What is the Holy Spirit - 1
It was the shock
heard around the world.
It was the first atomic bomb detonated in anger, exploded over Hiroshima, Japan,
on August 6, 1945. The real shock heard around the world, of course, was not
that of the blast as unfathomable as it was but rather the shocking realization
the blast produced: Man had unleashed a source of power so vast, so tremendous,
so utterly unstoppable that its destructive power could, unchecked, obliterate
civilization into a cosmic cinder cloud!
Yet, as awesome as the invention of the atom bomb was, and as immensely powerful
as the unleashed atom can become, this tremendous force had already - even
before its discovery - been dwarfed by the coming into the human realm of
another power much more dynamic and all encompassing than the power contained
within the atom!
For, on the day of Pentecost, as recorded in Acts 2, a power was given to men
far greater than the atom in fact, so far greater so that this power is destined
to swallow up the power of the atom itself and turn its very destruction into
life! And just what is this power? It is the power of the Holy Spirit of God
Almighty and of His Son Jesus Christ! It is the power of God Himself, a power He
has offered as a free gift to you and to me upon repentance, belief and baptism.
But we do not see this power in action much today in traditional Christianity.
To be sure, we clearly see the physical power of the atom. It literally obsesses
the thoughts of all mankind, living under the ominous and constant shadow of
nuclear war. The power of the atom bomb and of its even more sinister sister,
the hydrogen bomb, is real. Yet the power of the Holy Spirit is not real to most
people.
Why? The answer is deceptively simple. The Spirit of God – that is, its
identity, its nature, its form and value is simply not understood by most people
even most sincere and professing Christians. Yes, many assume they know, but
they do not really understand. They are deceived.
This is a shame. Men know, understand and believe in the destructive power of
the atom bomb - a power that brings death - and they quake in fear at its very
thought. Yet, of the Holy Spirit of God of the very spirit of power and life -
they remain in ignorance.
And why? Because men have believed a lie. They have been told the truth about
the power of the atom, but they have been told untruths about the Spirit of God.
Shrouded in falsehood
The truth about God's Spirit can be explained by going directly to the Bible and
reading what God's Word says about it. But the simplicity that is in Christ
Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:3) has been shrouded through the years by man's endless,
unfounded and complex speculations about God. Among those speculations about God
is the doctrine that God is three equal but separate and divine persons - the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - somehow combined into one. But have
you ever looked at the history of this doctrine of the trinity? The Council of
Nicaea in A.D. 325 is generally given most credit for legitimizing the idea of
the trinity. And what of the Council of Nicaea? Who called it? What authority
did it have? This council was not called by church leaders, as one might assume.
To the contrary, it was called by Emperor Constantine. And what were his
motives?
Notice: "In 325 the Emperor Constantine called an ecclesiastical council to meet
at Nicaea in Bithynia. In the hope of securing for his throne the support of the
growing body of Christians he had shown them considerable favor and it was to
his interest to have the church vigorous and united. The Arian controversy [one
of the sides in the trinity dispute] was threatening its unity and menacing its
strength. He therefore undertook to put an end to the trouble. Constantine
himself of course neither knew nor cared anything about the matter in dispute
but he was eager to bring the controversy to a close" (A History of Christian
Thought, volume I, page 258).
No Biblical Basis
The story of how the decision in support of the trinity doctrine was reached is
thoroughly detailed in history. You should look up the circumstances in one or
more of the major encyclopedias. The trinity doctrine was synthesized over two
centuries from the speculations of men whose roots were in pagan and Jewish
philosophy. The trinity was only finally thrust upon the church in the fourth
century by a council called at the direction of the Roman emperor, who was not a
Christian. The trinity teaching shares striking similarities with the triad's
common in the ancient pagan religions of Egypt, Babylon and other societies.
Holy Spirit a Person?
Now consider this: If the Holy Spirit is a separate person of the Godhead, then
He is Christ's Father. For Matthew 1:20, speaking of Mary, states, "That which
is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." See also Luke 1:35, which shows that
the power of the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and caused conception. Yet
Christ plainly called God His Father, and not the Holy Spirit (John 20:17). And
He prayed to the Father not to the Holy Spirit (John 17:1). Of course, common
sense tells us that Jesus would not have called God the Father His Father unless
God the Father was His Father.
