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Spirit of God - Spirit of Christ

A New Testament Review


Compiled January 2017 by Rachel Cory-Kuehl

Last edit: September 4, 2022

Scripture from the NKJV unless otherwise noted


INTRODUCTION


      In this compilation, I have tried to include all of the significant verses which mention the Holy Spirit. No. I have not included every single verse with the word spirit. This study would be twice as long. I hope this compilation will prove a useful tool for you, especially when answering questions related to the nature of the Spirit. The verses are arranged in the order they appear in the New Testament, for ease of use. I have added my commentary in italics.


      I believe that God’s Spirit is part of Himself, like my hand is a part of me. If I touch you with my hand, then I have touched you. My hand is not separate from myself. I do not believe that the Spirit is a third divine being with a will of His own that is in addition to that of God the Father and Jesus Christ - the divine Son of the Father. There is no command to worship the Holy Spirit.


      Jesus said, “God is spirit.” God our Father is spirit. The Son of God is also spirit. He existed in “the express image” of His Father, prior to His incarnation, and after He returned to the heavenly realm, He “was made a life-giving spirit” (1Cor 15:45). His power of omnipresence was restored to Him, as the Spirit of His Father was poured into and through Him.

 

Matthew 1:18 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.” (Lk 1:35)

 

Matthew 1:20 “But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.”

 

The Holy Spirit in our first two verses is the “Father” of Jesus Christ, who is then called “the Son of the Father” (2John 1:3).

 

Matthew 3:16 “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him” (Parallel: Mark 1:10, Luke 3:22, John 1:32).

 

Jesus was anointed by God His Father.God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power(Act 10:38). “God the Father has set His seal on Him(John 6:27). What is the “seal” of God? Answer: The Holy Spirit.

 

Anciently, both priests and kings were anointed (by a prophet, and with olive oil) for their offices. Jesus would become both our King and our High Priest. Rather than with oil, the Father anointed His Son with His own Spirit. His Spirit was made visible for just a moment, as a dove like apparition - this as a sign to John the Baptist and perhaps to a few others.

 

Question: Jesus said, “The Father, who dwells in Me, does the works” (John 14:10). Why would Jesus need His Father to do the works? Why would He need the indwelling of His Father? If He was equal in power, after incarnating, then why not just do the works Himself? More still, if Jesus was in fact, the same divine being (God) with the Father and the Spirit, why would He need the anointing and indwelling of the Father? Is God powerless, unless all three “persons” are present together? Was Jesus powerless, without the indwelling of His Father?

      I believe so.


Matthew 4:1 “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”

 

Matthew 10:19-20 “But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.”

 

You have one Father, He who is in Heaven(Matt. 23:9). The Holy Spirit in the above passage IS “the Spirit of the Father.” (Parallel: Luke 12:12)

 

Matthew 12:31-32 “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32 “anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.” (Parallel: Luke 12:10)

 

Some folks see two divine beings in this passage - the Holy Spirit and Jesus. What about God the Father? Why is blasphemy against the Father not addressed? Could it be that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, actually IS blasphemy against God the Father? Blasphemy against Jesus of Nazareth - the man, could be forgiven, but speaking against God His Father - the source of Christ’s power, would not be forgiven? This makes more sense - to me.




 

The rulers of the synagogue saw the healing of a paralyzed man, a crippled hand, and a woman bent over for 18 years. Their response was to say Christ did these things by the power of the Devil. That charge was blasphemy against the Father who lived in Christ. That charge was blasphemy against the Spirit. Jesus said, “The Father who dwells in me, does the works” (John 14:10)

 

Matthew 12:18 “Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.”

 

This is the Father speaking of His Son. “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased(Matt. 3:17, Mar. 1:11, Lk 3:22, 2Pet. 1:17). Jesus Christ is the Servant and the Beloved. “The Father loves the Son” (Jn 3:35, Jn 5:20).

 

There is no verse which says the Spirit loves anyone. Only Christ and His Father are described as loving one another, and loving us.

 

Matthew 12:28 “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.”


          Whom did Jesus credit with His miracles? Answer: His Father.

    “The Father who dwells in Me, He does the works” (John 14:10).


Matthew 22:43-44 “He said to them, ‘How then does David in the Spirit call Him`Lord,’ saying:

    The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool?”’”

 

    Psalm 110:1 “The LORD (Yehovah #03068) said to my Lord ('adown #0113), ‘Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’” Question: Who sits at the right hand of God the Father? Answer: Jesus the Christ (Heb 1:3, Heb 8:1).

 

          Question: Who testified through David and through all of the Old Testament prophets?

      Answer: “The Spirit of Christ who was in them” (1Pet. 1:11).

 

The Holy Spirit of the Old Testament was the pre-incarnate Son of God. He is and always has been the only Mediator - between God and mankind (1Tim 2:5).


      Conclusion: “The LORD” in this verse - is God the Father, and “my Lord” is the Son.








