One of the first and oldest concepts we find in scripture is the Spirit of God who moved on the face of the waters while the earth was still empty and without form.

More and more information about the spirit appears with each page we turn. Why, then, is the subject of the spirit so foreign to so many of us? Why are so many confused about whether the spirit has a role in our lives? Why are there so many conflicting doctrines about the spirit?

I don’t know that I can answer those questions, but in the next few minutes, perhaps we can, at least, raise a few more. As a matter of fact, I will not even try to address all the questions that have been raised about the spirit.

What I have prayed that we can do is to lay a foundation for your own individual study. In your own prayer, I urge you to ask the Lord for guidance in understanding His spirit. Men have made this an extremely complicated subject. However, I believe that – as usual – the truth can be determined by reading the scriptures and taking the most simple, straight-forward meaning, and sticking with it.

I may not have the ability to make things sound as simple as I believe they really are. But once we have established some groundwork, perhaps things will begin to clear up, and the spirit can have free course.

Deism

There is a major doctrine that has been prevalent for centuries. It was alive and well during the time of our Lord on earth.

Who do you think this sounds like?

This doctrine asserts that God exists, that He created the universe, but that He has no present relation to the world. This doctrine seeks to harmonize science and the free will of mankind with the existence of such a being as God. In it, there is no real conflict between the idea of an all-powerful God and the idea of science – which studies a law-abiding world – nor with the idea of a person who has the free will to make real choices.

This doctrine does not claim that miracles are impossible. Instead it teaches that God, being apart from the world, performs no miracles. The doctrine proves the existence of God by arguing from the order and harmony of everything that exists in the universe. It rejects revelation as the test of religious truth and appeals to reason instead.

In simpler terms, the proponents of this doctrine teach that God is – that He always has been – that He is the creator of all things – but that he created the universe, set it in order with what we call natural laws, then walked away. Much the same way you would wind a clock, then walk away to let it take care of itself.

Does this sound like anyone you know?

Actually, what I described, I found in my encyclopedia under the heading: Deism.

In restoration churches, we have claimed to be Theists – which is the doctrine of the God pictured in scripture, but I am afraid that I – for one – have been a Deist.

 

The Bible’s Picture of God

Try this for contrast. Paul was in Athens, the seat of all the world’s wisdom at that time. He was facing some God-fearing Jews and non-Jews, but mostly Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. Most in his audience were polytheists. They had erected statues to honor every "god" they ever heard of – for fear they may have missed one.

Paul told them about the "unknown God" whom they worshiped in ignorance:

The God having made the world and all that is in it, the one being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in hand-made temples. Nor is he served by human hands as though He needs anything, since he himself (is the one) giving life and breath to all things and he made of one every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their living places, that they should search for God, if perhaps they might grope for him and might find him though he is being not far from each one of us; because in him we live and move and are.

As indeed some of your own poets have said, "For we are his offspring". Therefore, being the offspring of God, we ought not to think the divine nature to be like gold or silver or stone or an engraved work of art, formed by the thinking of man.

So then, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to all men that all everywhere are to repent because he has set a day in which he is about to judge the inhabited earth in righteousness through a man whom he has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. (Acts 17:24-31)

God gives life and breath to all things . . . For what purpose?

That they should search for God, if perhaps they might grope for him and might find him, though he is being not far from each one of us; because in him we live and move and are.

Is God so hard for man to find? After all, He’s not far from any of us. Men must be looking for God in all the wrong places.

In describing God, notice that Paul uses the present tense for describing God’s activities –

. . . giving life and breath to all things . . .

. . . and he is being not far from any one of us . . .

. . . and in him we live, we move and we are . . .

The deist would teach us that God created all things, set them in motion and except for a few occasions has not intervened again.

I urge you to add to this what Paul said to the Colossian disciples:

[Speaking of Jesus, the Christ] Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Because in him all things were created – all things in the heavens and on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or lordships or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

And he is before all things and all things in him consist. (NASB: hold together; SEB: holds together.) (Colossians 1:15-17)

I think that Paul explained very simply how "the law of gravity" works! Jesus Christ created everything – whether it is visible or not – and he holds it all together. He even established the principle of government. Paul says "through him and for him" all things are created.

Is this the picture of a deity who has walked away to let creation "run down"? What if Christ were to "walk away." Would everything presently held together – including mine and your bodies – just fly apart?

 

How Involved Does God Get?

What’s a common sparrow worth?

Jesus said:

Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet, not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all having been numbered. Therefore, do not be afraid. You are of much more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:29)

Someone has said: "I just cannot believe that as busy as God is, that He has the time to notice literally when a sparrow or a hair falls."

How do we know just how busy God is? What’s "busy" to God?

Please don’t forget that "in Him all things are held together." And, if that’s true, then how could He not know when a sparrow falls. In fact, this is the very point that Jesus was making to his disciples, that nothing happens without the knowledge and concern of our Creator.

Now is that frightening to you? Or is it comforting? Jesus meant for it to be a comfort and to make his disciples feel secure.

