The Lord and His Spirit

“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.” (Isa. 34:16).

“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.” (Isa. 48:16).

I have wrestled over these texts, because it appears to say that the Spirit of God is separate from God, as in the Spirit being a separate person from God. And these verses have been used as solid proof that such is the case. But, when we lay precept upon precept and line upon line we see that  the Lord and His Spirit represented by two separate persons was not the understanding of the Bible writers.

Listen to David express his praise to Jesus.

“O LORD, Thou hast searched me, and known me.

Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off.

Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, Thou knowest it altogether.

Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid Thine hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence?...” (Ps. 139:1-7).

David’s praise sounds like Nebuchadnezzar’s.

“And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured Him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation: and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?... Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and His ways judgment: and those that walk in pride He is able to abase.” (Dan. 4:34,35,37).

Both testimonies declare that there is the bodily King of heaven; and yet the King of heaven is felt everywhere. Likewise, in Psalm 110 David had seen Jesus Adonai on His throne next to His Father, and Jesus was even seen as travelling around the heavenly kingdom in Psalm 45. David saw Jehovah Jesus as a being, having a tangible, defined form. David saw Jehovah Jesus, the fullness of the Godhead bodily. To both David and Nebuchadnezzar Jehovah not only oversaw, but also personally worked His will. Paul penned their ideas of the work of God: “Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.” (Eph. 1:11); and, “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.” (2Cor. 5:19). At Golgotha, Jehovah was personally in His crucified Son through Their eternal Spirit, as He was personally present in the cloud on the holy mount for Christ’s transfiguration (see Matthew 17:5; Hebrews 9:14). David knew that Moses had described Christ’s bodily pre-incarnate form as “the body of heaven in His clearness.” (Ex. 24:10). Notwithstanding that, David also knew that Christ’s personal presence far exceeded His throne in heaven, as David’s Psalm 139 indicated. The difference between David’s and Nebuchadnezzar’s testimonies of the bodily persons of Jehovah and Adonai was that David added a revelation of Jehovah’s Spirit, or Jehovah’s omnipresence, that can see and intervene everywhere. Thus, David could testify of Jehovah and His omnipresent Spirit, or of Adonai and His omnipresent Spirit. Hence, Isaiah’s account of “the Lord GOD, and His Spirit” (Isa. 48:16).

God’s pervasive kingdom results from His pervasive Spirit. “And when He [Jesus] was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20,21). “The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith.” (Rom. 10:8).

Nebuchadnezzar learned about the kingdom of God when he saw the goodness of God toward him. Only by the Spirit of God in the soul can a sinful mortal extol and honor the one true God. Only through the Spirit from God can we appreciate the things of God and give Him thanks. “Now we have received … the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” (1Cor. 2:12).

The Spirit of God in us is God the Father manifesting Himself through His only begotten Son. The Spirit is not God in the sense that God is the Godhead and the Spirit is a third member of the Godhead council. The Spirit of God is the life and soul of God through His Son that pervades all of Their created works, bringing life to all. This is what we see from Revelation 4 and 5.

“And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” (Rev. 4:5). The Son of God embodied the seven Spirits of God, His holy person enjoying the infinitely blazing and brilliant purity of God His Father.

“One of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 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. 5:5,6). The Son of God still embodies the measureless, eternal Spirit of Him who sits on the throne. His is the Spirit that we hear, the Good Shepherd’s voice that we follow.

“And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith He that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead…. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” (Rev. 3:1,6).

Revelation shows Jesus prior to His incarnation as seven lamps of fire, burning in response to the infinitely austere holiness of Him who sat on the throne. And His eternal pre-incarnate body, glorified by His Father, Jesus yearned to have again after His resurrection and ascension.

“And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.” (John 17:5). That very glory and infinite Spirit without measure that clothed Jesus at His transfiguration in His Father’s invisible presence.

“And after six days Jesus taketh with Him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and He was transfigured before them. And His raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.” (Mark 9:2,3).

“And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.” (Mark 9:7).

Oh, what a relief to have His fallen human nature completely put down by His invisible Father present, before whom no unholiness can exist! God, His Father only showed His Spirit in the sparkly, shimmering cloud of glory that night in order to stop the mouth of Peter before his arrogance spread to James and John.

“God … the Father of glory” (Eph. 1:17), “the Father of lights” (Jas. 1:17), was the source of Christ’s Spirit without measure, and His pre-incarnate glory.

