That is a very trinitarian view you have there Shelby ;)
I disagree, dear PSacto (the greatest of love and peace to you!). Trust me, I don't LIKE "agreeing" with the WTBTS on anything. However, the truth is the truth... and this is really the ONLY thing they have right (well, they may have one or two others, but they're minute).
The Holy Spirit is a Person
Indeed, dear aqwsed12345 (peace to you!)... and I would never deny that! He is NOT, however, a THIRD person: he IS Christ, the Lord.
Luke 12:12 - the Holy Spirit will teach you in that hour what you ought to say. He (the Holy Spirit) teaches the faithful.
There is no word "the" in the Greek statement. Thus, the statement was [originally in the Greek, from which the Latin then Spanish then Germanic, then English came]:
"Holy spirit will teach you in that hour what you ought to say."
And that is the truth. Per John (and Christ, which I will get to in a moment)... IT (which is also an accurate rendering of the Greek word "autos"] does teach us:
"These [things] have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as [it] hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." 1 John 2:26-27
That "anointing"... that John spoke of us receiving ("which ye have RECEIVED"... is not a person that is the Holy Spirit... but the "oil of exultation" and "living water"... holy spirit... or holy water/blood/semen/breath... that we receive FROM the Holy Spirit... and by means of which OUR spirits LIVE. Even if our flesh dies.
The life... is in the blood. Our life is in our blood. However, our blood does not have eternal properties. So, we must receive GOD'S blood in order to live forever. Were do WE get GOD'S blood? From Christ... who POURED out his own, in order to forgive our sins... and THEN poured out GOD'S [blood]... UPON us, to cleanse us... and put it IN us... to give us everlasting life.
And the blood... SPEAKS. It is THROUGH his blood, God's blood that is now in HIM... that he gives to US, that Christ, the Holy Spirit... SPEAKS to us.
That is why blood is sacred: ours and even more so, his. It is how we are adopted as SONS: having GOD'S blood, holy spirit, IN US. We are "beget" by means of that same spirit... His semen... which Christ uses to "conceive" us... seeds of the WOMAN... so that we can be born... AGAIN. By means of HOLY SPIRIT and not by means of the flesh.
But let's look at WHO the Holy Spirit person is:
He (the Holy Spirit) teaches the faithful.
Yes. Even Christ himself said so, when, speaking of himself he is recorded at Matthew 23:8 to have said: “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher." Was he referring to another "personage"? Not according to John 13:13, where he is recorded to have said, regarding himself:
“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am."
John 14:17 - the world neither sees Himor knows Him ("Him" is referring to the Holy Spirit). You know Him for He dwells with you.
So, who is Christ speaking of here? Another person? Or... himself:
"'Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.' Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, 'But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?'”
John 14:26 - the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all I have said to you.
Again, of whom is Christ speaking?
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the rulership will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor..." Isaiah 9:6
"The spirit of JaHVeH will rest on him - the spirit of wisdom and of understanding - the spirit of counsel and of might - the spirit of the knowledge and fear of JaHVeH..." Isaiah 11:1, 2
"Thus speaketh JaHVeH of Armies [of angels], saying, Behold the man whose name [is] SPROUT; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of JaHVeH; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both." Zechariah 6:12, 13 (notice, the "counsel of peace" is between TWO: God and Christ, who is Sprout, the "Root" of Jesse and the "TRUE Vine" - John 15:1)
John 15:26 - the Spirit, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness to me. He = the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a person, not a thing.
Again, I agree. I absolutely agree that the Holy Spirit is a person. He is my Lord, the HOLY One of Israel, JAHESHUA MISCHAJAH. He is not a "third" personage in some "godhead" (a term my Lord never used, which he surely would have if it were TRUE, because he IS the Truth and his mouth always utters truth itself... then... and now).
The reason SO many are misled on this matter is simple: rather than going TO the Holy Spirit... he who is the Holy One of Israel and Son and Christ of the MOST Holy One of Israel... they continue to "search the scriptures" regarding these and other matters, which scriptures have been tampered with and sullied by the "false stylus of the secretaries" (Jeremiah 8:8).
I must ask, then, of all of you who DO so search the scriptures, WHY do you do so? How can you say you belong to Christ and call him, "Lord, Lord," but NOT do the things HE said? And one very important thing he said was:
"You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." John 5:39, 40
He said:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Because you DON'T go directly to him... but try to climb up some other way... you are misled. By those who themselves are blind, so that you cannot yet see the difference between Christ, who is the Holy Spirit... and holy spirit... which is the breath, blood, semen, lifeforce, and active force of God. But it doesn't have to be that way.
I hope this helps and, again, bit you peace!
A slave of Christ,
SA
If you look at the Greek wording, dear one, you might be able to see that this verse could just as well have been rendered:
"The spirit, which comes from the Father, will bear witness about me." And that makes perfect sense in light of the fact that OUR spirit... bears witness WITH that spirit... when we are sons:
"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba , Father." Romans 8:15
"And because ye are sons, God hath sent forththe spirit of his Soninto your hearts, crying, Abba , Father." Galatians 4:6
John 16:7 - if I do not go, the Counselor will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you.
