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HOLY SPIRIT

This is a good article  called 'Is The Holly Spirit God' from Got Questions and I thought you might enjoy it.


The Spirit of God was present at and involved in the creation (Genesis 1:2; Psalm 33:6). The Holy Spirit moved the prophets of God with the words of God (2 Peter 1:21). The bodies of those in Christ are described as temples of God because the Holy Spirit is in us (1 Corinthians 6:19). Jesus was clear that to be “born again,” to become a Christian, one must be born “of the Spirit” (John 3:5).

One of the most convincing statements in the Bible about the Holy Spirit being God is found in Acts 5. When Ananias lied about the price of a piece of property, Peter said that Satan had filled Ananias’s heart to “lie to the Holy Spirit” (Acts 5:3) and concluded by saying that Ananias had “lied to God” (verse 4). Peter’s words equate the Holy Spirit with God; he spoke as if the Spirit and God were one and the same.

Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Spirit, the Helper, was different from Himself. The Father would send the Helper, the Spirit of truth, after Christ departed. The Spirit would speak through them about Jesus (John 14:25–26; 15:26–27; 16:7–15). All three Persons Jesus mentions are God while being distinct from each other within the Trinity.

The three members of the Trinity show up, together yet distinct, at Jesus’ baptism. As Jesus comes up from the water, the Spirit descends on Him like a dove while the voice of the Father is heard from heaven saying that He is pleased with His beloved Son (Mark 1:10–11).

Finally, the Bible describes the Holy Spirit as a person, not a mere force. He can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30). He has a will (1 Corinthians 12:4-7). He uses His mind to search the deep things of God (1 Corinthians 2:10). And He has fellowship with believers (2 Corinthians 13:14). Clearly, the Spirit is a person, just as the Father and the Son are persons.

Indeed, the Bible is unequivocal that the Holy Spirit is, in fact, God, just as Jesus Christ and the Father are God.

HOW THE HUMAN SPIRIT CAME ABOUT

Just to be sure I looked up 3 definitions of 'spirit', 'soul', and 'being' (because these are used interchangeably) to find out if they had any reference to them being physical.  I have put them below in case you have the same question.

DEFINITIONS 'SPIRIT':

  • Oxford Languages Dictionary: the nonphysical part of a person

  • Dictionary.com:  Something that exists: inanimate beings.

  • Merriam-Webster:  An animating or vital principle

DEFINITIONS 'SOUL':

  • Oxford Languages Dictionary: The spiritual or immaterial part of a human being regarded as immortal.

  • Dictionary.com: the spiritual part of humans as distinct from the physical part.

  • Merriam-Webster: Soul;  the spiritual principle embodied in human beings, 

DEFINITIONS 'BEING':

  • Oxford Languages Dictionary: The nature or essence of a person.

  • Dictionary.com: the fact of existing; existence (as opposed to nonexistence). Something that exists: inanimate beings.

  • Merriam-Webster: the qualities that constitute an existent thing: ESSENCE

We can know from these definitions, that there is something called  'spirit' 'soul', or 'being' which is not the body + brain because it is "nonphysical", "spiritual, "immortal" and "inanimate". Below the subtle differences between them will be demonstrated.  

HUMAN SPIRIT ACKNOWLEDGED

2 Corinthians 5:4; For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.

"In this tent" means 'in' our bodies.   "we groan" because the body burdens us, but we do not want "to be unclothed" (without a body).  We want this mortal body to be "swallowed up" by the life of an immortal one.

2 Corinthians 5:5; 5 Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

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God has given us His Holy Spirit to those who believe in Him as a "deposit, guaranteeing what is to come" which means our immortality.

2 Corinthians 5:6; Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.

It says “while we are at home in the body”.  What is at home in the body? It must be the human spirit/soul.

Proverbs 20:27; The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the innermost parts of his being.

Here it shows that the “spirit of man (lower case = human spirit) is the lamp of the Lord”. 


It is my opinion that only the human spirit which is God's image - given to us all in the womb (see 'How Did the Human Spirit Come About' above), would be “the lamp of the Lord” and be “searching all the innermost parts of his being”.  

Here we have the word “being” again, which further shows us that it is spiritual.

Zechariah 12:1; The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person…

This is such an important verse, because it tells us that “the Lord”,
“forms the human spirit within a person”.

Job 32:8; But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty gives them understanding.

