The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God through Christ

This post may seem thrown together and without much direction. I planned to do more with it before publishing it, but I ran out of time and wanted this post to go out. This is a compilation of Spirit of Prophecy quotes and scripture that show the true meaning of the Holy Spirit. I will make my comments in the next post. My comments may be self-evident.

“The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, which is sent to all men to give them sufficiency, that through His grace we might be complete in Him. The Lord has provided that we should always be under the teaching and influence of the Holy Spirit. We shall then discover that the law of God is holy, just, and good, and we would learn to delight in the law of God. We love the requirements of the law, and from our hearts render obedience to its requirements.”  {14MR 84.3} 

Does grace come through a third person? Are we complete in a third person? No, grace and completeness comes from Jesus. He dwells in us. “Christ in you” is “the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).

“Every loyal child of God will seek to know the truth. John stated the truth so plainly that a child may understand it, ‘If ye love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him.’ Do we choose to be numbered with those who cannot discern the truth, who are so blinded by the deceptive power of the enemy that they see not Him who is the express image of the Father’s person?”  {TM 137.2} 

“Again He says, ‘If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth [not deception]; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not [Jesus, the author of truth], neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.’”  {7MR 72.2} 

Jesus, the Author of truth, said that it’s the Father and Jesus Himself that “the world seeth not”.

“Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Yet a little while, and the world seeth Me no more; but ye see Me: because I live, ye shall live also.

At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in me, and I in you.” (John 14:17-20).

Being present when Jesus is explaining the mystery of godliness, Judas asks a very telling question, “Lord, how is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world?” John added this to the discourse to clarify the message of Jesus to all after generations who weren’t there to hear Christ’s intonation and see His facial language.

“He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.

Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that Thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.” (John 14:21-23).

In the clearest language possible, Jesus revealed that the Spirit without measure was the presence of Himself and of His Father. Judas’ question is key to seeing the mystery of the Spirit. The Spirit is not really a complete mystery; it’s actually simply the presence of God through His Son. Thus both Father and Son can dwell in us. We can be a habitation of God through Their Spirit. “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col. 1:27). “In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” (Eph. 2:22).

“The Lord will teach us our duty just as willingly as He will teach somebody else. If we come to Him in faith, He will speak His mysteries to us personally. Our hearts will often burn within us as One draws nigh to commune with us as He did with Enoch. Those who decide to do nothing in any line that will displease God, will know, after presenting their case before Him, just what course to pursue. And they will receive not only wisdom, but strength. Power for obedience, for service, will be imparted to them, as Christ has promised. Whatever was given to Christ--the ‘all things’ to supply the need of fallen men--was given to Him as the head and representative of humanity. And ‘whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.’ 1 John 3:22.”  {DA 668.4} 

“The spirit of Jesus slept in the tomb with His body, and did not wing its way to heaven, there to maintain a separate existence, and to look down upon the mourning disciples embalming the body from which it had taken flight. All that comprised the life and intelligence of Jesus remained with His body in the sepulcher; and when He came forth it was as a whole being; He did not have to summon His spirit from heaven. He had power to lay down His life and to take it up again (3SP 203, 204).”  {5BC 1150.6}

“Cumbered with humanity, Christ could not be in every place personally; therefore it was altogether for their advantage that He should leave them, go to His father, and send the Holy Spirit to be His successor on earth. The Holy Spirit is Himself divested of the personality of humanity and independent thereof. He would represent Himself as present in all places by His Holy Spirit, as the Omnipresent. “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall (although unseen by you), [THIS PHRASE WAS ADDED BY ELLEN WHITE.] teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” [John 14:26]. “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will come not unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you” [John 16:7].  {14MR 23.3}

The Saviour had not come to set aside what patriarchs and prophets had spoken; for He Himself had spoken through these representative men. All the truths of God’s word came from Him. {DA 287.4} 

“In all these revelations of the divine presence the glory of God was manifested through Christ. Not alone at the Saviour’s advent, but through all the ages after the Fall and the promise of redemption, 'God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.' 2 Corinthians 5:19. Christ was the foundation and center of the sacrificial system in both the patriarchal and the Jewish age. Since the sin of our first parents there has been no direct communication between God and man. The Father has given the world into the hands of Christ, that through His mediatorial work He may redeem man and vindicate the authority and holiness of the law of God. All the communion between heaven and the fallen race has been through Christ. It was the Son of God that gave to our first parents the promise of redemption. It was He who revealed Himself to the patriarchs. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses understood the gospel. They looked for salvation through man’s Substitute and Surety. These holy men of old held communion with the Saviour who was to come to our world in human flesh; and some of them talked with Christ and heavenly angels face to face.  {PP 366.1} 