Someone else said: "But God is a person. A person just cannot be everywhere all the time and be aware of every piddling thing that happens. Besides, I’m not even sure God wants to know when I lose a hair!"

My friend, Bob Jantz, has posed the question: "When did God lose count?"

Consider some questions that God himself posed through his prophet, Jeremiah:

"Am I a God who is near, and not a God far off?"

"Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?" "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" (Jeremiah 23:23, 24)

And then, when Solomon was praying and dedicating the temple he had built as a place for God to live, he said:

But will God indeed live on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built! (1 Kings 8:27)

Though Solomon had built a matchless place for God to "live," he recognized that nothing physical can contain all of God.

Solomon’s father David also recognized the infinity of God. In the 139th Psalm, he said that:

God searched him and completely had known him at all times and in everything he did;

God knew in intimate detail in advance where David was going and what he was going to do;

God knew David’s thoughts before he even spoke them;

God wrapped himself completely around David in front and behind;

David could not get away from God, whether in heaven, in sheol – the place of the dead – if he were flying like the dawn around the world; or in the remotest part of the ocean;

Even in those places, God was leading David and his right hand was steadying him;

Even in darkness where David could not see, it was light to God;

While the fetus that would become David was forming, even before his mother was aware, God watched over him;

While that was happening, it was God who skillfully formed David’s inward parts and did weave him together as he would a cloth inside his mother.

David was grateful to God because he had been fearfully and wonderfully made.

 

Job

And, let’s not forget God’s direct description of himself to Job after Job’s friends had finished their "encouragement". From chapters 38 through 41, God claims:

That he laid the foundation of earth; he set its measurements; surveyed it; sunk its foundations; and laid its cornerstone.

He was present when the morning stars sang together and all God’s sons shouted for joy.

He enclosed the sea in its place when it was bursting forth in birth; he clothed it in the cloud and thick darkness; set its boundaries and bolted doors against it; and said, "You shall come no farther than this, here’s where your proud waves stop."

He commands the morning and every day, he tells the dawn when to dawn.

He has entered the places where the seas spring forth; and walked in the deepest places in the sea; he sees the place where death has its origin and where deep darkness comes from; he has seen and understands the entire expanse of earth.

He knows where light lives; he knows the home of darkness and recognizes its territory and the paths to its house.

He keeps the storehouses of snow and of hail; he holds them in reserve for times of distress, of war and battle. He knows the way that light is divided; and the way that the east wind is scattered over the earth.

He carved out a channel for the flood and determines the path of thunderbolts. He brings rain to satisfy waste and desolate lands, even when no people live there.

He makes grass seeds to sprout. He is the father of rain and has begotten the dew drops; he gives birth to ice as hard as stone which freezes over the surface of the seas; and sends the frost.

He has commanded water to fall from the clouds and sent forth the lightnings who answer to him "here we are."

He puts wisdom in our innermost being and gives understanding to our minds.

God goes on. If you haven’t read Job lately, I encourage you to do so. After reading it, you’ll never again be able to say that God created then vacated. He did not walk away to watch the earth unwind, but rather, as Paul said, "In him we live and move and are." He is a God who is still in control of everything we know, as well as things we do not know.

But, what does this have to do with our topic?

What we have been seeing here is the infinity of God. Some have called it His omnipresence. To put it simply – there can be no place where God is not!

Have you ever thought how interesting it might be from God’s perspective?

There is something God cannot do. He cannot go anywhere.

He is confined to everywhere.

I think that keeping this foundation in mind will help us over the difficult parts.

 

"In Spirit And In Truth . . ."

Consider John 4, where Jesus was with the woman at the well. She asked about the differences between her ancestral religion and the Jewish religion. Each culture had a temple where they believed that God lived. Each temple stood on a hill about thirty-five-hundred (3,500) feet above sea-level. Hers was on the mountain where they were standing, the Jews’s temple was in Jerusalem – as the crow flies – about thirty-five (35) miles south.

She said:

Sir, I understand that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father. An hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be his worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

In my opinion, the woman had difficulty and may not have taken in all that Jesus said at the time. Unfortunately, some of us may have the same problem.

Perhaps you have the view that to worship the Father in spirit means to approach your worship with the proper attitude or frame-of-mind. I used to hold that view, but trying to understand and reconcile it gave me problems for a long time.

I now believe that if Jesus had been telling the woman that he meant worshiping God with the proper attitude, then Jesus certainly would have used a different word. The Greeks had words to express attitude.

For example, the Greek word family of phroneo (fron¥o) would have worked just fine. Even though the English word "attitude" never appears in scripture, "mind" does.

Consider Philippians 2:

Let this mind (phroneo) be in you which was also in Christ Jesus . . .

What Paul goes on to describe is an attitude that every disciple ought to have which is like our Savior’s attitude.

So, if he didn’t mean "to have the ‘right attitude,’" then what did Jesus mean when he said "worship God in spirit . . . ." ?

