Truth Is A Spirit

“We are to co-operate with the three highest powers in heaven,–the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, –and these powers will work through us, making us workers together with God.”– Ellen White, Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 7, p. 51. (1905) {Evangelism 617.3}

“The prince of the power of evil can only be held in check by the power of God in the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit.– Ellen White, Special Testimonies, Series A, No. 10, p. 37. (1897) {Evangelism 617.2}

“It is not safe to catch the spirit from another. We want the Holy Spirit, which is Jesus Christ.” {Ellen White, Letter 66, par. 18}

There is no conflict between the above statements. They are all inspired. They are all from the Spirit of Prophecy, which is the testimony of Jesus Christ Himself (Revelation 19:10). The Holy Spirit is one of the three highest powers in heaven. The Holy Spirit is also the third person of the Godhead. And the Holy Spirit is Christ. If it is not easy to understand, no need to fret, we find ourselves in good company. The disciples that spent their everyday with Christ while He walked the earth also faced this same challenge. Speaking about John 14 where Jesus promises the disciples the Comforter, Ellen White says:

“That Christ should manifest Himself to them, and yet be invisible to the world, was a mystery to the disciples. They could not understand the words of Christ in their spiritual sense. They were thinking of the outward, visible manifestation. They could not take in the fact that they could have the presence of Christ with them, and yet He be unseen by the world. They did not understand the meaning of a spiritual manifestation.” {SW, September 13, 1898 par. 2}

The disciples did not understand “the meaning of a spiritual manifestation,” that is, how Christ could be with them and yet be unseen. However, they did understand that in the giving of the Comforter Christ Himself would be with them. They did understand that when Christ said He would give them another Comforter, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, that he meant Himself. They knew it would be Christ, but knew not how it could be.

There are some statements from the pen of Ellen White about the Holy Spirit that are grouped together in a book called “Evangelism.” The book “Evangelism” is a compilation of Ellen White statements. Two of these statements are quoted in the top of this article (the very first two on the page). The book was put together by a man named LeRoy Froom. These statements on the Holy Spirit are most often used to defend a trinitarian view of the Holy Spirit, namely, that the Holy Spirit is a third divine Being next to God and Christ, who is neither the Father nor the Son, but His own Being. While such a conclusion might seem to be logical and obvious when considering the statements in “Evangelism,” problems arise when considering other statements, such as the one already quoted above:

“It is not safe to catch the spirit from another. We want the Holy Spirit, which is Jesus Christ.” {EW, Letter 66, par. 18}

This statement declares that the Holy Spirit is the person of Jesus Christ. This poses a big problem to the view that the Holy Spirit is another divine being, someone other than Christ. When this problem is realized by those defending the trinitarian view of the Holy Spirit, it is almost as quick as reflex to claim, “God is a mystery. We cannot understand Him.” Soon follows another excerpt from another of Ellen White’s books, “The Acts of the Apostles,” which is used to end all discussion and thought:

“It is not essential for us to be able to define just what the Holy Spirit is.  Christ tells us that the Spirit is the Comforter, ‘the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father.’  It is plainly declared regarding the Holy Spirit that, in His work of guiding men into all truth, ‘He shall not speak of Himself.’ John 15:26; 16:13.

The nature of the Holy Spirit is a mystery. Men cannot explain it, because the Lord has not revealed it to them.  Men having fanciful views may bring together passages of Scripture and put a human construction on them, but the acceptance of these views will not strengthen the church. Regarding such mysteries, which are too deep for human understanding, silence is golden.” {Acts of the Apostles, pp. 51-52}

This passage is used as permission to hold a wrong view of the Holy Spirit. It is used to avoid the problem, which is the very real conflict between the trinitarian view of the Holy Spirit, and the view expressed by the Spirit of Prophecy and the Bible. Yes, “the nature of the Holy Spirit is a mystery,” but the identity of the Holy Spirit is not. The Bible, and the Spirit of Prophecy, is clear on who the Holy Spirit actually is. The Holy Spirit is Christ. The nature of this spiritual manifestation of Christ is a mystery, but we can be sure that it is Christ we have when we receive the Holy Spirit.

