Who is the Holy Spirit?

[McCulloch]

God is holy. God is spirit. There is one God. Thus God is the Holy Spirit.

Do the writers of the Bible teach that the Holy Spirit is a separate person from the Father God?

[ThatGirlAgain]

God is holy. God is spirit. There is one God. Thus God is the Holy Spirit.

Do the writers of the Bible teach that the Holy Spirit is a separate person from the Father God?

The Holy Spirit of the New Testament appears to have derived from ruach , the spirit, breath or wind of God found in the Old Testament.

The Jewish view is that ruach is the creative activity of God, generally unseen just as the wind is. For example, God breathed life into Adam. It is also the unseen power of God who inspired the prophets. The ruach IS God and not a separate person.

We can see clear echoes of this idea in the Nicene Creed, as updated at Constantinople in 381, albeit now with trinitarian baggage.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father [and the Son],
who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.

http://www.creeds.net/ancient/nicene.htm

(The [and the Son] is the later filioque addition that caused so much trouble. But that deserves its own thread. Not today.)

.

[postroad]

Paul seems to indicate that Jesus became the Holy Spirit after his death.

2 Corinthians 3:14-18

New International Version (NIV)


14 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. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate[a] the Lords glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit



1 Corinthians 15:44-46

New International Version (NIV)


44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: The first man Adam became a living being[a]; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.

The last text seems to contradict the concept that Jesus existed eternally.

[ThatGirlAgain]

Paul seems to indicate that Jesus became the Holy Spirit after his death.

2 Corinthians 3:14-18

New International Version (NIV)


14 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. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate[a] the Lords glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit



1 Corinthians 15:44-46

New International Version (NIV)


44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: The first man Adam became a living being[a]; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.

The last text seems to contradict the concept that Jesus existed eternally.

I am a bit confused. Was this reply intended for this thread or for another thread where there was a discussion of whether the idea of a divine Jesus appears in Paul?

[JehovahsWitness]

God is holy. God is spirit. There is one God. Thus God is the Holy Spirit.

Do the writers of the Bible teach that the Holy Spirit is a separate PERSON from the Father God?

• "The majority of NT texts reveal God's spirit as someTHING, not someone." - New Catholic Encyclopedia, p. 575, Vol. 13, 1967

• "In the OT the Holy Spirit means a divine power ..." -p. 269, The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1976

• "On the whole, the New Testament, like the Old, speaks of the Spirit as a divine energy or power." - A Catholic Dictionary - The Catholic Encyclopedia: "Nowhere in the Old Testament do we find any clear indication of a Third Person."

• "The Jews never regarded the spirit as a person; nor is there any solid evidence that any Old Testament writer held this view. . . . The Holy Spirit is usually presented in the Synoptics [Gospels] and in Acts as a divine force or power." - Catholic theologian Fortman:

• "On the whole, the New Testament, like the Old, speaks of the spirit as a divine energy or power." - A Catholic Dictionary

• "In the New Testament .... The Holy Spirit is conceived as an impersonal power by which God effects his will through Christ." - An Encyclopedia of Religion, V. Ferm, ed. p. 34

• " It is important to realize that for the first Christians the Spirit was thought of in terms of divine power." - New Bible Dictionary, p. 1139, Tyndale House Publishers , 1984.

• " The emergence of Trinitarian speculations in the early church theology led to great difficulties in the article about the Holy Spirit. For the being-as-person of the Holy Spirit, which is evident in the New Testament as divine power...could not be clearly grasped.... The Holy Spirit was viewed not as a personal figure but rather as a power" - The New Encyclopedia Britannica.

Further Reading
http://examiningthetrinity.blogspot.com ... pirit.html

#QUESTION What about the texts that seem to attribute human characteristics to the holy spirit?

In by far the majority of texts the holy spirit is portrayed in an impersonal manner, for example believers are urged to be "filled with holy spirit"; obviously we are not "filled" with a literal person. However there are texts that seem to attribute human characteritics to the HOLY SPIRIT. The bible sometimes does attribute human characteristics to forces or entities, to convey an idea in a metaphorical way. For example:


a. Wisdom is said to have children - Luke 7:35

b. Sin and death are kings Romans 5:14, 21

c. Sin is a demon crouching at the door At Genesis 4:7 (NEB)

d. the water and the blood speak (as "witnesses") 1 John 5:6-8

e. Blood can speak (calling for Justice) Genesis 4:10

Obviously this personification is not to be taken literally to mean the above are people. In a similar way the personification of the Holy Spirit is not to be taken to mean literally it is a person.

(John 14:26; 1 Corinthians 2:13, John 15:26, John 16:13)

#QUESTION How does the holy spirit "speak" Romans 8:26?

• Just as in the expression "a picture speaks a thousand words" we are not to understand that the holy spirit literally speak. However it is the force by which God enables his message to be conveyed and understood. The action of the spirit in such instances is like that of radio waves transmitting messages from one person to another far away.

FURTHER READING

[De Maria]

"The majority of NT texts reveal God's spirit as someTHING, not someone." - New Catholic Encyclopedia, p. 575, Vol. 13, 1967

"In the OT the Holy Spirit means a divine power ..." -p. 269, The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1976....

#QUESTION How does the holy spirit "speak" Romans 8:26?

Just as in the expression "a picture says a thousand words" we are not to understand that the holy spirit literally speak. However it is the force by which God enables his message to be conveyed and understood. The action of the spirit in such instances is like that of radio waves transmitting messages from one person to another far away.


FURTHER READING
http://www.watchtower.org/e/200607a/article_01.htm
http://www.watchtower.org/e/ti/article_07.htm

Most Christian sects tend to forget that Jesus Christ did not write a single letter in Scripture. He established a Church and commanded that Church to pass on His "Teachings" (or Traditions). The Church then wrote the Scriptures as an aid to passing on these Traditions.

That is why Scripture says:
2 Thessalonians 2:15
Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

So, again, what most Christians don't realize is that it is from the Traditions of Jesus Christ that the New Testament was born. Therefore it is only in the context of these Traditions that the New Testament can be understood correctly.

"What does that have to do with this topic?", you ask. Well, in Scripture Old and New, we find it strongly implied that the Holy Spirit is a person (Genesis 18, Luke 12:12 etc.)

It is in the Traditions of the Church that we find it explicitly taught. Therefore, unless we read the Scriptures in light of the Traditions of the people who wrote them, we won't understand them.

That is true of any book, not just Scripture. That is also true for common speech. For instance, I work on shifts. And frequently on Friday, Wed., Sat or Sunday, you will hear the men say in a sad tone, "Its a Monday." Can you guess why?

Because its our first day back to work. But unless someone has experienced this or heard of it, they would assume the man has made a mistake. In fact, even some men who aren't thinking about it will absentmindedly say, "Its Wed" or whatever.

Therefore, unless you understand the people who wrote the Scripture, you will not understand Scripture. And of course for Scripture, it goes even deeper. Because Scripture was inspired by God. Therefore, unless you read Scripture with the eyes of the Spirit, you will not understand it completely:
2 Corinthians 3:6
Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

Sincerely,

De Maria