     “Christ was not only the leader of the Hebrews in the wilderness--the Angel in whom was the name of Jehovah, and who, veiled in the cloudy pillar, went before the host--but it was He who gave the law to Israel. [SEE APPENDIX, NOTE 7.] Amid the awful glory of Sinai, Christ declared in the hearing of all the people the ten precepts of His Father’s law. It was He who gave to Moses the law engraved upon the tables of stone.  {PP 366.2}

     “It was Christ that spoke to His people through the prophets. The apostle Peter, writing to the Christian church, says that the prophets “prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow.” 1 Peter 1:10, 11. It is the voice of Christ that speaks to us through the Old Testament. “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Revelation 19:10.  {PP 366.3} 

“But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him.” (1Cor. 8:6).

In the following two verses Paul defines what he means by the Spirit. It is the Father’s Spirit that comes to us through Christ. Thus it is the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of God--it is God through Christ; it is Christ in God. “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” (Rom. 8:9). And like Ellen White in the above quote from 14MR, page 84, Paul puts both in us, using both the Spirit and Christ interchangeably. “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Rom. 8:10).

Paul also uses the Spirit in conjunction with the Father. “But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.” (Rom. 8:11). We know that the Father raised up Christ, and not a third person. “…and killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.” (Acts 3:15), “But God raised Him from the dead” (Acts 13:30), “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead;)” (Gal. 1:1),” Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead.” (Col. 2:1), “Who by Him do believe in God, that raised Him up from the dead, and gave Him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.” (1Pet. 1:21).

“Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” (Rom. 1:3,4). This Spirit of holiness is the Holy Spirit, “that holy Spirit of promise.” (Eph. 1:13). The Holy Spirit is not the name of the Spirit; holy is its quality, the Father’s attribute.

“For He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is His name.” (Luke 1:49).

“He sent redemption unto His people: He hath commanded His covenant for ever: holy and reverend is His name.” (Ps. 111:9). “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall He be called.” (Isa. 54:5).

The holy Spirit of God is also the power of God. “And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For He hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty hath done to Me great things; and holy is His name.” (Luke 1:47-49). “God was … justified in the Spirit.” (1Ti 3:16). “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Heb. 9:14).

The Spirit without measure. “For He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him.” (John 3:34).

“And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” (Gal. 4:6).

“Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” (Acts 3:26). “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by Him doth this man stand here before you whole.” (Acts 4:10). Jesus came in His invisible Spirit form to heal the lame man through the word from Peter and John.

“And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” (John 14:16-18).

“At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you.” (John 14:20).

“He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him. Judas saith unto Him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.” (John 14:21-23).

“For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2Pet. 1:21).

“Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” (1Pet. 1:11).

“And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” (Rev. 5:6).

“For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 1:19).

“That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ.” (Col. 2:2). There is no third person in the Godhead.

“At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you.” (John 14:20).

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.” (Rev. 1:10). When in the Spirit Jesus came to John by His own Spirit.

“But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” (1Cor. 2:10,11).

“Even He shall build the temple of the LORD; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall be a Priest upon His throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” (Zech. 6:13).

“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” (Rom. 8:26).

“Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” (Heb. 7:25).

“For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (1Cor. 2:16).

“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2Cor. 3:17,18).

“Come ye near unto Me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and His Spirit, hath sent me” (Isa. 48:16).

The Lord is the Spirit and the Lord has the spirit. Just like we are a soul and have a soul.

“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Gen. 2:7). “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance…. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.” (Ps. 42:5,11). “And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.” (Rev. 6:9).

“Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?” (Isa. 53:1).

 “All the while my breath is in me, and the Spirit of God is in my nostrils.” (Job 27:3).

“The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” (Job 33:4)

“If He set His heart upon man, if He gather unto Himself His Spirit and His breath.” (Job 34:14).

“Thus saith God the LORD, He that created the heavens, and stretched them out; He that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and Spirit to them that walk therein.” (Isa. 42:5).

“And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of the most high God? I adjure Thee by God, that Thou torment me not.” (Mark 5:7).

“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David.” (Luke 1:32).

“And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35). In this one context we see that the power of the Highest is not a third person, but simply something in relation to the Most High God. And the Holy Ghost is spoken in parallel with the power of the Highest. The Holy Ghost is the power of the Most High God.

“Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool: where is the house that ye build unto Me? and where is the place of My rest?” (Isa. 66:1).

“Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.” (Jer. 23:24).

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (Gen. 1:1,2). “God [Theos] is a Spirit.” (John 4:24). The Spirit of God is God’s Spirit.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The same was in the beginning with God.

