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Who Or What Is The Holy Spirit &
"Spell this out in capital letters: THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON. A. W. Tozer, The Counselor "The Holy Spirit, object of faith, is also an object of prayer: Karl Barth, The Faith Of the Church
A man once commented about how he saw the current condition of many of the mainline churches today: "You'd think the trinity was the Father, Son and Holy Scriptures instead of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit." I've never really heard a better description of the Church today.
If we open our Bibles we notice that the Holy Spirit was present throughout the entire biblical era. The Holy Spirit was present and operative, certainly in the life of Jesus Christ. But my question today is this: "Whatever happened to the Holy Spirit?"
A. W. Tozer said this, "In most Christian churches the Spirit is entirely overlooked. Whether he is present or absent makes no real difference to anyone. Brief reference is made to him in the doxology and the benediction. Further than that, he might as well not exist. So completely do we ignore him that it is only courtesy that we can be called Trinitarian. The idea of the Spirit held by the average church member is so vague as to be nearly nonexistent."
So just who or what is this Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit, Father and Son all comprise a unified Godhead known in Christianity as the "Trinity." I don't have time nor do I think it possible for me to fully explain the Trinity. This one point has consumed the writings and opinions of the world's greatest Biblical scholars and Theologians for centuries. The Bible says it is a mystery and this is one of the few things in life that I just accept. Some of the mysteries of God are way beyond our human ability to fully explain or even comprehend.
A very simplistic explanation is that while each "personage" is distinct in function, each one shares together in the same deity and each one reflects the divine attributes of the One living God. The Trinity has also been referred to by some as "the three in one".
To put it bluntly, the Truth about the Holy Spirit is perhaps the most watered down truth in all the "Church" today. In many traditions and much of the practice of mainline churches, the Holy Spirit is totally ignored. The Church has reduced the Holy Spirit to a vague, impersonal, unthinking, ethereal life force.
I tell you He is much more than that! The Holy Spirit is a "person" equal in every way with God, the Father, and God, the Son. Throughout its pages the Bible tells us that every characteristic of God shown in the Father and the Son are equally apparent in the Holy Spirit.
The following is a list of characteristics of The Holy Spirit and the corresponding scripture verse that references each one:
The Holy Spirit has Characteristics of Personality:
• The Holy Spirit has a Mind ... Romans 8:27
The Holy Spirit has all the Characteristics of God:
• The Holy Spirit is Eternal ... Hebrews 9:14
The Holy Spirit also has Specific Roles and Functions in our lives:
• The Spirit of Truth is our Guide and Reveals Truth ... John 16:13
The Holy Spirit Provides for our Needs:
• The Holy Spirit is where our Power comes from ... Acts 1:8
Divine Works of the Holy Spirit
The divine works of the Holy Spirit are revealed in the following verses of Scripture:
The Holy Spirit Shared in Creation
The earth was empty, a formless mass cloaked in darkness. And the Spirit of God was hovering over its surface. Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. Genesis 1:2-3 (NLT)
The Holy Spirit Raised Jesus from the Dead
The Holy Spirit Places Believers into Christ's Body
The Holy Spirit Proceeds from the Father
The Holy Spirit Proceeds from Christ
The Holy Spirit Gives Divine Gifts
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines. 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 (NIV)
There is a great misconception in most churches that the Holy Spirit is not a person.
When we say that the Holy Spirit is a person, we do not mean that He has a body of flesh and bones; that His first name is Holy and His last name is Spirit. Rather, the Holy Spirit has personhood in that He is self aware, has a will, and can speak.
If the Holy Spirit is only a force, then how can He be lied to? How can a force have a will, or be able to love, or speak, or be insulted? Clearly the Bible demonstrates that the Holy Spirit is alive and has attributes of life, self awareness, and a will and is not a mere force.
As you can see from the above references The Holy Spirit, like Jesus, has all the attributes of both God and humans. In every way, 100% God, but also able to relate to us 100% on a human level.
A.W. Tozer in his book, The Counselor, puts it this way:
"Spell this out in capital letters: THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON. He is not enthusiasm. He is not courage. He is not energy. He is not the personification of all good qualities, like Jack Frost is the personification of cold weather. Actually, the Holy Spirit is not the personification of anything...He has individuality. He is one being and not another. He has will and intelligence. He has hearing. He has knowledge and sympathy and ability to love and see and think. He can hear, speak, desire, grieve and rejoice. He is a Person."
And Karl Barth, one of today's foremost Christian authors, says in his book, The Faith Of the Church:
"The Holy Spirit, object of faith, is also an object of prayer:
The following verse gives a beautiful picture of the Trinity in the Bible:
All three in the same place, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, at the same time yet the Bible makes it clear they are all one God, inseparable; each is fully God and fully indwells each other.
The Bible also makes reference numerous times to the three and that they are all to be treated equally.
Why do we ignore Him?
One of the most grievous things that we can endure is to be totally ignored. You know how it is when you are around a group of people and they act as if you don't even exist. The Holy Spirit is no different. How grieved He must be, for being ignored has been His lot not for days or years, but for many centuries! The very one who has been referred to as the "Indweller of the believer", the "Anointer of the anointed", the "Power of the pulpit" and the "Fullness of power for the believer", continues to go about His work with very little or no acknowledgment or attention at all.
Few sermons are preached about Him, fewer books are written of Him; yet He quietly continues to offer us leadership, comfort, wisdom, strength, teaching and power. But know this, if we ignore the Spirit for too long He will withdraw.
Christians, all of us, have too often ignored the Holy Spirit. And when we do, He withdraws and we miss out on so much of what has been made available to us. Most mainline denominations are much more comfortable talking about Jesus and God than about the Holy Spirit.
There is a growing body of discontented people outside these walls. They do not come to church because they do not feel welcome. There is a coldness or deadness to many congregations that actually drives visitors away. I believe it is this ignorance concerning the Holy Spirit that is the root cause of the coldness and deadness in many congregations today.
We must invite Him in and welcome Him as an equal part of the Godhead. If we recognize Him as that part of God living in us then He will infuse us with Godly life, taking away the spiritual darkness and replacing it with light and life that will attract the masses of people who do not know Him. If the church (lower case ‘c") does not understand and refuses to acknowledge the part the Holy Spirit plays, then the Church (upper case ‘C') will never be what God intends for it to be and the world will continue to slip away into a Godless abyss.
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