Who Is The Holy Spirit?

In this paper, I will review Robert Gromacki’s book The Holy Spirit: Who He is, What He Does I will detail what I feel the book is about. I will emphasize various points given by the author that stood out to me. Finally, I will give my personal evaluation of the book.

In my youth, my family used to go to church every Sunday, and also had me go to Sunday school. The statement, “Have you read this book of the Bible before? I never fully read the Bible, because “they” picked out what “they” wanted to be taught. They give us passages to remember such as, “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.” (Isaiah 42:16), but never, “Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.” (Leviticus 19:19). I never truly sat down, and read the Bible. Even, when I was the chapman for my first aid squad, I just would pick out any passages I felt like reading, or googled “good passages in the bible” and read off of them. My interpretation about the Bible and the problem I feel about the Bible, it is not a “text”, and not a book, I do not know, what you would call the Bible. In the Bible, you can pick and choose where ever you want to start. The Bible can pamper to everyone one needs, good and bad. So is the Bible “Malum in se”. If you fully read the Bible such as verses with Deuteronomy, his verses about disobeying parents, worshipping a different god, women who are not a virgin, and among others are evil (in to day standers). Hell, lets stone 95% of Americans. The problem is the Bible, is written thousands of years ago, with these people old time views.

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).

The Holy Spirit had an immeasurable impact on believers and nonbelievers in the book of Acts. He brought about significant conversions of nonbelievers throughout the text, including the conversions of Saul of Tarsus and the 3000 that heard Peter preach. The Holy Spirit used conviction, repentance, and baptism for conversion in the lives of many non-believers. In the case of Saul the prosecutor, Acts 9:1-30, the Holy Spirit spoke to him while in the midst of his Christian prosecution with instructions to follow His command. Saul was eventually converted, preaching the Gospel with boldness through the Holy Spirit (Woods, 1). Likewise, the 3000 who gave ear to Peter’s speech in Acts 2:22-41 were convicted, led to repentance, and baptized. Immediately following their conviction, their hearts sought repentance and right standing with God. Afterwards, they were fully adopted in to the faith and devoted to the ministry according to verses 42-44 (Woods, 1).

Joseph is mentioned here as the husband of Mary, which makes Joseph legally the father of Jesus. It is not the flesh, nor the blood that makes Jesus legally heir and gives Him the right to

To fully understand God, we also need the help of the Holy Spirit. Merely reading the Bible and trying to apply our own rational will not work without the help of Holy Spirit and faith. Faith and reason are not opposites and work together in understanding what God wants to reveal to us through His scripture.

While the Holy Bible is filled with many different types of writing, including history, narratives, poetic literature and apocalyptic, it forms a cohesive theme that tells me where I, and all things originated from, as well as my purpose in this world. Because the Holy Scriptures give, what is to me, a plausible understanding of who I am and how my life matters, I have discovered that I want to align my life and future in accord with its directives and commands. The reason that I hold these writings with such high regard is because the Holy Bible says of itself that God breathed it out onto men to write down and that it contains the very instructions needed for me to live a life that is honoring of God and worthy of what God deserves. II Timothy 3:16-17 states, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work”. For this reason, the Holy Bible has taken on a role of great importance in my life and because it is the very revelation of God, revealing who God is and how God has worked and continues to work throughout history, I have determined that it is foundational to my faith and a practical guide to direct me in determining the course I should take in this life.

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.

However, this does not mean that some parts of the Bible hold more truth than others. Perception plays one of the biggest roles in determining the truth of a passage, chapter, or book of the Bible. No one is able to conceive the words written in the Bible the same way. That is one of the greatest things about the Bible; it is a tool that can be used to share many different meanings from the same message. These meanings continue to evolve and change throughout these said seasons. It is important not to just read the Bible, but to study it in order to understand its full meaning. Each chapter in the Bible is written from the account of a certain person. Here again, perception comes into play. Hearing from God, seeing Jesus’ miracles, and feeling called by the Holy Spirit is different for

My word study portrays a sermon given on United States Independence Day weekend. The sermon’s topic related to liberty. One of the verses that were abused was the following: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17) The pastor preached on the how this verse parallels the U.S. Constitution and the liberties it prescribed. Moreover, the pastor mixed metaphors from the Bible and the Constitution. The text is taken out of context. Indeed, the text alludes to the letters of the law written in stone versus those written with the Holy Spirit. And, Paul is referring to the superiority of having the Holy Spirit versus just adhering to the law. Thus, Paul explicitly speaks of a spiritual

The Bible is composed of two parts, which are the New Testament and the Old Testament. The two Testaments consist of a collection of stories, letters, poetry, prayers, historical events and other literature. These were written by different people, some of whom are characters in these stories. The purpose of the readings in the bible is to continue teaching people about God and his only son Jesus Christ. The Bible is considered a guide to follow the right path to the Kingdom of God or eternal life; which is achieved by abstaining from sin. Through these readings, they deliver implied messages of what was considered a sin. Since it is explained in a form of stories, it is common for readers to interpret the readings differently. Due to these interpretations, controversy may be endured.

The Bible holds many truths. Every time I read a verse, chapter, anything from The Bible I read has all of the truth I have been looking for my entire life. Even when I come across something that doesn't make sense, I seek, pray, and wait. It may be right away or it will take some time, but either way God hears my prayers about my confusion and reveals what He will to me so that I may understand. His promises are Yes and Amen! As I read this verse - You didn't chose me, I chose you - Hallelujah! Gods word is truth! Yes He did chose me. He chose me for something greater then I can comprehend. How do I know this? Well ever since I could remember I always felt the world was much bigger, like there was a God that no one had seen orchestrating

The various gifts of the Holy Spirit as listed in Scripture are conveyed according to the will of the Holy Spirit to every man for the eventual purpose of the edification and building up the church body.

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.”

When examining scriptures upon first glance appearing to contradict each other, the first thought we must remember is scripture does not contradict itself. The Holy Spirit is not divided in His approach to writing to man through man. If we determine scripture can contradict itself, there is no use in studying our bibles because the word would no longer be considered infallible and the determination of truth would fall on man rather than our bibles. Secondly, I always prefer a common sense approach to the text. If we follow these two principles, it is hard to get too far off base.