Great Bible Doctrines
Lesson No. 4: The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
Date: May 22 and May 29, 2002, Wednesday Evening Adult Bible Class
Speaker: John Phillis
The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead and plays an
important and essential part in God’s plan of redemption for
mankind. Having this essential part to play in our salvation,
as well as other works that the Spirit does, perhaps it is fair to
say that the Spirit is the least understood of all of the
Godhead. As such, the Spirit is also the most misrepresented
of all the Godhead. So this evening, in looking at what the
Bible has to say about the Holy Spirit, we want to see if we can
clear up some of those things and maybe answer some questions that
you have had.
First, we want to look at the PERSON OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT. The Holy Spirit is not an “it.”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the Spirit referred to
as “it,” as if He were an inanimate object of some
sort. The Holy Spirit is a “Person,” a “Being,”
just as God is a Person and a Being, and just as
Jesus Christ is a Person and a Being. We
will be seeing this in our study of this subject.
Perhaps some of the mystery about the Holy Spirit (and maybe
some confusion about what the Holy Spirit is) is, in part, caused
by the reference to the Holy Ghost in some translations,
specifically the King James’ translation. As a matter of
fact, there is no difference between the Holy Ghost and the
Holy Spirit. It is a matter of the use of the word on
the part of the King James translators back in 1620. The word
“ghost” at that time in the vocabulary of 17th century
England had to do with the “mind,” the “center of the
person.” However, in subsequent times, that word “ghost” has
come to represent a “spook,” something that is not real. As a
result, this may have lent itself to a misunderstanding in thinking
that the Holy Spirit is, well, a being that can’t be described,
and, therefore, is not a being at all and, therefore, is referred
to as “it.” The thinking goes, “It’s indescribable, so
we’ll call it an ‘it.’”
We see by looking at references on the Holy Spirit in the Old
Testament that they are a bit scarce! We don’t see many
references in the Old Testament to the Holy Spirit. Psalm
51 and verse 11 is one example of where we DO see the Holy
Spirit named in the Old Testament: “Do not cast me away
from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from
me.” This would be the lament of David in the long
ago. Isaiah the Prophet will mention the Holy Spirit as well,
in Isaiah 63, verses 10 and 11 [“But they rebelled and
grieved His Holy Spirit; So He turned Himself against them as an
enemy, And He fought against them. Then He remembered the
days of old, Moses and his people, saying: ‘Where is He Who brought
them up out of the sea with the shepherd of His flock? Where is He
Who put His Holy Spirit within them.’”].
In the Old Testament, there are several
references made to the “Spirit of God.” Some scholars
would say that this is the Holy Spirit. Others would say that this
is not speaking of the Holy Spirit, but, rather, this may be a
reference to God Himself. But some references do mention the
“Spirit of God.” Some examples are: Genesis
41:38 [“And Pharaoh said to his servants, ‘Can we find such
a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?’”], Job
27:3 [“As long as my breath is in me, And the breath of God
in my nostrils…”], and Ezekiel 11:24 [“Then
the Spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of
God into Chaldea, to those in captivity. And the vision that I had
seen went up from me.”]. [See also Job 33:4:
“The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the
Almighty gives me life.”]
Now, a deficiency of reference to the Holy Spirit does not mean
that the Holy Spirit did not have an important role to play, and
was not active during the Old Testament period. Not at
all!
In the New Testament there are obviously many, many more
references to and about the Holy Spirit—the Person of the
Holy Spirit. He is seen in the New Testament as a Personal
Being, one that is distinct from the Father, distinct from the
Son, one of the three Beings in the Godhead. The New
Testament ascribes personality to the Holy Spirit. It
speaks of Him as an INDIVIDUAL ENTITY. For example,
turn over to Matthew 3, a familiar passage to us on the
baptism of Jesus. We see here in Matthew 3, beginning with
verse 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. And suddenly a voice came from heaven,
saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well
pleased.’”
Also, turn over to Matthew 28 and verse 19, another
familiar text. We see another reference here indicating that
the Spirit is a Personal Entity. “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.”
And then look at John 15 and verse 26. Here Jesus
will say, “But when the Helper comes,” and this is, of
course, a reference we understand, a reference to the Holy Spirit:
“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, again, the Holy Spirit is a
Personal Entity, according to the Doctrine of the Bible.
We also see that PERSONAL PRONOUNS are used regarding the
Holy Spirit. In John, chapter 16, let’s look at two
verses and notice, as we read through this, the use of the personal
pronouns. John 16, beginning with verse 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. He will glorify Me, for He will take of
what is Mine and declare it to you.” Nine times in those
two verses, Jesus uses the personal pronoun “He” in regard
to the Holy Spirit.
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