The Holy Spirit

Postby **Michael** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 7:46 pm

God is three persons. The third person is the Holy Spirit. First of all 'it's' a 'he'. He is equal in power and glory with God the Father and God the son, he can grieve for us, Ephesisans 4:30. He is present in every facet of our lives, Psalm 139. God pours him out upon us, Isaiah 32:15

Many people have said that the Spirit is most active in the New Testament, that he most appeares to his people after Jesus comes to Earth, I disagree, observe Isaiah 63 in which Isaiah blesses God for sending his Spirit to them, and again in Micah 3:8.

This is the same being as God, infinite in holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

Postby **cbwing0** » Wed Nov 26, 2003 6:30 am

How do these bible studies work?

Postby **uc pseudonym** » Wed Nov 26, 2003 11:11 am

I will assume you refer to this Bible Study forum.

Theoretically, the only people to start threads within this section are moderators. However, when given permission by the staff, other people can start threads (assumeably, they have sent it to a moderator). I, for example, did this when I first joined the site. It's archived somewhere.

Postby **cbwing0** » Wed Nov 26, 2003 12:35 pm

Do we discuss them or are they just put there to be looked at?

Postby **uc pseudonym** » Thu Nov 27, 2003 12:26 pm

Some of the Bible Studies in past times have basically been discussions, never really having a base document. However, I wouldn't really support discussing them purely for that sake (though it can be helpful, it can also be argumentative). If you have something to add, or wish to tell the author they did a good job, go ahead.

Mine mainly got looked at.

Postby **Gypsy** » Mon Dec 01, 2003 2:18 pm

Yeah, what he said. The big point of having a Bible study is to share, and then discuss. I can't speak for everyone, but when I post something cool I found in the Bible, I want to talk about it with others - I'm not making a post for the sole purpose of posting. But I guess I didn't communicate that very well when I posted mine. :sweat:

I've been meaning to post another Bible study. I've been going over several parts of scripture in my daily devotions that I think many people can relate to and give insight on.

But, just to reinforce what uc said, please check with a mod before posting your own Bible study. We (the CAA staff) would be more than happy to allow you to do it, but we have to double check to make sure that no denominational lines are being crossed and such. Just a small extra step we take to stop the possibility of a huge problem.

Postby **Will Smith, Jr** » Mon Dec 01, 2003 3:45 pm

Right on, Michael.

The emphasis is definitely on the fact that the Holy Spirit is a PERSON and not an IT or some force or power that can be manipulated. One of the functions of the Holy Spirit is that He comforts us and empowers us to do the work of Christ(see John 14-16).

By the way, Michael, though Kung Pow was one of the stupidest movies I have ever seen, the second line was one of the most hilarious lines of any movie.

Blessings,
WillieDoc

Postby **Michael** » Mon Dec 01, 2003 6:36 pm

<By the way, Michael, though Kung Pow was one of the stupidest movies I have ever seen, the second line was one of the most hilarious lines of any movie.>

Affirmative my friend. I liked it a lot, because I've watched a lot of old Kung Fu movies.

Postby **uc pseudonym** » Tue Dec 02, 2003 5:41 am

Hmm... this isn't exactly doctrinal, but I've always thought of the Holy Spirit more as a power. Certainly not able to be manipulated (we're talking about God, here), but I still think of it more as a force as opposed to a person.

But does it really matter? The Spirit serves Its (His)function nonetheless.

Postby **Will Smith, Jr** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 1:45 pm

Highlighting the personhood of the Holy Spirit, take a look at the following verses as Jesus describes the Holy Spirit to the disciples.

John 14:16-17: And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

John 15:26: "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

John 16:7-14, (verses 13-14 shown here): However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.

(New King James version, italics added)

Thank Jesus Christ for sending the Counselor to be with us.

WillieDoc

Postby **uc pseudonym** » Fri Dec 05, 2003 5:53 am

While I still stand by the gender or lack thereof of such a noncorpreal being is irrelevant, the verses did convince me. So I refer to the Holy Spirit as a He from now on.

