The Identity Of The Holy Spirit

Front 1

John 17:11

Back 1

And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

Hint 1

God the Father is holy.

Front 2

John 4:23,24

Back 2

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Hint 2

God the Father is a Spirit.

Question: If God the Father is holy, and if God the Father is a Spirit, can we say then that God the Father is a holy Spirit?

Front 3

Acts 4:30

Back 3

By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.

Hint 3

Jesus Christ is holy.

Front 4

1Corinthians 15:45

Back 4

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Hint 4

Jesus Christ is a spirit.

Question: If Jesus Christ is holy, and if He is also Spirit, is it safe to conclude that Jesus Christ is a holy spirit?

So how many holy Spirits are there?

Front 5

Ephesians 2:18

Back 5

For through him (Jesus) we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

Hint 5

One. The holy Spirit is the spirit of God the Father, and of Jesus Christ.

When we have the holy Spirit, we have both Jesus Christ and God the Father.

Front 6

Romans 8:9, 10

Back 6

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.

And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Hint 6

Paul is talking about the same thing: the Spirit of God dwells in us, the Spirit of Christ is in us. This is the same as Christ in us: "And if Christ be in you..."

When we have the holy Spirit, we really have the Father and the Son.

This is how we are one with God and Christ: Through the Spirit.

1Co 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

Front 7

2Corinthians 3:17

Back 7

Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

Hint 7

If we don't have Christ we don't have liberty. If we have a spirit that is not the Spirit of Christ, we do not have liberty.

Front 8

Conclusion:

Back 8

There is one holy Spirit of God and of Christ.

Not "God the Holy Spirit," an individual being with God and Christ.

The Bible teaches that there is a Spirit, and it is the Spirit of God and of Christ.

Front 9

14MR 179.2,3; 180.2

Back 9

It is not essential for you to know and be able to define just WHAT the Holy Spirit is. Christ tells us that the Holy Spirit IS the Comforter (identity) and the Comforter IS the Holy Ghost (identity), “the Spirit of truth, which the Father shall send in My name"... This refers to the omnipresence of the Spirit of Christ (identity), called the Comforter...

... There are many mysteries which I do not seek to understand or to explain; they are too high for me, and too high for you...

... You need to come into harmony with your brethren...

Hint 9

This letter was written in 1891 in response to Chapman's letter to her:

"Elder Robinson... states positively that I cannot be sent out to present the truth to others until some points held by me are changed or modified... He quotes as a sample, my idea in reference to the Holy Ghost not being the Spirit of God, which is Christ, but the angel Gabriel... on all fundamental points I am in perfect harmony with our people; but when I try to show what seems to me to be new light on the truth, those in authority... brand me as a fellow with queer ideas of the Bible."

So, what did the brethren believe about the Holy Spirit in 1891? Ellen White calls it "truth" and "light from God."

Front 10

Uriah Smith, 1891

Back 10

"The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. It is also the Spirit of Christ."

GC Daily Bulletin, March 14, pp. 146. 147.

Front 11

EJ Waggoner, 1890

Back 11

"Here we find that the Holy Spirit is both the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ."

Christ and His Righteousness, p. 23

Front 12

JN Loughborough, 1898

Back 12

"We learn from this language that when we speak of the Spirit of God we are really speaking of His presence and power."

Review and Herald, Sept. 13, 1898

Hint 12

Is the presence and power of God someone different to who God is?

Front 13

Ellen White, 1891

Back 13

"The divine Spirit that the world's Redeemer promised to send, is the presence and power of God."


Signs of the Times, Nov. 23, 1891

Hint 13

The presence and power of God is His own personal presence and power.

Question: When God gives us His Spirit, does that mean He gives us Himself, or someone different to Himself?

Front 14

7T 273 (1902)

Back 14

In giving us His Spirit, God gives us Himself, making Himself a fountain of divine influence, to give health and life to the world.

Hint 14

When God gives us His Spirit He gives us life.

If we separate the Spirit from God and Christ (as Chapman did, and as the Trinity does, to be exalted, worshipped, as if it is an individual the same as God and Christ are individuals), we cut off life. This is the danger.