It is saying yet again that "there is a spirit in man" (lower case = human spirit).   That "the inspiration" of the "Almighty" God gives them (human spirits) understanding 

Job, Proverbs and Zachariah speak about our own spirit within us. This was around 500-700 years before Jesus.

ARE WE JUST A BODY?

1 Corinthians 2;12; (amplified version) We have received, not the spirit of the world, but the [Holy] Spirit who is from God, so that we may know and understand the [wonderful] things freely given to us by God. 13 We also speak of these things, not in words taught or supplied by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining and interpreting Spiritual thoughts with spiritual words [for those being guided by the Holy Spirit].

1 Corinthians 2:12 is saying that we have received the Spirit (Holy Spirit) from God "so that we may know and understand" what God  "has freely given us".  These are words from God Himself given to us via His Holy Spirit "combining and interpreting Spiritual thoughts" in words we would understand.  That this is not "human wisdom".

If we are a composite of 3:  Holy Spirit, spirit, body/brain, then we would have to ask ourselves who is the Holy Spirit interpreting God's words for?  It would not be for Himself.  It could not be the body because it says in 1 Corinthians 2:14 (below) that the body considers the words from the Holy Spirit "foolish".  That leaves only the human spirit left that can be enlightened by God's words given through His Holy Spirit.

NOTE: Apostle Paul is talking to a group of people living in Corinth who have all received the Holy Spirit and that is why he is saying "What we have received".  It is possible for each one of us to have the Holy Spirit  provided we ask Jesus for it (see HOLY SPIRIT below) which is different from our human spirit (which was given to everyone in the womb).  Sometimes this is called 'borne again' and sometimes it includes a baptism.  This means we potentially can have 2 spirits.

WHO IS GOING TO GET JUDGED?

Galatians 5:16;   So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 

Galatians 5:16; Says for us to "walk by the Spirit (Holy Spirit - capitalized).  We can have the Holy Spirit within every one of us if we ask Jesus for it.

Galatians 5:19; Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

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Galatians 5:19; goes on to describe the works of the flesh.

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If we were just flesh (body/brain) with all of its genetically inherited "works of the flesh (body/brain) as described in Galatians 5:19, and we had no governing human spirit or God's Holy Spirit to guide us and help us, and if it were possible for us to be resurrected without either, I do not see how we could be fairly judged because we would only be a body/brain, and would not have understood the things from the Holy Spirit, and would have "considered them foolishness" (1 Corinthians 2-14 above). 

2 Corinthians 4:16; Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

 
2 Corinthians 418; So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

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1 Corinthians 6:17; But whoever is united with the Lord is one with Him in spirit

Additional information:

 

2 Corinthians 4:16: states that we are wasting away" outwardly.  This refers to the body.  "inwardly" "being renewed" refers to the human spirit.

 

2 Corinthians 4:18; "we fix our  (spiritual) eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen".  The body/flesh is "seen" and "is temporary".

 

1 Corinthians 6:17; The body/flesh with all of its evil (Galatians 5:19 above) cannot be "united with the Lord" and become "one with him in spirit".  The body/flesh is not spiritual and because of that by definition alone, it is impossible.

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The spiritual world differs enormously from the "seen" material world and the "seen" body/flesh. 

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The brain/body is sinful flesh (Galatians 5:19) and has nothing spiritual about it. The brain/body cannot understand the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit only communicates "spiritual realities" to the human spirit, which cannot be the body, because Galatians 5:17 says "They are in conflict with each other."

Proverbs 17:22; A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
 

Galatians 5:17; For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other .... 

Galatians 5:17; says the flesh is contrary to the our Holy Spirit.  So, how can the Holy Spirit work with the flesh (body/brain).  The only other entity is our God-given human spirit given to each and every one of us in the womb.

Galatians 5:22; But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22; describes the qualities of the Spirit. The body + brain (flesh) is not of the Spirit.  The attributes of the body are listed in Galatian 5:19 (in the section ARE WE JUST A BRAIN + BODY?}

DEFINITION HEART:

Definition of Heart from Oxford Languages:

  1. The heart regarded as the center of a person's thoughts and emotions, especially love or compassion.  Emotions, feelings, sentiments, love, affection, passion, sympathy, pity, concern, compassion

  2. One's mood or feeling.  "They had a change of heart"

  3. Courage or enthusiasm. "They may lose heart as the work mounts up"

  4. The central or innermost part of something. "right in the heart of the city"

  5. A hollow muscular organ that pumps the blood through the circulatory system by rhythmic contraction and dilation. In humans, there may be up to four chambers.
    NOTE: Definition #5 is the description of the physical heart, with which we are not concerned.

