Thursday, March 6, 2008

Whisper Softly Please

I've been Saved for a few good years now. I do not know where I am in my walk with the Lord. All I really know is that I am closer to Him than I was when I began my walk with Him. I know that my understanding of Truth is much greater than it was Four Years ago, last December. It's funny how that seems like such a long time. I guess it's because so much has happened since then, but that is really the point of this post.

The point of this post is to look into the nature of the third part of God. The Lord Himself has a lot of air time in our thoughts, as does Jesus Christ. However, why is it that we don't talk about the Holy Spirit as much? This has always baffled me. I remember when I was a small child, going to one of the many churches my mother dragged me to. Not that she ever really understood the importance of church (but I do hope and pray that one day she'll come to know Jesus). I remember some talk of the Holy Spirit, but I remember this talk was mainly in the prayers people gave. What is this Holy Spirit? In my quest for knowledge, I had to know more. When it comes to Truth, the best place to turn is the Bible. So, let's go there and look into the nature of the Holy Spirit. Let's see more about this part of God that's just simply not sought after.

I guess we should start off by asking the fundamental question, "What is the Holy Spirit?" Jesus called the Holy Spirit a Helper and the Spirit of Truth (John 14:16-17). Jesus also claimed the Holy Spirit was a Teacher and a Giver of Words (Luke 12:11-12). Paul describes the Spirit as a Unifier, a Source of Spiritual Profit for All (1 Corinthians 12:4-7), and as a Guarantee of God's Love and Protection (2 Corinthians 5:1-6). John tells us that the Spirit is the Manifestation of Christ in Us (1 John 3:24 & 1 John 4:13) and a Light for Every Man (John 1:7-9). Luke, Christ, Paul, Peter, and John all agree that the Spirit is a Witness for Christ's Sacrifice and New Covenant With Us (John 15:7, Acts 50:32, Roman 8:16, Hebrews 10:15, & 1 John 56-7).

The Bible paints a pretty clear picture of Something that seemed so vague before. Yet, we see so little of this Helper, this Spirit of Truth? Why is it that we don't look at the Manifestation of Christ within us? I think this Subject deserves more of a look.

Now, to do a truly detailed study of what the Holy Spirit actually is would take a book and not a blog post. Yet I am not a book writer as of yet, so blogging is what I know. While I believe that the Holy Spirit is shaping me to becoming a writer some day (Lord Willing), now I am learning the craft the Lord has revealed to me and I am walking in Faith with Him. It's because of this that I am writing this in hopes of better understanding His Third Part.

Now, I am going to step away from the Bible for just a moment to address an issue that comes up for many Christians. That is explaining how it is we claim to serve One True God, yet talk about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Well, from my understanding, the Trinity can be expressed in a simple manner. In modern Psychology has started to do research on prayer and it's effects on sick people in hospitals. This branch of Psychology excepts the existence of the soul into modern understanding of Psychology. So, by this understanding of Psychology, we see that the Human creature can be looked at as a Mind, a Body, and a Soul. For God, the Father is the Mind, Jesus is the Body, the Holy Spirit is the Soul. I hope this helps with some people explain some of why God is One True God.

Now, I will go back into Scripture. While writing and studying, I consult sources outside myself to help better my understanding of Truths. To this effect, I spoke to others about this blog post as I began to write it. One question kept coming up, "Does the Holy Spirit have a gender?" That is, is the Holy Spirit a He or an It? Well, John 14:16-17 can answer that question for us quite simply.

16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-- 17 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.
If you remember, I referenced John 14:16-17 in my original list as to what the Holy Spirit is. In these verses, Christ said He was sending the Holy Spirit as a Helper and He (the Holy Spirit) will Dwell with us and in us. (That is something very important to note for many reasons, but I will not address them all as of right now.)

Now that the question of Person/Gender is out of the way, I would like to look at another aspect of the Holy Spirit and His Existence here.

If you remember, I called the Holy Spirit a Witness. The question we must look at is, what does that mean? He is a Witness? What does that mean? Those who are not prepared to see a Deep Spiritual Truth should stop reading now, for we are about to step into the Realm of Biblical Truth.

John 15 is an excellent Chapter to prove what Christ meant by a Witness. I will only link the Chapter for interest of space, but it should be read before continuing.

The True Vine (Jesus; John 15:1) makes an very important point throughout this Chapter. Jesus speaks of bearing Fruits, which those who do not will be taken away, but those that bear fruit will be pruned (John 15:1). Now pruning would be the trails that we as Christians go through to shape our faith, ministry, and self. However, there is something else here. Those who do not bear fruit will be taken away. Does this mean that you can lose your Salvation in Christ? John 4:14 is very clear about that.

14 "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."
So, here's Christ saying that His Salvation is Eternal and Everlasting. That seems very clear to me. So, why would Christ say anything about those who don't bear fruit? He said before this that Salvation is Eternal, so what is Christ saying here? If you have made it this far and suddenly find yourself not ready for a Deep Spiritual Truth, now is the time to stop reading and come back when you are ready. If you are ready, please continue with me.

John 15:26 says: "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me." Well, we know that the other branches cannot be other Christians, so we need to look at some other possibility. A question that is posed is how is it that some are Saved while others are not? Scripture makes it very clear that no one come to the Father except through Christ (John 14:6). How is this possible? Christ has gone back into Heaven until His Second Coming, so how can we come to Christ and enter into the Lord's Salvation? Well, we need a Witness that is somehow also God. We need Him so that we might be Saved. So, there is only one possibility, the Holy Spirit. When Christ said, "And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning (John 15:27)," He did not mean that you and I were with Him in the beginning, not literally. Not would mean we began as Heavenly Creatures and does not follow what the rest of the Bible says about Sinful Man. So, what can it mean? I tell you that it means the Holy Spirit comes to us and gives us the Truth of Christ, and if we accept that Truth, we bear witness to that Truth.

Yes, I said if. I did dare to strike the keys on my keyboard to type out "if we accept that Truth." I say this because of the many references in Scripture that say that Christ's Gift of Salvation is offered to all Mankind that some will reject. The Holy Spirit is Jesus giving Light to Every Man. John 1:9 is very clear. If this isn't apparent to you, read it for yourself.

That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
Yes, Christ's Gift is offered to every man. You really can't get much clearer than this, but many are those who would add to the Truth, and therefore twist the Word of God. I will not get into this here, however. I wish to write about the Holy Spirit and I shall.

John 1:9 makes it very clear that every Man will have have access to the Holy Spirit. Those who have Him have Witness of Christ. Through Christ, Man can come to the Father and thereby receive Salvation. Isn't it amazing how Scripture can give light to Scripture? I tell you, this is what is meant by Christ when He said the Spirit is the Spirit of Truth! I would say to all who read this to always seek out the Truth, for it is written, "ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened (Matthew 7:7-8)."

Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22:

19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.
That is to say, if the Holy Spirit leads you, follow. What He tells you, do. Do not despise the Truth given to you, for the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. Question everything so that you might find what is right and good. Do what is good. Do not do what is evil. We know this to be true from the Scripture. Listen to the Spirit, always and forever. The Unifier will not lead you astray. No Man should say, "God is tempting me," for God does not tempt (James 1:13). I say this to be an assurance to everyone who rightly discerns the Truth and follows after God. As the Holy Spirit is also God, what is True of the Father is True of the Spirit.

I hope this post has been of some help to someone. As I said, to do a truly in-dept study of the Holy Spirit would require a whole book on the subject. What I have proved here is more of an overview of the Subject. I focused on the Witness of the Holy Spirit because it seemed best. It is by the Witness of Christ that we might be saved.