 

Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

 

The Emperor Constantine commissioned and paid for a copying and compilation of the Scriptures known today as the “New Testament.” The resulting Greek text is known as “The Byzantine.” No Greek manuscript (or fragment) older than the time of Constantine, which contains the text of Matthew 28:19, has ever been found. One Aramaic manuscript survives. In that manuscript, the critical phrase reads, “baptizing them in my name.” In other words, Christ commanded the disciples to baptize in HIS name. Many passages confirm the disciples did just that.

 

Eusebius of Caesarea wrote during the 4th century. He was a “friend” of Constantine. In his work “Ecclesiastical History, Book III, Cpt 5, Section 2", he quotes Matthew 28:19 as “make disciples of all the nations in my name.”

 

Eusebius quotes the passage in the same way in “Oration in Praise of Emperor Constantine, Cpt 16, Sect. 8.” He quotes the passage in the same way some 18 times.

 

Near the end of his life, Eusebius quotes the passage just once, as “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” It is possible that this one writing was altered by someone zealous to prove the doctrine of a Trinity. It is possible that Eusebius was influenced by his loyalty to the Emperor, or by fear of the Emperor. We just do not know.


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Mark 1:10 “And immediately, coming up from the water, He [John] saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.”


    Matthew 12:18 “I will put My Spirit upon Him.”

Luke 11:13 “How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.

      

See other comments under Matthew 3:16 and 12:18.


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Luke 2:26-27 [The old man Simeon] “And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple.”


          Jesus said, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” (Jn 5:17).       I don’t see a third divine being at work here.

 

 

Luke 4:1 “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,”


         You Father are in Me(John 17:21).

       The Father who dwells in Me, He does the works” (John 14:10).

 

Luke 4:14 “Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.”

      

Luke 4:18The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;” (quoted from Isaiah).


          The LORD who anointed Jesus, is the same One who sent Jesus.

    Question: Who does Jesus say, sent Him? Answer: The Father (17 versus).

 

Luke 10:21 “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, ‘I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.”


          Paul told us to give thanks always, for all things, to God the Father (Eph. 5:20).

      There is no command to thank the Holy Spirit.

 

Luke 11:13 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

 

Luke 12:10 “And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.”

 

          (See comments with Matthew 12:31-32.)


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John 1:32 “Then John gave this testimony: ‘I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.’” (NIV)


          God the Father anointed and “sealed” His Son - with His own Spirit.

    (See comments with Matthew 3:16 and 12:18.)




 

John 1:33 [John the Baptist speaking] “I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me,`Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’”

 

Very Important: Jesus baptizes us - with the Holy Spirit! The Spirit of the Father lives in Christ, who then imparts that shared spirit, to us.

 

John 3:5 [To Nicodemus] “Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’”


John 3:6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

 

John 3:8 “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

 

John 3:34 “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.”


    Jesus said,

      The Father “sent” Me (17 verses).

      The Father gave Me His words to speak (Jn 12:49).

      The Father dwells in Me. The Father does the works (John 14:10).

      The Father gave His Spirit to His Son (Matt. 12:18).

 

John 4:23-24 “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”


         There is no command to worship the Holy Spirit.

 

John 6:63The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you-- they are full of the Spirit and life.” (NIV)


John 7:39 “But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for     the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (NAU)

 

Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matt. 3:11, Mk 1:8, Lk 3:16). He could not do this UNTIL He was glorified by His Father.





 

Jesus prayed - asking His Father to glorify Him with the same glory that He had - with the Father (no mention of the Spirit also) - before the world was (John 17:5) - long before His incarnation. The Father granted that request.

 

The last Adam was made a life giving spirit(1Cor 15:45). The power of omnipresence was restored to the Son of God. “God has sent into our hearts the Spirit of his Son(Gal 4:6 NJB).

 

John 14:16-18 “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”


    1. The Father would give this new Helper.

      2. The new Helper would abide with you forever.

      3. Jesus would come to them - at a future point.

      4. Jesus must “go away” before the new Helper could come to them (Jn 16:7).

            Note: The Spirit had already been active in the world.

      5. The new Helper was given WHEN Jesus was glorified - not before (Jn 7:39).

      6. Jesus lived with them - at that moment.

      7. At a future point - Jesus would be “in” them.

            Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).

            “God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son, into your hearts” (Galatians 4:6).


      Conclusion: I believe that Jesus is here speaking of His future glorified self.

 

Jesus spoke of His future glorified self in third person, on more than one occasion.

      (Ref: Mat. 16:27, 25:31; Mk 8:38, 9:31; Lk 9:26, Lk 18:8; Jn 6:62.)

 

John 15:26 [Jesus speaking] “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who (or which) proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.”

 

This is THE text used most often to “prove” that the Holy Spirit is a third divine being, one that is sent to replace Jesus in the world. Are we understanding Jesus statement as He intended?


