I. ", Omnipresence is ascribed to the Holy Spirit in Ps. And there are three that bear witness in earth.” Can any one ponder these words and catch anything like their real import without seeing clearly that it would be impossible to couple the name of the Holy Spirit with that of God the Father in the way in which it is coupled in this verse unless the Holy Spirit were Himself a Divine Being? They often claim that the Holy Spirit is simply God's impersonal "active force," or that the Holy Spirit is a mode in which God chooses to operate in order to accomplish a certain task. As you prepare to teach this week’s session, “The Holy Spirit Came” (Acts 2:1-42), you might find this brief primer on the personality and ministry of the Holy Spirit helpful. | ISBN: 9780359013463 | Kostenloser Versand für alle Bücher mit Versand und Verkauf duch Amazon. Yet most Christians have difficulty explaining the Trinity clearly. In connection with the description of creation in the first chapter of Genesis, the activity of the Spirit is referred to (Gen. i.1-3). .2 Chapter II. Sometimes called the “Spirit of God,” the “Angel of God” or even the spooky-sounding “Holy Ghost,” the third person of the Trinity can seem so confusing and mysterious that we don’t talk about Him very much. The passage in Acts reads as follows, "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, saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." The name of the Holy Spirit is coupled with that of God in a way that it would be impossible for a reverent and thoughtful mind to couple the name of any finite being with that of the Deity. THE PERSONALITY AND DEITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT By Rev. € 2. IMPORTANCE OF THE DOCTRINE One of the most characteristic and distinctive doctrines of the Christian faith is that of the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit. The Bible provides many details about Him that point to His personhood, yet many of us do not think of the Spirit as someone we can know. Throughout the Bible, we see the Holy Spirit pouring his power into followers of God. The Deity of the Holy Spirit. He prays (Rom 8:26). I. We find that the Holy Spirit guided Paul into areas of hardship. The final and decisive proof of the Deity of the Holy Spirit is found in the fact that He is called God in the New Testament. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? • The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, classically defined as: “There is one God, eternally existent in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” I. Though both the Son and the Spirit are sent by the Father, this does not imply that they are inferior to Him, but rather that they are willing cooperators in the fulfillment of the divine program. The Holy Spirit must, then, have been a person; since he was seen by earthly eyes, and was recognizable by the human mind. The Holy Spirit is ascribed with the attributes of God, is equated with God and does work that only God does. This potential confusion of understanding is quite easily avoided by realizing that the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is not a person but the power by which the Father gave human life to Jesus in the womb of Mary. 2 The Holy Spirit spoke to Philip and gave counsel to the church at Jerusalem. Still further we read in John xvi.12, 13, R. V., "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. ©2021 Truth and Tidings Magazine | Questions or Comments. 1 Corinthians 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.". THE PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 [4] There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit . Free shipping for many products! What the Lord said regarding the new covenant in Jeremiah 31 is quoted in Hebrews as witnessed by the Holy Spirit (Heb 10:15). Again in John xiv.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." xxiii.2, 3, "the Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and His word was in my tongue. He is also omniscient, “for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (1 Cor 2:10). Misconception: The “Holy Ghost,” or holy spirit, is a person and is part of the Trinity, as stated at 1 John 5: 7, 8 in the King James version of the Bible. The infilling of the Holy Spirit is for all Christians, of every era. He is divine. In fact, for centuries some of the most influential religions of Christendom have attributed personality to the holy spirit. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth is come, He shall guide you into all the truth: for He shall not speak from Himself; but what things soever He shall hear, these shall He speak: and He shall declare unto you the things that are to come. iii.7-9, where this instance is referred to, we read, "Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, To-day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, and in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted Me, proved Me, and saw My works forty years." . The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity–equal with the Father and Son in essence. ", Omniscience is ascribed to the Holy Spirit in several passages. Paul wrote. Each of the four distinctively Divine attributes is ascribed to the Holy Spirit. also Ps. If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. HOLY SPIRIT. The exercise of “will” is something that only a person can do. Three distinctively Divine works are ascribed to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is commonly believed in but often misunderstood. This is the work of deity, the Spirit of God. #4 The Bible calls the Holy Spirit an "it". Maybe when we read about His power, we … He is involved in the "regeneration" of man - Jn 3:5; Tit 3:4-6 [All this supports thinking