“The Sovereign of the universe was not alone in His work of beneficence. He had an associate—a co-worker who could appreciate His purposes, and could share His joy in giving happiness to created beings. ‘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.’ John 1:1, 2. Christ, the Word, the only begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father―one in nature, in character, in purpose―the only being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God. ‘His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.’ Isaiah 9:6. His ‘goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.’ Micah 5:2. And the Son of God declares concerning Himself: ‘The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting…. 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.’ Proverbs 8:22-30.

     The Father wrought by His Son in the creation of all heavenly beings. ‘By Him were all things created,… whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him.’ Colossians 1:16.” Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 34.2.

Since the very beginning, there has been no other being in the Godhead except the Two: “the Sovereign of the universe” and His “Associate”, His “Co-worker”, “Christ, the Word, the only begotten of God”, “the only being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God” [emphasis mine].

But, They have Their Spirit. Even as we were made in Their image and as we have a spirit, so do They each have Their own Spirit that is infinitely greater than ours.

“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).

But, there is another spirit beside the Spirit of Father and Son. That is the spirit of Satan manifested in mankind, the “spirit of the world” (1Cor. 2:12), the “god of this world” (Gal. 4:6), “the prince of this world” (John 14:30). That spirit is what Paul called, “principalities, … powers, … the rulers of the darkness of this world, … spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph. 6:12). Satan is a person, and he has his spirit. Likewise, God is a person, Christ is a person, and They have their individual Spirits that are one Spirit. “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).

“Get thee behind Me, Satan: thou art an offence unto Me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” (Matt. 16:23). The spirit of the world has no place in the kingdom that Jesus came to set up. It is the “spirit of antichrist”, “the spirit of error.” (1Jn. 4:3,6).

Through the false doctrines of men, the spirit of Satan influences and vehemently controls this world to be violent toward each other, and especially toward God. “Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke Me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.” (Eze. 8:17). “And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused My people Israel to err. I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto Me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.” (Jer. 23:13,14). Satan’s spirit whispers into the world’s minds from the devices he inspired men to create. He controls the kingdoms of this world through his idolatrous religion and lifestyles that he has pushed upon the human race. But, God is stronger than Satan, and His Spirit wages constant warfare against the spirit of Satan. “So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.” (Isa. 59:19).

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” (1Cor. 2:12). The phrase, “Spirit of God” is simply what the words from Paul more explicitly denoted as he tried to state its terminology in more grammatical clarity—“the Spirit which is of God”. It has become the assumption that the words, “Spirit of God” was the “Spirit’s” name. Rather, the phrase was a description of the work of God Himself in the human spirit. “God is a Spirit.” (John 4:24).

But, the Spirit of God is God the Father meeting His children in their spirit. “The Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead” (Rom. 8:11) is the “God the Father, who raised Him from the dead” (Gal. 1:1). Again, the Spirit of Him that resurrected Jesus is “God” who “raised Him from the dead” (Rom. 10:9); it is “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory” who “wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:17, 20); the Spirit is “God, who hath raised Him [Christ] from the dead” (Col. 2:12), “the living and true God;… to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” (1Thess. 1:9,10).

The Spirit is not “the Spirit of the Godhead”, as in an individual, a person separate from the Father, His Spirit, His mind. “The Spirit” is “the Spirit of your Father” (Matt. 10:20), who has a Spirit like the spirit which He gave every human to have, but which Spirit in the children of God is a special gift of God in all whose spirit has cried out in desperation, “O, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death?”, and have surrendered to God. The Spirit of God is God’s Spirit, His person, His mind, His creative and redemptive influence upon His creation, animate and inanimate, His intelligent creation and otherwise. It is because we are made in His image that our spirit taps into the things of man (our thoughts and intents and memories), and fills our homes and our spheres of influence.

The “spirit which is of^G1537 God” is the Spirit of God, or the Spirit from God. G1537 ek, ex. A primary preposition denoting origin (the point whence motion or action proceeds), from, out (of place, time or cause; literally or figuratively; direct or remote): - after, among, X are, at betwixt (- yond), by (the means of), exceedingly, (+ abundantly above), for (- th), from (among, forth, up), + grudgingly, + heartily, X heavenly, X hereby, +very highly, in, …ly, (because, by reason) of, off (from), on, out among (from, of), over since, X thenceforth, through, X unto, X vehemently, with )-out). Often used in composition, with the same general import; often of completion.

Only the Son can reveal His Father. The Son of God is the recipient of His Father’s glory and Spirit.  “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.” (John 16:7).

“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, cf John 17:25).

“But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.” (John 15:26).

“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.” Manuscript Releases, p. 23.3.

