophesies!
John 8:58-59
58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was,
I am.
John 5:18
18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the
sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with
God. (KJV)
John 10:32-33
32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because
that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. (KJV)
Phil 2:5-6
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be
equal with God: (KJV)
And some more:
Isa 7:14
14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a
son
[Jesus Christ], and shall call
his name Immanuel. (KJV) [In
the Hebrew, Immanuel means "God with us"]
Isa 9:6
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son
[Jesus Christ] is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
(KJV)
Titus 2:13
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
(KJV) ["And Thomas answered and said unto him, My
Lord and my
God" (John 20:28).]
Jesus, in His proclamation to Jerusalem, states as much that He is God:
Matt 23:37-39
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would
I 1
have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
38 Behold, your
2
house 3
is left unto you
2
desolate 4
.
39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the
name of the Lord.
5
[Jesus quoting Psm 118:26] (KJV)
FOOTNOTES
FROM THE ABOVE SECTION
1
"How often would I...":
Jesus could only claim this because He was God, for Jesus in the flesh had
not "often" come unto them -
whereby He would have "gathered thy children
together," and they had only killed one prophet (John the
Baptist) when Christ was on the earth, and had stoned none (for John the B.
was the last prophet before Jesus. But they killed most all the
Prophets and stoned many in the history of the nation under God. Jesus
was speaking as God in this declaration.
2 "your"
and "you":
This is marked in the Manuscripts as being very emphatic. At the beginning
of the Lord's ministry it was "My Father's
house" (Jn 2:16); but at the end, after His rejection, it
was "your
house". --
Bullinger, Companion Bible pg. 1364.
3 "house":
i.e., the Temple where He was speaking in.
4 Every 'house" and
every place is "desolate" where Christ is not.
5
"Lord": = Jehovah.
(Ap.
98. VI. i. a. 1. B. a.) VI. = Lord, i. =Kurios, 1.
= Used of Jehovah (Appendix 4.
II), and printed "LORD"
throughout, B. = Without the Article (Kurios), a. = In
quotations from the Old Testament it occurs twenty-nine times; eight times
in Matthew (3:3; 4:7,10; 21:9,42; 22:37; 23:39 [our Scripture
above]; 27:10); eight times in Mark (1:3; 11:9,10; 12:11,29,29,30,36-);
nine times in Luke (3:4; 4:8,12,18,19; 10:27; 13:35; 19:38; 20:37); four
times in John (1:23; 12:13,38,38). -- Bullinger, Companion
Bible Appendices & pg. 1364.
To sum it up in one verse:
I Jn 5:7
7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father [Lord
God], the Word [Jesus
Christ], and the Holy Ghost [Holy
Spirit]: and these three are one.
(KJV)
And don’t let anyone tell you that the above verse (1st
John 5:7) does not belong in Scripture! In a study segment we cover, with magnificent evidence, that
this verse does in fact belong in the Scriptures. We included that
segment as an Appendix
One — Bible Versions. It is undisputedly documented that the verse belongs in Scripture!
~~~ The Holy Spirit
~~~
In the Greek: tó
pneúma tó hágion
In the Hebrew:
'eth Ruwach qodesh
Back To Index
OK, so having covered the Holy
Trinity regarding the Son Jesus Christ and The Father Lord
God, it is now that we must turn our attention to probably the most
misunderstood aspect of the Holy Trinity, that being the Holy Spirit,
the Spirit of our Lord God. Below we define the Holy Spirit in both the Greek and the Hebrew languages.
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In the (transliterated) Greek of the New Testament,
The Holy Spirit is (The Spirit The Holy):
tó
pneúma tó hágion,
as observed in:
Eph 4:30
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
(KJV)
tó
pneúma
tó
hágion
tó
Theós
The Spirit
The Holy of [The]
God
And with color-coded definitions:
The Spirit
The
Holy
of [The]
God
The: Greek word
#3588 ho (ho); including the feminine he (hay); and the neuter to (to); in all their inflections;
the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):
KJV-- the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc..
***. ho. See 3739.
Spirit: Greek
word #4151 pneuma (pnyoo'-mah); from 4154; a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively,
a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, demon,
or (divine) God, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit: KJV-- ghost, life, spirit (-ual, -ually), mind. Compare 5590.
Holy: Greek
word #40 hagios (hag'-ee-os); from hagos (an awful thing) [compare 53, 2282];
sacred (physically, pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially, consecrated):
KJV-- (most) holy (one, thing), saint.