of the Holy Spirit as deity. It may come as a surprise to many Muslims, for instance, that Virgin Mary is not a member of the trinity in which Christians believe. The Holy Spirit must, then, have been a person; since he was seen by earthly eyes, and was recognizable by the human mind. When this is further explained, we are told it was not unto men but unto God that he had lied in lying to the Holy Spirit, i. e., the Holy Spirit to whom he lied is called God. We have an illustration of this in 1 Cor. They often claim that the Holy Spirit is simply God's impersonal "active force," or that the Holy Spirit is a mode in which God chooses to operate in order to accomplish a certain task. This implies that the indweller was divine. If asked who the Holy Spirit is, would you say He is a ghost, a power, or a person? Scripture indicates that the Holy Spirit is of the same essence as the Father and the Son. t hat succinctly describes who the Holy Spirit is: 1) the Holy Spirit is a person, not an impersonal force (John 14:15-17), and 2) the Holy Spirit is God, not a creation of God (1 Cor. And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? . This makes sense only if the Holy Spirit is indeed God! “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other….It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. One of the most characteristic and distinctive doctrines of the Christian faith is that of the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit. Outline your beliefs on the Godhead. In Acts 15:28 the decree is worded, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and us.” The way in which He is coordinated with persons in this verse is a further indicator that He is likewise personal. We read in Acts v.3, 4, "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? In Acts 5:4, the Spirit is called God. We read still again in Ps. Thou hast not lied unto men but unto God." Even in the Old Testament, there is a reference to the Holy Spirit as the author of prophecy. We read in Job xxxiii.4, "The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life." The exact words are, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." This leaves it beyond question that the Holy Spirit occupies the position of Jehovah (or Deity) in the New Testament (cf. Another striking illustration of the application of passages in the New Testament to the Holy Spirit which in the Old Testament distinctly name Jehovah as their subject is found in Ex. These and other Bible passages have led some to conclude that the holy spirit is a person, just as God, Jesus, and the angels are individual spirit persons. xiii.14, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. The subject of this paper is to show from Scripture that the Holy Spirit can be identified as God, that He is a person and not merely an influence or a power used in divine operations. The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit: Its Deity, Essence and Relation to Christ the Lord and Christian Believers on Earth (Hardcover): Torrey, R a: Amazon.sg: Books . . #1 The Holy Spirit is the personification of God's power. II. The Deity Of The Holy Spirit . . The Holy Spirit as a distinct person, however, is again absent—another inexplicable oversight if this Spirit is the third person of a triune God. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. In this page the term "personhood" is used to mean the fact that the Spirit is a living being, a "person", as opposed to a non-living object or influence. The apostle Peter listened to His words and obeyed Him (Acts 10:19-21). Fifty Anniversary Reprint: Word to Young Preachers, The Identity, Deity, and Personality of the Holy Spirit, The Person and Identity of the Spirit of God. The conception of Christ was such a miracle that only a divine person could have brought it about. All cults deny the deity and person of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus, referring to the Holy Spirit, speaks in John 14:16 about sending another advocate, the Greek word used for “another” is … The real issue is that the sovereignty of God plus the wisdom of God plus the power of God equals a miracle. The Holy Spirit is God, is Deity — Here the murmuring of the children of Israel is distinctly said to be against Jehovah. When the Lord promised the disciples that He would send the “Comforter” (a word used with a masculine pronoun, and at that time to describe the assistance only of persons called to help), He made clear that the Holy Spirit would be another like Himself, for He would “reprove”, “guide”, “hear”, “speak” and “show” (John 16:13). Hebrews 9:14. . The Deity of Jesus Christ. And according to Romans 8:11, the same Holy Spirit of God that raised up Christ from the dead is the same Holy Spirit of God that shall raise us up from the dead. Eternity, omnipresence, omniscience and omnipotence. Perhaps we have received incomplete teaching about Him or have misunderstood translations that call Him the Holy Ghost. He is not just an invisible force of God, nor is He one of several gods, nor is He a god that was once a man. The Trinity: A technical theological word that designates God as one in essence but three coequal, coinfinite, and coeternal persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. However, it is vital for you to know that you have a spiritual life which is far greater than a miracle. Here we find God, and the Lord and the Spirit associated together in a relation of equality that would be shocking to contemplate if the Spirit were a finite being. This is shown in Heb 9:14, where we read of the “The blood of Christ”, of “the eternal Spirit” and of “God”. As noted in a previous article {1}, there are five attributes that only God has, viz., omnipresent (present everywhere), omniscient (all