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Mistakes
Cultists make
One of the most common errors
that cults make is not understanding the two natures of
Christ. For example, the Jehovah's Witnesses focus on Jesus' humanity
and ignore His divinity. They repeatedly quote verses dealing with Jesus
as a man and try and set them against scripture showing that Jesus is
also divine. On the other hand, the Christian Scientists do the
reverse. They focus on the scriptures showing Jesus' divinity to
the extent of denying His true humanity.
For a proper understanding of Jesus and, therefore, all other doctrines
that relate to Him, His two natures must be properly understood and
defined. Jesus is one person with two natures. This is why
He would grow in wisdom and stature (Luke
2:52) yet know all things (John
21:17). He is the Divine Word that became flesh (John
1:1,14).
The Bible is about Jesus (John
5:39). The prophets prophesied about Him (Acts
10:43). The Father bore witness of Him (John
5:37; 8:18).
The Holy Spirit bore witness of Him (John
15:26). The works Jesus did bore witness of Him (John
5:36; 10:25).
The multitudes bore witness of Him (John
12:17). And, Jesus bore witness of Himself (John
14:6; 18:6).
Other verses to consider when examining His deity are: John
10:30-33; 20:28; Col. 2:9; Phil.
2:5-8; Heb.
1:6-8; and 2
Pet. 1:1.
1 Tim. 2:5
says, "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God
and men, the man Christ Jesus." Right now, there is a man in
heaven on the throne of God. He is our advocate with the Father (1
John 2:1). He is our Savior (Titus
2:13). He is our Lord (Rom.
10:9-10). He is Jesus.
From: "Jesus'
Two Natures" by Matthew Slick
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But thou, Bethlehem
Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of
thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose
goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. ~ Micah 5:2
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"...the plain
antithesis of this clause, to 'come forth out of thee' (from Beth-lehem),
shows that the eternal generation of the Son is meant. The terms convey
the strongest assertion of infinite duration of which the Hebrew
language is capable (cf. Psalm 90:2; Proverbs 8:22,23; John 1:1).
Messiah's generation as man coming forth unto God to do His will on
earth is from Beth-lehem; but as Son of God His goings forth are from
everlasting." (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, p. 692)
Recommended book:
Jesus
Christ IS God! by Robert L. Sumner.
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"...they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."
~ Matthew 1:23 |
The
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the third
person in the Trinity. He is fully God. He is eternal, omniscient,
omnipresent, has a will, and can speak. He is alive. He is a person.
He is not particularly visible in the Bible because His ministry is to
bear witness of Jesus (John
5:26).
Some cults like the Jehovah's
Witnesses say that the Holy Spirit is nothing more than a force
(Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, pp. 406-407). This is false. If
the Holy Spirit were merely a force, then He could not speak (Acts
13:2); He could not be grieved (Eph.
4:30); and He would not have a will (1
Cor. 12:11).
The truth is that the Holy Spirit is a person the same as the Father
and the Son are within the Trinity.
| His Names |
His Attributes |
Symbols of |
Sins Against |
Power in
Christ's Life |
God
Acts 5:3-4 |
Eternal
Heb. 9:14 |
Dove
Matt. 3:15 |
Blasphemy
Matt.
12:31 |
Conceived of
Matt. 1:18,20 |
Lord
2 Cor. 3:18 |
Omnipotent
Luke
1:35 |
Wind
John 3:5 |
Resist (Unbelief)
Acts
7:51 |
Baptism
Matt. 3:15 |
Spirit
1 Cor. 2:10 |
Omnipresent
Psalm
139:710 |
Fire
Acts 2:3 |
Insult
Heb.
10:29 |
Led by
Luke 4:1 |
Spirit of God
1 Cor.
3:16 |
Will
1 Cor.
12:11 |
***** |
Lied to
Acts 5:3 |
Filled with Power
Luke
4:14,18 |
Spirit of Truth
John 15:26 |
Loves
Rom. 15:30 |
***** |
Grieved
Eph. 4:30 |
Witness of Jesus
John 15:26 |
Eternal Spirit
Heb. 9:14 |
Speaks
Acts 8:29; 13:2 |
***** |
Quench
1
Thess. 5:19 |
Raised Jesus
Rom. 8:11 |
The Works of the Holy
Spirit
| Access to God - Eph.
