Bible Question:
What does the Bible tell us about the Holy Spirit? On a retreat recently we studied the Holy Spirit, but looking back on it I think it brought up more questions than answers. There were a couple very interesting Campus Crusade booklets I was given about this Spirit, which I liked. However, the booklets did not list too many of the Bible verses that backed up these conclusions. I usually read these things critically; sometimes I wish I wasn't that way. I have been looking a lot in the Bible on my own to find support or disagreement, but honestly, I find it much easier to understand what the Bible has to say about the other two members of the Trinity! As far as my own studies and that of various group studies have led me, I have learned that the Spirit is that which God uses to reveal His truth to us. I have also learned that the Spirit is a Counselor to us. The Spirit is the means by which a person understands the Gospel, and provides us guidance by which we live our lives. The Spirit is given to each one who believes. Is this correct? I am probably missing a lot in that description, and I want to learn more. Now the booklets spoke of the Spirit as being something which we all have, but in varying amounts. You could have the Spirit, but not be filled with it. To be filled with the spirit was to be under the Spirit's control - to walk by faith. That sounds like what I have been trying to do for a while. And yet the booklet claims that the Spirit will give the person the ability to be a "supernatural witness" for God. Now what does that mean? I have never been terribly eloquent or talented at evangelism and was under the biblical impression that being a witness for God simply required submission to His will above all else. The booklet did not give very many definites, and in some cases seemed to contradict themselves. It is hard to sort out the certain from the dubious. Can anyone enlighten me? Another thing it did which bothered me, it quoted Romans 7:15-24, in which Paul writes about his own struggle with sin. The booklets then interpret that to be the lifestyle of a worldly Christian without the filling of the Spirit! Perhaps I am wrong, but I thought we always struggled with sin, filled with the spirit or not. Is this true? And yet some say that the Spirit is a force which primarily causes people to speak in tongues, "quake", be "slain", etc. I have never known quite what to make of this, and have been told to my face that having not experienced these, I am not a full believer. Now I know THAT is not true, but I wonder whether they have any basis for what they say about the Spirit consisting primarily of emotional/physical experiences like that. I am a very logical/analytical person and because of this weakness I understand the Scriptures that way - I do not comprehend inexplicable emotion very well, and I will probably NEVER get the joy/satisfaction from outward physical displays of the Spirit that my Pentecostal friends do. I don't think there is anything wrong with this, but I can always be wrong, that is why I am posting this. What do you think? -- Joren |
Bible Answer: Greetings Joren - Welcome to the forum. You have asked many questions I will do my best. First as for speaking in tongues if you go to the quick search and type in "tongues" you will find a lot of information about tongues - if they don't answer your questions about that let me know and I will be happy to. Tongues is a gift from God (1Cor 12:8-11)- just as God didn't give the gift of healing to all He didn't give the gift of tongues to all. Now for the Holy Spirit. A good study reference is the Nave's Topical Bible. It will lead you to all the scriptures on any subject you are seeking. I recommend it highly. You can also type in Holy Spirit in the quick search. You have asked so many question on the Holy Spirit that it is pretty much impossible to answer them all in one reply. In the future it would be much simplier to ask one question at a time so that each question can be given a apprpriate responce. I will try to answer some of them. The Holy Spirit is given to us (1cor 12:7, Rom 5:5) by God and since He dwells in us (1Cor 3:16) is readily available to us but I believe that we must ask Him to work in our life. In reading Acts 19:2-6 we see that you can believe without having received the Holy Spirit, that is why I believe you must ask Him to become active in your life. Acts 7:51 tells us that we can resist the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is also a teacher (Luke 12:12, John 14:26) I do not know what it is referring to when it says "supernatural witness". I would be curious who wrote the booklets you are referring to. What you mentioned about not givng very many definites and contradicting itself concerns me. I know of no basis for saying that Spirit consists of primarily emotional/physical experiences. I believe that the bible contridicts this. Just as the Spirit gives us different gifts He also gives different manifestations of Himself in individuals. If one person dances, speaks in tongues, and is very physical as you put it does not mean that he is any more spiritual than you. (I would bet that one day you will experience an outward display yourself though). You are correct in saying that we all struggle with sin and we have already seen that everyone has the Spirit who is saved. Having sin in our life does not mean that we are without the Spirit. Please feel free to ask as many more questions as you like - but please one topic per question so we can cover each topic thoroughly. prayon |