It is my belief that those who give themselves permission to avoid this problem with the above passage, actually have a sense of the magnitude of what this all means. If the trinitarian view of the Holy Spirit is wrong, then the trinitarian view of God is wrong. And what happens now? God has begun to impress our apostasy from the truth upon the heart, and this is a fearful experience. It means realizing that we have been deceived. And not as individuals only, but corporately.

However, we have never been given permission to keep an error or a lie, no matter how uncomfortable it may be to correct it.

For without [the city of God] are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. Revelation 22:15

Faith in a lie will not have a sanctifying influence upon the life or character. No error is truth, or can be made truth by repetition, or by faith in it. Sincerity will never save a soul from the consequences of believing an error. Without sincerity there is no true religion, but sincerity in a false religion will never save a man. I may be perfectly sincere in following a wrong road, but that will not make it the right road, or bring me to the place I wished to reach. The Lord does not want us to have a blind credulity, and call that the faith that sanctifies. The truth is the principle that sanctifies, and therefore it becomes us to know what is truth. We must compare spiritual things with spiritual. We must prove all things, but hold fast only that which is good, that which bears the divine credentials, which lays before us the true motives and principles which should prompt us to action.–Letter 12, 1890. {2SM 56.1}

The 25 questions that follow show what the Bible actually teaches about the Holy Spirit: what it is and who it is. The Spirit of Prophecy statements regarding the third person of the Godhead, and regarding the fact that the Holy Spirit is Christ and not someone else are in harmony with the biblical teaching. There is no conflict. In fact, it is quite plain – the trinitarian view of the Holy Spirit is erroneous, making it a lie. It is not something that is safe to hang on to, or to love, for by doing so we are kept in confusion; we are following a wrong road. What is plain and simple in the Word of God becomes complicated by error, and we might just find ourselves standing outside the city of God wondering what happened.

We Want the Holy Spirit

 

There is a vast difference between the discomfort of realizing a conflict between the truth and a cherished lie, and not being able to understand the mysteries of God. We must not allow ourselves to confuse one for the other.

There are many questions. There are many things that we cannot understand about the Holy Spirit. And where it is appropriate, we may confess our inadequacy. “The nature of the Holy Spirit is a mystery.” It cannot be explained how it is that “while Jesus ministers in the sanctuary above, He is still by His Spirit the minister of the church on earth” {DA 166}. We cannot explain how it is that “the Holy Spirit is [Christ] divested of the personality of humanity and independent thereof” {14MR 23}. But we may rest in the knowledge that when we receive the Holy Spirit, it is the life and character and mind of Christ whom we are receiving, not someone else: “The last Adam [Christ] was made a quickening [life giving] spirit”; “Christ in you, the hope of glory [perfect character]”; “But we have the mind [Spirit] of Christ.” {1Corinthians 15:45; Colossians 1:27; 1Corinthians 2:16}.

We need to know and understand that the Holy Spirit is Christ, not another Being next to God and Christ. God has plainly revealed this to us in His Word, and in the Spirit of Prophecy:

Now the Lord is that Spirit. {2Corinthians 3:17}

The reason why the churches are weak and sickly and ready to die, is that the enemy has brought influences of a discouraging nature to bear upon trembling souls. He has sought to shut Jesus from their view as the Comforter, as one who reproves, who warns, who admonishes them, saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” Christ has all power in heaven and in earth, and he can strengthen the wavering, and set right the erring. He can inspire with confidence, with hope in God; and confidence in God always results in creating confidence in one another.

Every soul must have a realization that Christ is his personal Saviour; then love and zeal and steadfastness will be manifest in the Christian life. However clear and convincing the truth is, it will fail to sanctify the soul, fail to strengthen and fortify it in its conflicts, unless it is brought in constant contact with life. Satan has achieved his greatest success through interposing himself between the soul and the Saviour. {1888 696.1, 2}

From the above statement it is plain to see that what we believe about the Holy Spirit has an impact that reaches far beyond our individual selves and what we individually believe. It is a corporate problem. “The reason why the churches are weak and sickly and ready to die, is that the enemy… has sought to shut Jesus from their view as the Comforter.” By “interposing himself between the soul and the Saviour,” the enemy has disconnected the church from the Holy Spirit, “which is Jesus Christ.” This is a big deal. The health of our church, its work, and its individual members depends upon having Jesus in our view as the Comforter, as the Holy Spirit. The enemy has interfered, and we have lost sight of our Savior as the Holy Spirit, who reproves, warns, and admonishes.