2:18 |
Inspires prayer - Eph.
6:18; Jude 20 |
| Anoints for Service - Luke
4:18 |
Intercedes -Rom.
8:26 |
| Assures - Rom.
8:15-16; Gal.
4:6 |
Interprets Scripture -
1
Cor. 2:1,14;
Eph. 1:17 |
| Authors Scripture - 2
Pet. 1:20-21 |
Leads - Rom.
8:14 |
| Baptizes - John
1:32-34; 1
Cor. 12:13-14 |
Liberates - Rom.
8:2 |
| Believers Born of - John
3:3-6 |
Molds Character - Gal.
5:22-23 |
| Calls and Commissions
- Acts
13:24; 20:28 |
Produces fruit - Gal.
5:22-23 |
| Cleanses - 2
Thess. 3:13; 1
Pet. 1:2 |
Empowers Believers - Luke
24:49 |
| Convicts of sin - John
16:9,14 |
Raises from the dead -
Rom.
8:11 |
| Creates - Gen.
1:2; Job
33:4 |
Regenerates - Titus
3:5 |
| Empowers - 1
Thess. 1:5 |
Sanctifies - Rom.
15:16 |
| Fills - Acts
2:4; 4:29-31; 5:18-20 |
Seals - Eph.
1:13-14; 4:30 |
| Gives gifts - 1
Cor. 12:8-11 |
Strengthens - Eph.
3:16; Acts
1:8; 2:4;
1
Cor. 2:4 |
| Glorifies Christ - John
16:14 |
Teaches - John
14:26 |
| Guides in truth - John
16:13 |
Testifies of Jesus - John
15:26 |
| Helps our weakness - Rom.
8:26 |
Victory over flesh - Rom.
8:2-4; Gal.
4:6 |
From: "The
Holy Spirit" by Matthew Slick
Recommended
Books:
Jesus
Christ IS God! by Robert L. Sumner (Chapter two confronts the
arguments which say the Holy Spirit is an impersonal "it.")
What
the Holy Spirit Does in a Believer's Life by Charles
Spurgeon
The Holy
Spirit According to Herbert W. Armstrong
Does the Holy Spirit
have intelligence? Or is the Holy Spirit (as HWA wrote) merely "the
power that responds and does what Jesus commands"?1
HWA contradicted himself. If the Holy Spirit does not have intelligence,
then how can "it" respond and do what Jesus commands?
Oftentimes HWA would
make the remark that if the Holy Spirit was a person, then the Holy Spirit
was the "father" of Jesus. Arno C. Gaebelein gave a good
answer to this reasoning and the following will quote some of his words
(which concerns Luke 1:35 which says, "And the angel of the Lord said unto her, The Holy Spirit
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."):
"Let us notice
the two great statements given about His incarnation. 'The Holy Spirit
shall come upon thee.' From the Gospel of Matthew we learn the full
meaning of this statement. 'That which is begotten in her is of the Holy
Ghost.' ...
"The second statement is:
'And the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee." This is not a
repetition of the same truth as contained in the first statement. If this
too would mean the Holy Spirit, we would have to conclude that the Holy
Spirit is the Father of Him who became incarnate. We read at once after
this second statement, 'Therefore that Holy Thing, which shall be born of
thee, shall be called the Son of God.' The power of the Highest does not
mean the power of the Holy Spirit. It is none other than the Son of God
Himself. The eternal Son of God, He who is God, overshadowed her and this
overshadowing meant the union of Himself with the human nature created by
the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary.
"He is called 'that Holy
Thing.' He is something entirely new. A Being which cannot be classified.
And then we read again, 'That Holy Thing shall be called the Son of God.'
It does not say 'shall be the Son of God;' such He ever was. Incarnation
did not make Him Son of God. He shall be called Son of God; God manifested
in the flesh." (Arno C. Gaebelein (1861-1945),
The Work
of Christ, "His Past Work")
Herbert Armstrong
plagiarized his
teaching on the Holy Spirit from the Jehovah's Witnesses (which is
rampant in their literature). One of their books claims: "As for the 'Holy
Spirit,' the so-called 'third Person of the Trinity,' we have already seen that
it is, not a person, but God's active force" (The Truth That Leads to
Eternal Life, Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1968, p. 24)
1
Herbert W. Armstrong, Mystery of the Ages, 1985, p. 44. (Read
ESN's critical review of Mystery of the Ages)
What is the Greek for "the
Spirit"?