    

Some have misinterpreted this statement to say that a third person of a trinity is spoken of here. But, is it correct to say that “the Holy Spirit is [the Holy Spirit]”? Why would Ellen White write that the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit? Does it make sense? Not at all. It is a waste of words and intelligible nonsense. Or, how about, “[The Holy Spirit] would represent Himself as present in all places by His Holy Spirit”?  Does the Holy Spirit have a Holy Spirit? Does saying that make sense? Not at all. The Holy Spirit is Jesus Himself, divested of His human person and independent of it. He represents Himself by His Holy Spirit. Thus, the Holy Spirit is Christ’s own Spirit, His representative. And let us not forget the definition of  “divest”. To divest means that one was formerly vested, or invested. therefore, to be divested of the personality of humanity is to have have previously been vested with human personality. Jesus is the only being of the Godhead who is disemcumbered from His human form and divested of human personality.

“The Holy Spirit is Christ’s representative, but divested of the personality of humanity, and independent thereof. Cumbered with humanity, Christ could not be in every place personally. Therefore it was for their interest that He should go to the Father, and send the Spirit to be His successor on earth. No one could then have any advantage because of his location or his personal contact with Christ. By the Spirit the Saviour would be accessible to all. In this sense He would be nearer to them than if He had not ascended on high.” Desire of Ages, p. 669.2.

“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.” (John 14:21). John was most certainly keeping Jesus’ commandments and His word. He had spent many years preaching the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. And, true to His promise, Jesus manifested Himself to John.

“I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.” (Rev. 1:9,10).

It was this Spirit voice of Jesus, divested of the personality of His humanity, speaking with the volume of a trumpet, that spoke to the apostles during the Early Rain. And it was the same voice all the apostles heard command them as He led them in victory after victory, “the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.” (Mark 16:20).

“While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.” (Acts 10:19).

“And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house.” (Acts 11:12).

“After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.” (Acts 16:7).

“And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.” (Acts 21:4).

“Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.” (Acts 8:29).

The voice was Jesus. “And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.” (Rev. 6:2).

A poem dedicated to Jesus, the great Mother of all living, who love His children like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings

How the changing years have borne me
     Far away from days of home!
Now no Mother bends above me
     When the time for sleep has come. 

But it gives my poor heart comfort,
     And it brings me rest within,
Just to dream that I am little
     And my Mother tucks me in.

As I kneel there with my brother
     By the bed above the stairs,
And I hear my gentle Mother
     Whisper, “Boys, remember prayers!” 

Then she comes and prays beside us,
     “Father, keep them from all sin.”
Oh! her kiss is tender, loving,
     When my Mother tucks me in.

When at last the evening finds me
     And life’s busy day is done,
All the bands of earth that bind me
     Shall be broken one by one. 

Then; O Lord, be Thou my comfort,
     Calm my soul Thy peace to win;
Let me fall asleep as gently
     As when Mother tucked me in. 

-H.M.S. Richards Sr.

The Spirit of Christ

“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.” (Rom. 8:26).

 

“As yet the disciples were unacquainted with the Saviour’s unlimited resources and power. He said to them, ‘Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name.’ John 16:24. He explained that the secret of their success would be in asking for strength and grace in His name. He would be present before the Father to make request for them. The prayer of the humble suppliant He presents as His own desire in that soul’s behalf. Every sincere prayer is heard in heaven. It may not be fluently expressed; but if the heart is in it, it will ascend to the sanctuary where Jesus ministers, and He will present it to the Father without one awkward, stammering word, beautiful and fragrant with the incense of His own perfection.” Desire of Ages, p. 667.

If Christ’s resources were unlimited, why would He need a third person to do His work for Him? He doesn’t. “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.” (Isa. 48:13). From the very beginning Jesus has been the medium of communion with the Father. As in creation so in redemption. Jesus speaks the word and the power of sin flees and our faith stands fast.

“As Christ lived the law in humanity, so we may do if we will take hold of the Strong for strength. But we are not to place the responsibility of our duty upon others, and wait for them to tell us what to do. We cannot depend for counsel upon humanity. The Lord [Jesus] 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.” Desire of Ages, p. 668.

Christ and His Spirit

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you.” (Acts 3:19,20).

How was Jesus to be sent to those first generation converts?

“Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.

For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto Me; Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever He shall say unto you.

And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.

Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy Seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

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 3:21-26).

How was Jesus sent to bless the Jews to turn them all from their iniquities? Did He come visibly, bodily? No, but He did come. He came after God raised Him from the grave and He had ascended. He came at Pentecost, in the Spirit. The candlestick that lit the seven churches of Asia lit up the 120 followers of Jesus in the baptism of His Spirit.