All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.

In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through Him might believe.

He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1-10,14).

And also notice the similarities between the Word in John 1:1-10 and Wisdom in Proverbs 8:11-31, both which were at the beginning.

“The LORD possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old.

I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.

When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.

Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:

While as yet He had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.

When He prepared the heavens, I was there: when He set a compass upon the face of the depth:

When He established the clouds above: when He strengthened the fountains of the deep:

When He gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass His commandment: when He appointed the foundations of the earth:

Then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him;

Rejoicing in the habitable part of His earth; and My delights were with the sons of men.”For Wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.

I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.

The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Counsel is Mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.

By Me kings reign, and princes decree justice.

By Me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.

I love them that love Me; and those that seek Me early shall find Me.

Riches and honour are with Me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.

My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and My revenue than choice silver.

I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:

That I may cause those that love Me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.

The LORD possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old.

I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.

When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.

Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:

While as yet He had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.

When He prepared the heavens, I was there: when He set a compass upon the face of the depth:

When He established the clouds above: when He strengthened the fountains of the deep:

When He gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass His commandment: when He appointed the foundations of the earth:

Then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him;

Rejoicing in the habitable part of His earth; and My delights were with the sons of men.” (Prov. 8:11-31).

Both “beginnings” were not eternity past, but the creation of Earth. Creation was “the beginning” to the Israelites and the Bible writers. Thus, we can know from Proverbs 8:22,23,30 that the Word of God and the Wisdom of God was the only begotten of God the first-begotten Son of God, the Protokos. “The LORD possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old.

I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.

When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.

Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:...

Then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him;

Rejoicing in the habitable part of His earth; and My delights were with the sons of men.”

Email from Ron and Aurellia and my reply

Character Not Made but Revealed in a Crisis

       Commentary on Matthew 25:1-13

The two classes of watchers [the wise and the foolish virgins] represent the two classes who profess to be waiting for their Lord. They are called virgins because they profess a pure faith. By the lamps is representing the word of God.... the oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit....

In the parable, all the ten virgins went out to 

meet the bridegroom. All  had lamps and vessels for oil. For a time there was seen no difference between them. So with the church that lives just before Christ’s second coming. All have a knowledge of the scriptures. All  have heard the message of Christ’s near approach, and confidently expect His appearing. But as in the parable, so it is now. A time of waiting intervenes, faith is tried; and when the cry is heard, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go you out to meet Him,” many are unready.

They have no oil in their vessels with their lamps. They are destitute of the Holy Spirit....

The class represented by the foolish virgins are not hypocrites. They have a regard for the truth, they have advocated the truth, they are attracted to those who believe the truth; but they have not yielded themselves to the Holy Spirit’s working....

It is in a crisis that character is revealed. ... it will show whether the soul is sustained by grace....

The ten virgins are watching in the evening of this earth’s history. All claim to be Christians. All have a call, a name, a lamp, and all profess to be doing God’s service. All apparently wait for Christ’s appearing. But five are unready. Five will be found surprised, dismayed, outside the banquet hall....

Saddest of all words that ever fell on mortal ear are those words of doom, “I know you not.” (Matt.25:12)

See also Matt.7:21-23 

Christ Object Lessons p. 406-413

Re: Fwd: Thought for Today

Saturday, February 10, 2018 9:08 AM

Bottom of Form

From: 

“David Burdick” <biking4theblind@yahoo.com>

True, the lost [the foolish virgins] will “have not yielded themselves to the Holy Spirit’s working.” But who did Ellen White mean by the Holy Spirit? JESUS! By His own Spirit, His personal comfort, His infinite gentleness! Jesus, the “Son of the Highest” conceived by the “power of the Highest”, “the only begotten of the Father” (John 1:12), the Spirit of the Most High, the power of the Most High from the bosom of the Most High conceiving the Son of the Most High. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14). “Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.” (Luke 19:38).

“And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name JESUS. 

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: 

And He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end. 

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:31-35).

If we aren’t yielding to Jesus “called the prophet of the Highest” (Luke 1:76) from “the power of the Highest”, Him personally and not some third person trespasser of the Godhead Father and Son, then we are foolish virgins and will miss out on the loud midnight cry to join the wedding party. We won’t be “children of the Highest” (Luke 6:35).

Let’s not be deceived.

David

One Spirit

“What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? For two, saith He, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” (1Cor. 6:16,17).

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit. will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments and do them.” (Eze. 36:26,27).

“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” (1Cor. 12:12,13).

“For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” (Eph. 2:18).

“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.” (Eph. 4:4).

“Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” (Phil. 1:27).

One Spirit, biblically speaking, doesn’t mean one Spirit, as in a Holy Spirit third person of the Godhead. One Spirit is defined by 1 Corinthians 6:17—that is, a unity of Spirit between the Father and Son and Their newborn child. A group of such born again children of God make up the church, the body. Jesus subject to His Father in everything being the head, and the atoned children of God being the body, reconciled by faith to Jesus and sitting in heavenly places in Him, is what the one Spirit is all about. Here is the biblical threesome; here is the heavenly Trio. Here is a biblical trinity, if we have to use such a non-biblical term—God, His only begotten Son, and me; and God, His only begotten Son, and you; and God, His only begotten Son, and all of Their converted, reconciled hosts.

Muslim woman, her spirit dwelling in the bosom of Jesus’ Spirit as she read the Bible

I was surprised to hear Sandra articulate so clearly her experience with the Spirit of God. To encourage her, I commented:

“Amazing, this deeply analytical and spiritual woman, who was also unbiased by orthodoxy, got ‘the Spirit’ right. She worked hard to communicate what she experienced when she read the Bible. ‘It’s not the Book that’s talking to me. It’s the Spirit in the Book that’s talking to my spirit.’ She explained the biblical truth of ‘the Spirit’. The Spirit is not a third person of the Godhead. ‘The holy Spirit of God’ (Eph. 4:30) is God’s Spirit, which is holy. It is Christ’s communion with us. ‘I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.... He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him. ...and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.’ (John 14:18,21,23). The Father and Son give Their Spirit to the beseeching child whose dead spirit Christ has quickened. Jesus said, ‘... that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.’ (John 3:6), and He also said, ‘It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.’ (John 6:63 ). Paul wrote, ‘He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.’ (1Cor. 6:17). And the promise was, ‘A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.’ (Eze. 36:26). Sandra was being born again and her spirit heard Jesus’ Spirit encoded by the inspired concepts of the word of God. The Holy Spirit is Jesus’ Spirit that is in the Father’s divine words of righteousness, which Jesus speaks to our spirit when we read or hear His words, or when we see or in some other way detect His character in His creation.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt4hT_jiAKQ (minute 56:11-18)

She also said, “When it comes to the Bible, I meet with Jesus; I met with the Christ.”

Losing the discernment to honestly weigh evidence of Jesus

“As a nation, the people of Israel, while desiring the advent of the Messiah, were so far separated from God in heart and life that they could have no true conception of the character or mission of the promised Redeemer. Instead of desiring redemption from sin, and the glory and peace of holiness, their hearts were fixed upon deliverance from their national foes, and restoration to worldly power. They looked for Messiah to come as a conqueror, to break every yoke, and exalt Israel to dominion over all nations. Thus Satan had succeeded in preparing the hearts of the people to reject the Saviour when He should appear. Their own pride of heart, and their false conceptions of His character and mission, would prevent them from honestly weighing the evidences of His Messiahship.

For more than a thousand years the Jewish people had waited the coming of the promised Saviour. Their brightest hopes had rested upon this event. For a thousand years, in song and prophecy, in temple rite and household prayer, His name had been enshrined; and yet when He came, they did not recognize Him as the Messiah for whom they had so long waited. ‘He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.’ John 1:11. To their world-loving hearts the Beloved of heaven was ‘as a root out of a dry ground.’ In their eyes He had ‘no form nor comeliness;’ they discerned in Him no beauty that they should desire Him. Isaiah 53:2.” Prophets and Kings, p. 709,710.

“Their own pride of heart, and their false conceptions of His character and mission, would prevent them from honestly weighing the evidences of His Messiahship.”

The last generation awaiting Christ’s first coming could not honestly look at the evidences that would lead them to believe that He was the Messiah. What does this say about the last group waiting for His second coming? Aren’t we repeating the history of Israel? “Pride of heart, and resistance to give up false conceptions” is why it is so difficult for people to accept the truth today. Selfishness and seeking a worldly, political Messiah drives many of today’s Protestants and Adventists.

Few there are who are wrestling with their guilt and shame, seeking a Messiah for their sin. The few in Christ’s day were not blinded by hopes in this world. Their hopes were on eternal things—redemption from sin. Therefore, they only could “honestly [weigh] the evidences of His Messiahship”; therefore they recognized the Messiah in Jesus. Only the folks who heeded John the Baptist’s strong message of sin, righteousness, and of judgment to come with the Messiah, could be disciples of the Messiah when He appeared.