Those who have been taught
Herbert W. Armstrong's view of the Holy Spirit, when having it pointed out
to them that certain Scriptures; i. e., Rom. 8:9, I Pet. 1:11 and Phil.
1:19, say "the Spirit of Christ," and "the Spirit of Jesus Christ," have
retorted that "Spirit" in those verses simply means the "mind" of
Christ.
In Strong's Concordance
the
Greek word for "Spirit" as in "the Spirit of Christ" and "the Spirit
of Jesus Christ" (Rom. 8:9, I Pet. 1:11 and Phil. 1:19) is pneuma
(#4151), which is the same Greek word used in many other N.T.
passages that refer to the Spirit of God, the Spirit of truth, the
Spirit of our God, the Spirit of His Son, the Spirit of the Lord, the
Spirit of truth, the Spirit of grace, the Spirit of life, etc.
Likewise, the same Greek word pneuma is used for "Ghost" as in
"the Holy Ghost." This shows that whether we are talking about the
Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost,
etc., they are all one and the same.
The Greek word for "mind" as in, "Let
this mind be in you..."
(Phil 2:5) and "Be of the same mind..." (Rom 12:16), is phronema or
phroneo (#5427). Clearly, mind (phronema) and Spirit (pneuma)
are not the same.
The
Trinity
God is a trinity
of persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. The Father is not the same person as the Son; the Son is not
the same person as the Holy Spirit; and the Holy Spirit is not the same
person as Father. They are not three gods and not three beings.
They are three distinct persons; yet, they are all the one God.
Each has a will, can speak, can love, etc., and these are demonstrations
of personhood. They are in absolute perfect harmony consisting of
one substance. They are coeternal, coequal, and copowerful. If any one
of the three were removed, there would be no God.
Jesus, the Son, is one person with two natures: Divine and Human.
This is called the Hypostatic
Union. The Holy
Spirit is also divine in nature and is self aware, the third person
of the Trinity.
There is, though, an apparent separation of some functions among the
members of the Godhead. For example, the Father chooses who will be
saved (Eph. 1:4);
the Son redeems them (Eph.
1:7); and the Holy Spirit seals them (Eph.
1:13).
A further point of
clarification is that God is not one person, the Father, with Jesus as a
creation and the Holy Spirit as a force (Jehovah's
Witnesses). Neither is He one person who took three consecutive
forms, i.e., the Father became the Son, who became the Holy Spirit. Nor
is God the divine nature of the Son (where Jesus had a human nature
perceived as the Son and a divine nature perceived as the Father (Oneness
theology). Nor is the Trinity an office held by three separate Gods
(Mormonism).
The word "person" is used to describe the three members of the
Godhead because the word "person" is appropriate. A
person is self aware, can speak, love, hate, say "you,"
"yours," "me," "mine," etc. Each of
the three persons in the Trinity demonstrate these qualities.
The chart below should help you to see how the doctrine of the Trinity
is systematically derived from Scripture. The list is not exhaustive,
only illustrative.
The first step is to
establish the biblical doctrine that there is only one God. Then,
you find that each of the persons is called God, each creates, each was
involved in Jesus' resurrection, each indwells, etc. Therefore,
God is one, but the one God is in three simultaneous persons.
Please note that the idea of a composite unity is not a foreign concept
to the Bible; after all, man and wife become, are said to be one flesh.
The idea of a composite unity of persons is spoken of by God in Genesis
(Gen. 2:24).
There is only
one God
The first step is
to establish how many Gods exist: one! Isaiah
43:10; 44:6,8; 45:5,14,18,21,22; 46:9; 47:8; John 17:3; 1
Cor. 8:5-6; Gal.
4:8-9.
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"I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides Me there is
no God"
(Isaiah
45:5).
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“Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel And his Redeemer, the Lord
of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God
besides Me," (Isaiah
44:6).
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"I am the Lord, and there is no other;
besides Me there is no God," (Isaiah 55:5).
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