The Holy Spirit
Allan Svensson
The Holy Spirit
Some mean that the Holy Spirit is no person, but only a power that
God uses. But Jesus speaks about the Holy Spirit as a person. He
says in John 16:13-14, "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come,
he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but
whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew your
things to come. He shall glorify me: for he receive of mine, and
shall shew it unto you." An impersonal power can neither speak
nor hear.
We can read in 1 Cor. 12:11, "But all these (gifts) worketh that one
and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will."
The Spirit has his own will, something that an impersonal power
cannot have.
If the Holy Spirit is no person, what then is the spirit of man? When
a man is dead, the dead body is no person. Our spirit is our personality
and when our spirit has left the body, our personality is away from the
body.
The evil spirits are intelligent beings though they have no physical
bodies. They can use people and speak through them. Please, read
Mark 1:23-34. Luke 8:27-33. In Acts 19:15 we can read about an
evil spirit who said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye?"
Accordingly, the evil spirits have knowledge. In Matt. 12:43-45 we
see that the evil spirits have their own will. They want to have
physical bodies to live in. When now a spirit of man is a person and
the evil spirits are persons, why would the Holy Spirit be only an
impersonal power?
But how can a person be poured out? In Joel 2:28-29 the Lord says,
"I will pour out my spirit ..." And in Acts 2:14-21 Peter refers to Joel
and says, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will
pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and daughters shall
prophesy ..." And in 1 Cor. 12:13 Paul writes, "... and that one Holy
Spirit was poured out for all of us to drink."
(The New English Bible).
I do not understand how this person, the Holy Spirit can be poured out,
but I believe as the Bible teaches. God's pouring out of his Spirit, and
Jesus' speaking about the Holy Spirit as a person, does not need to be
incompatible only because we do not understand it. God is infinitely
greater than us, and we understand very little of him. No human
language can describe how God is. In the Bible we can read that God
has characteristics that we are unable to understand. God is everywhere
present. For in him we live and move and have our being. Acts 17:28.
Yet, he can look down from heaven upon us. Psalm 53:2.
In Matt. 12:31-32 says Jesus something remarkable about the Holy
Spirit. "All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men:
but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto
men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall
be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it
shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world
to come." And in Mark 3:28-29 Jesus says, "Verily I say unto you,
All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies
wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that blaspheme
against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of
eternal damnation."
If the Holy Spirit is only an impersonal power, why then has he such
an authority, so that it is more dangerous to sin against the Spirit,
than to sin against Jesus or the Father himself?
Allan Svensson
If you have any questions after reading of this article
Please, visit my Web Site
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/INDEX.HTM
The baptism by the Holy Spirit and the New Birth
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/MESSAGE.HTM#Baptism
Evil spirits in the churches
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/SPIRITS.HTM