|
|
The Holy Spirit Is NOT A Person Distinct From The Almighty
The word spirit in Hebrew is ruach and in Greek it is pneuma and both of them mean 'wind.' These words are neither masculine or feminine. They are neuter terms. That means that they refer to the Spirit as an it or what not a who. Read Numbers 11:17. However, contrary to some positions, the Spirit is most assuredly NOT an impersonal force.
I would like to define what exactly wind is before we go any further. Wind is the movement of air. How exactly does air move? Wind is caused by energy from the sun heating parts of the earth unevenly. The warmer air is lighter because when something is warm it's particles spread out. The cool air is denser which makes the warm air rise and the cool air replaces it. This is called the process of convection and it is what causes wind on the earth. To break it down even further, wind is the movement of air caused by an energy called heat. Wind is a force that we can feel and are certain that it is blowing. However, it is invisible to our eyes unless the wind is strong enough to move something with it like dirt, dust or rain
How can we apply this to the Spirit of the Lord? The Spirit is a force or energy that we cannot see, but when the Spirit works we can certainly know that it is working. John 3:8 "The wind (Grk. Pneuma for Spirit) bloweth where it listeth (desires or pleases), and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."
God's Spirit also imparts eternal life to those who receive it. So the Spirit is life. John 6:63 "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." The word quickeneth means to make alive or to vitalize. So the Spirit is LIFE and FORCE. It is the LIFE FORCE of God himself.
Let's deepen the argument that the Holy Spirit is the power of God. Luke 1:35 uses Spirit and Power interchangeably. Luk 1:35 "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 which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." Some might say, 'you make the Spirit a mere creature or agent and less than God.' This statement is made in total ignorance. Trinitarians resort to this kind of argument when they are boxed into a corner and have nowhere to go. To answer this charge I say this; God is a Spirit, that is the substance he is made up of. He is intangible, invisible and is life and power itself. The Spirit is the LIFE FORCE of God and is God himself. In John 3:8 the Spirit is likened unto wind. Wind is the movement of air (invisible to the eye) caused by energy. The Holy Spirit is God himself among and in his people.
What about the scriptures where the Spirit is said to proceed from the Father? The Spirit of God is not a different person any more than your own human spirit is a different person than yourself. God is not limited to a personal body and can dwell in all places at once if he so desires. So if you had an omnipresent Spirit you can cause it to proceed from yourself to accomplish various purposes.
Jesus made this statement to his disciples "I will not le ave you alone I will come to you" and in John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come." The word he and himself (though they are good translations) is not in the original text as a separate word. Many use this to say 'aha see the Spirit of God is a separate person from the Father and the Son.' However he and him are used based upon the object we are speaking about and the pneuma of God is not a he as though the Spirit is distinct from God our Father, rather the Spirit is an it (it's what God is). God is a Spirit and he will send his Spirit to lead us into all truth and it will not speak of itself. The Spirit testifies of Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ testifies of the Father. If you study John 14 through 16 you will see that Jesus and the Father send the Spirit, the Spirit proceeds from the Father, the Spirit is Jesus coming to his disciples and the Spirit takes of the things (his words, works and name) of Jesus (all he has is of the Father) and gives it unto us. In Ephesians 4:6 we learn that our God and Father is in us and in Col. 1:27 we find out that it is Christ in us. So, how do we reconcile all these different thoughts? God is in us, Christ is in us, the Father sends the Spirit, the Son sends the Spirit, the Spirit speaks not of itself and God is Spirit.
We have to start with the point that God is a Spirit that inhabits eternity and he is not limited by time and space. He can be in all places at once. The one mediator between God and men is the perfect MAN Christ Jesus. He IS limited by space because he is a man. He dwells in heaven and is our High Priest and Mediator who sits upon the Father's throne. Redemption and salvation can only take place IN and THROUGH Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Kinsman-Redeemer. He willingly gave himself up as a sacrifice for our sins, he offered himself up through the eternal Spirit unto God. Now, he is our mediator, high priest and advocate. We come unto God through his Son. So when the Holy Spirit (it's God's life and power (life force)) does work among us it is always done through the work of Jesus Christ. The Spirit will testify of the Lord Jesus Christ and his work on the cross because that is God's means of saving a man or woman. Rom 8:9 "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Here is the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ are used interchangeably. This tells us that God and Christ are one in the work of redemption that is going on now. God's Spirit comes to us and is available to us through the work of Christ. So the eternal Spirit that is God is also the Spirit of his Son for there is but ONE Spirit not two and not three. This is why Jesus said, Joh 14:23 "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." So the omnipresent Spirit (God who is our Heavenly Father) comes to us in the work and through the person of the man Christ Jesus, God's only begotten Son. The oneness of God and his Son is not some esoteric, mystical or philosophical unity (one God in three persons), but rather God working out his plan for redeeming mankind from sin and degradation. And he fulfills that plan in and through the person of his Son.
|
 |
Please Rate: |
|
Rating: |
 Processing ... |
(Average: Not rated) |
| Views: | 73 | |
|
| More Articles from Christianity | | |
| Top Articles in Christianity | | |
|
