MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.   There is hardly a subject found in God’s Word that is not controversial.

1.    Genesis 1:1 is controversial.

 

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

 

a.    Is there a God?

b.    Did God create?  or, did all things evolve?

 

2.    Jesus is controversial.

a.    Is Jesus created or divine?

b.    Was Jesus really raised from the dead?

 

B.   However, there is hardly a more controversial subject than the Holy Spirit.  Almost every aspect of the Holy Spirit is debated, from His person, to miracles, to inspiration, to indwelling. 

 

C.   All of the controversy surrounding the Holy Spirit has caused many misconceptions to develop around this third member of the Godhead.  It is the purpose of this lesson to discuss some of the “Misconceptions of the Godhead.”

 

I.             THE HOLY SPIRIT DOES NOT EXIST

 

A.   Anyone who denies that God exists also denies the Holy Spirit exists.

 

B.   The best proof that God exists is found in a little four-letter word, “life.”

1.    Lifeless matter cannot, and will never, produce life.

2.    Only life can produce life.

a.    The evolutionist says matter is eternal.

b.    The creationists says that God is eternal.

c.    The evolutionist must affirm the impossible.  Matter created life.

d.    The creationist affirms the possible.  A living God created life (Gen. 2:7).

 

And the LORD God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

 

C.   Once we have proved that God exists, all we must do is study the nature of this divine being.  We learn that one of the three beings in the Godhead is the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4).

 

But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?  While it remained, was it not thine own?  And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power?  Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart?  thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

II.           THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A NEW TESTAMENT CONCEPT

 

A.   When we talk about the Holy Spirit, we usually talk about His role that is revealed to us in the New Testament.

 

B.   This causes some to believe that the Holy Spirit is a New Testament concept.

 

C.   It is true that more is revealed about the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, but the Holy Spirit was also active in the Old Testament.

1.    He was active in the Creation.

a.    Genesis 1:2

 

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

 

b.    There are two definite things the Spirit did in Creation.

1)    He garnished the heavens (Job 26:13).

2)    He was part of instilling life into mankind (Job 33:4).

2.    He was the one who inspired the Old Testament prophets both to speak and to write the message of God (2 Sam. 23:2; 2 Pet. 1:21).

 

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man:  but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

 

3.    He empowered men for specific tasks:

a.    Bezalel was filled with the Spirit to build the Tabernacle (Exo. 31:1-5).

b.    Samson received superhuman power to deliver Israel (Jud. 14:6)

c.    Gideon and Jephthah were given the Spirit to lead in battle (Judg. 6:34; 11:29).

4.    He assisted the leaders of Israel as they governed and guided the children of God.

a.    In Numbers 11:16, God told Moses:  “Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel…”

b.    In Numbers 11:17, God promised:  “And I will come down and talk with thee there:  and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them:  and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee…”

5.    The Holy Spirit empowered various individuals to work miracles in the Old Testament (Heb. 2:4).

 

God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will.

 

a.    Moses brought ten plagues upon the nation of Egypt.

b.    Naaman was cured of leprosy.

c.    The resurrection of the son of the Shunammite woman.

6.    The Spirit pointed men to the Messiah to come.

a.    There are over 300 prophecies given by the Holy Spirit regarding the Messiah in the Old Testament.

b.    Isaiah 9:6

 

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:  and the government shall be upon his shoulder:  and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

 

c.    NOTE:  Prophecies like these were written hundreds of years before the birth of Christ.  They are numerous.  They are minute.  They prove the inspiration of the Old Testament Scriptures.

 

III.         THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A FORCE OR ENERGY

 

A.   There are some religious groups that teach the Holy Spirit is an impersonal, active force. 

1.    Some refer to the Holy Spirit as a divine energy, force, or power.

2.    The Jehovah’s Witnesses are the dominate group that adhere to this misconception of the Holy Spirit.

a.    The Jehovah’s Witnesses have a website, www.jw.org.

1)    If you search for “the Holy Spirit, you will find an article, entitled:  “What Is the Holy Spirit?” 