Postby **vinci** » Sun Dec 07, 2003 11:12 pm

I've learnt this in a devotional books before, but it's so long ago that i forgot. yes, i think that God is genderless, but he is referred to a "he", since he is our FATHER. some things are hard for the human mind to understand- or impossible. i hope what i just said made sense

Postby **uc pseudonym** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 5:16 am

Oh, it made perfect sense. Let's not turn that into an argument though, everyone. (Clarification: it's a legit topic, but I can imagine people getting pretty upset about it)

Postby **express** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 7:48 am

I know I haven't been on the forums for a LONG time, but there is something I would like you guys to see. I was really disturbed, and I really don't know what to make out of it. I'm just going to be praying about this for clearity and revelation of the truth regarding this because this issue is, in my opinion is vital to our faith. Please don't be angry at me for this. I'm just as confused as anyone else would be. I want to know the truth about this because if it is a pagan form of worship, we need to repent. Please go there and read the arguments to see what I mean. I'm not saying that I agree, as of yet. I just don't know what to do but pray and read the Word to find the truth. The person uses both the Old and New Testaments in their arguments.

Here's the site:

http://www.torahofmessiah.com/

This person believes that Yahshua is the Messiah, but they basically believe says that Yahshua (Jesus) is not YHWH (GOD).

Postby **cbwing0** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 8:21 am

I've looked over the site (I haven't read all of the articles, but I have read the main pages, main arguments, and a few of the articles), and I have to say that I do not buy what this guy is saying. I can't go into each of his articles in detail, because that would take a whole book, but I can point out some of the erroneous statements and reasoning that he (doesn't give his name, for some reason) uses.

The most blatant is his statement that the Christian church is the "worst terrorist organization in the history of the world." Anyone with a knowlege of history would know that such a statment is blatantly false. The author of the site goes on to accuse pastors of greed and thought control. While this may be true in some cases, it is by no means true in all, or even many. Most pastors in my experience has been devoted to serving God, but in order to do that, they have to have money to feed their families.

The whole thing reminds me a lot of the doctrines of the Jehovah's witnesses, who also claim that Jesus was the messiah, but not God. He uses a lot of the same arguments (in addition to a few wild ones that are his own). If you are going to view that site, and you do not have much experience the bible or answering cultists, then I suggest you consult this site for balance:

http://www.carm.org/witnesses.htm

There are also some relevant articles on the nature of the trinity and the other arguments against the deity of Christ on the page about Islam:

http://www.carm.org/islam.htm

You can also find helpful stuff from the main page: http://www.carm.org

I have to go eat lunch now, but when I get back, I will go into this in more depth. In the meantime, consult the links that I have given in addition the the previously referenced site, and decide for yourself which one is more reasonable.

Postby **Technomancer** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 10:01 am

There is also an excellent article on the trinity at
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15047a.htm

I would also recommend that you properly investigate the claims made by that website, especially its historical assertions. Consult reputable historians, or the reading lists of related university level courses. Owing to the lack of consistent quality control, on-line sources should be treated with caution unless you are familiar with the organization that published it. I'd also be wary of CARM for that matter, I've seen their articles (on other subjects) and found them riddled with factual errors.

Postby **uc pseudonym** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 1:15 pm

I hate to say this (I really do), but this topic has to stop now. CAA precedence has stopped threads on exactly the same issue, and we don't support theological debates. Read what was posted, it's decent (especially Technomancer's link). But if anyone brings it up again, this thread gets locked.

Postby **true_noir_chloe** » Tue Dec 09, 2003 7:46 pm

I've used that site before cbwing, to help out a friend on Christian cults. It's a very good site on apologetics. Just wanted to state that I appreciated the link by cbwing.^_^

Postby **cbwing0** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 6:27 am

Thanks.

There are is a lot of good information on that site other than the stuff that I posted (particularly the "Evidence and Answers" section).

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit

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