Yahweh’s Holy Spirit

Who or what is Holy Spirit?  Very simply, Holy Spirit is God. He is not a lesser God. He is not separate from God.  He is not less powerful than God.

Think about us humans. We are more than the flesh and bone we live in. We have a body, a soul, and a spirit.  When Yahweh made us, where do you think he got the idea of giving us a spirit? Are we not made in his image and in his likeness (Genesis chapter 1)?

First Corinthians chapter 2 is an amazing chapter to read right now. I will not put the whole chapter here, but I will put one verse.

1 Corinthians 2:11

“For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”

Putting it another way, there is no part of Yahweh that he can hide from his Spirit. To say Holy Spirit is not God is like saying our spirits are not part of us.

Jesus, Yahweh, and Holy Spirit

We must start this discussion understanding one truth. Jesus is as much God as Holy Spirit and Yahweh are.  The Bible clearly states this in numerous places. I think one place says it best.

John 1:1 - 3

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

“…and the Word was God.”  Jesus, the Word, was God in the beginning.

But…..

In order to fulfill his mission on Earth, Jesus had to become a human.  Hebrews chapter 2 talks about this.  So does Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians 2:5 - 8

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross!”

I cannot comprehend the sacrifice Jesus made just to become Human. Living in, indeed creating, eternity then stepping down into a human body and the limits of time, gravity, pain, and hunger is more than I can understand. But Jesus went further. He allowed himself to die.

Even though Jesus was human, he still healed the sick, walked on water, raised the dead, and changed water into wine. How? The book of John answers this question. In John chapter 1, John the Baptist testifies he saw Holy Spirit land and remain on Jesus. In John chapter 5, Jesus answers our question.

John 5:19 - 20

“Jesus gave them this answer:  ‘Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.”

There is our answer. Jesus was completely dependent on his Father.  His Father showed Jesus what he wanted him to do. They communicated through Holy Spirit (“… In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”) Sound familiar?

Before we move on, let’s see what happened to Jesus.

John 17:5

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

Jesus prayed this prayer during the last supper he had with his disciples.  Jesus got something back when he returned to Heaven.  Will Jesus have holes in his hands and feet forever?  I do not know.  All I know is that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit paid an astonishing price to get mankind back.

Holy Spirit and Us

What I am about to write is a very critical part of this website.  Just about everything revolves around what is written here.  I am going straight to the bottom line.  Then I will fill in the gaps.

HOLY SPIRIT STILL INDWELLS PEOPLE TODAY!

• All of the gifts of the Holy Spirit listed in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 still operate.

• Speaking in tongues is still for today.

• We are just as dependent on Holy Spirit as Jesus was.

• Through Holy Spirit, we can do the works Jesus did.

Before I go into chapter and verse to support these claims, we need to discuss why there is even any disagreement on these facts. What follows is a very brief glance at history. A more in depth discussion can be found in the CHURCH EVOLUTION section of this website.

In short, Jesus started a revolution when he walked the Earth. People followed him and shared life together.  Not long after Jesus went back to Heaven, Holy Spirit came to Earth and filled Jesus’ disciples. That day some 3000 people joined this revolution. This continued for some 300 years. This revolution was illegal to both Rome and the Jewish religious leaders.

Christianity became legal in the early 300’s.  ome made it the official religion of the empire, and Rome took over Chirstianity. Huge buildings were constructed where people could meet (gone were the small and intimate fellowships). Rome appointed officials to lead these huge gatherings (now we had official leaders who were closer to Yahweh than the ordinary folk). Holidays and customs were set in place that the violated the Bible. Church traditions and service patterns were established. This resulted in most of the people becoming merely spectators of the faith. Human traditions replaced Biblical truths. Today, many people, who call themselves Christians, do not even believe in a literal Holy Spirit. The church Jesus died for has lost its intimate connection with Yahweh, its power, and its ability to conquer the darkness in our world.

Fish or Fishing Pole?

I mentioned earlier that I would give you chapter and verse to support my claims. I could list a few verses here. But that would be like giving you a fish. Instead, I want to give you a fishing pole. I will now give you an amazing tool.  My very favorite Bible search website is Bible Gateway.

On this website you can:

• Read the Bible in many different versions

• Type in search words and find where they are in the Bible

• Look up each book and chapter of the Bible

Instead of me giving you verses here, I suggest you type HOLY SPIRIT into biblegateway and do your own fishing.  You can also type in SPIRIT OF TRUTH, or, SPIRIT OF HOLINESS.  Enjoy!