We can see from definitions 1-4 of 'heart' that tthe heart is used as an analogy for 'emotions, feelings and sentiments, love, affection ...  These emotions are a by-product of the soul. The heart is not a 'being/entity' as of itself and cannot be judged on Judgement Day as s some believe.

Hebrews 4:12; For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

In this verse, we have the words "thoughts and intentions of the heart." This refers to thoughts, emotions, intentions, which come from the human spirit/soul because of its interaction with the body/brain/demons.  Because the heart is central to the body, then these feelings are used as an analogy for the feelings central to a personality.

John 16:33;  But take heart! I have overcome the world.”


Luke 16:15; He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts.

It is not the heart which can be judged on Judgement day, like some think.  The heart's intentions and feelings are a by-product of the life choices made by the human spirit and the thoughts and feelings which came about through the interactions with the body/brain (flesh) and demons. 

SUMMARY: THOUGHTS AND INTENTIONS OF THE HEART:

Any communication about the heart, with the exception of the physical aspects, are feelings, thoughts, and intentions.    It is the human spirit/soul alone who is ultimately responsible for any feelings, thoughts, or intentions and the like, which he allows to exist or not, and will be judged for on Judgement Day.

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Much more on this exciting subject is in the new book God, Us, and Satan. 

You can see the chapters here.

THOUGHTS AND INTENTIONS OF THE HEART

LAW AND GRACE
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Romans 7: 6; AMP  But now we have been released from the Law and its penalty, having died [through Christ] to that by which we were held captive, so that we serve [God] in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter [of the Law].

The Law of Moses was restrictive and "held people captive" and gave them penalties.  Since Jesus , we can now choose to "serve God in the newnessof the Spirit "(Holy Spirit - Law of Grace) and not in the oldness of the Law" (of Moses).  

WHERE DO WE GO WHEN WE DIE

Revelation 20:4–6; Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not …

In this verse, Apostle John saw "thrones" which were located in heaven.  There were "those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the Word of God and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image".  

That would mean that many human spirits, over thousands of years, went to heaven.

Romans 4:13; It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

The righteousness of Abraham did not come from obeying the Law of Moses, "but through the righteousness that comes by faith."

Hebrews 9:27; Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,

​It says we only "die once", which is really important for those who believe in more than one lifetime, (which was me at one time).

When I found this verse, I asked myself 'Who or what is around me, or in me, who has many lifetimes, if I do not?' 

Besides the body, there can only be one answer and I will let you, the reader work it out for yourselves. For an in-depth answer to this question, go to various chapters in the book God, Us, and Satan.

Philippians 1:22-23;  If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;

​It says we only "die once", which is really important for those who believe in more than one lifetime, (which was me at one time).

When I found this verse, I asked myself 'Who or what is around me, or in me, who has many lifetimes, if I do not?' 

Besides the body, there can only be one answer and I will let you, the reader work it out for yourselves. For an in-depth answer to this question, go to various chapters in the book God, Us, and Satan.

HEALING This was the Law of Moses.  God healed the peoples.

Exodus 15:25; I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.”

Psalms 34:19; The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all;

Exodus was written by Moses when God-believing people obeyed the Laws of Moses (given to Moses by God).  In that time and beyond, through the life of Jesus, God performed many miracles.  Under the Law of Grace which came about after the death of Jesus, we can avail ourselves of God through His Holy Spirit which can indwell us if we choose. If we have God inside us, then we can speak the words of His healing on our own bodies using His miraculous powers.

THIS COMES FROM BODY AND SPIRIT AND HOLY SPIRIT ETC

1 Thessalonians 5:23;  May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 10:28; Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Romans 8:16; The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 

You see the words “spirit” and “soul” and “body” used here; “spirit” and “soul” are distinguished from the “body”. 

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It is made plain that the “soul” (human spirit interacting with the body) is different from the body+brain (flesh).  

It says “be afraid of the One” (capitalized)  meaning God,  “who can destroy both soul and body in hell”. 

The “Spirit” (Holy Spirit - capitalized) is testifying with “our spirit” (human spirit - lower case), “that we are God's children”.  We can all have God's Holy Spirit, provided we give our life to Christ and ask Him for it.  I have to tell you from experience that life is much easier with the Holy Spirit. (See the section on "HOLY SPIRIT" below).

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