 

“It is not safe to catch the spirit from another.

We want the Holy Spirit, which is Jesus Christ.”

{EW, Letter 66, par. 18}

 

I pray that you will be blessed by the following 25 Questions about the Holy Spirit. This is knowledge that God has revealed to us. It is ours to study with our whole hearts.

The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. {Deuteronomy 29:29}

Sincerely,

Donna Hernberg

Donna is a Seventh-day Adventist who the Lord has brought out of the darkness to rejoice in the light of Truth.

 

 

25 ANSWERED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD

Taken from Restitution Ministries’ Website

http://acts321.org/studies/godhead_studies/godhead_studies.htm

 

 One: What is the biblical definition of “Spirit”?

Isaiah 40:13

Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counselor hath taught him?

Romans 11:34

For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been His counselor?

Here we learn the plain Bible definition for “Spirit”:

Spirit = mind

Spirit of the Lord = mind of the Lord

 

Two: What is another biblical definition for “Spirit”?

John 6:63

It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Jesus plainly taught that His words are two things: spirit and life.

Spirit = life

This spirit/life is in His words. Words express our thoughts/mind. God’s words express His divine mind. Now we can build this formula:

Spirit = mind = life

 

Three: Many people are confused over the Holy Spirit. How does God clarify the matter for us?

1Corinthians 2:11

For what man knoweth the things of man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

God’s Spirit and man’s spirit are comparable to each other. We can learn about the Spirit of God by looking at the spirit of man. That is simple, since man was made in the image and likeness of God.

 

Four: Is the spirit of man a different individual to man?

Daniel 2:1

And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.

Who is troubled here? Is it the king himself or someone else? It is certainly the king. His spirit, which is his mind, was troubled. His spirit is not a different individual to him!

 

Five: What did Jesus promise before He left?

John 14:16, 17, 26

¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

¹⁷ Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

²⁶ But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Jesus will send a Comforter. The Comforter is the Spirit of truth. It is the Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit.

 

Six: Where does this Spirit come from?

John 15:26

But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of me.

The Holy Spirit comes from the Father; proceeds from the Father. It means “go forth,” “issue from.”

 

Seven: What will this Spirit do?

Mark 13:11

But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Spirit will give us the right words.

Matthew 10:20

For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

It is the Spirit of the Father. So, the Father has a Spirit, and that Spirit is a Holy Spirit. The word “holy” is an adjective.

 

Eight: How can we hurt God?

Ephesians 4:30

And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

When we grieve the Holy Spirit of God, we hurt God Himself, not someone else. We can’t hurt God physically, but we can hurt His feelings.

Genesis 6:3, 6

And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. And it repented the LORD that he had made man upon the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

God was hurt by the wickedness of man before the Flood. They grieved His Holy Spirit. They grieved Him at His heart.

 

Nine: If the Father has a Spirit, does the Son have one too?

Philippians 1:19

For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Galatians 4:6

And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

1Peter1:11

Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

So Jesus Christ has a Spirit as well.

 

Ten: How many Spirits are there?

Ephesians 4:4

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in hope of your calling.

There is only one Spirit, not two, or three. This one Spirit is shared by the Father and Son, by God and Christ. It is both the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ.

Romans 8:9

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

So, the Spirit of God and Christ is the same Spirit. The Father and Son, God and Christ, share that one Spirit/life/mind.

 

Eleven: So, when we receive the Holy Spirit, who do we receive?

John 14:23

Jesus answered and said unto him, If any man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

In receiving the Holy Spirit we actually receive the Father and the Son, not someone else different to them. The Holy Spirit is the personal presence of Christ Himself.

 

Twelve: Who comes to us to be our Comforter?

John 14:18, 19

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

Jesus Christ is our Comforter! It is Jesus, not another person, who comforts us in our trials on this earth.

 

Thirteen: Who will the Father send to the converted?

