[53], The Holy Spirit is credited with inspiring believers and allowing for them to interpret all the sacred scripture, and leads prophets both in Old Testament and New Testament. Don’t wait for an audible voice, but listen as He speaks through the Word. [40][41] Of the seventy or so occurrences of the word Pneuma in Acts, fifty-five refer to the Holy Spirit. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth. [78] Believers in the relevance of the supernatural gifts sometimes speak of a Baptism with the Holy Spirit or Filling with the Holy Spirit which the Christian needs to experience in order to receive those gifts. “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter equates the Spirit with God when he says that lying to the Holy Spirit is lying to God (Acts 5:3–4).The works He performs can be done only by God. (In a few cases it is also simply used generically to mean wind or life. Verse 17 of that chapter says, “The temple of God is holy, and that temple is what you are.” That will help your self-image to know the Holy of holies is in you and in me. . . For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. The Holy Spirit is a real Person, not just a force or a presence or a power. A well-known example is the Filioque controversy regarding the Holy Spirit – one of the key differences between the teachings of the main Western Churches and various Eastern Christian denominations (Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Church of the East). Holy Spirit: One of Three Persons of God The Holy Spirit is one of the three persons of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. and rely on 1 Corinthians 12 as a scriptural basis, but often differ from Pentecostal movements.[87]. [94] Joseph Smith, the founding prophet of the Church, taught, "You might as well baptize a bag of sand as a man," he said, "if not done in view of the remission of sins and getting of the Holy Ghost. There is a peculiar responsibility upon us today to know and experience the Holy Spirit. There is a minor position among the Church Fathers which held that Wisdom is identical not to Christ but to the Holy Spirit. [8] In Luke 3:16 John the Baptist stated that Jesus baptized not with water but with the Holy Spirit; and the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus during his baptism in the Jordan River. The Ultimate Proof of Creation: Video Download. [45] In 1 Thessalonians 1:6 Paul refers to the imitation of Christ (and himself) and states: "And ye became imitators of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit", whose source is identified in 1 Thessalonians 4:8 as "God, who giveth his Holy Spirit unto you". The use of the word "ruach" (Hebrew: "breath", or "wind") in the phrase ruach ha-kodesh seems to suggest that Judaic authorities believed the Holy Spirit was a kind of communication medium like the wind. The Holy Spirit first appears in the second verse of the Bible, in the account of creation : [90] He is often referred to as the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, or the Comforter. He can speak.8 He is praying for you, just as Christ is praying for you.9 He will teach you what you need to know. You have not lied to men; but to God.” From this event we can see that lying to the Holy Spirit is the same as lying to God; therefore, the Holy Spirit is God. The participation of the Holy Spirit in the tripartite nature of conversion is apparent in Jesus' final post-resurrection instruction to his disciples at the end of the Gospel of Matthew (28:19), "Make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," and earlier, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). [93], The Church teaches that the influence of the Holy Ghost can be received before baptism, but the gift, or constant companionship, of the Holy Ghost, which comes by the laying-on of hands by a properly ordained Priesthood Holder with a line of authority traced back to Christ through Peter, is obtained only after baptism. Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go near and overtake this chariot.’. [19] These usages vary: in 133 cases it refers to "spirit" and in 153 cases to "spiritual". [12] The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove during his baptism, and in his Farewell Discourse after the Last Supper Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to his disciples after his departure. [66][failed verification] Yet, as in 1 Corinthians 6:19, God the Spirit continues to dwell in the faithful. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is mentioned by all three authors of the synoptic Gospels. [13][14], The theology of spirits is called pneumatology. That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man. The Holy Spirit is God. 3, Doubleday, New York, 1992, p. 260). [3][4][54] As such he is personal and also fully God, co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and Son of God. The Holy Spirit has been represented in Christian art both in the Eastern and Western Churches using a variety of depictions. And they were. He “searches . [84], The majority of mainstream Protestantism hold similar views on the theology of the Holy Spirit as the Roman Catholic Church, but there are significant differences in belief between Pentecostalism and the rest of Protestantism. The Holy Spirit opens believers’ eyes to the hope of salvation and the inheritance they have in Christ. 2 Cor. When a person becomes born again by believing and receiving Jesus Christ 4, God resides in that person through the Holy Spirit. In this verse Peter confronts Ananias as to why he lied to the Holy Spirit and tells him that he had “not lied to men but to God.” . According to Philippians 2:1, the Spirit is able to have fellowship with us.6 According to 2 Corinthians 13:14, the Holy Spirit can have communion with us.7 One who is able to commune and to have fellowship is capable of personal relationships. He speaks (though usually not audibly) because He is a Person, because He is God, and because His work is to bring each of us into a delightful, personal relationship with Jesus. [83], Towards the end of the 20th century, discussions took place about the removal of Filioque in the Nicene Creed from Anglican prayer books along the lines of the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox approach, but these still have not reached a state of final implementation. [53] Christian hymns such as Veni Creator Spiritus reflect this belief. Based on the imagery in that account, the Holy Spirit is sometimes symbolized by a flame of fire. We see from the Bible that: The Holy Spirit is God Himself, the third Person of the divine Trinity. . That was over twenty years ago, and my brother is still a strong Christian. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Jesus said that His Father is glorified when His disciples bear much fruit. The coming of the Spirit is referred to as his "anointing". For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. [13][14], The Holy Spirit is referred to as "the Lord, the Giver of Life" in the Nicene Creed, which summarises several key beliefs held by many Christian denominations.