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 When
one begins to discuss the nature of Deity — its plurality of
functions, each of which is given personality — man’s
limitations become immediately apparent. But our understanding
of God will not be bettered by ignoring what God has said about
himself. Nor can we “know” Him by pitting one facet of deity
against another. The Holy Spirit is deity, and we must consider
this in our studies of Holy Spirit operations.
GOD
(deity) is ONE (Deut. 6:4; Mk. 12: 29-32; 1 Tim. 1:17; 6: 13-16)
yet both Son (Jn. 1:1,14) and Spirit were present in creation.
(Gen. 1:2, 26) We accept the plural nature of the ONE God, not
because we fathom it, but because God’s word declares it.
The
Holy Spirit has the characteristics of deity: being Eternal
(Heb. 9:14), Omniscient (1 Cor. 2: 10-11), Omnipresent (Psm.
139:7 ), etc. When Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit he lied to
God. (Acts 5: 3-4) The Spirit knows (1 Cor. 2:9f) wills
(1 Cor. 12:11) speaks (Acts 8:29) grieves (Eph.
4:30) and strives (Gen. 6:3) — is thus given
personality in the same way as is the Father and Son. We can not
accurately think of the operation of the Spirit in such a way as
to ignore this.
God
being ONE, there is perfect consistency in all of His
operations. His truth is ONE, and His Spirit does not deliver
one thing to one, and a contradicting thing to another. (See 1
Cor. 14: 37) God is no respecter of persons (Rom. 2:11). Even
those specially endowed messengers, through whom His truth was
delivered to the world (Lu. 24: 48-49), were subject to that
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message just as the rest of us. (Gal.
2:11-14) God revealed Himself to man in an ever- increasing
clearness, as He prepared man for the ultimate revelation in His
Son ( Heb 1:1-f) and confirmed the message of His Son to man by
His Holy Spirit. (Heb. 2:4) The inspired message is now
presented to man for his acceptance or rejection.
One
can not accept God’s word, and reject God’s Spirit. (Acts
7:51, 52) We can not accept the Son, and reject His words. (Jn.
12:47-f) To reject the Son is to reject the Father. (Jn. 8:42)
What we are really saying is that God is ONE — and an
acceptable relationship with one facet of deity is such with
all. No one “has the Spirit” or is “moved by the Spirit”
to do or say anything contrary to the will and way of the whole
of deity. We are baptized into the realm of the whole of
deity — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The
Spirit dwells in the temple of God. (1 Cor. 3:16) (Note, we are God’s
house, a “habitation of God through the Spirit.” Eph. 2:22)
Jesus said, ”If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my
Father will love him, and we (emph. mine, rt) will come unto
him, and make our abode with him.” (Jn. 14:23) But a Christian
is not God incarnate. God, the very essence of deity, does not
dwell in material temples—— neither flesh nor stone. (1 Kng.
8:27- 30; Acts 7:48) Paul says that Christ dwells in our
hearts by faith (Eph. 3:16-19) and couples this with God’s
Spirit in the inner man, and our being “filled with...
God.”
Spirit-indwelling
concepts which divide deity cannot be true.
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