    1. Jesus said, “And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me(John 5:37).

Why would we look to another divine being, to testify of Jesus?


            To “testify of” is to give evidence in support of, evidence which verifies.

The power and presence of Christ - with them and in them - would give evidence verifying that Jesus was indeed the Son of God.



 

2. Jesus said, “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me.”

                  Question: How would they “see” Him?

 

“Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you(John 14:19).


            What “day” is Jesus talking about? Answer: Pentecost! On that Day - they knew!

 

“Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He [Christ] poured out this which you now see and hear” (Acts 2:33).


            John the Baptist prophesied that Christ would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.

 

The Spirit of His Father - received without measure, enabled Jesus to pour His own Spirit power and presence upon His disciples. He could truly say, “I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you(John 14:20).

 

      3. Jesus said that He would be “in” those who believed in Him.

            I in you(John 14:20).

            “Abide in Me, and I in you(John 15:4).

“If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Rom 8:10).

“You seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you (2Co 13:3).

            “Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? (2Co 13:5)

            Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1:27).            


      4. “The Helper” that Jesus would “send,” “proceeds from the Father.”

Jesus “proceeded forth and came from God(Jn 8:42). “I came forth from the Father, and have come into the world” (Jn 16:28).

 

Does the Father have another Son? No!

                  Jesus is the “only begotten” to come forth, from the Father.”

 

      5.   Why did one divine being (God the Father) direct or “send” another divine being, (The Holy Spirit) who was equal in every respect with himself?

The sender is “greater than” the one who is sent. Jesus said, “Nor is one who is sent, greater than the one who sent him(Jn 13:16). Jesus was “sent” by His Father (seventeen verses). The Father is sending and directing, therefore He is “greater.” He is greater than His Son. Yes. Jesus confirmed that.



 

Is Jesus greater than the Holy Spirit? He said that He would “send” the Helper. He poured out the Spirit, and He baptizes with the Holy Spirit.

 

Such hierarchy does not make sense, IF indeed, our God is a Trinity. It does make sense if the Father beget a Son (in His exact image and likeness).

 

I find it much easier to believe that Jesus - after He was filled completely with the Spirit of His Father - poured His own Spirit presence upon His disciples. They were filled with His Spirit, therefore He (Christ) was “with them” and “in” them. The “Spirit of God” has become also “the Spirit of Christ” (Romans 8:9).

 

Believers were promised both the Father and His Son, to “come into” them (John 14:23). “We abide in the Son and in the Father” (1John 2:24).

 

      6.   Jesus said, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working(John 5:17).       No credit is given to a third divine being at work in the world.

 

      7.   The last Adam has been made a life-giving Spirit(1Cor 15:45).

                  The “last Adam” is Jesus. He has become a life-giving Spirit.

                  The Helper is Jesus - as Spirit.

 

John 15:26 [Jesus speaking] “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who (or which) proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.”


            I’m printing the text again, so the reader can readily refer to it.

 

      8.   He will testify of Me.” This is it. This is the phrase that Trinitarians quote, to say the Holy Spirit is NOT Jesus. The “Spirit of truth” would testify - give witness, of Jesus and His resurrection. He would also bring to the mind of the disciples, all of the words that Christ had spoken.

 

Jesus asked the Father, “glorify Me.” Would not the manifestation of His power and presence in the disciples, “testify” of His resurrection? I believe it did.

 

He was transformed into a glorified being. His divine power was returned to Him. He was “made a life-giving spirit (1Cor 15:45).

 

Jesus, on more than one occasion - spoke of Himself in third person (as“He”) when referring to His future glorified self. (Ref: Mat. 16:27, 25:31; Mk 8:38, 9:31; Lk 9:26, Lk 18:8; Jn 6:62.)




 

Jesus said, “the Father who dwells in Me, does the works(John 14:10). Would the same not be true of the resurrected and glorified Christ?

 

John 17:20 [Jesus] “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (NIV)


            “You also will abide in the Son and in the Father” (1John 2:24).


            “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will       come to him and make Our home with him(John 14:23).           

 

John 16:13 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”

 

Jesus said repeatedly, “I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak” (John 12:49). I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works” (John 14:10). See also, John 5:30.

 

Question: Why would a third co-equal divine being not speak on His “own authority?” According to Acts 1:7, the Father has put the times and seasons “under His own authority.” The Father has given all authority in Heaven and on earth to His Son (Matt. 28:18).


            There is no mention that the Holy Spirit HAS any separate authority.


John 16:14He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 

 

John 16:15 “All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”


      11. The Spirit to come, would take of what was “the Father’s,” and would declare it.

            This is what Jesus did! This is what Jesus still does.

            He is speaking here of Himself - his future glorified SELF, in third person - as “He.”

He did that several times. See Mat. 16:27, 25:31; Mk 8:38, 9:31; Lk 9:26, Lk 18:8; Jn 6:62.


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Acts 1:2 “until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen.”