God: Greek word
#2316 theos (theh'-os); of uncertain affinity; a deity, especially (with
3588) the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very:
KJV-- X exceeding, God, god [-ly, -ward].
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And in the (transliterated) Hebrew of the the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit (the
Spirit holy) is: 'eth Ruwach qodesh, as observed in:
Isa 63:10
10 But they rebelled, and vexed his [God's]
holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
(KJV)
Or, in the (transliterated & reversed to read L to
R) Hebrew of the Old Testament:
'eth
Ruwach 'qodesh
(---)
Spirit holy
And with color-coded definitions:
(---)
Spirit holy
(---)
: Hebrew
word #853 'eth (ayth); apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity;
properlyself, (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):
KJV-- [as such unrepresented in English].
Spirit:
Hebrew word #7307 ruwach (roo'-akh); from 7306; wind; by resemblance
breath, i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively, life, anger,
unsubstantiality; by extension, a region of the sky; by resemblance
spirit, but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions):
KJV-- air, anger, blast, breath, X cool, courage, mind, X quarter, X side, spirit
([-ual]), tempest, X vain, ([whirl-]) wind (-y).
holy:
Hebrew word #6944 qodesh (ko'-desh); from 6942; a sacred place or
thing; rarely abstract, sanctity: KJV-- consecrated (thing), dedicated (thing), hallowed (thing), holiness, (X most)
holy (X day, portion, thing), saint, sanctuary.
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Man has out of ignorance, and even from the very pulpits of Christendom, corrupted the
meaning and identity of the Holy Spirit. For how often do we today hear it
on this wise: "The person of the Holy Spirit"?
Yet, no where in Scripture do we find the Holy Spirit referred to as a person,
nor do we find any "in the person of the Holy Spirit"
written in Scripture. So then where did it come from if it did not from the
Scriptures of the Word of God? Christians do not worship three Gods
- God forbid, but we worship one God. The making of a separate entity
out of the Holy Spirit of God is purely man's tradition, void of Scriptural
support, repeated every day and week, in sermon upon sermon, from the pulpits in
the churches of many, if not most denominations of
Christianity. Surely they do so in error.
And while it is
error, it is not harmless error, especially in the Baptist/Pentecostal/Charismatic
(Rapturists all) denominations of Christianity, for they truly make a separate object of worship
and adoration out of what they suppose is the Holy Spirit, attributing to the Holy Spirit a will
and personage of It's/His own apart from God's intelligence. And it is
through this spirit, whom they think is the Holy Spirit, that they commit some
of the boldest errors ever seen in any Christian denominations and congregations.
For they do error in many of the churches, and herein lies the great
danger:
I speak of their so-called:
- "Talking
in Tongues," which is babbling (God knows what!) in an indiscernible
'language.' (Demonic utterances, no doubt. But those don't know
because they have absolutely no idea what they are saying, nor whence it
comes. "For God is not the author of
confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints."
{1 Cor 14:33}.)
- "Interpreters of the Tongues (prophesying the babble),"
which are voluntary temporarily possessed souls who presume to divine
what the evil spirits are saying through the babblers. (niether this
nor the tongues above should be confused with the Spiritual Gifts of 1st Cor
12:10, for these are misconstrued from the true gifts). The tongues in
Corinthians are different language skills (diverse kinds of tongues) and
interpretation (translation) of them into others —
not unknown babbling like they do in today's churches. "To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another
divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of
tongues:" (1 Cor 12:10). These people today
are reaching into the forbidden spirit realm for 'messages,' supposedly
contained within the babbling. There is reason for concern with
this: "And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel
possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by
soothsaying" {Acts 16:16}. See
also: {1st
Kings 22:21-23}: "And there came forth a spirit . . . And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a
lying spirit in the mouth of all his [Ahab's]
prophets . . . .")
- "Slain
in the Spirit," which is the physical knocking down of one, and/or the temporary involuntary
paralysis of them, and/or the throwing of one across a room or distance of space
by 'unseen forces.' (Giving themselves bodily over to evil spirits
from the spiritual realm that we are forbidden to commune with. And
the Lord & Holy Spirit does not knock people down nor throw them across
rooms! But satan threw one around in: "Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is
lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the
water." {Matt 17:15}. Any time in
the Bible where someone went 'down to the ground' was forwards, in worship and
awe; but evil spirits throw people on their backs and many must be caught to
avoid injury, they are helpless. The only time someone was thrown
backwards in the Bible was those who came to betray Christ (Christ did not
do the throwing): "They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed
him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the
ground. {John 18:5-6}.)
