In today’s study, Selwyn looks at the role of the Holy Spirit.
It’s important to believe that the Holy Spirit is God – in every conceivable way. In the New Testament, we find the Holy Spirit is also referred to, as the Spirit of God or the Spirit of Jesus. In the very first chapter of the Bible (second verse), we first meet the Holy Spirit: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.”
In one of our Creeds, many say: “ I believe … in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. … “.
There is but one God, besides Him there is no other. The Holy Spirit is God, who is to be worshiped and glorified. I recently, heard a Christian minister say, ‘we don’t worship the Holy Spirit’. Such a statement, demonstrates an attempt to define the unknown nature of God, based on very limited information given to us in Scripture. We just don’t know enough about God to make any definitive statement about the Trinity in general, and even more so – the Holy Spirit.
In John 14:15-18 (NLT), we have Jesus telling the apostles: ‘ “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans – I will come to you.” ‘
Jesus, especially in John’s Gospel, often takes us in a circle: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In one section He tells the apostles that the Father and He, will come and live in them [if they obey God's commandments]; in another area – He says that the Holy Spirit – will live in them; and, on other occasions, He will say - ‘I will come to you.’ How, this all happens is a mystery – no one (in a general sense) will fully understand this mystery, this side of the grave.
I believe it’s important to understand that the Holy Spirit is God and not a personification of His power.If you are feeling somewhat confused about all this – then turn to Jesus in prayer, and ask for a level of ’contentment’ regarding the mystery of the Trinity, which will help you to follow in His footsteps, and not to be distracted by time-wasting discussions on debatable matters.
In summary, I thought Selwyn’s conclusion to be very good: “The believer who sees himself or herself as someone who can make it through the Christian life relying on their own experiences or understanding rather than on the Holy Spirit, hasn’t begun to comprehend what Christian living is all about.”
Tags: Holy Spirit
Going down deeper
In today’s study, Selwyn looks at the role of the Holy Spirit.
It’s important to believe that the Holy Spirit is God – in every conceivable way. In the New Testament, we find the Holy Spirit is also referred to, as the Spirit of God or the Spirit of Jesus. In the very first chapter of the Bible (second verse), we first meet the Holy Spirit: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.”
In one of our Creeds, many say: “ I believe … in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. … “.
There is but one God, besides Him there is no other. The Holy Spirit is God, who is to be worshiped and glorified. I recently, heard a Christian minister say, ‘we don’t worship the Holy Spirit’. Such a statement, demonstrates an attempt to define the unknown nature of God, based on very limited information given to us in Scripture. We just don’t know enough about God to make any definitive statement about the Trinity in general, and even more so – the Holy Spirit.
In John 14:15-18 (NLT), we have Jesus telling the apostles: ‘ “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans – I will come to you.” ‘
Jesus, especially in John’s Gospel, often takes us in a circle: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In one section He tells the apostles that the Father and He, will come and live in them [if they obey God's commandments]; in another area – He says that the Holy Spirit – will live in them; and, on other occasions, He will say - ‘I will come to you.’ How, this all happens is a mystery – no one (in a general sense) will fully understand this mystery, this side of the grave.
I believe it’s important to understand that the Holy Spirit is God and not a personification of His power.If you are feeling somewhat confused about all this – then turn to Jesus in prayer, and ask for a level of ’contentment’ regarding the mystery of the Trinity, which will help you to follow in His footsteps, and not to be distracted by time-wasting discussions on debatable matters.
In summary, I thought Selwyn’s conclusion to be very good: “The believer who sees himself or herself as someone who can make it through the Christian life relying on their own experiences or understanding rather than on the Holy Spirit, hasn’t begun to comprehend what Christian living is all about.”
Tags: Holy Spirit