 

In this verse, the Holy Spirit is speaking through Jesus BEFORE He is “taken up” into Heaven. The Spirit speaking through Jesus IS the Spirit of God His Father - the same Spirit which indwelt Him during His life on earth. How do I know this?

            

Jesus said, “The Father who dwells in Me, does the works” (John 14:10).

            Jesus said, “The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority(John 14:10).             Jesus said, “The Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I                   should speak (John 14:10 and John 12:49). 

 

Acts 1:5 “. . . for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”


          Who would baptize them with the Holy Spirit? Answer: Jesus (Acts 2:33).

      “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt. 3:11, Mk 1:8, Lk 3:16, John 1:33).

      

Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”


Acts 1:16 “Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before     by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus;”

 

The Holy Spirit who spoke through all the Old Testament prophets was “the Spirit of Christ who was in them” (1Peter 1:11), not a third divine being. “The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10).

 

Acts 2:4 “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

 

Acts 2:17-18 [Peter quotes the prophet Joel] “‘And it shall come to pass in the last days’, says God, ‘That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.’”

 

Acts 2:33 “Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He [Christ] poured out this which you now see and hear.”





 

Acts 2:38 “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”

 

The Holy Spirit is the “gift” and God the Father is the Giver, through Jesus.

 

Acts 5:3 “But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?’”

 

Acts 5:9 “Then Peter said to her, ‘How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.’”


          The Holy Spirit IS “the Spirit OF the Lord.” To “test the Spirit” is to test the Lord.

 

Acts 5:32 “And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”


           God “has given” the Holy Spirit to those who believe His Son, and obey His Son.

      “God has sent forth the spirit of His Son(Gal 4:6).

      

           “The last Adam has been made a life-giving Spirit” (1Cor. 15:45).

     The Holy Spirit “with us” and “in us” is Jesus!

 

Acts 6:3 “Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business;”

 

Acts 6:5 “And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit,” (also Acts 6:10)

 

Acts 8:14-17 “Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit 16 (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). 17 Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit” (NRS).


Acts 8:29 “Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go near and overtake this chariot.’”

 

Acts 8:39 “Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.”





 

Acts 9:17 “And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’”

 

Acts 9:31 “Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.”

 

Acts 10:19 “While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, ‘Behold, three men are seeking you.’”

 

Acts 10:38 “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”


Jesus said His Father was “with” Him, and dwelt “in” Him (John 17:21, John 14:10).

The Holy Spirit is never said to anoint.

God anoints with His Spirit. The Father gives the Holy Spirit.

Christ baptizes with the Holy Spirit.


The Spirit is the gift - not the giver.

 

Acts 10:44-45, 47 “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.”

. . . “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

 

Acts 11:12, 15-16 “Then the Spirit told me to go with them, doubting nothing. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. . . .”And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’”

 

In the Book of Revelation, we read what the Spirit “says.” Every time the Spirit speaks, we read the words of Christ (Rev. Cpts 2 and 3). Would not the same be true of what “the Spirit said” in the Book of Acts? The disciples understood that Christ was speaking to them.

 

Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit! (Matt. 3:11, Mk 1:8, Lk 3:16). Jesus sends the Spirit (Lk 24:49, Acts 2:33). By this baptism He is with us and in us. He gives the credit to His Father, Who”gave” this gift of power to His Son.




 

The Father would glorify His Son, with the glory He had with the Father before the world was (John 17:5). Before the world was, Jesus was omnipotent and omnipresent. He created this world and the entire universe! If Jesus recovered this glory, just think what power He would possess. He could then create “new heavens” and “a new earth.”


Acts 13:2 “As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me     Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”


         Who called them to this work? Was it not Christ Himself?

      The Spirit speaking IS Christ speaking!


Acts 13:52 “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”

 

Acts 15:8 “So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them [believing Gentiles] the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us [believing Jews]”

 

Acts 15:28 “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:”


Acts 16:6 “they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.”


Acts 16:7 “When they had come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit     of Jesus did not allow them;” (NRS)


            The Holy Spirit IS “the Spirit of Jesus.” “God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son.”

 

NOTE: KJV says simply “the Spirit did not allow.” The KJV was translated from a different ancient manuscript.

 

Acts 18:5 “When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.”

 

Acts 19:2, 5-6 “He said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ So they said to him, ‘We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.’ . . . 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” 19:6 “And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.”

 

Acts 20:23 “except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me.”





Acts 20:28 “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit     has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own     blood.”

 

*** The Holy Spirit purchased the church with HIS own blood. This is Jesus Christ! The Spirit we experience with us and in us - IS Jesus! ***

 

The NET and NRS translate the verse as “with the blood of His own Son,” or “with His own Son’s blood.”

 

Acts 21:4 “And finding disciples, we stayed there seven days. They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem.”

 

Acts 21:11 “When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, ‘Thus says the Holy Spirit, “So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.”’”