Who will recognize the Spirit of Jesus when He comes close to His laboring, battling people, to walk among them and to boost their spirits in the work of spreading His gospel? Will they know that the Spirit is Jesus Himself? Or will they dismiss Jesus’ work for them in the sanctuary above, which opens them to hear the still, small Voice, Jesus’ precious voice— Jesus Himself. Will the false conception of the distant, unknowable, unheard Trinity Jesus prevent their opening to the real Jesus? Who will be true non-Trinitarians? Who will know the true doctrine of the Godhead by the experience of wrestling with sin and righteousness, and not a theory non-Trinitarianism?

History will be repeated, as it always has been. A willingness to be humbled by conviction of sin has always been the strait turnstile to the narrow path to life. And few ever accept the humbling, and therefore most never find the path to life. As it was in the Early Rain, only those who have battled with their sins will receive the dawning gleams of the Latter Rain of Jesus. They have struggled to please God until their total thinking involves the cry of Paul, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom. 7:24).

They were publicans and sinners. They were hopeless without God in the world. And they found help only from “God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 7:25), “the Spirit, … the Spirit of God” through “the Spirit of Christ” (Rom. 8:9). “God the Father” (Gal. 1:1) put in them conviction of sin, and “The Spirit of His Son” (Gal. 4:6) gave them repentance that didn’t itself need repentance, and full forgiveness. Only they will truly know the truth about the only true God and His only begotten Son. Only they will be true non-Trinitarians. 

And everyone else will be without the ability to read the word of God honestly. Their misconceptions will “prevent them from honestly weighing the evidences” of the Spirit, which is Jesus Himself. They will only be able to “[handle] the word of God deceitfully.” (2Cor. 4:2). And they will miss the beautiful evidences of Jesus present in the Latter Rain because the Latter Rain will be all about Jesus joining His people. [“God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you” (Acts 3:26). “Go to, let us go down.” (Gen. 11:7).] Therefore they will end up “none of His” (Rom. 8:9) because they chose not to be His. They chose to join themselves with present Baal-peor, and to serve the gods of Baal-peor. Instead of saying to the Trinity idolaters, “Ye have nothing to do with us” (Ezra 4:3), they believed the heathen, Sunday theologians who told them, “We seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto Him.” (Ezra 4:2).

Now when the people of the only true God read, “Cumbered with humanity, Christ could not be in every place personally; therefore it was altogether for their advantage that He should leave them, go to His father, and send the Holy Spirit to be His successor on earth. The Holy Spirit is Himself divested of the personality of humanity and independent thereof. He would represent Himself as present in all places by His Holy Spirit, as the Omnipresent” (14MR 23.3), they will say, “I believe that. The Holy Spirit is the Himself; Himself, the Holy Spirit. He will represent Himself by His Holy Spirit. That sounds right to me. I’ve always believed that.” It is amazing the self-manipulation we will do in order to avoid the conviction of truth and light.

When they read, “The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, which is sent to all men to give them sufficiency, that through His grace we might be complete in Him. The Lord has provided that we should always be under the teaching and influence of the Holy Spirit. We shall then discover that the law of God is holy, just, and good, and we would learn to delight in the law of God. We love the requirements of the law, and from our hearts render obedience to its requirements” (14MR 84), they read somehow that the Holy Spirit isn’t Christ present by His personal spirit. They won’t accept the fact that grace comes from Christ alone, not another person of the Godhead. No man comes to the Father but through Christ, and through no one else except Christ. Jesus died for us, and no one except the self-sacrificing One can minister the power of His death into our hearts.

When the Trinitarians read, “But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him” (1Cor. 8:6), they will find some way to add a third person to that verse.

When the Trinitarian compares the verse, “Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2Pet. 1:21) with the verse, “Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow” (1Pet. 1:11), they then say or think, “If the world-wide Adult Sabbath School Quarterly didn’t make this comparison, then these verses must be like apples and oranges. They cannot be laid together line upon line. The editor of the quarterly wouldn’t mislead us; he used to be the editor of Liberty Magazine. He’s a loyal SDA minister. Theologians wrote the quarterly, and surely they know the Bible better than you.” (But, maybe a magisterium put together that quarterly.)

So, they will remain faithful to the church at the expense of a plain reading of scripture. But, will all the theologians be involved in the Latter Rain? Will all the pastors? “As the time comes for [the message of the third angel] to be given with greatest power, the Lord will work through humble instruments, leading the minds of those who consecrate themselves to His service. The laborers will be qualified rather by the unction of His Spirit than by the training of literary institutions. Men of faith and prayer will be constrained to go forth with holy zeal, declaring the words which God gives them.” Great Controversy, p. 606.