- "Holy Laughter," which is
the uncontrollable
hysterical laughing for no apparent reason and in which the person under this 'influence'
is
helpless to control it or stop it. (Giving control of themselves over to evil
spirits. A whole Church room full of helplessly hysterical, falling on
the ground, laughing congregants. What a sight! Once again: "For
God is not the author of confusion,..." {1 Cor 14:33}.).
- "The Toronto Blessing, and, The
Brownsville Experience," which is the throwing to the floor of the 'subject' with
violent convulsions and wrestling's, sometimes accompanied by drooling & frothing at the mouth, and
most always making 'animal noises', i.e., braying like a donkey, snorting like a horse, and
barking and howling like a dog or wolf. (Comment is superfluous!)
- And: "Being Drunk in the spirit," "Prophets
- Roaring like Lions," "Shaking in the Spirit,"
"Gold dust theory".
. . . (and many such other things as they do, none of them Biblical, none
of them by the Holy Spirit of God. Many of these Church Services seem
like Pagan Fests, looking more like Mardi Gras than a Christian church
service! And I would just love to meet the guy who names
these 'manifestations.')
Yes, these poor
beguiled souls actually do this, in Church even!, thinking that they are participating
in something holy or glorifying to God! These are demonic practices spawn from evil spirits, not
a blessing from the Holy Spirit of Almighty God! At the close of this
study we shall include some
personal testimonies of those who 'came out' of these spiritually warped 'practices.'
Eye opening, to say the least!
Now lest we think
that it is only the Protestant branches (not the Protestant Church
Denmination per say) of Christianity that misunderstand the
Holy Spirit, allow us to take a look at the skewed Catechism (church
teachings) of the Catholic Church regarding the Trinity in general and the Holy
Spirit in particular:
Excerpts from the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church:
CC (Catechism) #189. "The
first 'profession of faith' is made during Baptism. The symbol of faith is
first and foremost the baptismal creed. Since Baptism is given 'in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit',[Mt
28:19 .] the truths of faith professed during Baptism are articulated
in terms of their reference to the three persons of the Holy Trinity."
[NOTE:
See Appendix regarding the Catholic Church's (and other
denominations) Baptismal practices that are not according to Scripture.] (A
link there is provided to return to this same spot in the study.)]
CC #243. "Before
his Passover, Jesus announced the sending of 'another Paraclete' (Advocate),
the Holy Spirit. At work since creation, having previously
'spoken through the prophets', the Spirit will now be with
and in the disciples, to teach them and guide them 'into all the truth'.[Cf.
Gen 1:2; Nicene Creed (DS 150); Jn 14:17, 26; Jn 16:13.] The Holy
Spirit is thus revealed as another divine person with Jesus and the
Father."
CC #202. ...We
firmly believe and confess without reservation that there is only one
true God, eternal infinite (immensus) and unchangeable,
incomprehensible, almighty and ineffable, the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit; three persons indeed, but one essence, substance or
nature entirely simple."
How much the better simple and clear truth is:
God (Yehovah
'Elohim = The Lord God), Is the Father, the One and Only God Eternal!
He
whom created everything, He whom has no beginning and no end. "And God said unto Moses,
I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel,
I AM hath sent me unto you."
(Exod 3:14).
Jesus Christ of
Nazareth is the Son. Jesus
(Yehoshua = Yehovah the Savior, or, God Savior), Christ ( Christos
= Anointed, the Anointed One, i.e. the Messiah), He
is God manifested (came) in the flesh, He is God in human form come to earth to
save His creation from their sin and satan. Jesus is not another god, He is
God, God in the flesh. "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."(1 Tim 3:16).
Holy Spirit
(tó pneúma tó hágion = The Spirit The Holy = The Holy Spirit), Is the
Holy Spirit of God. It is the Power of God in action. It is through the Holy
Spirit of God that God interacts with His creation.
"And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters"
(Gen 1:2).
And again:
"And it shall come to pass in the last days,
saith 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" (Acts 2:17).
But the altered views of the Holy Spirit (both by the
Catholic and the Protestant branches) have then been passed down from Churchman
to Churchman until now the skewed understanding of the identity and operation
of the Holy Spirit is the norm taught to laypeople of perhaps most all Christian
congregations round the world.