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4).

This was the Spirit of truth that Jesus promised He would pray to His Father to send. All that Jesus had told them in secret they could now made public from the housetops. And what sermons they boldly preached!

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father.

And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

If ye shall ask any thing in My name, I will do 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 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 14:12-18).

The first disciples had stayed in Jerusalem, as Christ commanded them. They had made amends between each other, were united in a fellowship they had never known as followers of Jesus, the Son of David, the King of the Jews. They knew He was hearing them by a faith they hadn’t had before they touched His throne of grace and glory. They were loving Him and keeping His commandment that they love one another. They were abiding in Him and His words repeatedly rehearsed among themselves were abiding in their hearts. Oh, how they groaned that they had been so slow of faith and hardhearted while the Saviour was with them! So Jesus prayed His Father to send them His Spirit, just as He had given a token of that when He breathed on them before ascending, and said, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” (John 20:22). Their obedience to the gospel moved the Father of glory to send them another Comforter which was Jesus Himself, so that He could keep His promise, “I will come to you.”

In this way at Pentecost Jesus came to them, as Peter revealed to them, “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). They received the refreshing from the presence of the Lord when He would send Jesus.

Two thousand years after the Early Rain of the Father’s Spirit through His Son, the second bookend of the baptism of His Spirit would see the same scenario in the Latter Rain of the Spirit of God through Christ.

“Said the angel, ‘List ye!’ Soon I heard a voice like many musical instruments all sounding in perfect strains, sweet and harmonious. It surpassed any music I had ever heard, seeming to be full of mercy, compassion, and elevating, holy joy. It thrilled through my whole being. Said the angel, ‘Look ye!’ My attention was then turned to the company I had seen, who were mightily shaken. I was shown those whom I had before seen weeping and praying in agony of spirit. The company of guardian angels around them had been doubled, and they were clothed with an armor from their head to their feet. They moved in exact order, like a company of soldiers. Their countenances expressed the severe conflict which they had endured, the agonizing struggle they had passed through. Yet their features, marked with severe internal anguish, now shone with the light and glory of heaven. They had obtained the victory, and it called forth from them the deepest gratitude and holy, sacred joy.  {EW 270.4} 

     The numbers of this company had lessened. Some had been shaken out and left by the way. The careless and indifferent, who did not join with those who prized victory and salvation enough to perseveringly plead and agonize for it, did not obtain it, and they were left behind in darkness, and their places were immediately filled by others taking hold of the truth and coming into the ranks. Evil angels still pressed around them, but could have no power over them.  {EW 271.1} 

     I heard those clothed with the armor speak forth the truth with great power. It had effect. Many had been bound; some wives by their husbands, and some children by their parents. The honest who had been prevented from hearing the truth now eagerly laid hold upon it. All fear of their relatives was gone, and the truth alone was exalted to them. They had been hungering and thirsting for truth; it was dearer and more precious than life. I asked what had made this great change. An angel answered, ‘It is the latter rain, the refreshing from the presence of the Lord, the loud cry of the third angel.’”  Early Writings, p. 271.

“The angel who unites in the proclamation of the third angel’s message is to lighten the whole earth with his glory. A work of world-wide extent and unwonted power is here foretold. The advent movement of 1840-44 was a glorious manifestation of the power of God; the first angel’s message was carried to every missionary station in the world, and in some countries there was the greatest religious interest which has been witnessed in any land since the Reformation of the sixteenth century; but these are to be exceeded by the mighty movement under the last warning of the third angel.  {GC 611.1} 

     The work will be similar to that of the Day of Pentecost. As the ‘former rain’ was given, in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the opening of the gospel, to cause the upspringing of the precious seed, so the ‘latter rain’ will be given at its close for the ripening of the harvest. ‘Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.’ Hosea 6:3. ‘Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for He hath given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain.’ Joel 2:23. ‘In the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh.’ ‘And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ Acts 2:17, 21.  {GC 611.2} 

     The great work of the gospel is not to close with less manifestation of the power of God than marked its opening. The prophecies which were fulfilled in the outpouring of the former rain at the opening of the gospel are again to be fulfilled in the latter rain at its close. Here are ‘the times of refreshing’ to which the apostle Peter looked forward when he said: ‘Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus.’ Acts 3:19, 20.  {GC 611.3}

     Servants of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven. By thousands of voices, all over the earth, the warning will be given. Miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and signs and wonders will follow the believers. Satan also works, with lying wonders, even bringing down fire from heaven in the sight of men. Revelation 13:13. Thus the inhabitants of the earth will be brought to take their stand.  {GC 612.1} 

     The message will be carried not so much by argument as by the deep conviction of the Spirit of God. The arguments have been presented. The seed has been sown, and now it will spring up and bear fruit. The publications distributed by missionary workers have exerted their influence, yet many whose minds were impressed have been prevented from fully comprehending the truth or from yielding obedience. Now the rays of light penetrate everywhere, the truth is seen in its clearness, and the honest children of God sever the bands which have held them. Family connections, church relations, are powerless to stay them now. Truth is more precious than all besides. Notwithstanding the agencies combined against the truth, a large number take their stand upon the Lord’s side.” Great Controversy, p. 612.