Being the sacrificed Lamb of God, from Him comes the power of God unto salvation (see Revelation 5:6). Through His angels come His words of life. “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to shew unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John….” (Rev. 1:1).

The Latter Rain of Jesus will come and go, and all who do not know Jesus’ voice will fight Him all the way while they wait for the Latter Rain of a personless, intangible, unfeeling, misty, third person of their Trinity. There can be no redemption, no reconciliation with God from such a platonic mediator. The third person of the Trinity will give them much emotional power, much light and wisdom, but no redemptive power that overcomes sin. Only Jesus, only by being crucified with Him,stung with the guilt of playing around with sin that put Him on the altar of sacrifice, will He offer victory over their sins, while the other Spirit will focus on deep mysteries. They will be ever learning about the mysteries, but never come to a knowledge of the truth. Such a revival of the third person will evade victory over sin because that Spirit has no power to redeem, nor does it want anyone to have it. Its power will be cold and tense, lacking promise of mercy. It will not have the power of an only-begotten Son and an everlasting Father can have. “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:35,36).

By the other Spirit, Jesus will be kept buried in spiritual ideas, and unknowable mysteries. Simple knowledge of Jesus’ mercy and the law of kindness in His mouth will not be encouraged. Yet there lies “the hiding of His power” (Hab. 3:4).

They will reason away the Trinity Spirit’s lack of warmth and personality because they serve a mystery. “It’s a mystery! My imaginary friend, the Comforter!” “It doesn’t matter if my third God can’t feel for the infirmities of my flesh. It doesn’t matter if He has never walked a mile in my moccasins. It doesn’t matter if He wasn’t crucified for me, as were the Father and His only-begotten Son. He doesn’t have to do any of that because He already knows my infirmities; He is omniscient. It doesn’t matter if He doesn’t give me the ability to identify with Him, it’s all a mystery and I just have to accept it! I won’t be held accountable for losing every opportunity to have a relationship with Jesus if our religion’s foundational doctrine kept me slack on seeking Jesus for His ‘likeness to sinful flesh’ (Rom. 8:3), who ‘in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren’ (Heb. 2:17). The Spirit third Person doesn’t have to be seen by faith, because He has no shape or recognizable features. The Spirit is a mystery, and that’s biblical. I’ll just rest on my strong faith in the Bible (I’m off the hook for striving to know Jesus because the whole Godhead is a mystery anyway). I’ll just go on trudging through life without a true friend from heaven. That’s the lot of a Christian, isn’t it?! Even if I spend 50 years of my life in the dark and without Jesus near my heart, as occurred with Mother Teresa, I’ll show God how strong my love is for Him.”

For the Trinitarians the Latter Rain won’t be about “unto us a Child is born”, but about “unto us the mighty, eternal, co-equal third person of the Trinity has come”. Thank you Trinity god! You have single-handedly destroyed the whole world by your ingenious, lying doctrine. “For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.” (Rev. 18:3).

“I saw the rapidity with which this delusion was spreading. A train of cars was shown me, going with the speed of lightning. The angel bade me look carefully. I fixed my eyes upon the train. It seemed that the whole world was on board. Then he showed me the conductor, a fair, stately person, whom all the passengers looked up to and reverenced. I was perplexed and asked my attending angel who it was. He said, ‘It is Satan. He is the conductor, in the form of an angel of light. He has taken the world captive. They are given over to strong delusions, to believe a lie that they may be damned. His agent, the highest in order next to him, is the engineer, and others of his agents are employed in different offices as he may need them, and they are all going with lightning speed to perdition.’” Early Writings, p. 263.

If the training of literary institutions of today is set on the Trinity, then their students will fit in perfectly with Ellen White’s Great Controversy, page 606  prophecy, quoted above. They won’t know “His Spirit”, Jesus’ Spirit, “the Spirit of Christ” (1Pet. 1:11; Rom. 8:9). The Latter Rain will be heretical to them. It will appear heretical and even blasphemous, as Jesus was called. It will not fit their expectations. It will require self-sacrifice. It will require conviction, their surrender to God’s heavy condemnation of sin, and their repentance. But, all who comply will have redemption; Jesus will be living in them by His Spirit. They will know it and will say it. This will be called unbiblical and heresy.

“For more than a thousand years the Jewish people had waited the coming of the promised Saviour. Their brightest hopes had rested upon this event. For a thousand years, in song and prophecy, in temple rite and household prayer, His name had been enshrined; and yet when He came, they did not recognize Him as the Messiah for whom they had so long waited. ‘He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.’ John 1:11. To their world-loving hearts the Beloved of heaven was ‘as a root out of a dry ground.’ In their eyes He had ‘no form nor comeliness;’ they discerned in Him no beauty that they should desire Him. Isaiah 53:2.” Prophets and Kings, p. 710.