So then, what many
Christians have unwittingly done (or had done for them by errant at best, false
at worst) teaching, in essence, is to ascribe a separate identity
to the Holy Spirit quite apart and individual from God. For, they will
say, the Holy Spirit is not God but a coregent with God, a separate person
apart from the person of God, as many do also consider Jesus Christ to be
a separate person or separate Deity apart from God. They are in
error. I know that we covered this very much in depth earlier, but allow a
couple of more paragraphs to really settle the issue.
Their error in this is at once noticed when we observe Jesus Christ
quote the words of Almighty God Himself:
Mark 12:29
29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel;
The Lord our God is one Lord: (KJV)
Or, in the (transliterated) Greek of the New Testament:
Kúriós 'o
Theós hemoón Kúriós
heís estin
Lord The God
our Lord
one is
And with explanations:
Lord [Kúriós
Grk.#2962
supreme in authority, i.e. (as noun) controller]
The God [ho Theós
Grk.#2316 (God, The
Supreme Divinity - with the article)]
our Lord [Kúriós
Grk.#2962] one is
Jesus was of course quoting from the Old Testament:
Deut 6:4-5
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
(KJV)
Or, in the (transliterated & reversed to read L to
R) Hebrew of the Old Testament:
Yehovah
'Eloheeynuw Yehovah 'echaad
The Lord our God
Lord
[is]
one!
And with explanations:
The Lord [Yehovah
Heb #3068 (the self-Existent or Eternal
One). i.e., The One True Eternal God]
our God ['elohiym Heb
#430 (plural of Heb #433 'elowahh)]
Lord [Yehovah
Heb #3068] [is]
one!
~~~
The
Term "indwelling of the Spirit" ~~~
Back To Index
This term is common in many Christian congregations,
as are similar phases like "filled with the Holy Ghost," "Holy
Spirit filled," "the Anointing," "The outpouring of the
Spirit,...." But statements like those can be taken more than one
way, and often they are confused until they take on a whole new identity of
their own quite apart from the teachings of Scripture. Doctrinal errors
then creep in when we use the language (phraseology)
of Theology instead of the words
of God.
Allow me to categorize it
thusly: There is the Holy Spirit that dwells in a man, i.e., to receive the Holy
Spirit, i.e., for the Spirit of God to rest upon or reside within you. It is this
Holy Spirit that guides and teaches a Christian, also referred to by Christ as the
Comforter, and there is the Holy Spirit working through a man, i.e., when the Elect testify, and when the Prophets of old spoke
prophecy and wrote the books of the Bible. They are both the selfsame Spirit, of course, but just in different operations.
I trust that we are not being misunderstood here;
let's be clear: There is NOT two different Holy Spirits,
there is only one
Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, which is the Holy Spirit. In the
Scripture below, besides documenting our point that it is the same one Holy
Spirit that operates upon man, you will also see the Trinity
(highlighted in red text) mentioned
in it's completeness (i.e., all three 'aspects' or 'parts;' Father, Son,
Holy Spirit):
1 Cor 12:3-11
3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by
the same Spirit;
9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by
the same Spirit;
10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
(KJV)
So let’s look at both examples.
But please do not let us be misunderstood here, let us not be confusing
here; Let us make a clear statement: While the Spirit of God rests
upon or resides in a Christian, that Christian is still just a man or
woman. This must be clarified because there are some 'groups' whom
errantly (and blasphemously) reason that since the Spirit of God dwells within
saved Christians that they are somehow godlike.
This is very
dangerous thinking that goes all the way back to the first lie of Satan in the
Garden of Eden "...ye shall be as
gods...." (Gen 3:5).
Please don't let us confuse anyone here. We are the children, and the Lord
God is the Father, we will never be more and He will never be less; for as it
says even of the Eternity the New Heaven and the New Earth: "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold,
the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell
with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their
God." (Rev 21:3).
That being affirmed, let's look at the two
operations of the Spirit of God upon and within man:
1). There is the Holy
Spirit that dwells in a Christian, i.e., to be filled (or indwelt) with the Holy
Spirit.
EVERY Christian is filled with (indwelt with) the Holy Spirit.
That is the Spirit of God, the presence of the Lord God within a faithful
Christian. For, as Jesus said: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will
come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (Rev 3:20).
And again: (Jesus praying for us) "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:"
(John 17:21-22).
