The Holy Spirit, Fact or Fiction

The Holy Spirit, Fact or Fiction

 

The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit….We all have a pretty good understanding of the Father and of the Son but we hardly know anything about the Holy Spirit. Many people are confused about and believe He is nothing but an unseen force, certainly not a person.  I offer up the four following passages in the hopes they will clarify Him for you.

Matt. 28: 18-20

18And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Mat. 12: 28-29

28But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.

Luke 4:18-19

18“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,    because he has anointed me    to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind,    to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

Gen. 6:3.

God tells Noah: "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for that he also is flesh: yet shall his days be a hundred and twenty years." Here the work of the Spirit passes from the form of omnipotence to one of pleading or striving. The Spirit no more impresses his will upon the material universe, but expresses (rolls it out) to a rational creature. By the preaching of the faithful Noah the Spirit plead with the antediluvians to do right and escape the destruction that was coming upon a corrupt and wicked world. From this time onward the Spirit comes on men in various ways, qualifying them with supernatural power for the performance of special duties.

 

So, can you answer the question “Is the Holy Spirit a force or a tangible entity?”  What, no?  I guess we’ll have to look further.  Christianity is differentiated from all the other religions by the fact that it offers its followers a spiritual dynamic in living up to its precepts. That dynamic is the Holy Spirit, that sets the word of God on fire, warms the church from coldness to enthusiasm, and strengthens the Christian with a power not his own in the great battle between the flesh and the spirit.

 

Not only is the Holy Spirit God, the Spirit is a full person of the Trinity. What is meant by that? The Spirit is an “I”, able to take action and cause action. The Spirit is able to be a “we” with other “I's”. The Spirit can be addressed as “you” by other “I's”, and can respond as an “I”. Thus, when we say, "Come, Holy Spirit", the Spirit can come, not as if on command, but as promised.

 

Still confused?  So am I.  Let’s try this:  What did Jesus, the Son of God, say about Him? Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has been given all authority in matters of salvation, Christianity and religion (Matt. 28: 18). In view of that fact it is very appropriate, even essential, that He be heard with reference to the subject of the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 12: 31: 10 Jesus Warned That Blasphemy against The Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven to men   "Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men"

The Holy Spirit is not a “force” or energy or an “it,” but He’s a person. How do we know? The Bible gives us a clear picture of who He is:  He’s intelligent and has an intellect. 1 Corinthians 2:10-11 says, “No one knows the mind of God except the Spirit of God who searches all things.”  He has feelings. Just like when someone does something that causes us sadness and grief, so we also produce a similar emotional response in the Holy Spirit when we hurt others or reject Him. Ephesians 4:30, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” He has a will. In 1 Cor. 12:11, the Apostle Paul describes the Holy Spirit as someone who wills, or determines, how He distributes certain spiritual gifts to the church.  The Holy Spirit has the attributes of God. He is all-powerful, all present, and all-knowing. He has the very mind of Christ.  He is truth. The Holy Spirit is God because He is co-equal, co-existent, and co-eternal with the Father and the Son. (1 John 5) In I Corinthians 3:17 the word “Lord” is used to reference Yahweh. It says, “The Lord is the Spirit.” So the Holy Spirit is a person and He is God.

What have we learned?  The Holy Spirit is both an invisible force and a tangible being?  There are some that will be in the tangible being, those who will be in the force corner, another group that believes the Holy Spirit is both, and the final corner will be those who just don’t know. I guess we just have to wait until we are called to our heavenly home to get the answer to this duality of the Holy Ghost.  As Yoda said “May the force be with you.”  Ok a little cheeky, I know.

 

GOD LOVES YOU!

GOD CARES ABOUT YOU!