The Lord GOD and his spirit

Isa_48:16  Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.

People have said that Isaiah 48:16 proves that the “Holy Spirit” is another member of the Godhead, a third person, a third divine being. But I believe anyone can see that a simple comparison of the construction of Isaiah 48:16 will show that this verse must not be understood by modern language and our straight-forward, Hellenized form of communicating. Isaiah 48:16 must be properly understood by the Hebraic form of communicating, as we will see below. Specifically what I mean is the use of the word, “and”. “And” does not necessarily mean an addition of subjects, but rather can bring added emphasis, for another quality, description, or attribute of the original person.

This is what we see in the following biblical texts.

 Eph_5:20  Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Col_1:3  We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

Col_3:17  And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Jas_1:27  Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Rev_1:6  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Are God and the Father two different persons? Obviously not. No one would ever say that. Other texts that say this don’t use “and” as seen below, which we as 21st century readers recognize to be the norm. But, it wasn’t always the norm. Comparing scripture with scripture, line upon line, we see that to use “and” doesn’t mean any differently in the first verses quoted above. “And” has sometimes simply been a different language and literary construct from the past.

Joh_6:27  Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

Gal_1:1  Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)

Gal_1:3  Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,

Eph_6:23  Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Php_2:11  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

1Th_1:1  Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2Ti_1:2  To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Tit_1:4  To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.

1Pe_1:2  Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

2Pe_1:17  For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

2Jn_1:3  Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

Jud_1:1  Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:

 “God the Father”, “God and the Father”, or “God and his Father” (Rev. 1:6), all say the same thing. God is the Father. His only begotten Son is “Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Rev. 1:5). God and the Father are not two separate persons. Then let’s read Isaiah 48:16 the same way. Basic ancient syntax and grammar reads Isaiah 48:16 as “the Lord GOD his spirit sent me”, or rather, “Adonoy Jehovah his spirit sent me”. In the minds of prophet and people monotheism reigned supreme. No one in Israel would have understood that Isaiah was sent by two Gods. They would have interpreted Isaiah to mean that the Spirit of the Lord had sent him. Not two Gods, but Christ alone has been the medium of communication and communion between God and man.

“This ladder represented Christ, who had opened the communication between earth and heaven. In Christ’s humiliation He descended to the very depth of human woe in sympathy and pity for fallen man, which was represented to Jacob by one end of the ladder resting upon the earth, while the top of the ladder, reaching unto heaven, represents the divine power of Christ, who grasps the Infinite, and thus links earth to heaven and finite man to the infinite God. Through Christ the communication is opened between God and man. Angels may pass from heaven to earth with messages of love to fallen man, and to minister unto those who shall be heirs of salvation. It is through Christ alone that the heavenly messengers minister to men.” Selected Messages, book 1, p. 280.

“In the vision the plan of redemption was presented to Jacob, not fully, but in such parts as were essential to him at that time. The mystic ladder revealed to him in his dream was the same to which Christ referred in His conversation with Nathanael. Said He, ‘Ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.’ John 1:51. Up to the time of man’s rebellion against the government of God, there had been free communion between God and man. But the sin of Adam and Eve separated earth from heaven, so that man could not have communion with his Maker. Yet the world was not left in solitary hopelessness. The ladder represents Jesus, the appointed medium of communication. Had He not with His own merits bridged the gulf that sin had made, the ministering angels could have held no communion with fallen man. Christ connects man in his weakness and helplessness with the source of infinite power.”  Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 184.

 

“In all these revelations of the divine presence the glory of God was manifested through Christ. Not alone at the Saviour’s advent, but through all the ages after the Fall and the promise of redemption, ‘God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.’ 2 Corinthians 5:19. Christ was the foundation and center of the sacrificial system in both the patriarchal and the Jewish age. Since the sin of our first parents there has been no direct communication between God and man. The Father has given the world into the hands of Christ, that through His mediatorial work He may redeem man and vindicate the authority and holiness of the law of God. All the communion between heaven and the fallen race has been through Christ. It was the Son of God that gave to our first parents the promise of redemption. It was He who revealed Himself to the patriarchs. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses understood the gospel. They looked for salvation through man’s Substitute and Surety. These holy men of old held communion with the Saviour who was to come to our world in human flesh; and some of them talked with Christ and heavenly angels face to face. 

     Christ was not only the leader of the Hebrews in the wilderness--the Angel in whom was the name of Jehovah, and who, veiled in the cloudy pillar, went before the host--but it was He who gave the law to Israel. Amid the awful glory of Sinai, Christ declared in the hearing of all the people the ten precepts of His Father’s law. It was He who gave to Moses the law engraved upon the tables of stone. 