By His Spirit, Jesus will be very near, personally, literally, by faith.

Elohim

H430 ‘ēlôhîym

Plural of H433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative: -angels, X exceeding, God (gods) (-dress, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.

Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries

“Elohim”, being plural, translates: “the Godhead”. So, we should plug in “the Godhead” for “Elohim”. Thus, “the Spirit^H7307[Ruach] of [Elohim]”, would be defined as “the Spirit of the Godhead”, i.e. “the Spirit of God” and “the Spirit of Christ” (Rom. 8:9).

 

Gen 1:1  In the beginning [the Godhead] created the heaven and the earth.

Gen 1:2  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit^H7307[Ruach] of [the Godhead] moved upon the face of the waters.

Gen 1:3  And [the Godhead] said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Gen 1:4  And [the Godhead] saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

Gen 1:5  And [the Godhead] called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Gen 1:6  And [the Godhead] said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

Gen 1:7  And [the Godhead] made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.…

Gen 1:26  And [the Godhead] said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Gen 1:27  So [the Godhead] created man in his own image, in the image of [the Godhead] created he him; male and female created he them.

Gen 1:28  And [the Godhead] blessed them, and [the Godhead] said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Gen 1:29  And [the Godhead] said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Gen 1:30  And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

Gen 1:31  And [the Godhead] saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Thus, “the Spirit^H7307 [Ruach] of [Elohim]”, would be defined as “the Spirit of Elohim”, “the Spirit of the Godhead”, i.e. “the Spirit of God … the Spirit of Christ” (Rom. 8:9).

“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). The Spirit^H7307 [Ruach] of [Elohim] can only be defined as the Spirit of God and the Spirit of His Son.

The Spirit^H7307 [Ruach] of [Elohim] cannot be defined as “the Spirit of the Spirit”. If “of”, as in “the Spirit^H7307 [Ruach] of [Elohim]”, were translated, “from”, as in “the Spirit from God”, and “the Spirit from Christ”, it still could not be translated, “the Spirit from the Spirit”; it would be as nonsensical as “the Spirit of the Spirit”.

Why is the Trinity and Holy Spirit so momentous a subject that it needs so much agitation? Because, if we are not having the biblically correct “in the Spirit” Christianity, then we are “in the flesh” and we are “none of His”; that is, we are none of Christ’s. We are yet in our sins. We are reprobate. We are not converted; we have no part with Christ. We are not saved. We are not born again into His kingdom. We are still part of Satan’s dominion, and worse, we are caught in his world-wide delusion. We are worshiping him under his occult spiritualism.

Biblically, to be “in the Spirit” means to “have … the Spirit of Christ”. To be in the Spirit means to receive from the Spirit of Christ His “power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12,13). To be in the Spirit means to have “the Spirit of God dwell in you” for Jesus’ power to keep all His commandments. “In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is His name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Jer. 23:6). “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” (Rev. 14:12).

To the unconverted Christian who is serious about his standing before God, being reprobate, none of Christ’s, and having no part with Him, call forth serious chastisement of peace. And if I am a church leader who is exposed as being unconverted, then I can lose my standing before men—an even greater chastisement of peace. It’s a serious accusation to one held up highly among the church that he doesn’t have the Spirit, because then he is not quickened; he is dead in sin. He has no simplicity in Christ, but is operating by his own works, his own mammoth mental constructs that leave him heavily burdened and damned. Yet, unconverted church leaders have had a long history—long before Paul wrote of it.

“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him….

But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly made manifest among you in all things.

Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?….

Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth.

But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.” (2Cor. 11: 3,4,6,7,12,13).

Oh, the wrestlings of that man of God for the churches he espoused to Christ. They were almost as reprobate as the false apostles. “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2Cor. 13:5). “But”, he wrote, “ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1Cor. 6:11). Thankfully, God doesn’t immediately cut us off for being tempted away from “the Spirit of His Son” (Gal. 4:6).