Acts 3:19, 20

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you.

He will send forth Jesus.

 

Fourteen: We know that Jesus was made flesh in John 1:14, but what else was He made?

1Corinthians 15:45

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

The last Adam was Christ Himself (v.22). Christ was made “a Spirit that gives life,” or “a life-giving Spirit.” So Christ was made two things: flesh and Spirit.

 

Fifteen: How does the Father send Jesus to us?

Galatians 4:6

And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

The Father sends us His Son in the Spirit of His Son. It is the Holy Spirit of Jesus.

 

Sixteen: When we receive the Spirit of Jesus is that someone different than Christ?

2Corinthians 3:17

Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

The Lord is Jesus (1Corinthians 8:6). So, if there is one Lord, and there is one Spirit, and the Lord is that Spirit, it follows then that Christ comes to us as the Holy Spirit. He Himself comes as our personal Comforter, not a different individual or an impersonal force.

 

Seventeen: What happens to us when we receive the Spirit of Christ?

1Corinthians 6:17

But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

We become one with the Lord in Spirit.

 

Eighteen: How is this process described by Peter?

2Peter 1:4

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

We become partakers by being joined to the Word in Spirit.

Nineteen: What did Christ say about His words?

John 6:63

The words that I speak to you, they are spirit, and they are life.

In other words, the Spirit is life. We can obtain this life by taking in the word of God.

Colossians 3:16

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

John 15:5, 7

⁵ I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

⁷ If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

When the word of Christ abides in us we have life. We have the Spirit of God, the mind and heart of God. Christ abides in our hearts by His words, which are Spirit and life!

 

Twenty: What was the only means through which we could obtain this life/spirit?

John 10:11, 15

¹¹ I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

¹⁵ As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Luke 23:46

And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

Jesus had to lay down His life for us. He had to lay down His Spirit as a regenerating agent for us.

 

Twenty one: What did Jesus pray just before He went to the cross?

John 17:20, 21

²¹ Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

²¹ That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

This is done through the Spirit of the Father and the Son: the Holy Spirit. We become one as the Father and Son are one.

 

Twenty two: How are the Father and Son one?

John 14:10, 20

¹⁰ Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

²⁰ At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

Jesus and the Father are one through the Spirit, which they share. This is the Spirit that the Father sends into our hearts.

 

Twenty three: How do we become the Sons of God?

Romans 8:15

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.

Through the Spirit that God gives us. His own Spirit and life become ours. So we are adopted into the family of God.

 

Twenty four: What does Paul say that we, the sons of God, are?

1Corinthians 3:16, 6:19

¹⁶ Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

¹⁹ What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

God lives in us, His temple, by His Holy Spirit. This Holy Spirit is the personal presence of Christ Himself, our Comforter.

 

Twenty five: What is the invitation that Christ offers us?

Revelation 3:20

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Christ Himself will come and live in us by His Holy Spirit.

Colossians 1:27

To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

This is the hope of eternal life. Only through Jesus, and no one else, is this hope realized. Christ wants to live in our hearts through His Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is a Person

 

We have seen the Bible testimony regarding the Holy Spirit of God. It is God’s own mind and character; His very own person. It is His own life which He pours on us through His precious Son. The Holy Spirit of God is not an individual being as God the Father and His Son are. This biblical truth unmasks the deceptive theory of the trinity.

We are thankful to our Father in heaven for not leaving us in the dark regarding who He really is. We have one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, and one Spirit – the Spirit of Christ – which brings us into the unity of the faith. Amen.

 

“We are to co-operate with the three highest powers in heaven,–the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, –and these powers will work through us, making us workers together with God.” Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 7, p. 51. (1905) {Ev 617.3}	“We are to co-operate with the three highest powers in heaven,–the Father, the Son, and the Son’s Spirit, –and these will work through us, making us workers together with God.”   “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” {Galatians 4:6}
“The prince of the power of evil can only be held in check by the power of God in the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit.” Special Testimonies, Series A, No. 10, p.37. (1897) {Ev 617.2}	“The prince of the power of evil can only be held in check by the power of God in Christ: in the holy Spirit of Christ.”   “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” {2Corinthians 3:17}