Friday: Further Thought - The Divinity of the Holy Spirit

As we have seen this week, the biblical evidence for the divinity of the Holy Spirit is very convincing. The Holy Spirit is God. But remember: in thinking about the Holy Spirit, we are dealing with a divine mystery. We reiterate the point: just as we cannot fully explain God and His nature, we have to resist the temptation to make our human comprehension the norm for how God should be.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

Truth goes far beyond human comprehension, especially when that truth deals with the nature of God Himself.

At the same time, faith in the divinity of the Holy Spirit means more than accepting the bare teaching of the Trinity. It includes reliance on and confidence in the saving work of God as it is commissioned by the Father and accomplished through the Son in the power of the Spirit. “It is not essential for us to be able to define just what the Holy Spirit is. . . . The nature of the Holy Spirit is a mystery. Men cannot explain it, because the Lord has not revealed it to them. Men having fanciful views may bring together passages of Scripture and put a human construction on them, but the acceptance of these views will not strengthen the church. Regarding such mysteries, which are too deep for human understanding, silence is golden.” – Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 51, 52.

Discussion Questions:

Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once wrote: “What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence.” Though his context was quite different from what Ellen G. White wrote above, the principle is the same. That is, why is it better to keep silent about aspects of God and of spiritual truth in general that have not been revealed by Inspiration?
Sometimes it is helpful to reflect upon a theological position by asking the question: “What would be lost if the proposal were untrue?” For instance: “What would be lost if Christ were not divine?” With regard to the Holy Spirit, reflect on the following question: “What would be lost if the Holy Spirit were not fully God?”
What does the following quote say to us on a practical level? “The Holy Spirit, who is to fill us, is not some vague influence or mystic force. He is a divine Person, to be received with deep humility, veneration, and obedience. Therefore it is not a question of our having more of Him, but of His having more of us-yes, all there is of us.”-LeRoy Edwin Froom, The Coming of the Comforter, p. 159.

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Comments

Friday: Further Thought – The Divinity of the Holy Spirit — 8 Comments

JC Zielak on January 20, 2017 at 1:34 am said:

Today I'll leave a special message for 2 friends. They do not know each other. But they were challenged to stop by and read this.

Really, this world may be at its end time! Things are going crazy on politics, companies, countries, around the globe! It is not only a catastrophic vision, it's reality! It's here, and surrounding us all! But on the other side to this relies the Hope that evelasting peace will soon be installed! And part of this peace we have in our reach today, it was left for us as a gift, for us to resist this crazy times that we're all in. This peace, left by the Man who was God, is a Spirit, a Spirit that comes to all of those longing for peace! And love! Let us, you and me, Norma and Rudimar, take that peace to others! Because we do have this Power! It's a matter of accepting Him.

I love you!

May your day be powerful as your bodies are, great instruments to be used by the Spirit of peace and love.

Norma, may Jesus guide you in your engagements!
Rudimar, may you find peace and continuos creative blessings with your work!

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Claudette Hartley on January 20, 2017 at 5:27 am said:

Thank you Brother Greene, very well placed and insightful presentation for further study today. I especially embrace the quote "It includes reliance on and confidence in the saving work of God as it is commissioned by the Father and accomplished through the Son in the power of the Spirit. “ May we all contemplate and take heed to these words. God bless.

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Robert Fournier on January 20, 2017 at 7:32 am said:

Yes silence is golden and there is lots of silence in scripture about the Holy Spirit. My thought is just, I wonder what part the Holy Spirit will continue playing once we are in Heaven. I would love ❤️ to see what his plans and duty will be then.

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Esther muka on January 20, 2017 at 11:39 am said:

When one has had an encouter with the holy spirit,the thoughts and talk will be different. It would be very diffult or impossible to make one who has had a real encouter with God as the holy spirit to doubt his presence/power. May we experience him individually. Be blest.

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Paul Blanke on January 20, 2017 at 5:45 pm said:

The comment "it is not essential for us to define just what the Holy Spirit is." EGW,AA pp151,152. This is interesting considering that early SDA pioneers struggled with the same changes in understanding, beginning with James White as late as 1891, and continued with and included Ellen White and three other leaders of denominational policy. A.T.Jones, W.W. Prescott, & F.M.Wilcox through 1931.Each had a different understanding. The current SDA fundamental beliefs state that the Holy Spirit is a person not an impersonal force. As long as the Holy Spirit is a person, He must be one of three included in the Triune. What ever applications we make to God, must include all three.

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Paul Blanke on January 20, 2017 at 6:39 pm said:

Ellen White changed her references of the Holy Spirit from It, to He. I have also asked the reason for either designation. I would think perhaps it has to do with our respect and reverence for the deity. "It", could apply to any number of inanimate things.

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obed bosire on January 21, 2017 at 12:14 am said:

The holy spirit is our teacher our guider light or round around imean behind backwards forward and or sides so let's open our hearts to welcome the holyspirit since it is invisible but affects.

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Don Litchfield on January 21, 2017 at 6:37 am said:

What is lost without the Divinity of the Holy Spirit is the Righteousness of Christ and the Love of God in our lives and our connection with Divinity.

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