If they break My statutes, and keep not My commandments; then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. (Ps. 89:31, 32).

I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished (Jer. 30:10, 11).

Nevertheless My lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer My faithfulness to fail (Ps. 89:33).

But, if I am so high in the leadership of God and I can’t explain the simplicity of the gospel in Jesus, then I need to look for another job. Either that, or, I better be quick on my feet and come up with Bible doctrine that matches what I have in my personal religious experience. I need to handle the word of God deceitfully, and do a real thorough work of a new religion, or it won’t sell. If I can’t rework the truth before I am exposed, then I need to borrow an already made doctrine and tweak it to look like my group’s religion.

“Through heathenism, Satan had for ages turned men away from God; but he won his great triumph in perverting the faith of Israel. By contemplating and worshiping their own conceptions, the heathen had lost a knowledge of God, and had become more and more corrupt. So it was with Israel. The principle that man can save himself by his own works lay at the foundation of every heathen religion; it had now become the principle of the Jewish religion. Satan had implanted this principle. Wherever it is held, men have no barrier against sin.” Desire of Ages, p. 35.

Deceitfully handling the word of God and molding it to fit Satan’s religion happened to the ancient Hebrew religion, and again it occurred to Christianity early in its existence, as paul tried to warn the early church,

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.” (2Thess. 2:3-7).

Paul, by the Spirit of Christ, had mastered the Old Testament scriptures. His warning to the church was based on Daniel’s prophecies. In those visions Paul saw a usurping power taking control of the church of Christ, blasphemously changing church doctrine and persecuting the faithful voices who spoke out against him.

“He shall … have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.

And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.” (Dan. 11:30-33).

“And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” (Dan. 7:25).

Once a backslidden church would stand with the wicked one, then great changes would be made to Bible doctrine. This is how the Father and Son Godhead became a trinity that gave room for Satan to oversee and control Their kingdom on earth. By manipulating what they believed about God and His only begotten Son, the devil controlled how they thought of God’s self-sacrificing love. Thus, Satan was able to lump the Christian world together with the vast pagan world, and rake the whole world into the fires prepared for him and his angels.

“Then shall that Wicked be revealed … even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2Thess. 2:8-12).

Who is the Spirit? From whom does it come to our hearts? Does it come from Someone else than God Himself and “His Son”? No, no one else, according to the scripture.

Another spirit beside “the Spirit of God” and “the Spirit of Christ” is not authorized by the one true Godhead. A third person in the Godhead is spurious, blasphemous, and leprous. He will intentionally spread his leprosy to us all. He will make us none of Christ’s. We will be as reprobate as the great deceptive adversary. We will have no part with Christ.

Therefore, we must withstand the third person of the Trinity at the door. We need to be “valiant men” and say, “Go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed”. We need to “thrust him out from thence” (2Chron. 26:20), that is, from the heavenly sanctuary and from our doctrine of God. The powerful, but presumptuous, trespasser of the Godhead needs to be “cut off from the house of the LORD”, “being a leper” (2Chron. 26:21). He needs to be quarantined to a “several house” “unto the day of his death” (Ibid.), and ultimately be blotted out of existence (see Revelation 20:10).

Divested of the personality of humanity, PART I

Webster’s 1828 Dictionary

DIVEST, v.t. [L. It is the same word as devest, but the latter is appropriately used as a technical term in law.]

1. To strip of clothes, arms or equipage; opposed to invest.

2. To deprive; as, to divest one of his rights or privileges; to divest one of title or property.

3. To deprive or strip of any thing that covers, surrounds or attends; as, to divest one of his glory; to divest a subject of deceptive appearances, or false ornaments.

DIVESTED, pp. Stripped; undressed; deprived.

Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (1986)

Divest to undress or strip esp. of clothing ornament, or equipment

To dispossess or deprive esp. of possessions or vested rights

Archaic to lay aside, abandon

To take away (possessions or vested rights)

Syn: see strip

A well known passage from Desire of Ages that I have color coded to help match another passage from Manuscript Releases, volume 14:

“Before this the Spirit had been in the world; from the very beginning of the work of redemption He had been moving upon men’s hearts. But while Christ was on earth, the disciples had desired no other helper. Not until they were deprived of His presence would they feel their need of the Spirit, and then He would come.

“The Holy Spirit is Christ’s representative, but divested of the personality of humanity, and independent thereof. Cumbered with humanity, Christ could not be in every place personally. Therefore it was for their interest that He should go to the Father, and send the Spirit to be His successor on earth. No one could then have any advantage because of his location or his personal contact with Christ. By the Spirit the Saviour would be accessible to all. In this sense He would be nearer to them than if He had not ascended on high.”  Desire of Ages, p. 669.1,2, 1890.