In the past, some of us may have been afraid to ask.

I encourage you – don’t be afraid to ask hard questions and don’t be afraid of the answer when you do ask about these things. When you search earnestly and with prayer for truth, don’t be afraid of what you will find. If it challenges your traditions and past beliefs, by all means do not throw over your old beliefs lightly. But do be willing to give them up, if necessary. Don’t pray for "understanding" or "enlightenment" from his word. If we feel that way, we should just pray: "Lord, make my traditions right."

Seriously, we have a problem now. What does it mean to serve God "in spirit."?

 

The Testimony of John

Let’s consider the testimony of the man sent to prepare the way for Jesus:

I indeed immerse you in water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will immerse you in Holy Spirit and fire. (Matthew 3:11)

I immerse you in water; but He will immerse you in Holy Spirit. (Mark 1:8)

I indeed with water immerse you; but one is coming who is mightier than I, . . . He will immerse you in Holy Spirit and fire. (Luke 3:16)

You may question my translation, because it doesn’t sound like the King James Version. However, I remind you that even at the time of its translation, the church of England practiced sprinkling instead of immersion. King James’s translators were trying to write their practice of sprinkling for immersion into the text. It was not there. At least, they wanted to allow sprinkling through "interpretation" of the word baptize.

Thus, the King James Version had John saying:

I indeed baptize you with water.

The translators could not afford to have him say:

I indeed immerse you in water .

King James would’ve had their heads. Thus, in order to be consistent, when speaking of Jesus who was coming after John, they had him say:

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Instead of:

He will immerse you in Holy Spirit and fire.

What does it mean to be immersed in Holy Spirit? To whom was John speaking when he said "you"? To the future apostles only? Were the future apostles even present at any time John said this?

There’s no record of it if they were.

(All the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being immersed by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins . . . (Mark 1 :5)).

I’ve heard a doctrine taught since I was a youngster, that only the apostles – the twelve – received the baptismal measure of the Holy Spirit.

As I see it, there are two major things wrong with that view:

1. The phrase baptismal measure never appears in scripture.

2. John promised that Jesus will immerse you in Holy Spirit and Fire. The you to whom he was speaking included the entire population of Judea who were coming out into the wilderness to hear him.

It seems to me that many have over-reacted to the errors and emotionalism of Pentecostalism and, being afraid that we might embarrass ourselves by letting our emotions show, we have denied that Jesus would immerse anyone other than an apostle – just common people – in Holy Spirit. In taking this position, have we thus quenched the spirit in our own lives?

 

Born of Water and Spirit

And, what do you make of some of these other scriptures?

When Jesus was describing to Nicodemus the "birth from above" by which one could be born into God’s family, he said:

This is true . . . unless someone is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom (or presence) of God. The one having been born of the flesh is flesh, and the one having been born of the spirit is spirit. Do not marvel because I told you that you must be born from above. The wind blows where it wishes to blow and you hear it’s sound, but you do not know where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone having been born of the spirit. (John 3:5-8)

As an interesting parenthetic thought, the Greek word pneuma (pneuma) is used for breath and for spirit. It’s the same word Jesus uses here for wind, also. He made an intriguing word play to try to help Nicodemus understand this concept.

Something happens during the "birth from above" that Nicodemus should have understood. If Jesus would ridicule Nicodemus for not understanding – when he should have understood – what of us? Should we be ridiculed for not understanding?

Paul taught that the dual nature of this birth from above was required to give us any hope of eternal life.

But when the kindness and the love to man appeared (from) of God, our Savior, not by works which we did in righteousness, but according to his mercy he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit which he shed on us richly through Jesus Christ our savior, in order that, being justified by His grace, we might become heirs, according to hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-6)

Was Paul speaking here of the apostles only? Were they the only ones for whom the birth from above was given?

Is there any doubt in your mind that God had in His mind our regeneration or renewal through the birth from above? The birth from above included both a washing – an immersion (in water) and the birth enabled only by the Holy Spirit. Have we concentrated for too long on the "washing of water by the word"? On the immersion in water "for the remission of sins"? And totally missed the renewal of the Holy Spirit?

 

John / Jesus

Question: What’s the difference between what you believe about immersion for the remission of sins, and the immersion of John? I urge you to think about it. John’s immersion was "in water," "unto the remission of sins."

If that’s what you’ve believed about your immersion (as I have), then what’s the difference?

The difference should be that during our immersion, not only are we washed – cleansed from our sins – but we are immersed in Holy Spirit – we are born of the Holy Spirit. That’s how we are regenerated. That’s how we become a new person. To regenerate means to generate again. (In the original) it means to give another birth. Another begetting. Another start. To establish a new beginning.

Following regeneration, we are no longer only a physical person, but now we have been born from the Holy Spirit of God.