 

Acts 28:25 “So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: ‘The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers,’”


          According to Peter, the Spirit who spoke through the prophets was “the Spirit of Christ”

      (1Pet. 1:11).


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Romans 2:29 “but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.”


          NOTE: This is “the circumcision of Christ” (Col 2:11)

 

Romans 5:5 “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

 

The Spirit who was given to us, is Jesus. He “was made a life-giving spirit” (1Cor 15:45).

The Father loves His Son. The Father loves us. We are to love the Father.

      Christ loves us. We are to love Christ.

 

Where is a verse that says the Holy Spirit loves us, or the command to love the Holy Spirit? Answer: There is no such verse.




 

Romans 15:30 speaks of “the love of the Spirit.” This is the love in our own hearts, that we experience because we have the “Spirit of Christ” within. John wrote, “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him(1Jo 2:15). We can understand this verse to say the Father sends His love into us, through His Spirit, which is given to us through Jesus Christ.

 

NOTE: If a verse can be understood in more than one way, by those holding different views, then it is NOT a PROOF TEXT.

 

Romans 7:6 “But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.”

 

Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

 

Romans 8:2 “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

 

John 6:63 [Jesus said] “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”

 

Jesus spoke the words of God His Father, who dwelt in Him. “The Father who dwells in Me, does the works” (John 14:10). That is why the words of Christ were life giving.

 

Romans 8:4-5 “that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.”

 

Romans 8:9 “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”

 

The “Spirit of God” in Christ glorified, has become also “the Spirit of Christ.” This is why Christ promised that both He and His Father would be with us (John 14:23).

 

Romans 8:10 “And if Christ is in you, the body is dead (dying) because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”


          Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).

 





 

Romans 8:11 “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

 

Who raised Jesus from death? Answer: God the Father (Gal. 1:1). The spirit OF God the Father dwells in us. His Spirit comes to us - through Christ, with Christ, and as Christ.


      “If any man love Me, my Father will love Him,

                  and We will come and make Our home with Him” (Jn 14:23).

 

Romans 8:13 “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”


Romans 8:14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

 

Romans 8:15 “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’”


Romans 8:16The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”

 

Romans 8:23 “Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.”

 

Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

 

Romans 8:34 “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”

 

Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”


“No one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:16).

Who then makes intercession for us?

Answer: Christ Jesus!








Romans 8:27 “Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He     makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

 

The one who searches hearts is Jesus.

            “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep.” (John 10:14).


      Jesus knows “the mind of the Spirit.”

            “Nor does anyone know the Father, except the Son” ( Matt. 11:27).

     

      Question: Who makes intercession for the saints? Answer: Jesus (Rom. 8:34, Heb. 7:25).

He is the only mediator between God and man (1Tim. 2:5).

            We cannot insert the Holy Spirit as another “mediator,” between Christ and man.


      Conclusion: “the Spirit” here is that of God the Father. “God is Spirit” (John 4:24).

         The intercessor is Christ.

 

Romans 15:13 “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

 

Romans 15:16 “that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”


      1. We are sanctified by faith - in Jesus Christ (Act 26:18).

      2. We are “sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:1).

                  No mention of the Spirit also.

      3. “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Rev 7:10)

            The Father “sits” - “on His throne” (Rev. 3:21) and Christ now shares that throne.

 

Romans 15:19 “in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.”


Romans 15:30 “Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the     Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me.”

 

The love “of” the Spirit, is that love felt by and expressed by those who are filled with the Spirit of God the Father, and the Spirit of His Son. The wording does not urge an interpretation giving a feeling or character to a third divine being.


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1 Corinthians 2:9-10 “But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit [the mind] of the man which is in him? Even so [just like that] no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God [which is in Him].”

 

Paul is simply saying that God shares His mind - His thoughts, with us, to reveal the things He has prepared for those who love Him.

 

Question: Why would a third divine co-equal person (the Holy Spirit) need to “search” to know the deep things of God - if “He” is God? That doesn’t make sense. Jesus Christ on the other hand, does seek to reveal the “deep things of God” to us - the things which no man has imagined - the truth of what our Father in Heaven really feels towards us.


1 Corinthians 2:12 “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from     God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”


The Spirit who is from God, is Jesus!

“God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son(Gal. 4:6).

“The last Adam was made a life-giving spirit” (1Cor 15:45).

 

            Jesus said this Spirit of truth would take of what is God’s and show those things to us.

      He also said that everything of the Father’s, also belongs to Him (John 16:14-15).

1 Corinthians 2:13 “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”

 

1 Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

 

1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”


         Both the Father and the Son come to us and make their home with us (John 14:23).

 







 

1 Corinthians 6:11 “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”


“washed”(baptized) - sanctified (set apart) - and justified (declared righteous)

 in the name of Jesus,

BY the Spirit of our God.


“He [Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire”(Matt 3:11, Mk 1:8, Lk 3:16, Jn 1:33).