2)    The opening line has these words:  “The holy spirit is God’s power in action, his active force.”

b.    In another article entitled:  “Is the Holy Spirit a Person?” they state:  “In the Bible, God’s holy spirit is identified as God’s power in action. Hence, an accurate translation of the Bible’s Hebrew text refers to God’s spirit as ‘God’s active force.’’’

 

B.   The New Testament presents the Holy Spirit as a living being, a personality.

1.    In Acts 5:4, the Holy Spirit is referred to as “God.”  How can He be God if He is just a force or power?

2.    In the Greek language, He is referred to in the masculine gender not the neutral gender (See John 16:13).

 

Howbeit 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 shew you things to come.

 

a.    Six times the pronoun, “he,” is used.

b.    Once the pronoun, “himself,” is used.

3.    The Holy Spirit does things that a force or energy cannot do.

a.    He can hear and speak (John 16:13).

b.    He can teach (John 14:26).

c.    He can speak (1 Tim. 4:1).

d.    He can be grieved (Eph. 4:30).

 

IV.         THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE LEAST MEMBER OF THE GODHEAD

 

A.   When individuals see lists of individuals, they immediately assume that the list is in order of power or importance.

1.    We often make this statement:  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.

2.    Matthew 28:19

 

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

 

3.    Let’s consider the “order” of the Godhead in other passages:

a.    In 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, this order is reversed:  Spirit (v. 4) Lord (v. 5), God, the Father (v. 6).

b.    In Ephesians 4:4-6, the order is reversed as well.

c.    In 1 Peter 1:2, the order is God the Father, Spirit, and Jesus Christ.

 

B.   There is a hierarchal structure within the Godhead.

1.    That order is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

a.    The Son obeyed the Father (John 12:49).

b.    “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name…” (John 14:26).

2.    Hierarchal structure provides order. 

It does not determine worth. 

Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all God.

 

V.           THE HOLY SPIRIT IS STILL REVEALING GOD’S WORD TO MAN TODAY

 

A.   One of the Holy Spirit’s functions has been to reveal the Word of God to man.

1.    The Old Testament (2 Sam. 23:2; 2 Pet. 1:21)

 

The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.

 

2.    The New Testament (John 16:13; 1 Cor. 2:12-13; 1 Tim. 4:1)

 

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

 

B.   God’s Word contains two governing covenants God has made with man.

1.    The first covenant was the Law of Moses given to the Jews (Deut. 5:2-3).

2.    That covenant was done away at the cross of Calvary (Col. 2:14).

3.    A new covenant was given.  It is called “the New Testament” (Heb. 8:6-8).

 

But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.  For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.  For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

 

C.   This new covenant was completely revealed to man in the first century.

1.    Jesus told the apostles:  “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth…” (John 16:13).

a.    Notice the words:  “all truth.”

b.    Either all truth was given to the apostles, or, it was not.  If all was not given, and truth is still being revealed today, Jesus lied.

2.    Paul looked forward to the time when all revelation would be given to man (Eph. 4:13).

 

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.

 

3.    Jude reveals that “the faith,” the complete system of faith has been “once delivered” to the saints (Jude 3).

 

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

 

a.    The key word is “once.”

b.    Once means “one single time.”  Thayer tells us that it means “once for all.”  It was delivered once, never to be delivered again.

 

D.   God has given us everything we need for this life and the life to come in the pages of the New Testament of Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1:3).

 

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.   There are many other misconceptions about which we could speak.

1.    The Holy Spirit is still working miracles through men today.

2.    The Holy Spirit contradicts himself.

3.    The Holy Spirit’s presence is confirmed by one’s feelings.

4.    The Holy Spirit causes individuals to do “weird” things.

5.    The Holy Spirit directs minute things in our lives.

6.    The Holy Spirit indwelld literally, personally in the Christian’s human body.

 

B.   In many places, the controversies that surround the Holy Spirit have caused us to refuse to talk about Him.

 

C.   We need to do far more study of the Holy Spirit instead of shying away from the subject.  To shy away from the subject is to shy away from one of the members of the Godhead.