| Subject: Let's try to overcome the confusion |
Author:
nontrinitarian
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Date Posted: 11:31:31 05/28/07 Mon
Author Host/IP: nv-71-49-131-129.dhcp.embarqhsd.net/71.49.131.129
In reply to:
Sherlock Holmes
's message, "Re: The Trinity" on 21:22:08 01/10/03 Fri
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The fact is that the term "holy spirit" is used in three different ways in the Bible.
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1-It is indeed used as a title for God's energy or power, as manifested in the material universe. In this sense, it is not a person, but can be visualized as "the finger of God" reaching from Heaven into the material plane to effect it. It is God's ACTIVITY, but not itself a sentient being.
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2- It is sometimes used as a synonym for God, who is the Father, Himself. In these instances "The holy spirit" IS a reference to the Person of God...in other words, "The Father".
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3-It sometimes refers to God's angel, or angels. "He maketh His angels spirits". Holy angels (as opposed to demonic or fallen angels) are indeed "holy spirits" and in the singular are, at times in Scripture, referred to as "God's holy spirit".
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In two of these three cases the term does indeed refer to a "person" or personal being, not a force, however you are quite correct that in NO instance does the term intend to refer to one of three co-equal divine Persons who comprise a "trinity".
>THE Bible's use of "holy spirit" indicates that it is
>a controlled force that Jehovah God uses to accomplish
>a variety of his purposes. To a certain extent, it can
>be likened to electricity, a force that can be adapted
>to perform a great variety of operations.
>
>At Genesis 1:2 the Bible states that "God's active
>force ["spirit" (Hebrew, ru'ach)] was moving to and
>fro over the surface of the waters." Here, God's
>spirit was his active force working to shape the
>earth.
>
>God uses his spirit to enlighten those who serve him.
>David prayed: "Teach me to do your will, for you are
>my God. Your spirit [ru'ach] is good; may it lead me
>in the land of uprightness." (Psalm 143:10) When 70
>capable men were appointed to help Moses, God said to
>him: "I shall have to take away some of the spirit
>[ru'ach] that is upon you and place it upon
>them."—Numbers 11:17.
>
>Bible prophecy was recorded when men of God were
>"borne along by holy spirit [Greek, from pneu'ma]." (2
>Peter 1:20, 21) In this way the Bible was "inspired of
>God," the Greek word for which is The·o'pneu·stos,
>meaning "God-breathed." (2 Timothy 3:16) And holy
>spirit guided certain people to see visions or to have
>prophetic dreams.—2 Samuel 23:2; Joel 2:28, 29; Luke
>1:67; Acts 1:16; 2:32, 33.
>
>The holy spirit impelled Jesus to go into the
>wilderness after his baptism. (Mark 1:12) The spirit
>was like a fire within God's servants, causing them to
>be energized by that force. And it enabled them to
>speak out boldly and courageously.—Micah 3:8; Acts
>7:55-60; 18:25; Romans 12:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:19.
>
>By his spirit, God carries out his judgments on men
>and nations. (Isaiah 30:27, 28; 59:18, 19) And God's
>spirit can reach everywhere, acting for people or
>against them.—Psalm 139:7-12.
>
>GOD'S spirit can also supply "power beyond what is
>normal" to those who serve him. (2 Corinthians 4:7)
>This enables them to endure trials of faith or to do
>things they could not otherwise do.
>
>For example, regarding Samson, Judges 14:6 relates:
>"The spirit of Yahweh seized on him, and though he had
>no weapon in his hand he tore the lion in pieces."
>(JB) Did a divine person actually enter or seize
>Samson, manipulating his body to do what he did? No,
>it was really "the power of the LORD [that] made
>Samson strong."—TEV.
>
>"On the whole, the New Testament, like the Old, speaks
>of the spirit as a divine energy or power." —A
>Catholic Dictionary
>
>The Bible says that when Jesus was baptized, holy
>spirit came down upon him appearing like a dove, not
>like a human form. (Mark 1:10) This active force of
>God enabled Jesus to heal the sick and raise the dead.
>As Luke 5:17 says: "The Power of the Lord [God] was
>behind his [Jesus'] works of healing."—JB.
>
>God's spirit also empowered the disciples of Jesus to
>do miraculous things. Acts 2:1-4 relates that the
>disciples were assembled together at Pentecost when
>"suddenly there occurred from heaven a noise just like
>that of a rushing stiff breeze, . . . and they all
>became filled with holy spirit and started to speak
>with different tongues, just as the spirit was
>granting them to make utterance."
>
>So the holy spirit gave Jesus and other servants of
>God the power to do what humans ordinarily could not
>do.
>
>Not a Person
>
>ARE there not, however, Bible verses that speak of the
>holy spirit in personal terms? Yes, but note what
>Catholic theologian Edmund Fortman says about this in
>The Triune God: "Although this spirit is often
>described in personal terms, it seems quite clear that
>the sacred writers [of the Hebrew Scriptures] never
>conceived or presented this spirit as a distinct
>person."
>
>On one occasion the holy spirit appeared as a dove. On
>another occasion it appeared as tongues of fire—never
>as a person
>
>In the Scriptures it is not unusual for something to
>be personified. Wisdom is said to have children. (Luke
>7:35) Sin and death are called kings. (Romans 5:14,
>21) At Genesis 4:7 The New English Bible (NE) says:
>"Sin is a demon crouching at the door," personifying
>sin as a wicked spirit crouching at Cain's door. But,
>of course, sin is not a spirit person; nor does
>personifying the holy spirit make it a spirit person.
>
>Similarly, at 1 John 5:6-8 (NE) not only the spirit
>but also "the water, and the blood" are said to be
>"witnesses." But water and blood are obviously not
>persons, and neither is the holy spirit a person.
>
>In harmony with this is the Bible's general usage of
>"holy spirit" in an impersonal way, such as
>paralleling it with water and fire. (Matthew 3:11;
>Mark 1:8) People are urged to become filled with holy
>spirit instead of with wine. (Ephesians 5:18) They are
>spoken of as being filled with holy spirit in the same
>way they are filled with such qualities as wisdom,
>faith, and joy. (Acts 6:3; 11:24; 13:52) And at 2
>Corinthians 6:6 holy spirit is included among a number
>of qualities. Such expressions would not be so common
>if the holy spirit were actually a person.
>
>Then, too, while some Bible texts say that the spirit
>speaks, other texts show that this was actually done
>through humans or angels. (Matthew 10:19, 20; Acts
>4:24, 25; 28:25; Hebrews 2:2) The action of the spirit
>in such instances is like that of radio waves
>transmitting messages from one person to another far
>away.
>
>At Matthew 28:19 reference is made to "the name . . .
>of the holy spirit." But the word "name" does not
>always mean a personal name, either in Greek or in
>English. When we say "in the name of the law," we are
>not referring to a person. We mean that which the law
>stands for, its authority. Robertson's Word Pictures
>in the New Testament says: "The use of name (onoma)
>here is a common one in the Septuagint and the papyri
>for power or authority." So baptism 'in the name of
>the holy spirit' recognizes the authority of the
>spirit, that it is from God and functions by divine
>will.
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