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A STUDY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (Part Two) By Bob Myhan
n part one it was demonstrated that the Holy Spirit is, indeed, a person; He is “a being conscious of self, subsisting in individuality and identity, and endowed with intuitive reason, rational sensibility, and a free will” [H. Leo Boles: The Holy Spirit, His Personality, Nature, Works; page 33]. In part two it will be demonstrated that the Holy Spirit is: A Member of the Godhead It is true that the Bible teaches that there is one God. "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” (Deut. 6:4) But this is a collective “one,” not an absolute “one.” Consider the following passages. Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (Gen. 1:26) Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"-- therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. (Gen. 3:22-23) This should not be a difficult concept to grasp. A husband and his wife are also a collective “one.” “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Gen. 2:24) The Holy Spirit Is God If the Holy Spirit were not a member of the Godhead inspired men would not have referred to Him as God. Yet Peter does so in the following passage. 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? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." (Acts 5:3-4) The Holy Spirit Is One of Three While the Old Testament indicates a plurality of persons in the Godhead, it does not specify the number of those persons. The New Testament does. 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. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matt. 3:16-17) In the above, we have three distinct persons: Jesus, the Spirit of God and “the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 3:4). Consider the chart below.
The Holy Spirit Is “Jehovah” Some think that “Jehovah” is uniquely the name of the Father but it can also be applied to the Holy Spirit. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jehovah: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people: and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith Jehovah: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more. (Jer. 31:33-34, ASV) We know that the name, “Jehovah,” in Jeremiah’s prophecy refers to the Holy Spirit because the inspired author of the Epistle to the Hebrews so identifies Him. 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," then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." (Heb. 10:15-17) Thus, the Holy Spirit is one of three Persons in the Godhead. He is Jehovah but He is not the Father or the Son. John the Baptist promised certain individuals that Jesus would baptize them with the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33). How can one person be baptized with another? To whom was this promise given? Does it extend to anyone living today? [To be continued] SLOW PACED FAVORS By Mike Johnson
ithhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee. (Prov. 3:27-28) The verses make it clear that certain people are deserving of our assistance. Help is to be given "to whom it is due." Also, we see that it is important to not only do good, but to do good toward others in a timely fashion. Procrastination in the performance of good toward others may result in a good act never being done, or it may result in the recipient suffering needlessly because he does not get the help in a reasonable period of time. The Greeks had an adage which said, "A slow paced favor is a flavorless favor." In Luke 10:29-36, we read of the story of the Good Samaritan. In the story, a man was beaten, robbed, and left half-dead. A priest and a Levite saw him in that condition and passed by without assisting him. Next, we see that a Samaritan passed by, and we are told that he immediately helped the beaten man. He helped him with both his time and his money. Of what value would it have been to the man on the side of the road if the Samaritan had said, "Maybe I'll help this poor man on my way back"? The man could have been dead by then, and certainly his suffering would have continued. Galatians 6:10 tells us, "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto those who are of the household of faith." "Doing good" is broad in its scope, and it is an individual responsibility that each Christian has. We can "do good" to others in a number of ways. We can, for example, send a sick or grieving person a card and even take food to him if necessary, visit an elderly person who is lonely, visit a sick person in the hospital who might be in need of encouragement, provide a ride to services for those who need it, give money to a needy person or to some good cause, and we can encourage those who are weak spiritually. A list of "doing good" can go on and on. It seems, though, that one of the biggest obstacles that we face in fulfilling this responsibility is procrastination. People often intend to "do good" toward others, but they never seem to get around to it. The intent is there, but the "favors" are too slow in coming. Procrastination has been called "the grave in which opportunities are buried." In Matthew 25:34-36, Jesus said how things would be at the Judgment Day. The King would say to those on the right hand, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me." The righteous, we are told, will then ask Jesus when they had done these things for him. Jesus then explained (V. 40), "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Those who will be commended did not simply think about doing these good deeds; they did not simply make plans which were soon forgotten. If they had, they would have been grouped with the unrighteous in this chapter who will, at the Judgment Day, be cast into the lake of fire (V. 41).
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