I think there is an enlightening comment in the Greek-English Lexicon by Bauer, Arndt, and Gingrich as the fifth definition of the word pneuma:

5. the spirit as that which differentiates God from everything that is not God, as the divine power that produces all divine existence, as the divine element in which all divine life is carried on, as the bearer of every application of the divine will. All those who belong to God possess or receive this spirit and hence have a share in his life. This spirit also serves to distinguish the Christians from all unbelievers. The spirit enters a man and, in accordance with God’s will, separates him from himself, i.e., from the purely human part of his nature.

If these authors have captured the essence of the meaning of the concept of the spirit of God, then there is no way that man can be regenerated without the spirit doing and sustaining that regeneration.

 

A Confusing Word

I have read a lot lately on this subject. Recently also, I heard a discussion between two Christian brothers about the nature of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

After reading it all and listening to a quite lengthy discussion, I have concluded that the King James word – indwelling – has done it to us again! An obsolete word has clouded our understanding of something that God meant to be quite clear.

I remember when I was a small boy, traveling with my dad. He was looking for a new house for us to move into. I pointed out one that I thought was quite nice, but he said, "No, son. We’re looking for a dwelling house!" What I had pointed to was an old wood-frame church building.

Like little boys do, I asked, "Daddy, what’s a dwelling house?" He explained that it was a house that people dwell in. And that cleared it right up!

He contrasted the dwelling house to a store house, a ware house, a school house and a church house.

Ever since then, I rarely use the term to dwell, or dwelling that I don’t think "a place to live."

I think we could have less confusion, if, instead of talking about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we talked about the Holy Spirit living in us.

But this concept bothers some of us. I have heard the idea in many places that one person just cannot live inside another person. God is a person. So is the Son. So is the Holy Spirit.

I think that if I could understand just how my real person, my own spirit, can live in this body, then perhaps I could also explain how the spirit lives in each of us. But if I believe in the infinity of God – if I believe in his omnipresence – then I can believe that he can be in me if he chooses to do so!

 

The Strange World Of Flatland . . .

To help challenge and stretch your thinking, let me share with you the brief story of some flat-headed friends of mine.  [IOU some graphics.  Presently, they are being scanned and converted from paper to electronic form. - Ed.]

In a place far, far away is the strange country of Flatland (Appendix A, graphic #1). The home of the Flatlanders is a different world indeed. Instead of a world of three dimensions as we know – with length, width and height – the Flatlanders know only two dimensions – length and width. There is no height at all.

One day, our friends, Mr. Square, Mr. Circle, and Mr. Triangle observed a strange phenomenon. Suddenly, right before their very flat eyes, a small rectangle appeared from nowhere (graphic #2). Nothing ever comes from nowhere in Flatland. As they watched in amazement, the small rectangle turned into a small circle (graphic #3), then a larger circle (graphic #4), then – poof! Just as suddenly as the stranger came, he was gone! (graphic #1 - again)

You see, in Flatland, no one and nothing ever changed shape. If you were round, you were round. If square, square. You never changed. You most certainly never, ever appeared and disappeared. You just always were.

Now if we were to have seen what the Flatlanders saw, but if we saw it from our perspective in a three-dimensional world, this (graphic #5) is what we may have seen . . . a good ol’ three-dimensional screwdriver, passing through their two-dimensional world.

Do I need to say any more?

God’s place – God’s world – is not finite. It has no boundaries. It has no limits. God, and God-land, are infinite. There are more dimensions than you can count. God is not bounded by our three dimensions. But just as surely as the Flatlanders could not visualize anything with more than two dimensions, we cannot fathom anything with more than three (or four, if you throw in time as another dimension). We cannot conceptualize anything that is timeless and infinite.

If infinite divinity injects himself into our finite little world, how would we recognize him?

May I suggest that we could recognize his presence only by the result of that presence. Our five finite senses would fail us. I believe Jesus used a very simple illustration of this to Nicodemus when he pointed out that he did not know where the wind came from nor where it went. The only evidence he had was the wind’s effect on his senses.

 

Some Positions

I think we also need to point out some very basic views on the Holy Spirit.

The first is basically the traditional, Restoration Church view:

	The Holy Spirit was sent to the Apostles only, to inspire their preaching and the writing of the New Testament canon.
	In our lives today, the Holy Spirit exists and influences us only through the written words of the New Testament. In other words, his job was to "inspire and retire".
	Only in direct proportion to our learning and understanding more about the content and detail of the written word, does the Holy Spirit live in us and influence our behavior.
	The promise of Christ’s immersion in the Holy Spirit was intended only for the apostles. This immersion came on Pentecost and empowered the apostles to:

	Perform miracles/wonders/signs to confirm the word.
	Inspire their teaching and writing of the scriptures.
	"Pass on" gifts of the Holy Spirit by laying their hands on the recipients.

Spiritual gifts died with the last person upon whom the apostles had laid hands.

The next view was believed by some in the restoration churches from the beginning of the movement, but it actually goes much further back into the past than that.

