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Index |
| Section 1
The Trinitarian Position |
| Section 2
Scriptural use of "Spirit" and "Holy Spirit" |
| Section 3
Is the Holy Spirit a person? |
| Section 4
Spirit gifts Past and present. |
| Chapter 5 Appendix |
Proposition: The Holy Spirit is the Father's mind and power, and not a separate person.
With the sobering words of Jesus very much in mind: "... whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come" (Matthew 12:32), we approach this subject with all reverence. We are nevertheless confident that a humble and honest searching of God's Word to ascertain what it does say on this very important matter will receive commendation and not disapproval.We will consider this topic within four main sections:
Section 1. The Trinitarian position.
Section 2. Scriptural use of "Spirit" and "Holy Spirit".
Section 3. Is the Holy Spirit a person?
Section 4. Spirit gifts Past and present.
SECTION 1. THE TRINITARIAN POSITION
By the fourth century A.D. most of Christendom had reached the conclusion that the Holy Spirit was the "third person" of a trinity. The Athanasian Creed sets out this concept in laborious detail (see chapter 8 for an historical sketch of the development of trinitarian doctrine). For our present purpose it will be sufficient to quote item five of the Church of England's "Articles of Religion", first adopted in 1562:
"The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one substance, majesty, and glory, with the Father and the Son, very and eternal God."
Other definitions are considerably more complicated, but even this brief one poses several problems of comprehension to anyone not familiar with the theological terms "Ghost", "proceeding", "substance" and "very". We have shown in chapter 1 (p.14) that it is not valid to claim that the whole subject is a "mystery"; the Scriptures themselves present a simple and straightforward concept, as the proposition at the head of this chapter indicates.
REFERENCE
1. Luke 1:35