     It was Christ that spoke to His people through the prophets. The apostle Peter, writing to the Christian church, says that the prophets “prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow.” 1 Peter 1:10, 11. It is the voice of Christ that speaks to us through the Old Testament. ‘The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’ Revelation 19:10.” Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 366.

“The Saviour had not come to set aside what patriarchs and prophets had spoken; for He Himself had spoken through these representative men. All the truths of God’s word came from Him.” Desire of Ages. p. 287.

Look at some other examples of the ancient grammar of “and” and see if they are not simply a bridge between two words that can be made invisible, and even put out of use today, yet mean the same as in the past:

Mat_24:48  But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;

Luk_12:45  But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;

Luk_20:6  But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet.

1Co_7:11  But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.

1Co_7:28  But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.

1Pe_3:14  But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;

Joh_6:62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?

Rev_17:6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

Isa_34:16  Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.

Compare the last two references to the Lord and His spirit. The Lord’s Spirit reveals the work that He does. The Spirit is the Lord’s mouth. What does the Almighty’s mouth do? It commands, It moves, as in holy men being “moved by the Holy Ghost” (2Pet. 1:21). Isaiah 34:16 says that that is what His Spirit does. A plain reading of this verse says that His mouth works in conjunction with His Spirit. We see this also in Isaiah 48:13.

Isa 48:13  Mine Hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and My right Hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.

Isaiah 34:16 and Isaiah 48:13 give the context of the key text we started with, Isaiah 48:16, a verse that people use to prove that the Spirit as a separate person. But, from a plain reading of these verses we get a clear insight into the Spirit of God, that it is simply His Spirit; it is “the power of the Highest” (Luke 1:35), the power in the Most High to do His will. His Spirit is His power unto creation and over His creations, and it is His power unto salvation and over His subjects of salvation, His delivered saints. He is their Lord, and with His omnipotent work, in His presence, they “do…the things which I say.” (Luke 6:46, cf Jer. 15:19). His power, His word moves His inanimate creation and animal kingdom to do His bidding. Why are His human creatures, who are made in His image, rebellious toward His commands, His biddings?

The almighty Lord God has His Spirit just as we have our spirit (see 1 Corinthians 2:11). He has His Mouth, just as we have our mouth. He has His right Hand, just as we have our right hand. We are made in His image. From the abundance of our spirit our mouth speaks and our hand acts; and likewise His abundant Mouth speaks and powerful Hand works from the abundance of His Spirit. His Spirit functions similarly as His Mouth in that its almighty powerful aspect of His mind causes His almighty Mouth to speak and His omnipotent righteous right Hand to cause His providences. His Spirit, His Mouth, and His Hand were involved in bringing vultures to the vulture friends spoken of in Isaiah 34:16, for them all to feed on the slain enemies of Israel. His Mouth, His Hand, and His Spirit called the animals to feast on the dead rebels of the kingdom of God.

How can we say that the Lord’s Spirit, His Mouth, and His righteous right Hand are separate entities, separate persons, from Himself? If we say His Spirit is a separate person, then we must say the same thing about His Mouth and His Hand. The Mouth and Hand of the Lord are not separate persons, distinct from the One who owns that almighty Mouth and Hand. His almighty Mouth and Hand are simply the part of God that commands the human and animal kingdom. They are the manifestation of Him that our minds detect and comprehend.

And so is His almighty Spirit, the Spirit of truth and Comforter, our Wonderful Counselor.

“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord .” (2Cor. 3:17,18). God has a Law, and is the Law, His Law being a transcript of Himself (see Romans 7:25; 8:7; 4:15; Galatians 3:24; Hebrews 12:6). God is a Spirit and has a Spirit. Likewise, are we in our sphere, being made in His image. We are “living soul[s]” (Gen. 2:7), yet we possess a soul, the place of God’s peace within our mind. Even as David pined to himself, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul; why art thou disquieted within me?” (Ps. 42:11, cf vs. 2,5,6). And even as David mourned the loss of his peace from Jesus,  “Lord, why castest Thou off my soul? Why hidest Thou Thy face from me?” (Ps. 88:14).

That converted soul finds its great peace and comfort while abiding in connection with the Lord who put the soul in man when He breathed into His nostrils His holy Spirit of life. The human soul, by His Spirit, is the Lord’s resting place in man, His footstool upon the mercy seat of the redeemed man. His power that reconciles the heart and mind to God, and brings calm to His creation by closing in man the oppressive breach made by the presence of the spirit of Satan.