	The Holy Spirit lives in us in some way we cannot detect with our senses. (Some say, "He lives in us, but in no sensible way.")
	The Spirit lives in us, but not in a "literal" (or some have said, in a "geographic") sense. By that, they mean that the person of the Spirit does not occupy our bodies in the same way that our own individual spirits do.
	The Holy Spirit directs our activities only by the influence of the written word.
	The promise of Christ’s immersion in the Holy Spirit was intended for the apostles only. This immersion came on Pentecost and enabled them to Perform miracles/wonders/signs to confirm the word. Inspired their teaching and writing of the scriptures. Enabled them to "pass on" gifts of the Holy Spirit by laying their hands on the recipients.
	Spiritual gifts died with the last person upon whom the apostles had laid hands.

The third goes a little further:

	The Holy Spirit lives in each believer in a very real sense, and his presence can be known (sensibly).
	The Holy Spirit occupies the bodies of all believers and leads them through direct communication with the subconscious mind (visions, dreams, voices, intuition, hunches, etc.).
	Spiritual gifts have been given to all Christians, in proportion to their faith, from the initial pouring out on Pentecost through today.
	These gifts will not cease until Christ returns to raise the dead.
	All who believe and obey him are immersed by Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit.

And the final major position on the subject:

	The Holy Spirit lives in each Christian in a real, tangible, observable way.
	The Spirit provides gifts to each Christian.
	Christians may exercise these gifts in direct proportion to their own faith in the power of the Spirit to work through them.
	Christ’s immersion of his followers in the Holy Spirit applies to all Christians and the signs of Mark 16 follow them.
	These spiritual gifts include the nine gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12, as well as the five (or 4) gifts of Ephesians 4.
	These gifts of the Holy Spirit will not cease until Christ returns to raise the dead.

 

Much Confusion

At least for my whole life, there has been much confusion about the Holy Spirit and our relationship with him. Some have called the Holy Spirit "him", others have preferred the pronoun – "it". Great men and women – some outstanding scholars – have spent time trying to learn about him and trying to teach some of us what they’ve learned.

Even so, there has been a lot of "smoke screening" going on for more than a century. Some of it caused by our own blindness. In my opinion, the emergence of the Pentecostal movement in the United States has caused a major overreaction toward them that may have amounted to a "quenching" of the spirit among us.

Many people that I know who have grown up in non-charismatic churches begin to get a little nervous when you mention the spirit. I hope you are not affected that way today. I think we should be more comfortable with the Comforter.

 

Discerning Spirits

We need to clear up another thing before we go further. We need to start discerning or understanding what is and what is not the Holy Spirit.

There is little, if any, question in my mind but that every reference that says "The Holy Spirit" in the original language, is referring to the third divine person. According to my count, there are thirty-nine of those occurring in the Greek scriptures.

However, while beginning this study, I felt I had stumbled onto something profound, when I noticed that there are six concepts that I had to figure out and get straight in my own mind. I had never heard anyone else talk about them in just this way.

I noticed references to:

God – The Father

Christ – Jesus, the Son

The Holy Spirit

The Spirit of God (Romans 3:9)

The Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9)

The Spirit (Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:10)

Did this mean that the "Spirit of God" is God’s Spirit or his essence, and that the "Spirit of Christ" is the essence of the Son, and "the spirit" is the essence of the Holy Spirit?

Finally, after much prayer and study, I came across this which had been right under my big nose all along. (That’s the problem with having a big nose like mine. It can hide a lot of stuff!):

When John immersed Jesus, the four biographers shed some interesting light on my question:

And John bore witness saying, "I have beheld the spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and he remained upon him. And I did not recognize him, but he who sent me to immerse in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the spirit descending and remaining upon him, this is the one who immerses in the Holy Spirit". (John 1:32, 33)

John refers to him as "the spirit"

And it came about in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and was immersed by John in the Jordan. And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the spirit like a dove descending upon him: and a voice came out of the heavens: "You are my beloved Son, in you I am well-pleased." (Mark 1:9-11)

Mark uses the term "the spirit" as John did.

And after being immersed, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." (Matthew 1:16, 17)

But Matthew refers to the spirit as the spirit of God.

Luke offers us another alternative:

Now it came about when all the people were immersed, that Jesus also was immersed, and while he was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, "You are my beloved Son. In you I am well-pleased. (Luke 3:21, 22)

From these, I concluded that the third person of deity is called in scripture:

9 the spirit

9 the spirit of God

9 the Holy Spirit

Perhaps you already knew that. I hope so, but I had to learn it the hard way. By beating my head against the wall a few times.

But, what do we do with the others? I am reasonably certain that every time scripture mentions the spirit, the writers are referring to this same spirit of God, unless the context gives strong clues otherwise.

It seems to me that the writers of both Hebrew and Greek scriptures used these terms almost interchangeably. Does that mean that we should not be as concerned about which is which as some of us have been?

There is still one phrase that has me puzzled. There are many references which say simply Holy Spirit without the definite article the in front of it. Such as:

There is one coming after me who is mightier than I. He will immerse you in Holy Spirit

No "the". I’m not sure I fully understand the significance. Work on it, will you? Then let me know, please.

