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Jesus is the way,
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Chapter 2 -

Teaching about the Holy Spirit and the Trinity

 

 

 

 

Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in the divinity of Jesus, and neither do they believe in the personality and divinity of the Holy Spirit and the Trinity. They deny these as these quotes indicate:

 

But the Holy Spirit does not have the name of a person. The reason for this is that the Holy Spirit is not an intellectual person. It is an impersonal, invisible working power. (Pyhitetty olkoon sinun nimesi, p. 279)

 

We have already observed that the "holy spirit", the third person of the trinity, is not a person, but the working power of God. (…)

    The facts clearly indicate that the Bible does not teach trinity. (Sinä voit elää ikuisesti paratiisissa maan päällä, [You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth] p. 40)

 

THE PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

 

When it is a question of the personality of the Holy Spirit, Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in this. To them, the Holy Spirit is only the working power of God; like wind, electricity, or any such thing.

   However, if we look at this through the next examples, they refer to the personality of the Holy Spirit, meaning that the teaching of the Watchtower society cannot be right:

 

The name "he". Firstly, the Bible uses the name "he" for the Holy Spirit, and this is a clear proof of the personality of the Holy Spirit. Mere energy and power cannot be called "he” but a person can:

 

- (Isa 40:13-14) Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counselor has taught him?

14  With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding?

 

- (Isa 63:10) But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.

 

- (John 15:26) But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me:

 

- (John 14:16,17,26) And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, neither knows him: but you know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you.

26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you.

 

- (John 16:7-8) 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 to you; but if I depart, I will send him to you.

8  And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

 

- (John 16:13-15) However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.

14  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it to you.

15  All things that the Father has are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it to you.

 

- (Acts 8:15-16) Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:

16  (For as yet he was fallen on none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

 

He can do different things. When we are looking for the second piece of evidence for the personality of the Holy Spirit, there are several passages of the Bible that say that the Holy Spirit can speak, want, prove, and be grieved. A mere neutral power cannot have these kinds of characteristics:

 

- (2 Sam 23:2) The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, and his word was in my tongue.

 

- (Neh 9:20) You gave also your good spirit to instruct them, and withheld not your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst.

 

- (Isa 63:10) But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.

 

- (Isa 11:2) And the spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

 

- (Luke 2:26) And it was revealed to him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

 

- (John 15:26) But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me:

 

- (John 16:13) However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.

 

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

 

- (Acts 5:9) Then Peter said to her, How is it that you have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried your husband are at the door, and shall carry you out.

 

- (Acts 10:19-20) While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said to him, Behold, three men seek you.

20  Arise therefore, and get you down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.

 

- (Acts 13:2-4) As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

3  And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

4  So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed to Seleucia; and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

 

- (Rom 15:30) Now I beseech you, brothers, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;

 

- (1 Cor 12:11) But all these works that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

 

- (Eph 4:30) And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed to the day of redemption.

 

- (1 Tim 4:1) Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

 

THE DIVINITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

 

When we are looking for proofs for the divinity of the Holy Spirit, which is also denied in the teaching of the Watchtower Society, we can find several passages that support the divinity. One of them is that the Bible speaks in many places about the "Spirit of God". The same Spirit of God was with God also in Creation:

 

- (Gen 1:2) And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.

 

- (2 Chron 24:20) And the Spirit of God came on Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said to them, Thus said God, Why transgress you the commandments of the LORD, that you cannot prosper? because you have forsaken the LORD, he has also forsaken you.

 

- (2 Cor 3:3) For as much as you are manifestly declared to be the letter of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

 

- (1 Peter 4:14) If you be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are you; for the spirit of glory and of God rests on you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

 

- (1 Cor 2:10-11) But God has revealed them to us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

11  For what man knows the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knows no man, but the Spirit of God.

 

Evidence of the divinity of the Holy Spirit can also be found in other Bible verses. This comes out very well in the next verses:

 

- (Judges 15:14 / Judges 16:20) And when he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily on him, and the cords that were on his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.

16:20  And she said, The Philistines be on you, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he knew not that the LORD (in the original language Yahveh) was departed from him.

 

- (Acts 5:3-4) But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

4  Whiles it remained, was it not your own? and after it was sold, was it not in your own power? why have you conceived this thing in your heart?  you have not lied to men, but to God.

 

- (Hebr 9:14) 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? (the eternal Spirit can be only God)

 

- (2 Sam 23:2-3) The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, and his word was in my tongue.

3  The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me, He that rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.

 

- (1 Cor 3:16/ 6:19) Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

6:19  What? know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own?

 

- (Isa 6:8-9 / Acts 28:25-26) Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

9  And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear you indeed, but understand not; and see you indeed, but perceive not.

Acts 28:25-26: And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spoke the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet to our fathers,

26  Saying, Go to this people, and say, Hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and not perceive:

 

THE TRINITY

 

When we start to search for proof for the teaching of the Trinity, meaning that one God has informed Himself as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we can find several points in the Scriptures that support it. Those are among others:

 

The names of God. Firstly, we should note that according to the Bible, there is only one God (Isa 45:18,21, Isa 46:9). However, the Bible also proves that the Father is God (Deut 4:35), the Son is God (1 John 5:20-21), and that the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4). Thus, a logical conclusion is that all these three must be the one and same God. It is the only reasonable conclusion.

 

The word "Elohiym". One possible reference to the different manifestations of God is the plural form "Elohiym" used for Him. It appears in many places in the Bible, it is also used several times in the first chapter of the Bible that speaks about Creation – the verbs which follow are always singular. The word Elohiym also appears in the First Commandment where the plural form is used for God, even though the verb is in singular. This commandment referring to the diversity of God, says:

 

- (Exo 20:2-3)  I am (singular) the LORD your God (plural), which have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3  You shall have no other gods before me.

 

Plural expressions. If we continue to study the tension between the plural and singular, it is also seen in other examples from the Bible; they all use the first person of the plural for God, even though the verb is in singular. We should especially note that in the first of these examples (Gen 1:26,27), God could not speak to angels (this might have been commonly believed), but to Himself because man was created as the image of God, not that of angels; the verse 27 indicates this clearly:

 

- (Gen 1:26-27) And God 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 creeps on the earth.

27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

 

- (Gen 3:22) And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

 

- (Gen 11:6-7) And the LORD said (singular), Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

7  Go to, let us go (plural) down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

 

- (Isa 6:8) Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

 

Other verses. There are also several other verses that refer to the essence of God either directly or indirectly. For instance, the next verses are examples of this:

 

- (John 14:26/ 15:26) But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you.

15:26:  But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me:

 

- (2 Cor 13:14) The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

 

- (Matt 28:19) Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

 

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

 

- (Rom 8:9But you 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.

 

- (Gal 4:6And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jari Iivanainen




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