Skeptics Of The Holy Spirit

It is apparent that the Holy Spirit was mainly involved in empowering believers to become a witness of Christ and spreading the gospel. Therefore, Luke highlights that the Holy Spirit was a gift to the apostles whose function was to permit them to perform miracles and communicate the Gospel in various languages. Further, the Holy Spirit is vital in lives of believers today as he speaks to them, guides the believers on how to lead a holy life, and preach the word of God. Currently, most believers honor and acknowledge the presence of the Holy Spirit in their

• According the Dr. Earley and John 14:16–17, another name for the Holy Spirit is the Comforter. (Be able to fill in the blank.)

Importantly, “The Spirit of truth who ‘unveils’ Christ to us ‘will not speak on his own’” (CCC 687). The Holy Spirit is divinely self-effacing, in that he keeps himself in the background. Returning back to the beginning of our discussion, this is the opposite of the idea of “feeling” the Holy Spirit, for inherently, the Spirit points us away from himself and directs us toward the knowledge that “God is Love” (1 John 4: 8, 16). It is in this context that we are able to understand the Holy Spirit’s movement and work in the economy of salvation as a gift from God, out of God’s goodness and love (CCC

The Holy Spirit, however, does not have the primary spot in most hearts. “The prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience,” is the ruler of most individual hearts. Spirits come from two distinct sources. Every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ is of God, and every that does otherwise is not of God. The spirit that is contrary to Christ is antichrist, which is in the world today (I John 4:1-3).

The Holy Spirit comforts: John 14:16, And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Helps us in our Weakness. The Holy Spirit intercedes: Romans 8:26, in the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans. The Holy Spirit searches the deep things of God: 1 Corinthians 2:11, The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit sanctifies: Romans 15:16, to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Bears witness or testifies: Romans 8:16, The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.

Just when there’s no hope for Humanity, The Holy Spirit (the third Godhead in the trinity) sent from the father as a promise to aid humankind to inspire and empower Theophilus (The ones who loves God) to spread the “Good News” on the Salvation of Jesus Christ. The necessity of the Holy Spirit is to increase effectiveness of churches and personal testimony and become witnesses in all the Earth. In addition, it gave the disciples a power to perform miracles and healing.

The Holy Spirit of God is the active force or power in one’s life, which most certainly includes spiritual formation (Pettit, 2008, p. 46). When Jesus was speaking with his disciples he made it clear – by using the analogy of a vine and branches – that apart from him they could do nothing (John 15:5). Only if one is connected to Christ will they have the ability to bear fruit and the way Jesus empowers those connected to him is through the Holy Spirt that that father will send in his name (John 14:26). The fact is that the triune God dwells in the Christian in and through the Holy Spirit. One sees this when they place multiple passages together to gain a full understanding of this concept. For example, Jesus made it clear that he and the father would come and make their home with the disciple (John 14:23). In 1 Corinthians 6:19 Paul reminds the Corinthians that their bodies are the very temple of God because the Holy Spirit dwells in them which is similar to what Jesus said would happen when he sent the Holy Spirit after his resurrection and ascension (John 14:17, 16:7).

Tonight we are going to study the attributes of the Holy Spirit. Many individuals refer to the Holy Spirit as an “it.” This is an incorrect understanding of the Holy Spirit. Many individuals have misconstrued this doctrine out of ignorance.

This week’s reading concentrated on the relational aspects of the second and third persons of the trinity and how they contribute to Wesley’s theology of justification, sanctification, and assurance. Wesley saw the Christ as holding the three offices of prophet, priest, and king which I hear within my studies on a regular basis. Also, Wesley sees Jesus as being Creator, Author, Supporter, and Preserver from his relational position within the trinity. Even though I have difficulty accepting the idea of Jesus atoning for humanity’s sins, Wesley apparently accepted it whole heartedly through his understanding of the rhetoric of the day such as the satisfaction theory and penal substitution. Regardless of how it was accomplished, it is clear that Wesley found it to be a sacrifice of love for humanity and that love carries forward into the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit.

When Jesus ascended into heaven, God provided His people with the Holy Spirit, a Counselor, to dwell within every believer. John 14:16-17 states the Holy Spirit resides within those who believe

The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, and is equal in essence and in power in the Trinity to the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit was originally sent by Jesus after his ascension into heaven, Jesus himself saying that he would send a “helper” after he departed from the earth. This spirit is worshipped just as the Father and the Son are, and also participated in the creation of the world, sustaining and giving life continually to all things, and exhibits the uniqueness and characteristics of the third person in the Trinity. This is the same Holy Spirit that divinely inspired the infallible word of God, and although the canon is now closed, the Holy Spirit still works powerfully and constantly in the life of the church and in believers. The Holy Spirit is the giver of spiritual gifts, which are given at conversion and help the believer become more like their creator. The presence of the Holy Spirit is evident in the life of all true believers, and this Spirit turns cowardly men into mighty warriors for Christ who accomplish actions way beyond their natural ability.

To start our research, we need to ask a critical question at the very beginning : Who is the Holy Spirit? The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is a person. Jesus never referred to “it” when He was talking about the Holy Spirit. In John 14,15 and 16, for example, He spoke of the Holy Spirit as “He” because He is not a force or thing but a person. The point is especially important at a time when pantheistic tendencies are

• The Holy Spirit is the spirit of love that dwells in each and every last one of us, it is not a part of the body so if the body dies, the spirit will continue to live. Because love never dies.

The Holy Spirit plays a very vital role in the lives of each and every believer; He can strengthen us with a strength that we cannot even begin to muster up in ourselves. He can bring us joy that we cannot even begin to find in the things of this world. He can bring peace to our lives more than anything that we can ever find on this earth. “The Holy Spirit which is primarily an energizing process, is also a revealing, refining, consuming, illuminating process, and one by which we are made to glow with love to God, and love to man, and love to souls.”

The role of the son or Jesus is the savior and teacher. The role of the Holy Spirit is the empowerer and evangelist. All these roles combined equal a mystical element that describes the Trinity or another name is Godhead. To understand the Trinity, God is the sun that shines while Jesus is the rays of the sun and the Holy Spirit is the warmth that is felt from the sun. All personalities are equal and combined together called the Trinity.