This is a very interesting rendering of the verse. Have you ever asked yourself, "Why did Christ need to go in order for the "helper" to be sent? Why couldn't God send it/him, as He apparently did before?" The answer is because Christ was speaking of himself. As a man, he was limited in what he could do for his disciples. As the glorified Holy Spirit, however, and as such the One who received ALL AUTHORITY... he could now GIVE them the holy spirit (IT)... that he had promised them:
"And when he had said this, he breathed on [them], and saith unto them, Receive ye holy spirit..." John 20:22
What did he give them? The same "breath"... holy spirit... that the Most Holy One of Israel gave to Adham:
"And JaHVeH formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Genesis 2:7
Dear ones, it was this breath... of LIFE... which, being the same thing as His blood, semen, and the water that issues forth from Him and the Lamb... that is "holy spirit". The SUBSTANCE... of life.
John 16:7 - this verse also proves the filioque (that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son). The Father isn't just loving the Son; the Son is loving the Father in return, in the same Spirit of love. Therefore, the Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son.
Love is a "fruit" of God's [holy] spirit, dear one. As is peace, faith, joy, etc. It proceeds from the Father... THROUGH the Son... to us. And what we give in return, OUR love, peace, joy, etc., flows back from US... THROUGH the Son... to the Father. In this way, we are ALL one. God's breath, blood, semen, and water... His holy spirit... proceeds out from him... and into the Son, His cistern. It then proceeds from the Son... to us. It does not go from the Son... to another... and then to us. It does not go from the Father and the Son... to another... and then to us. We cannot get it directly from the Father - we have to get it from "Joseph"... who received it... and authority to DISPENSE it (and receive it back into the "storehouses")... from "Pharaoh"... the Father.
John 16: 8 - when He (the Holy Spirit) comes, He will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.
Again, you can substitute "it" for "he"... but you don't need to, for my Lord is speaking of himself.
John 16:13-14 - when the Spirit of truthcomes He will guide you into all truth. He will speak, He will declare and He will glorify.
Yes. Which is why he said, of himself:
"I am the way... and the TRUTH..." and why he is recorded to have said to Ananias, with regard to Saul of Tarsus (Paul):
"... the Lord said to Ananias, ' Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.' Then Ananias went to the houseand entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord — [Jesus],who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 9:15-17
Acts 8:29; 10:19-20; 11:12;13:2; Rev. 22:17 - the Holy Spirit speaks to us like a human person.
Yes, he does!
Acts 15:25,28 - it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us. The Holy Spirit, as a divine person, thinks and makes judgments.
This, again, is a misrendering/mistransliteration. First, the statement indicates an opinion, which would not have come from Christ, the Holy Spirit - he would not have given an "opinion". James was merely stating an agreement they had all come to, by means of holy spirit, which spirit gave an accord between them. But Peter had already come to that conclusion some time earlier, by means of the command Christ had already given him (which, interestingly, noone ever seems to address):
"The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received [Christ] the Word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, “You went intothe house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.” Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’ “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again. “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. The spirit[which was the voice that he had heard and called "Lord"]told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’
“As I began to speak, holy spirit came on them as [it] had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with holy spirit.’ (i.e., LIVING "water") So if God gave them the same gifthe gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?” When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
Rom. 8:26 - the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. It is the Spirit Himself, not itself.
I agree! But WHO is it that intercedes and pleads for us? Is it not our MEDIATOR?? Isn't that what a MEDIATOR does? And isn't it only ONE who is mediator between us and God? And isn't that one... Christ? Thus, as Paul wrote, "The Lord IS the Spirit"?
Rom. 8:16 - it is the Spirit Himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God. The Spirit is a person.
Again, I agree that the Holy Spirit is a person; however, you have misquoted this verse, for it does not state "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit." It states, "The spirit bears witness with our spirit." What does this mean? It means that the holy spirit of God, His BLOOD... bears witness with OUR spirit... or blood. Our LIFE. Just as Abel's blood called out... Abraham's blood calls out. And so does the blood of the Most Holy One of Israel, JAH of Armies. Which blood... is holy spirit.
Rom. 15:30 - I appeal to you by the Lord Jesus and the love of the Spirit. Only persons, rational beings, can love.
Actually, that's inaccurate - animals can love, as well, and we don't necessarily consider them rational (although, they really are - just not to the level we are). But you have been misled in this verse by the capitalization of the word "Spirit." It is not a pronoun, dear one, but a [neuter] noun. What Paul was speaking of was the love OF the spirit... meaning the FRUIT of love, which is a FRUIT of the spirit. He was saying that he appealed to them (the Romans) by Christ and by the [fruitage of] love... which is produced by the holy spirit IN them: the love... of the spirit. You misunderstand him to mean love FOR... or from... the [Holy] Spirit... which is not what he was stating.
1 Cor. 12:11 - the Holy Spirit apportions His gifts to each one individually as He wills. He is the third person of the Godhead.
This is an error; you misunderstand this verse because the Bible version you use (NIV) misinterprets it. The accurate rendering, per the Greek, is:
"Now there are diverse distributions/different kinds of gifts, but the same spirit distributes them."
Meaning, although there is more than one gift [of the spirit]... there is only one spirit by means of which such gifts are given and operate. Which is true. And the gifts operate in many diverse ways, by means of that spirit; however, it is GOD who decides who gets which gift, how it will work in such one, and who it can be used upon. However, it is by means of His holy spirit... His blood... that such gifts ARE distributed to those who are to receive them.
2 Cor. 13:14 - the Holy Spirit can have fellowship with the faithful like a human person.
Yes, he can and does! Not sure how this verse shows that, but you stopped short of the verses (17-18) that tells us WHO that Holy Spirit is:
"But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
Eph. 4:30 - the Holy Spirit can be grieved, just as human persons can be grieved.