“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].”  Manuscript Releases, volume 14, p. 23.3}. Letter 119, 1895.

Notice the more specific statement, that the Holy Spirit is “Christ Himself”, is dated after the more universally known text from Desire of Ages, published in 1890. This challenges the many cries that Ellen White changed her theological stance on the Godhead and added a third being with the Father and Son. The definition of “divest” is very definitive of the personality of the Spirit. In order to divest someone of something, they must have been previously invested with it. In the case of the Spirit being divested of the personality of humanity, means that He had previously been invested with the personality of humanity. The use of the word, “divested”, is very telling of Ellen White’s anti-Trinitarianism. She was always striving to be as accurate and particular in her language as anyone could be. And the definition of “divested” has not changed in the least since 1828.

So, she was saying nothing different in Desire of Ages than she had earlier written in the letter bound in Manuscript Releases, volume 14. Jesus would send His Spirit as His “representative”; “He would represent Himself”. And that is because there is no other Mediator or Intercessor or Advocate between God and man than the Man Christ Jesus, none other name under heaven by which we must be saved. “The Holy Spirit is Himself [Christ] 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.” Manuscript Releases, volume 14, p. 23. “The Holy Spirit is Christ’s representative, but divested of the personality of humanity, and independent thereof.… By the Spirit the Saviour would be accessible to all. In this sense He would be nearer to them than if He had not ascended on high.”  Desire of Ages, p. 669.

So, clearly the Spirit is not a third person of a Trinity. The Spirit is the Saviour, “the Spirit of the Saviour”. Somehow, some way, the union of the Father and Son CREATORS can make 2 personalities to equal 3—as far as we can perceive the Father and Son. The reality is that They are two, always have been two and always will be two. But, our limited intelligence should not be relied upon. We should rely upon the words of biblical inspiration. We should leave “the secret things … unto the LORD our God”, but keep “those things which are revealed”. For they “belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deut. 29:29).

“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.

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.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (1Cor. 2:9-16).

Maybe we can liken the person of our preincarnate Mediator, Michael, “He who is like God”. In 1 Corinthians 2:11 Paul said that since we are made in His image, we can analyze ourselves and learn about God and His Spirit. Christ and His Spirit are similar to the way people recognize my voice as me; but, literally, my voice is not me. If you heard me over the radio, you wouldn’t hear me, rather you heard the electronic reconstruction of my audible voice having entered a microphone and turned into A/C voltage levels and amplitudes. My written vocabulary in this blog can be referred to as me; but, it’s only the compositions of my thoughts. A picture of me can be said to be me, even though a photograph is made of special paper and chemicals, and isn’t flesh and blood. At a distance my visible person is me, yet really don’t you need to touch my person in order to say, “This is David”? And even if you touch my skin, my thoughts are really the essence of me. If you touch my arm, are you touching me or my arm? You say that you are touching me in both cases, if you can allow for that kind of generalization. This may sound like semantics or philosophical, but with the Creators and Their Spirit, all this semantics or philosophy takes on a whole new realm of study. We all have many extensions of ourselves. They are different that the Creators’ Spirit because our visible, audible, tangible, literary, intellectual influences don’t have the infinite force that comes from the Father and His only Begotten. By Their Spirit They can speak creation into existence.

By His Spirit He hath garnished the heavens; His hand hath formed the crooked serpent. (Job 26:13).

But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. (Job 32:8).

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; all flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust. (Job 34:14,35).

By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: He layeth up the depth in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. (Ps. 33:6-9).

Their breath, Their hand, Their voice, Their command is Their Spirit that has creative power.

The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth Him all things that Himself doeth: and He will shew Him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom He will.…

Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

For as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself. (John 5:19-21,25,26).

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24).

Divested of the personality of humanity PART II

Let’s quote again the text from Desire of Ages, but recast it in what we’ve seen in light of Manuscript Releases. Let’s add some proven language that fills in the holes that Ellen White places on her somewhat veiled statement from Desire of Ages. And I quote:

“Before this the Spirit had been in the world; from the very beginning of the work of redemption He had been moving upon men’s hearts. But while Christ was [physically] on earth, the disciples had desired no other helper [than Christ in His human form]. Not until they were deprived of His [physical] presence would they feel their need of the Spirit [presence of their beloved Helper], and then He [Christ] would come [to them spiritually, but just as personally].

