`Act 8 : 15~19 ; what is the Holy spirit?
Upvote:1
What is the Holy Spirit?
According to the disciples - from whom came some of the Apostles, they understood the Holy Spirit to be the spirit of the Father - the "only true God", as Jesus explained, who had sent him into the world.
for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say." Luke 12:12
for it will not be you speaking, but the spirit of your Father speaking through you. Matthew 10:20
So, the Holy Spirit and the spirit of God are exactly the same.
The Church founding fathers, the Apostles, Paul, Peter, Timothy etc did not believe the Holy Spirit to be a person or part of a tri-part God. This new idea came 100's of years after these men Jesus had appointed to lead the new church.
We see in Acts 8:20
But Peter said to him, “Your silver, may it perish with you, because you thought the gift of God to be obtained by money!"
Peter called this spirit a gift from God. It is the presence of God as He moves within His creation and especially within those He has called to perform a special work or to understand their new life in Jesus and the life of salvation we are to live.
God sent His spirit into several craftsmen to perform the roles of building the tabernacle exactly according to His instructions. Ex 28:3, 31:3
When we read 'he' or 'him' when referring to the Holy Spirit, we don't need to imply another entity to God or a separate entity to the Father. The Holy Spirit is another term for God and spirit is a term for God's presence within man. The gift Peter speaks of is that spirit of God that would inspire and convict of sin and draw people into relationship with God by knowing His will for them.
We have a spirit in us as humans - it is not a separate entity to us, it is our intelligence and humanity that makes us different from animals.
Jesus too was given the Holy Spirit before his temptation in the wilderness - he could not rely on his own resources as a man to avoid sin. So we too need God's gift of spirit to avoid sin and overcome - just as Jesus did.
But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33
The Holy Spirit is the power of God. This is how Mary became pregnant - not by another entity to the Father God, because He is Jesus' Father - not the spirit.
This power was responsible for allowing miracles to occur via the hands of the Apostles - when the people saw these things they marvelled. Simon wanted to give this power to others too so much, he offered to buy the privilege. That's not how God operates and he was given a stern warning.
Without God's spirit in us, we have no idea about the things of God. When we begin to seek God's way in our lives, He has been at work already as no one can come to God without Him intervening first. So, whether we see the results of God's spirit in others or we are inspired by the bible's words, we might seek to have His spirit in greater measure and seek to know God more in our lives.
In this life Christians are given only a deposit of spirit so we can begin to alter our lives for God's purposes. When Jesus returns, God will grant the faithful a new life of spirit which will grant us immortality with Him.
(God) put His spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come. 1Cor 1:22
That is the short answer.
More post
- 📝 Is there any evidence that people of Jewish descent came to the Americas before the birth of Christ Jesus
- 📝 Did the authors of the Westminster Confession of Faith ever explain why they thought God could not be the author of sin?
- 📝 From where does the doctrine that there is no time in heaven originate?
- 📝 Could Jesus have refused to go to the cross?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for favoring the Majority Text?
- 📝 Why does God not love Satan if He tell us to love our enemies to be as His Children (Luke 6:35-36)?
- 📝 How does scholars' denial of the possibility of NT autographs affect the Christian doctrines of biblical inerrancy and infallibility?
- 📝 Does the Christian church have an official position on Beauty?
- 📝 What is the role of Mohammed in the Bible?
- 📝 God's foreknowledge according to the Calvinist?
- 📝 What in Christian faith lies behind subject of science?
- 📝 What is the difference between Arminianism, Molinism, and Calvinism?
- 📝 Are there Protestants in Italy today?
- 📝 Given that Jesus can read minds. Why did God need to observe external behavior to know what was in the heart?
- 📝 What's the reason behind St. Thomas Aquinas word choice "angelicus" in the hymn "Panis angelicus"?
- 📝 Why is the date of the 2016 Passover a month late when compared to Easter?
- 📝 Is the Testament of Solomon Biblical?
- 📝 How big was the wilderness in which John the Baptist lived and preached?
- 📝 What does CS Lewis mean by True Myth?
- 📝 What is the source of Pascal's quotation on staying home peacefully?
- 📝 Does LDS doctrine explicitly emphasize the atonement in Gethsemane?
- 📝 What is the Biblical definition of what makes one a Christian?
- 📝 Where can I find a free Russian Bible other than the Russian Synodal Translation?
- 📝 Do any Church Fathers comment on the merciful Nature of Stoning (Catholicism)?
- 📝 What is the basis for saying that B. B. Warfield believed in theistic evolution?
- 📝 Why many Catholics believe that Mary is co-redemptrix?
- 📝 According to Scripture, where is Hell?
- 📝 What is the difference in rewards between a person who is virgin till death and a person who is married?
- 📝 Do divorced non-Catholics need an annulment to marry in the Catholic Church?
- 📝 Did adding the Feast of Sts. Mary, Martha and Lazarus clear up anything about the identity of Mary?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for the Holy Spirit being God?
- 📝 What is the basis of the view that Jesus was separated from the Father and Holy Spirit upon death?
- 📝 What is the difference between being filled by the Holy Spirit and being indwelt by the Holy Spirit?
- 📝 What does it mean that Jesus, Father, and Holy Spirit are of the same nature but different personas?
- 📝 What is the difference between baptism of the Holy Spirit and receiving the Holy Spirit?
- 📝 What is the role of the Holy Spirit in the Roman Catholic church?
- 📝 What is the role of the Holy Spirit in Swedenborg's soteriology?
- 📝 What is an overview of different denominations' beliefs about how Jesus Christ performed miracles? (By the Holy Spirit or by something else?)
- 📝 What is the difference, if any, between the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives vs. the apostles lives?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for the idea that the Holy Spirit will sometimes choose not to lead?
- 📝 What is the scriptural basis for the Holy Spirit speaking to you through other people's words?
- 📝 What is the Biblical Basis of Eastern Orthodox Christians that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father alone?
- 📝 From an LDS perspective, what is the difference between feeling the influence of the Holy Spirit and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for switching between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as recipients during prayer?
- 📝 If you do not believe the Holy Spirit is a person, then what is it? What do Bible verses that reference the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of God mean?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for why the sending of the Holy Spirit was necessary?
- 📝 According to Mormons, what is the Holy Spirit of Promise mentioned in Ephesians?
- 📝 Is my view of the Trinity accurate, and what is exactly the role of the Holy Spirit
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for claims that certain manifestations are not of the Holy Spirit but counterfeits (e.g. Kundalini awakening)?
- 📝 What is the Biblical Basis for God the Holy Spirit having a spouse?
- 📝 Jesus says, that God the Father is a Spirit AND Paul says there is one (1) Spirit. How do trinitarians understand who or what the Holy Spirit is?
- 📝 What is the meaning of Holy Spirit in Mark 3:28-29?
- 📝 What has the Holy Spirit taught people after Jesus left?
- 📝 On what basis did Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith declare that God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit cannot indwell a believer?
- 📝 What was the early Church Fathers' understanding of the "baptism with Holy Spirit and fire"?
- 📝 What is an overview of beliefs about how the Holy Spirit guides Christians?
- 📝 What is the role of the Holy Spirit in the Thomistic understanding of vocation?
- 📝 What denominations believe that a Book of Acts style of interaction with the Holy Spirit is still possible today?
- 📝 What is meant by the 'Confirmation' concerning the receiving of Holy Spirit in Acts 8:5-19?
- 📝 According to Pentecostalism, what is the impact of the sin nature, hormones, and the Holy Spirit on libido?