Eph 1:12-13
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first
trusted in Christ.
13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye
were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, (KJV)
1Thes 4:7-8
7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto
holiness.
8 He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God,
who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit. (KJV)
1 Cor 6:19-20
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the
Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in
your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. (KJV)
["which are
God's" = God owns
them: "Behold, all souls are mine;...."
(Ezek 18:4)]
Luke 3:16
16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you
with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am
not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:
(KJV)
2). And there is the Holy Spirit that works
through a Christian, i.e., like when the
Elect testify in the end times, and when the Prophets of old spoke prophecy and wrote the
books of the Bible.
At different times the Holy Spirit will work
through a Christian, that Holy Spirit is the power of the God working through
the faithful Christian to accomplish His desire and will. Sometimes that may be a
charitable gesture, or a good work, or even just a word about the Lord in faith that
touches another's heart as truth.
Acts 28:25
25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul
had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our
fathers, (KJV)
1 Cor 2:13-14
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's
wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things
with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the
Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned. (KJV)
Acts 4:8
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye
rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, (KJV)
Acts 1:16
16 Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been
fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning
Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. (KJV)
John 14:26 (Jesus
speaking. Observe Jesus speak of the Trinity {in
red})
26 But the Comforter, which is the
Holy Ghost, whom the
Father will send in
my name,
he
shall teach you all
things, and bring all
things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (KJV)
Luke 1:67
67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost,
and prophesied, saying...(KJV)
Luke 1:15 (speaking
of John the Baptist)
15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall
drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy
Ghost, even from his mother's womb. (KJV)
We at WBSG really appreciate E.W.
Bullinger's teachings. He wrote the
The
Companion Bible and was a dedicated servant of our Lord who's creed
is seen written in all his works. Below Bullinger is speaking about the 'dating'
of certain events in the Scriptures, and in his words we can see the thumbprint of a
Holy Spirit led Bible believer. In his own words:
"The position occupied in The Companion Bible is that all
Scripture is "given by inspiration of God," (theopneustos) =
God breathed. Therefore, the record of the dates and periods
stated in the Bible are as much inspired as any other portion of it; and are
as much to be relied on for accuracy as those statements upon which we rest in
hope of eternal salvation. They must be as unreservedly received and
believed as any other statements contained in its pages."
—
Bullinger, The
Companion Bible, appendix 50.6, pg.
41.
It is therefore that we feel no
study on such a great topic as that of the Holy Spirit would be complete without a word
on the matter by Bullinger. We excerpt one of Bullinger's many great
works:
Excerpted
from: —
Word
Studies on the Holy Spirit, by Dr, E.W. Bullinger
"It may, however, be asked,
How are we to understand what is meant as it concerns our own individual
experience? How does all this affect what is spoken of, theologically, as the
“indwelling of the Holy Spirit”?
The answer is
that the difficulty is partly of our own creating; from our not carefully
noting the exact language of Scripture; partly from our clinging to
“tradition”; and partly from the failure of human terminology when used of
Divine truths.
Words are but
counters on which we agree to put a certain value respectively. These words
are human and finite; but the things connected with our subject are infinite.
It is impossible, truly and exactly, to express Divine realities with human
words, or infinite truths with finite words.
We speak of
“the Person” of the Holy Spirit, but what do we mean? What is the idea
conveyed to our mind by this collocation of words? What is the actual sense
of” person” used in this connection?
"
Person" denotes an individual. The word is from the Latin “per,”
through, and “sonare,” to sound, and was used of the mask
through which the actor’s voice sounded, as he represented a
particular personage. Hence the usage of the word always refers to individuality.
The
Christian Creeds do not speak of “ three Persons” as though they were
three Gods. We are not Polytheists but Trinitarians; i.e., we believe
in “a Trinity in Unity, and Unity in Trinity.”
"Three in One; and One in Three"
It
is not therefore correct to speak of the Holy Spirit as a Person apart from
His being God Himself.
Christ can be spoken of as a “ Person,” for He is “God manifest in the
flesh,” and therefore individualized. Hence, He can be spoken of as
localized now, as sitting on the Father’s throne (Rev 3:21), and hereafter,
at His advent, as sitting “on the throne of His glory” (Matt 25:31).
But,
in the Scripture, the Holy Spirit is neither called nor spoken of as “a
Person.” He is spoken of as “God.” (Compare Acts 5: 3 with verse 4).
