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: Hi Joren, Keep on being a logical/analytical person for you'll need that trait to understand the Scriptures. May I suggest to you that if you know the Father and the Son, you know the Holy Spirit also for there is one God. God is Spirit and if you recognize the (capitalized) Son then you know that He is Holy. We as believers have the Spirit within us even as Galatians 2:20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;..." Notice the bad grammar for showing that He lives within and you are one with Him. Another comment that I would make is concerning your statement, "I have learned that the Spirit is that which God uses to reveal His truth to us." I believe that the Spirit is not an it, or a which, or a that which. God reveals His truth to us through the Scriptures and the words of God. John 3:34 says, "For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit (I would say spirit) without measure." Jesus spoke the words of God as a gift of spirit and promise and they are there for everyone. But not everyone is filled with this "spirit". Ephesians 5:18 to my mind says, ...but be filled with the spirit, speaking to one another in psalms..." So, Joren, I would say that if you want to know this Holy Spirit, keep reading your Scriptures. (I prefer the NASB.) John 10:14, "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me." |