     The Holy Spirit is Christ’s representative, but divested of the personality of humanity, and independent thereof. Cumbered with humanity, Christ could not be in every place personally. Therefore it was for their interest that He should go to the Father, and send the Spirit[of Christ] to be His successor on earth. No one could then have any advantage because of his location or his personal contact with Christ. By the Spirit the Saviour would be accessible to all. In this sense He would be nearer to them than if He had not ascended on high.”  Desire of Ages, p. 669.1,2, 1890.

Let’s add in some of other Bible writers’ explanations of the Spirit that amplify Mrs. White’s statement.

“Before this the Spirit [“the Spirit … the Spirit of God … the Spirit of Christ” (Rom. 8:9, cf John 1:1-5, 9; 12:49, 50; Prov. 8:12-23)] had been in the world; from the very beginning of the work of redemption He had been moving upon men’s hearts.

[“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.….

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.

Now therefore hearken unto Me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep My ways.

Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.

Blessed is the man that heareth Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at the posts of My doors.

For whoso findeth Me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD.

But he that sinneth against Me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate Me love death.” (Prov. 8:12-14, 25, 30-36). “But of Him (God) are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness….” (1Cor. 1:30).]. But while Christ was [physically] on earth, the disciples had desired no other helper [than Christ in His human form]. Not until they were deprived of His [physical] presence would they feel their need of the Spirit [“of His Son” (Gal. 4:6, cf John 1:1-5, 9; 12:49, 50], and then He [Christ] would come [to them spiritually, but just as personally].”

What can we learn of Jesus’ personal presence as a personal Saviour to the Jews’ 2,000 years ago, that we can apply to His personal presence as a personal Saviour to us in our day?

“For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” (Rom. 8:3).

“Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” (Phil. 2:6,7).

“Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared Me.” (Heb. 10:5).

What kind of a body did Jesus have that differs from ours? Nothing different. He was made in our likeness; He was the second Adam. Yet, He did have something else that He inherited, that we were not born with. He inherited the divine nature. His Father’s power and nature germinated the egg of His mother’s sinful nature. But, as He forewarned Eve, “thy husband …  shall rule over thee” (Gen. 3:16), so did God’s powerful, sinless nature dominate Miriam’s nature, a creature, made lower than the angels, and weakened by 4,000 years of sin. At conception and forever onward, Jesus was one with His Father. Never for a split-second did the Son of God separate from His Father; His thoughts, His words, His actions never operated apart from His dear Abba. Nevertheless, the second Adam’s conception reveals spiritual aspects of our second conception by the Spirit. We are born again with Christ’s divine nature, and our first birth and first nature are forgotten by God. We are treated as if we never sinned and never had a sinful nature. We are “born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” (1Pet. 1:23). “As many as received [the Word], to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12,13).

Because the Spirit of wisdom and truth made flesh inherited His Father’s divinity, the Word incorporated into a Man also inherited His Father’s divine nature and power. His Father’s power and divinity was contained in human flesh, but at times His inherent divinity squeezed through the cracks of Jesus’ seamless inherent humanity for the necessity of causing conviction.

“Christ spoke with the authority of a king, and in His appearance, and in the tones of His voice, there was that which they had no power to resist. At the word of command they realized, as they had never realized before, their true position as hypocrites and robbers. When divinity flashed through humanity, not only did they see indignation on Christ’s countenance; they realized the import of His words. They felt as if before the throne of the eternal Judge, with their sentence passed on them for time and for eternity. For a time they were convinced that Christ was a prophet; and many believed Him to be the Messiah. The Holy Spirit flashed into their minds the utterances of the prophets concerning Christ. Would they yield to this conviction?” Desire of Ages, p. 162.

“And there shall come forth a Rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

And shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears:

But with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked.

And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins” (Isa. 11:1-5).

He would be the preincarnate Spirit of wisdom that delighted in the sons of men, the very Spirit of truth that lighteth every man that cometh into the world, the Word Himself, now tabernacling with the flesh. And thus, in His Son, God’s divine Spirit fully cohabitated with a human spirit for the first time since Eden. God was in Christ who was the fullness of the Godhead manifested, as the fullness of the Godhead would inhabit a purified, strengthened human body. Michael, the holy Son of God, incorporated into humanity would become Jesus, the holy Son of man. Yet, amazing though it be that the Spirit and body of the Son would join humanity in the spirit and body of Adam’s, even more wonderful, the SPIRIT of the Father would also join us in the Spirit of His Son’s. As the Father had said concerning His Son as His most holy tabernacle, He spoke to every member of Adam’s progeny all the way down to Miriam,

“Let them [Adam’s lineage through Seth] make Me a [human] sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” (Ex. 25:8).