Acts 5:3-4
3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine 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 thine own? and after it was sold, was it
not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou
hast not lied unto men, but unto God. (KJV)
God
is pneuma [Spirit], and there is no common ground between flesh and pneuma.
Hence we know Him objectively, in Christ, as our Creator and Redeemer; and we
know Him subjectively, within us, by realizing His presence there in His
gracious operations and gifts.
The
Pauline teaching, as it is called, is distinctly in advance of the truth that
is revealed in the Old Testament; or rather, we should say, the Divine
revelation by Paul speaks not only of a power proceeding from God, and working
in the hearts of His people, but that of God Himself " working in"
them (Phil 2:13), and clothing them with His “power.” This is why it is
called “power from on high” (Luke 24:49).
Dr. Candlish puts it thus:
“The
Spirit of God is not in his (Paul’s) view an independent personality; that
is not implied in the doctrine of the personality of the Spirit; but, as the
spirit of a man is to man, so, according to Paul, the Spirit of God is to
God; in one sense the same, but in another sense distinct. The principle of
the Christian life is not a mere impersonal power, but God Himself in a
mysterious way dwelling and working in the soul. But it is God working in
man to lead him to God as He is above him; hence the Spirit of God that
works in him must be distinguished from God, yet not as a different being;
but just as the spirit or mind of a man may be distinguished from the man,
and may be said to know the things of a man (1 Cor 2: 10-16).”
--The
Work Of The Holy Spirit, by James S. Candlish, D.D. T. & T.
C1ark, p. 26.
In
the Divine spiritual “gifts,” “ministrations,” and “operations,”
we have a marvelous and mysterious testimony to the Biblical doctrine of the
Trinity. We recognize them as the work of one Spirit, one Lord (Christ), and
one God and Father of all (1 Cor 12 4-6, compare Eph 4: 4-13).
1 Cor 12:4-6
4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which
worketh all in all. (KJV)
Eph 4:4-13
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of
your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through
all, and in you
all.
7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the
gift of Christ.
8 Wherefore he saith [in
Psm 68:18], When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive,
and gave gifts unto men.
9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into
the lower parts of the earth?
10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all
heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists;
and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the
Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the
fulness of Christ: (KJV)
The
Holy Spirit is God; and God is omnipresent. Yet, in the Tabernacle and Temple
of old, His presence was manifested by the miraculous shining of the Shechinah;
so real, that God Himself was said to “dwell” there.
Even
so in all His people to-day His presence is manifested by His miraculous
operations and gifts, so real, that God is said to dwell in us; so real, that
the new nature which is begotten of “The Pneuma” [The Spirit] is
itself pneuma [spirit] and Divine. Hence, in 2nd Pet 1: 4, those who possess this,
are stated to be "partakers of the Divine nature."
There is no need for us to increase the difficulties necessarily inherent in
so great a subject, by introducing a word which the Scripture does not once
use of the Holy Spirit. He is never
called a “Person” in Scripture; and we only
create a difficulty when we use the language of Theology instead of the words
of God.
Surely the fact is great enough for us without weakening the force of this
wondrous truth, or losing sight of the glorious reality.
God
is in us; and the evidence of this to us is that, as the Pneuma, He
there begets pnuema, and performs His new creation work, with all its
consequent bestowal of graces and gifts."
--
Word
Studies on the Holy Spirit, by Dr, E.W. Bullinger, ppg. 36-39
|
The
chance result of a skewed understanding of the Holy Spirit
The Danger Of Unhealthy 'spiritual'
Visits by masquerading evil spirits
Back To Index
We mentioned earlier
in this study that we would supply
some personal testimonies of Christians who were exposed to lying spirits and
demonic influences and left that church, and/or where once beguiled themselves by these evil spirits masquerading
as the Holy Spirit, who 'came out' of these unhealthy 'phenomenon' that are
racing through many Christian denominations like a wild-fire devouring anything
holy and true in it's path, taking the Christian and spiritually beguiling him
into some New Age psuedo-Christian religion.