 

The Testimony of Pentecost

Of course, we cannot consider our study even begun without visiting Jerusalem at Pentecost with the twelve. What do you make of the events in Jerusalem after Jesus’ ascension?

The Holy Spirit came upon all who were in the house, including the apostles.

And they were all filled with Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the spirit gave them ability to speak out. (Acts 2:4)

(Many believe this was only the apostles, but that’s a good topic for a different discussion.)

You remember the story. This caused a stir in the city, and as word got around a crowd gathered.

When Peter stood up with the other eleven, he declared that what they were witnessing with their eyes and ears was the fulfillment of a prophecy from Joel:

And God says, "In the last days, I will pour out from my spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams. And in those days, I will pour out from my spirit on my male slaves and on my female slaves, and they will prophesy." (Acts 2:17, 18)

Many (myself included) have declared that Peter tied this down to the miraculous sound and languages given by the spirit just before he began to speak. We have pounded on the pulpit – or written in all capital letters – THIS IS THAT WHICH WAS SPOKEN BY THE PROPHET JOEL. We have pointed to the "sound of the violent wind", to the appearance of fire over each of their heads, and to the miraculous speaking in foreign languages that brought the crowd together and said that’s what Joel was talking about.

But that’s not what Peter said, is it?

If you still think it is, then, on that day, where are the old men dreaming dreams? Where are the young men prophesying? Where are the men and women slaves prophesying?

All we know about what was happening so far is:

- the appearance of tongues that looked like each person was on fire;

- the unearthly, violent sounds of a strong wind which filled the whole house (and apparently the city);

- and the miraculous speaking in foreign languages by those in the room.

What then is the this which Peter said that Joel was telling about? Peter called to witness the words of David to further explain:

We are all witnesses that God raised up this Jesus. Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he is pouring out this, which you both see and hear. (Acts 2:32, 33)

Now they had not heard any prophesying yet. They had not witnessed any old men dreaming spirit-inspired dreams yet. But when Peter said that the Jesus – whom they had crucified less than two months before – was now made both Lord (our Master, or Ruler) and Christ (the Jews’s promised Messiah), they were stung in their hearts.

When they inquired about what they could do in their condition, listen to the words of Peter as he explained what this is that Joel was talking about:

Each of you repent and let each of you be immersed in the name of Jesus Christ to the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise was made to you and to your children and to all those far away, as many as the Lord our God may call to himself. (Acts 2:38, 39)

Now, I pose the question again: What was this which the prophet Joel was talking about?

Peter had set the stage for his listeners by saying that Jesus was going to pour out His spirit, because he had been placed at God’s right hand and had been given the spirit he had been promised. Many – if not all – of these people had heard John’s preaching in the wilderness. All Judea had gone out to be immersed by John for the remission of their sins. Now they were witnesses to the fulfillment of what John said about Jesus: that he would immerse in the Holy Spirit.

Isn’t the "promise to you and your children and to those far away . . . those the Lord would be calling to himself," the same promise Joel had made? Otherwise, why would Peter have tied it in and to this situation?

This, of which Joel spoke, was the immersion in water and the simultaneous immersion in Holy Spirit – for the remission of sins and as the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This was given to all who were immersed in water and spirit in the last days.

 

Filled With Holy Spirit

If, indeed, the Holy Spirit himself is the substance of the "gift of the Holy Spirit" to all obedient believers by Jesus Christ, then don’t you think we should see some evidence of that in the early conversions?

Let’s look:

Acts 4:31 – And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.

Acts 5:32 – And we are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit which God gave to those who obey him.

Acts 6:3 – Select from among yourselves, seven men of good reputation, full of Spirit and of wisdom whom we may appoint over this work.

Acts 6:5 – Steven, a man full of faith and Holy Spirit . . .

Acts 7:51 – . . . Stiffnecked and uncircumcised in hearts and ears, as your fathers did, so also you always oppose the Holy Spirit . . .

Acts 7:55 – . . . . but Steven, being full of Holy Spirit, gazing into heaven saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at God’s right hand . . .

Surely you don’t think all of these people were apostles.

I don’t know if the disciples in Samaria were different in any way, but by the way they are treated by Luke in his narrative, it appears that something about them was different.

Acts 6:12 - 17 – But when they believed Philip, preaching about God’s kingdom and Jesus Christ’s name, they were immersed, both men and women . . . And the apostles in Jerusalem, hearing that Samaria has received the word, sent to them Peter and John, who, going down (there) prayed concerning them so as they might receive Holy Spirit (for he had not fallen on any one of them yet) but they had only been immersed in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received Holy Spirit.

Acts 9:17 – And Ananias went away and entered into the house, and putting his hands on him, said: Saul, brother, the Lord Jesus, the one who appeared to you in the way you came, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with Holy Spirit. And immediately, something like scales fell away from his eyes, and he saw again, and rising up was immersed, and taking food, was strengthened.