 

Nothing in the passage proves a third divine being. The Spirit OF God the Father, is poured out through Jesus Christ His Son. In this way, Christ baptizes, Christ sanctifies and Christ justifies.


1 Corinthians 6:17 “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.”



 


1 Corinthians 6:19 “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in     you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”

 

Jesus called the Temple of Jerusalem, “My Father’s House (Jn 2:16). He did NOT call it - the Holy Spirit’s House or the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

 

Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him’” (John 14:23).


            How could THEY do that unless both are “spirit?”

 

Jesus said, “God is Spirit” (John 4:24). We read that God our Father is “above all, and through all, and in all (Ephesians 4:6). Certainly sounds like “spirit” and omnipresence. “Your Father . . . sees what is done in secret(Mat 6:6). Certainly sounds like “spirit” and omnipresence.

 

Jesus said, “The Father who dwells in me, does the works” (John 14:10). Certainly sounds like “spirit.”

 

Paul wrote, “The last Adam was made a life-giving spirit(1Cor 15:45). “God has sent forth the spirit of His Son into your hearts” (Gal 4:6).

 

The risen Christ was glorified by His Father. His divine power of omniscience was restored to Him. He is able to communicate mind-to-mind with us. He can be “in” us and “with” us.



I see no third divine person, in any of these passages.

 

Our fellowship is with the Father and His Son (2Jn 1:9, 1Jn 1:3).

      We abide in the Son and in the Father (2Jn 2:24).

 

1 Corinthians 12:1,3 “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says ‘Let Jesus be cursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.”

 

1 Corinthians 12:4-28 “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.

7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, . . . 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. 12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-- whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free-- and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. . . . 18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. . . . But God composed the body, 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. 28 And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.

 

We are commanded to thank the Father for every gift (Eph. 5:20). He is acknowledged as the Giver of every gift and blessing, through Jesus Christ.

 

The Holy Spirit is NEVER thanked.

 

Ephesians 5:20 “giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,


      Colossians 1:3 “We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,”

      Colossians 1:12 “giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you”

Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

 

If the Father IS God, and God is our Father, then the Holy Spirit is His Spirit, and He (God the Father) is the giver of every spiritual gift.


 

Luke 11:13 [Jesus said] “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

 

Ephesians 4:8 “Therefore He says: ‘When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.’”

 

The One who “ascended,” is the One who “gave gifts.” Christ glorified gave the gifts. They are gifts from God the Father, given to us - through Christ.

 

1 Corinthians 15:45 “And so it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being’ The last Adam was made a life-giving Spirit.”


Jesus our Savior, has become the Spirit with us and in us!

The importance of this verse is enormous!!!

 

When he healed the crippled beggar, Peter said to the man, “Jesus the Christ heals you!” (Acts 9:34). He did not say “the Holy Spirit heals you” or “God the Father heals you.” No. He said, “Jesus heals you.” Peter understood that the Spirit, with them and in them, and acting through them, was Christ glorified.


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2 Corinthians 1:21-22 “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” (NIV)

 

2 Corinthians 3:6 (God) “who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”


2 Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord IS the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”


      1 Corinthians 8:6 “there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and          one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.”

 

Philippians 2:11 “every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.


          Jesus Christ IS the “one Lord.” He is the Spirit - with us and in us.

      “God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son, into your hearts” (Gal. 4:6).


2 Corinthians 5:5 “Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us     the Spirit as a guarantee.”


 

2 Corinthians 13:14 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”

 

Thirteen times, Paul sent greetings “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Once Paul also prays for them “the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit.” Paul does not say just what or who “the Holy Spirit” is. We know from other texts, that our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1John 1:3).


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Galatians 3:5 “Well then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?” (NRS)

 

Galatians 3:14 “that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

 

The outpouring and infilling of the Spirit was “the promise.” God the Father promised this gift to His Son, and Christ has promised this gift to those who believe in Him.

 

Galatians 4:6 “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’”


Galatians 5:5 “For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.”

 

Galatians 5:16-17 “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.”


Galatians 5:18 “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

 

To be “under the law,” was to be under its condemnation. “All have sinned” therefore all were condemned to death, until Jesus paid the death penalty, that is applied individually as each one comes to believe. The reason why the law could only condemn, is because we cannot keep it perfectly. The law is still a good standard for Christian behavior, but we must have the Spirit of Christ within us, before we can keep that Law of love. Jesus did not come to do away with the law. He came to write His law on our hearts (Ezekiel 36:27, Jeremiah 31:33).

      This is the New Covenant promise.

 

Galatians 6:8 “For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”


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Ephesians 1:13 “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.”


The Spirit was “the promise of the Father” ( ).

Christ was the channel for that promise.

He “poured out that which you see and hear” ( ).

Jesus baptizes with the Spirit ( ).

Jesus said, “I will come to you” (Jn 14:18). “I am with you always” (Matt. 28:20).