Such has become of
the phrase "Born Again Christian." When most people hear the
term "Born Again Christian," they think of those who participate in
the bizarre spiritual manifestations we pointed out earlier, they see them on
T.V. begging for money and forehead slapping people who fall backwards wailing
and sobbing into strategically placed 'catchers' hands. They seen Benny
Hinn throwing the supposed Holy Spirit around like a laser beam,
sometimes laughingly 'throwing the supposed Holy Spirit at them again knocking
the person down a second time (as though once would not have been enough for the
true Holy Spirit!) while they try to get
up from the first anointing from the Abyss that Benny Hinn is delivering. What a mockery to claim that this is of the Holy Spirit of
God. Does anyone really think that God would allow the Holy Spirit to be
so irreverently handled! The Holy Spirit of God is not something to
defame; remember Simon (the Sorcerer) who was in grave danger for trying to
'buy' the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:18-24). Shame on any Christian who has been a part of
that, especially the Christians that finance this ungodly facade through their
tithes and offerings. "For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds."
(II Jn 1:11).
Thus the word "Born Again" has been
corrupted by satan and his evil spirits who have infiltrated the Baptist/Pentecostal/Charismatic/Word-Faith
(Rapturists all)
denominations just as deeply as they have infiltrated and corrupted the Roman
Catholic Church. For a study on the Rapture lie, see: The
Rapture Theory; What Does God's Word Say About It?
Below is a Testimonial from a new reader
of our Website. After talking to her via e-mails, I asked her if she would
mind sharing her Testimonial on the Website, as it might help others who may
have gotten caught-up in the same trap the she, by the grace of God escaped
from. Below is her testimony, unedited, unaltered, EXCEPT for the
underlining and emboldening of selected segments of text to draw the
attention of the reader, and segmenting the e-mail into easier to read smaller
paragraphs (a huge paragraph is hard to keep your place in). Other than
that the e-mail is exactly as I received it:
The Word of Faith Movement
|
Subj: Re: Thank-you
Date: 7/19/2003 9:07:56 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From: ----------- [As is our policy, name withheld by
WBSG]
To: WatchmenBS@aol.com
Dear Mr. Goggin
I would be more than happy to share my testimony as
requested. I will add that I have decided not to give the name of the
church in which I was involved. I feel pretty much as [A fine
Christian Pastor from Ark. - name withheld by WBSG] does about not
using specific names or organizations etc. However, it was part of the
word of faith movement. Many of the ministers who visited our
congregation were names you might have heard.
When I first started attending this church I was hungry
for the Word of God. I felt an intense desire to serve Him and be around
others who felt the same. However, I was not grounded in Gods Word at
all. I was at the time like other Christians, and had pretty much
accepted teachings from others all of my life. Yes, I read the Bible,
but in the concept of organized Bible studies. As you probably know,
many of the Bible studies out there in Christiandom today may focus on
only one verse, or skip around all over the Bible, not really reading
the entire scripture surrounding a particular verse, therefore, things
are taken totally out of context. I was even less than an infant in
Christ. I was probably still in utero if you can imagine. However I
still had a genuine love and hunger.
I was attracted to this church because I thought I was
seeing love for God and each others amongst the members. I also saw many
different study groups, etc. and was excited to learn more. And in fact,
God did allow me to grow closer and learn much while I was there.
However, it did cause a few heads to roll. I would ask questions
and challenge people as to where one concept or another that they were
presenting was actually located in Gods word. Many times they were ill
informed, and could not even find it there. Another words, the
teachers and ministers were not even grounded in the Word. Their
focus was more on the pentecoastal experience if you will. I
guess my first feelings that things were not right occurred when I
realized this. Even the pastor, it was obvious spent little time in Gods
word other than preparing his weekly sermon, usually focused on one
particular scripture. There was no actual deep verse by verse teaching,
no one was really familiar with Gods word, or even where what they
"believed" actually came from. They seemed to be more into that
"ooey-gooey" feeling. Almost acting hypnotized. Our
pastor was not a strong leader, and many people tried to
"lead" resulting in chaos. There were many outside
evangelists, etc. brought in and the pastor would turn the pulpit over
to them quite frequently. This is when the evil happenings became
obvious.
First there was "the spirit of laughter".
Some one in the congregation would start laughing without control,
red faced, falling down on the ground, rolling, then another would do
the same, eventually hundreds of people (I am not exagerating) would be
rolling about in the sanctuary. I admit I laughed (in my seat)
once myself. However, to me it was like the whole scene was hilarious. I
am sure you have been in a situation when someone laughed, and it just
seemed as though the laughter was catching. This was like that. I was
embarrassed at the same time to see this happening to people I cared
about.
Here is an example of the animal sounds I talked about.