I find it extremely interesting that Ananias told Saul that the Lord Jesus had sent him, so that he might be filled with Holy Spirit – and what he did was to immerse Saul in water.

Acts 9:31 – Therefore the assembly throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being built up and going on in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, was multiplied.

Apparently, his role of Comforter was not only to the twelve.

Acts 10:44, 45 – While Peter was still speaking these words the Holy Spirit fell on all the ones hearing the words. And all the circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out also on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in languages and exalting God. Then Peter answered, "Surely no one can forbid water for these to be immersed who have received the Holy Spirit as we also did."

Acts 11:15 - 17 – And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them as also on us in the beginning . . . And I remembered the word of the Lord how he said: "John indeed immersed in water, but you will be immersed in Holy Spirit." Therefore, if God gave them the gift equal to what he gave also to us, who was I to be able to hinder God?

Acts 11:22 - 24 – And the news about them reached the ears of the assembly in Jerusalem and was heard, they sent Barnabas out to Antioch, who, arriving and seeing the grace of God rejoiced and exhorted with a resolute heart to remain with the Lord; because he was a good man and full of Holy Spirit and of faith. And a considerable crowd was added to the Lord.

Then in the city of Paphos on Cyprus:

Acts 13:52 – . . . and the disciples were continually filled with joy and with Holy Spirit.

Now here is one that seems to be quite telling:

Acts 19:1 - 7 – Now it came to pass while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper country, came to Ephesus and found some disciples, and said to them: "Did you receive Holy Spirit when you believed?"

And they said to him, "We have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit."

And he said, "Therefore, into what were you immersed?"

And they said, "Into John’s immersion."

And Paul said, "John immersed with an immersion of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is in Jesus."

And hearing this, they were immersed in the name of the Lord Jesus. And as Paul was laying his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they spoke in languages and prophesied.

Acts 20:28 – Be on guard for yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit placed you as overseers, to shepherd the assembly of God which he acquired through his own blood.

Paul testifies in Romans:

Romans 5:5 – . . . and hope does not put to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 14:16, 17 – Let not let the thing that is good for you be spoken of as evil, for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in Holy Spirit, for he who in this way serves Christ is well-pleasing to God and approved by men.

Romans 15:13 - 16 – Now, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may overflow in hope by the power of Holy Spirit. But I have been persuaded, my brothers, even I myself am convinced concerning you, that you yourselves are full of goodness, having been filled with all knowledge, being able also to admonish one another. And more boldly I wrote to you in part, as reminding you by the grace given to me from God, that I should be a servant of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, sacrificing the gospel of God in order that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, having been sanctified by Holy Spirit.

So among early disciples – it is apparent that they understood perfectly that the spirit was both active and powerful in their lives.

 

". . . That Which Is Perfect . . ."

I earnestly believe that one of the major stumbling blocks, inhibiting us from a proper understanding of the Spirit and his role in our lives, is a misunderstanding (or a lack of understanding) of 1 Corinthians 13. So let’s dive right "in where angels fear to tread".

I believe that our major reason for interpreting this scripture the way we have, is in reaction to some Charismatic abuses and misinformation of our own generation.

Let’s read a few verses, forgetting anything we know about the Pentecostal movement:

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will be done away; or tongues, they will cease; or knowledge, it will be done away, for we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the thing in part will be done away.

Paul "plunks" this discussion down right in the middle of his discussion of spiritual gifts of chapters 12 and 14. Repeated references to this as "the love chapter" of the bible have clouded our minds to make us think Paul has changed the subject temporarily. But he did not. He’s still talking about spiritual gifts.

I believe that in this chapter he is telling us the purpose of these gifts, as well as helping the Corinthian Christians to place these gifts in their proper perspective.

The whole doctrine about the spirit’s relationship in our lives hinges on how we interpret this chapter. What is "the perfect"?

I don’t know that I can settle that in your mind today in these few minutes, but at least, I pray that I can give you something to "chew on".

 

James 1:25

In my background, I was taught to jump from 1 Corinthians 13:10 to James 1:25 to find out what "the perfect" is. As you recall, James says (beginning in verse 23):

Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and is not a doer, he is like a man seeing the face he was born with in a mirror; for he sees himself and has gone away, and immediately forgot what sort of person he was. But the one having looked into the perfect law – the law of freedom – and remaining in it, does not become a forgetting hearer, but a doer of the work. This person is blessed in whatever he does. (James 1:23 - 25)

For some reason which is unclear to me, preachers have jumped from "the perfect" in 1 Corinthians to "the perfect law – the law of freedom" in James 1, and have said: "Ah, ha! ‘The perfect’ must be ‘the perfect law of freedom’. Therefore, when the 27 books of the New Testament canon were finished – when John put down his quill of revelation – spiritual gifts ended."

The argument goes something like this, that the gifts of prophecy and knowledge were used to reveal the word of God – a little bit at a time. In part. But when it had all been revealed, there was no longer any need for the parts, so they disappeared.