  

The Spirit is the New Covenant promise. “I will put My spirit within you” (Ezekiel 36:27).


Ephesians 2:18For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.”

 

The goal is to “access” the Father, which makes sense if the Father is the One God. Jesus Christ is the “one mediator between God and mankind,” through Whom both Jew and Gentile may access the Father (1Tim 2:5).


Jesus is the “one Spirit” with access to the Father.

 

I know. You’re thinking that I repeat 1Corinthians 15:45 and Galatians 4:6 and a few others, over and over and over. That I do. Because they answer the question concerning the Spirit that is with us and in us.

 

Ephesians 3:14-19 “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, . . . 18 may be able to comprehend . . . the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

 

The perfect obedience and death of God’s Son, has allowed the Father to pour His own Spirit, into our hearts. Jesus Christ is the channel through whom the Father pours out His Spirit. This is the process by which divine power has been restored to God’s Son (power of knowing, of presence, of power). Do you see that the Spirit of God the Father comes to us as the Spirit of Christ also? Both Father and Son come into us, and abide with us (Jn 14:23). There is no third divine being.

 

Think about it. The Son of God came representing His Father, and the Father has sent forth the spirit of His Son. It is the perfect partnership.





 

Yes. Our Father is “in heaven,” but His Spirit (His mind and power) is present everywhere. This said, He does not enter the mind of a human being unbidden. He does not override the human will. He respects our boundaries. This is why the salvation process is a partnership. It requires both our will, and His will, to accomplish the transformation - to fit us for the Kingdom of God.

 

Ephesians 4:4 “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”


          If God the Father is “through all” and “in all” - then He IS the “one Spirit.”

 

Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

 

Not “the Holy Spirit by whom you were sealed.” NO. “God, by Whom you were sealed.” God does the sealing. He seals by means of His spirit presence. He [God] fills us and gives us new birth - “His Spirit in the inner man” (Eph 3:16).

 

Ephesians 6:18 “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”

 

To pray “in the Spirit” is to pray under the influence of the Spirit, and with the inspiration of the Spirit. The Spirit of Christ within cries out to God, “Abba, Father!” (Gal. 4:6). The Spirit of Christ within inspires our prayers, because we do not know what to pray for (Rom. 8:26).


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Philippians 1:19 “For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,”

 

Philippians 3:3 “For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”


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1 Thessalonians 4:8 “Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also     given us His Holy Spirit.”

 

2 Thessalonians 2:13 “But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.”


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1 Timothy 3:16 “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.”

 

The word “was God” (John 1:3). The Son of God was/is divine. Therefore God was manifest in the flesh. He was “justified” - meaning made righteous, “in the Spirit.” Jesus - as a man, was perfectly “righteous” BECAUSE He was indwelt by the Spirit of His Father. He is our role model. The same indwelling is possible - for us.

 

Jesus said, “The Father who dwells in Me, He does the works” (John 14:10).


2 Timothy 1:14 “That good thing [the Gospel] which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit     who dwells in us.”

 

We have the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from death, dwelling in us (Rom. 8:11).

      Who raised Jesus from death? Answer: God the Father (Gal. 1:1).

 

There is “one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all(Eph 4:6). Which means “the Holy Spirit who dwells in us” IS God our Father.

 

The Spirit of the Father comes to us, through His Son. We therefore experience oneness with both the Father and His Son. We “hear” the words of Christ. Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice(Jn 10:27).


      COMPARE these parallel texts.

       Matthew 10:20 “for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.”

       Mark 13:11 “for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.”

       Luke 12:12 “For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”


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Hebrews 3:7-9 “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years.”

 

Whose “works” did Israel see for forty years? Answer: Those of God’s Son. He was “the Messenger of the Covenant.” His presence shaded them and gave them light from the pillar of cloud and fire. He spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai. The elders of Israel “saw” him.




 

The Son of God is the only Mediator between God and mankind. This has been the case from the sin of Adam in the garden. See our study “The Mediator.”


Hebrews 9:14 “Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God,”

 

Jesus said, “The Father who dwells in Me, He does the works” (John 14:10). “The eternal Spirit” dwelling in Christ, was the Spirit of God our Father.

 

Hebrews 10:15-16 “But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them.’”


          When did the Holy Spirit say this “before?”

                  Answer: Ezekiel 36:26 and Jeremiah 31:33.


            Who spoke through Ezekiel and Jeremiah? Answer: Christ.

      The Spirit of Christ who was in them(1Peter 1:11).

   

            Whose spirit, do we have within us - if we believe.

      “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).

         “God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son, into your hearts” (Gal. 4:6).

 

Hebrews 10:29 “Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?”


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1 Peter 1:2 “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.”

 

1 Peter 1:10-11 “Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.”


1 Peter 1:12 “preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven . . .”

 






 

1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,”

 

Peter says Christ was resurrected by the Holy Spirit. Paul says Christ was resurrected by God the Father (Gal 1:1). Put these together. The Holy Spirit IS the omnipresent Spirit of God the Father! The Father is “above all and through all and in all(Eph. 4:6).