knowing), omnipotent (all powerful according to His nature), eternal, and immutable. The final and decisive proof of the Deity of the Holy Spirit is found in the fact that He is called God in the New Testament. Even so … To sum it all up, by the ascription of all the distinctively Divine attributes, and several distinctly Divine works, by referring statements which in the Old Testament clearly name Jehovah, the Lord, or God as their subject to the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, by coupling the name of the Holy Spirit with that of God in a way that would be impossible to couple that of any finite being with that of Deity, by plainly calling the Holy Spirit God, in all these unmistakable ways, God in His own Word distinctly proclaims that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person. And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. All cults deny the deity and person of the Holy Spirit. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit : Its Deity, Essence and Relation to Christ the Lord and Christian Believers on Earth by R. A. Torrey (2018, Trade Paperback) at the best online prices at eBay! Spirit. The Holy Spirit has life (Romans 8:2), has a will (1 Corinthians 12:11), is omniscient (1 Corinthians 2:10–11), is eternal (Hebrews 9:14), and is omnipresent (Psalm 139:7). It is a fundamental revelation that the Holy Spirit is a Person, in the sense that the Father is a Person, and the Son is a Person. All who believe in the Holy Trinity are convinced that while there is one God, there are three persons in the Godhead. . We now speak of the Holy Spirit of God as a Person, as Somebody. We Explain with Scripture References To do this, He revealed that the Holy Spirit was called “He,” never she.” Or, He is also called “Him” or “Himself,” never is He called any name in the feminine. In the great work of the Cross, the three persons of the Trinity were involved. [5] In the description of the creation of man in Gen. ii.7, it is the breath of God, that is the Holy Spirit, who imparts life to man, and man becomes a living soul. These verses are telling us that the believer in Jesus Christ has the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, living in him. Walking with God is not about “being good” or “trying harder.” Those things are as impossible as earning salvation in the first place. In verse five we are told that it was Jehovah (whenever the word LORD is spelled in capitals in the Old Testament, it stands for Jehovah in the Hebrew and is so rendered in the American Revision) whom Isaiah saw and who speaks. Prayer—Ephesians 3:14-21 (strengthened by his Spirit, know the love of Christ, filled with the fullness of God). The murmurings which Moses in the Book of Exodus says were against Jehovah, we are told in the Epistle to the Hebrews were against the Holy Spirit. The terms associated with the Holy Spirit in Scripture, such as “reprove” (John 16:8), “groanings” (Rom 8:27), “knoweth” (1 Cor 2:11) and “quench” (I Thess 5:19) are not those which would be applied to inanimate forces. First things first. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert and be healed." .16 Chapter III. xii.4-6, "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. The unpardonable sin of which the Lord spoke was “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit”. So we see that the three distinctly Divine works of creation, the impartation of life, and prophecy are ascribed to the Holy Spirit. Scripture describes the Holy Spirit in personal terms, not as an impersonal force, when it says that He teaches, guides, comforts and intercedes. The second aspect is that lying to the Holy Spirit is equated with lying to God. Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? The doctrine of the personality of the Holy Spirit is of the highest importance from the standpoint of worship. Isaiah 48:16 seems to explicitly refer to all three Persons of the Trinity (with my additions in parentheses): "And now the Sovereign LORD (the Father) has sent me (the Son), with his Spirit (the Holy Spirit)." In fact, Peter spoke of the Holy Spirit and God interchangeably in Ac 5:3-4,9. This fact is clearly set forth in the Scriptures, in a five-fold way: 1. God is one in essence, but that does not mean that only one person of the Trinity is deity: God is three in person, and all three persons of the Trinity (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) are divine. To accept these positions is to deny the authority and clear teaching of Scripture. The apostle Paul noted the intellectual ability of the Holy Spirit when he asked, “What man knoweth the things of man save the spirit of man which is in him? The first thing to recognize is that the Holy Spirit is a Person. Job said, “by His Spirit He garnished the heavens” (job 26:13), and Elihu said, “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life,” so He is the creator (job 33:4). 7 Bible Verses about Holy Spirit, Deity Of ‹ › Most Relevant Verses. By the Deity of the Holy Spirit is meant that the Holy Spirit is God. He can be lied to (Acts 5:3). The Holy Spirit is the 3rd person of the trinity, co-equal with the Father and the Son. Peter puts the persons of the Trinity together when writing to the strangers in Asia. But these are not the marks of a person. cxxxix.7-10, "Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? Who Rom. He has intelligence (1 Cor 2:10-13), feelings (Eph 4:30), and a will (1 Cor 12:11; Acts 16:6-12). Out of the love of God the Father and God the Son comes the Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit is a very important person in the Trinity. Amen." And this in opposition to man, to whom, alone, Ananias thought he was talking. 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