Now have you heard that? Many of us in this room either believe or have believed that very thing.

However, I have a curiosity kind of a question for you. Have you ever checked on the word in the Greek scriptures rendered here as "the perfect"?

It comes from the original word – teleios (telei`s). Unfortunately, the King James Version gives us "perfect", and it’s next to impossible to get that concept out of our minds. The word never meant "perfect" in the sense we use "perfect" today. That is – flawless, without blemish nor any kind of imperfection. To Paul and James, the word meant whole, complete, or fulfilled.

In one of its forms or another – teleios appears fifty-one (51) times in the Greek scriptures. In nineteen (19) of those, it is in the exact form as our text.

In the verb form, it is most often translated finished or fulfilled, and it means to finish, to complete, to fulfil (to make whole, or to make entire).

I can’t begin to figure out why of all the other 50 places where a form of teleios is used in the Greek scriptures, someone picked out this one in James and said – "this is it! Gifts will disappear when the New Testament is complete!" I don’t believe that Paul even knew that he was writing a part of "The New Testament."

Besides, James’s own use of the language contradicts that interpretation, right in the verse!

But the one having looked into the perfect law – the law of freedom – and remaining in it, does not become a forgetting hearer, but a doer of the work. This person is blessed in whatever he does. (James 1:25)

Translated correctly, James was saying:

But the one having looked into the completed (whole) law – the law of freedom – and remaining in it . . .

If James had meant The New Testament when he said "the completed (whole) law" (or in the obsolete translation "the perfect law"), then he viewed it as having already been completed (or whole) before he wrote this letter – when he said "the one having looked (past perfect tense) into the completed (whole) law"!

Another logical consequence of that interpretation would be that Luther was right and this letter by James should never have been included in the canon. Only those books written before James would have been in The New Testament.

So, James was not referring to The New Testament when he wrote.

Let’s re-read the 1 Corinthians passage with the correct meaning in it and we get:

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will be done away; or tongues, they will cease; or knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the completed (or whole thing) comes, the thing in part will be done away.

I believe that Paul gives us the only clue we need in understanding what he means when he says:

Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if languages, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when the completed (or whole thing) comes, the partial will be done away. (8-10)

What was "the partial".

"The parts" were parts of what?

The "partial" was not languages, knowledge, and prophesy alone. The "partial" was all of the gifts taken together.

What were all of the gifts parts of?

Whatever all of these gifts were parts of would comprise the completed, or whole thing which was still coming in the future when Paul wrote. The gifts were parts. All of the gifts together, which he had been discussing were not the "completed" or "whole thing." All of them together were still parts.

Paul said that, even with all those gifts, they still,

. . . see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known.

Even with all the gifts present and being used, it was still as though they were looking into a clouded mirror. When the whole, complete thing arrives, their vision will then be as though they were looking at another person, face to face.

Now, even with the gift of knowledge, Paul said he didn’t know in the way that he would know when the whole, complete thing comes.

The difference between now and then is so drastic, that Paul compared now to infancy, and then to adulthood. What a difference! The infant is totally helpless, totally dependent on someone else for everything. The infant cannot even talk, walk, nor perceive. However, the adult is capable of all the things God has given man to be accomplished at doing.

The difference is unimaginable!

The difference between now when God’s grace (charis) has been poured out on us, partially, in grace gifts (charismata), and then when God’s grace will be completed (or we will see the "whole thing"), is even more unimaginable! In fact, it is beyond the ability of the human tongue to describe, and for the finite human brain to conceive what is to come when the "whole" of God’s grace is revealed.

 

1 Corinthians 13

 

now	then
infant	adult
see dimly	see "face to face"
parts	the whole, complete thing
grace gifts (charismata)	completed, whole grace (charis) of God

So, these gifts were not about to end when John finished writing the letter of Revelation a few years into the future, but the gifts would stop when God’s grace is completed for mankind.

What was the purpose of the gifts, anyway? To build up the body. To bring disciples to maturity. Paul was jumping up and down on the Corinthians in the surrounding two chapters, trying to get into their hard heads, that these gifts were given for edifying – not for showing off!

He spent almost the entire fourth chapter of his letter to Ephesus, telling them the same things, that these gifts were for bringing disciples to maturity – to a full-grown man, to the fullness of the stature of Jesus Christ.

I urge you to re-read the entire bible, studying this subject. Give special attention to Ephesians, Romans and the letters to Corinth. Look at them afresh – through this glass. See if there is not more light than with the glass we have been using.

Pray. Pray for knowledge, understanding, and enlightenment. Pray that the Lord will make the spirit active in your life, and that you will follow where He leads.

May God bless you with his bountiful spirit!

 

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Holy Spirit and Christians -- © Copyright 1990, 1998, 2000, 2001 Art Thompson

The Spirit, Spiritual Gifts, Spiritual Myths -- © Copyright 1991, 1998, 2000, 2001 Art Thompson

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