2 Peter 1:21 “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were     moved by the Holy Spirit.”


          They were moved by the Spirit OF Christ (1Pet 1:10-11).

       Revelation 19:10 “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.


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1 John 3:23-24 “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”


And whose Spirit has the Father given us? Answer: The Spirit of His Son (Gal 4:6).


1John 1:3 “and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.”

2 John 1:9 “He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.”


No mention of a third divine person, or being.

 

1 John 4:13 “By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.”

 

1 John 5:6 “This is He who came by water and blood-- Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.”

 

To bear witness or testify, is to give evidence concerning a matter in question. Jesus said the Scriptures “testify of Me” (Jn 5:39). The Scriptures are not a living being. They are evidence. The power of the Spirit’s presence, “testified” to (gave evidence for) - the truth that Jesus Christ was indeed the Son of God, that He had been raised from death, and that He had sent the promise of His Father, just as He promised. The Father testified for His Son, by giving this Spirit. None of this makes the Spirit a third divine being.





 

1 John 5:7-8 “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.”

 

Most translations note that this verse was a later addition. It is not found in the oldest manuscripts. Scholars reject use of this verse for any proof concerning the Trinity doctrine.


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Revelation 1:10 “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.”


     John receives a “revelation” in his mind, while under the influence of the Spirit.


Revelation 2:7, 2:11, 2:29, 3:6, 3:13, 3:22 “hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

 

If you read “what the Spirit says,” you quickly realize that the speaker in every case, is Jesus Christ. “These are the words of the first and the last, who was dead and came to life:”(Rev. 2:8). This is Christ! This was the case for John, and it is the case for us today. Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice(John 10:27).


Revelation 19:10 “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”


    The Spirit of prophecy IS Jesus speaking.



THE INVISIBLE GOD

 

Christ “is the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15). Jesus said, “not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father” (Jn 6:46). No mortal human being had “seen the Father.”

 

We do read that, “their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven,” speaking of little children (Mat 18:10). So angels have “seen” God the Father. God is Spirit (John 4:24), and He also appears in a form which can be “seen” by angels - who are also spirit beings. He appears, sitting on a throne - in Heaven. He is invisible to physical human beings, living within this physical dimension, but He is seen by other created beings such as cherubim and seraphim.

Before He incarnated into human flesh, the Son of God also was Spirit. He existed in “the express image” - an exact copy of His Father (Heb. 1:3). The existence of the Father and the Son as Spirit beings, does not preclude their appearance in human form. Before the incarnation, the Son of God appeared to Abraham, to Moses, to Joshua, to Daniel and to Ezekiel. Please see our study “The Mediator.”




 

Angels are spirit beings. They are called “spirits sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation” (Heb.1:13-14). Angels (both good and evil) appeared many times, to individual human beings on the earth. Angels are not divine. They are created beings. They cannot create life. They are not omnipresent, omniscient, or omnipotent.

 

Finally, we ourselves will receive new spiritual bodies, so that we may appear in Heaven before the throne of God. Because “God is spirit” does not mean that He cannot appear to human beings. It means that He exists in the spirit dimension, which is presently separated from the physical dimension, so far as our five senses can experience. We are promised that one day we “shall see His face” (Rev. 22:4).

  


OMNIPRESENCE

 

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit OF God the Father, just like my hand is Rachel’s hand. It is part of me. I control my own hand. I touch things and grasp things with my hand, just as God the Father touches things and fills things and moves things, with His Spirit. If I were to touch your shoulder with my hand, you would say “Rachel touched me.” Any action I do with my hand, is my action. It is the same for God and His Spirit. His Spirit is an extension of Himself. He is omnipresent because His Spirit is everywhere.



CONCLUSION

 

My hope is that you students of the Word will find this compilation useful, as you search for truths concerning God and His Son. If you found this study, then you have seen the others on prophecyviewpoint.com, in this series on The Trinity Question.

 

My belief is that God our Father has empowered His Son. Before the Son incarnated, He had divine powers, equal to those of His Father. When He incarnated, He “emptied himself” of those divine powers (Phil. 2:7). He took the form and the nature of a human being. He had to “overcome” as a man, to recover dominion of the earth for mankind. He fulfilled every requirement of the covenants, in order to “inherit the land promised.”

 

When Christ’s work on earth was finished and He returned to Heaven, the Father restored divine power to His Son. He did this by uniting His own Spirit, with that of His Son. This partnership has enabled Christ to send His own Spirit to be with us, and in us. The “Spirit of the Father” has become also “the Spirit of Christ.”


      “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit,

                  if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.

                        Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” (Romans 8:9)




      “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word;

                                                            and My Father will love him,

                              and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

                                                                                                                (John 14:23) 



We pray this study will prove a blessing.

Prophecy Viewpoint

 

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