Further, if the Holy Spirit were a separate person of the Godhead, then the
apostle Paul hadn't heard about it. For in the introductions of his epistles, he
routinely invoked the name of the Father and Son in greeting the brethren, but
always omits mentioning the Holy Spirit. What an offense this would be if the
Holy Spirit were a person coequal with Father and Son! As if this
were not enough, Paul continued his effrontery to the Holy Spirit (effrontery,
of course, only if the Holy Spirit is indeed a person) by ignoring "him" at
other crucial times. In Romans 8:17 Paul identified Christians as heirs of the
Father and of Christ, but left out the Holy Spirit. In I Corinthians 11:3 we see
man pronounced the leader of the wife, Christ the Head of the man and God the
Head of all. No mention is made of any person called the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 5:5 mentions the Kingdom of God and of Christ, but skips over the Holy
Spirit. And I Timothy 2:5 says Christ is the mediator between God and man, yet
the Holy Spirit - which is credited in other places being an intercessor or man
with God (Romans 8:27)is not mentioned as a person. Why, if the Holy Spirit is a
person? Further, although numerous verses depict God's throne with the Father
and Christ sitting or standing, we see not even an empty chair reserved for the
Holy Spirit. Read Colossians 3:1, Acts 7:55-56 and Revelation 5:19, 7:10.
Truth about the Holy Spirit
The truth about the Holy Spirit depends upon the proper teaching about who or
what God is. The trinity doctrine places the Holy Spirit into the God group as
person or coequal being, so we first must understand about the Father and the
Son before we can understand about the Spirit. And the truth about God is as
astounding as it is vital. Simply put, it is this: God is composed of, at
present, two spirit beings, the Father and the Son, who are separate yet are
both God. This truth is so plainly stated in the Bible that one must
almost purposely construct mental excuses to deny it. The full
revelation of the nature of God did not come until the New Testament.
Nonetheless the truth can be seen, in retrospect, in the Hebrew Old Testament.
For example, examine Genesis 1:1, 26 and 3:22. These verses translate the word
God from the Hebrew Elohim. This Hebrew word allows for plurality, such as may
the English word team. It shows that God is more than one being. See also
Genesis 11:6-7 and Isaiah 6:8, which also grammatically indicate that God is
more than one by the use of the word us or some similar phrasing. Some
argue and that is all it is: an argument that the plural here is merely used
because it is the plural of majesty or the plural that a writer may use in an
article when he speaks of himself. Nonetheless, many theologians see these
verses as indicating exactly what they do in deed show the plurality of God.
Now let us come to the New Testament. We need look no further than John 1:1-2 to
learn that the God group certainly consists of two beings. "In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the
beginning with God."
There it is - it is undeniable! Two beings. But still, we don't know the
relationship between the two. So we need to look into the Bible and read what
God the Father and Christ tells us about themselves. The answer need not be left
to our imaginations, for the biblical statements are clear and unavoidable.
God is composed of two beings, the Father and the Son. How do we know? Simply
because God says Christ is His Son, and Christ says that God is His Father. They
are not liars. And they tell us these things plainly. Look first at the plain
statement recorded in the Bible of Christ's baptism: "Then Jesus, when He had
been baptized, came up immediately from the water... And suddenly a voice came
from heaven, saying, `This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased' "
(Matthew 3:16, 17). There it is. Look at John 10:22-39. Here Jesus repeatedly
called God His Father. And consider this: These references, and many others like
them, are not mere descriptions of God by an outsider like a poet or author.
They are indeed actual words spoken by Christ and the Father about themselves,
to clearly describe themselves.
Re-read John 10:22-39, just referred to. The Jews knew Christ was calling God
His literal Father, for they accused Him of thereby saying He Himself was God
(which, of course, the true Son of God would have to be). They understood His
words so clearly that they felt He had blasphemed and wanted to stone Him for
it. They knew He meant it. Most of professing Christianity today, which holds to
the trinity doctrine, doesn't really believe Christ meant what He said!
Here, then, we have the simple truth of how God can be one God yet two persons,
for the Scriptures plainly teach there is but one God (Deuteronomy 4:35, I Kings
8:60, I Corinthians 8:4, James 2:19). God is composed of two beings on the same
level of existence. There is one God, but two beings. Who or what, then, is the
Holy Spirit? And how can we know? Again, we must let the Bible interpret itself.
PART TWO >