The pastor was in front of a quiet congregation when suddenly a
woman began howling like a dog. She started alternating between this
howling and then started making hissing sounds like a cat, first jumping
around the front of the sanctuary, then up and running around.
The pastor told the congregation that she was releasing a demon spirit
that had inhabited her since someone had treated her like a dog in the
past.
Another instance. Do you remember the movie titled The
Karate Kid? Do you remember the posture the karate kid made when
he was going to fight? Raising his arms up like a bird. This was
a common occurance in this church towards the end of my time there. There
were people who would take this posture and make blowing noises.
There were also some women who would do something that looked like
an epileptic seizure, falling under the pews, having to be pulled out by
ushers and and taken to another room. These are only a few
examples.
The money raising (tithes and offerings) got out
of control. The congregation of this church was primarily made
up of people who were not (how can I say) very wealthy at all. There was
a constant request for money for a new building. Sometimes even
construction equipment would appear, and people would rush in and give
lots of money, but ground was never even broken. Still nothing had been
done, even when I left. Many weeks pastor would have everyone
throw their purses and wallets on the altar for prayers. Then
after services everyone would go and retrieve their wallets. Many weeks
pastor would put buckets on the altar telling everyone that there was a
special offering, have the congregation march up to the altar and put
money in the buckets. Those who did not go up front and put money in
were obvious to everyone. The pastor would even jokingly say,"I
hope someone wins the lottery this week and pays their tiths".
All of these things were not happening when I first
became a member, but started happening gradually.
I was a part of the praise and worship team. Usually
the church had attendance of about 1000 on a Sunday morning. I
was one of five who led the praise and worship services. When the guest
evangelists came I was also in the same position. There was one well
known husband and wife "healing ministry" that
would visit once a month for "healing services" I remember one
man from the congregation who was brought to the front and told that his
back problems were because he had one leg shorter than the other and
that God was going to heal his short leg. He was told to hold his legs
straight out while sitting in a chair. A lot of loud yelling,
commanding God to heal him, pushing on his forehead, etc happened, and
then the evangelist started yelling look, look, his leg is growing
longer now!! I was standing above the man looking directly down on his
leg. It was not growing. There was absolutely no change. However,
everyone was rejoicing, claiming a healing.
Over a period of time, I felt more and more
condemnation in my heart, I felt God telling me things
were not right. One Sunday morning, some events very similar to
the above were happening, I was singing in front of the congregation. An
overwhelming sadness came over me. The condemnation grew very very
strong. It was like God was letting me know that if I continued to sing
on the praise and worship team, I was part of what was happening there.
I was part of a web of deceit. It did not matter what my personal
intentions were, He was showing me the problems and I needed to not be a
part of it. I wasn't really thinking about what I was doing, but I
dropped the mic beside me and quit singing. The pastor and some men ran
up on the platform, laying hands on my forehead. Someone asked me to
please continue (into my ear) as the service was being videotaped for
television. I just could not. I stood there for probably only a minute
or so (but it seemed much longer) and walked off the platform, and out
the door, stopping only to get my purse. I am not certain, but I do not
think that part of the service was put on television. I later in the
week went to see the pastor, told him why I was leaving, and that was
that.
Since that time, I have been sort of having my own
"wilderness experience" of sorts. I have had a difficult time
finding anything "right" with any congregation I have visited.
Therefore, pretty much on my own. God has been good. The teaching has
been wonderful. He has guided me, and put me where I am today. I still
have a long way to go. It seems as though Gods Word is never ending. No
matter how much I study and pray, I just keep on being shown more that I
need to study and learn. However, my sights are set on Him, firmly
ahead, not behind. Waiting for those God may place in my path, perhaps
others caught up in the same thing.
I hope this letter is not too long, feel free to glean
from it what you feel you can use. [WBSG NOTE: We used it all,
thank-you for sharing! Our prayer is that this Testimonial ends up
on the computer screen of someone who is new in one of these beguiled
churches, and through your story, themselves search deeper into what is
going on around them. May God keep you and Jesus bless you!]
In His Service
------------ [As is our policy, name withheld by WBSG]
|
Below is a letter from a woman, whom we
will leave unnamed, regarding her experience with the demonic Talking in
Tongues, Slain in the Spirit, and Toronto Blessing
experiences. (We at WBSG feel that there is no need
to embarrass anyone by posting their names. Benny Hinn, in the above, and
other public Ministers are a different case, for they deceive many and needs be
e |
